Grateful Dead

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It's difficult to recommend a particular album, or even era of this band. Every time the line-up changed, so did the music. The only consistent thing of the 69-75 version was that every line-up would perform Improvisations, and those could go anywhere. For the song oriented material, I guess I would recommend albums Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Red, and possibly Starless And Bible Black.
For the 80-2021 version(s), the improvs were still there, less so in the 80's-early 90's. Again many different line-ups after Belew/Bruford left. I really like Discipline and Thrak as starters for later era Crimson. But, ask 6 other people, you'll get 6 differing opinions.

Music is the Beast!! And The Best!!

So many many moons ago when it first came out, I purchased the box set "The Great Deceiver" by King Crimson, having heard NOTHING by them. For those who don't know, it's live material from 1973-74. I just could not get into it, despite having just become a Deadhead/Phishhead.

I've put it on here and there in the intervening 29 years, but just can't get excited about it.

Is this what one should listen to, to get into King Crimson? Is there something else I should be listening to? Should I make a point of seeing them live?

As far as I can remember I only got to see King Crimson live on two occasions, namely at Weeley Festival near Clacton in August 1971 and Bournemouth Winter Gardens in October 1971. Both occasions were notable for very different reasons. The Weeley Festival was where I got busted for the first time so my memories of that event are somewhat tainted by that unfortunate event. At the Winter Gardens me, my brother and his friend arrived in the afternoon, far too early for the evening show, but the band were already present so we passed the time having a football kick-about in the venue's car park with Mr. Fripp and other members of the band.

JimInMD, I didn't catch the Billy/Billie show at the Rocks last night, but instead hit my usual open mic night at a local bar, meeting up with women friends I haven't seen in more than a year. Mmmm... hugs and kisses.

Red Rocks poses a couple challenges: one is, are you ready to be in the middle of 10,000 partiers with the Delta variant raging through the younger demographic? Also, for bands that charge in the $75 range for gen'l admish, the resellers jack that up, ridiculously. I don't know if last night woulda been easier to get in, but Tedeschi Trucks' $75 gen'l admish tics for July 30 now run for north of $200. Lastly, I don't casually attend shows at the Rocks, never have. Mostly focus on one band, one or two nights, per year. Finally/lastly, blasphemy: I skip all the Dead offshoot bands, from Weir to Billy K to DSO. Hooked on the tapes as never before, just not spending on offshoots as I seek to retire. So it's money and crowd tolerance issues at my end.

As such, I'm clearly no longer the raving rave-ster of yore. Like when we ate Purple Dragon the afternoon of July 7, 1978 and looned about the Rocks, scaring young women and getting crazy long before showtime. I mean, that was only 43 years ago, but what a difference a nearly half-century makes in one's approach.

I'm not quite dead yet, but maintaining a slightly calmer public demeanor. Although we did yuk it up at the bar last night. All is well.

That is all.

Jim, you didn't give her my address I hope. Yikes!!
Doc, I was interested to see Miles is your #2 in collection size. He's mine also, so MUCH breadth and depth, his music alone could take you through so many different styles and changes. While Bill Frisell would be my 3rd largest collection of one artist, King Crimson is definitely 4th.
Saw them first in 1980, two days in a row, DC/Baltimore. Holy moley how powerful!! I've seen them through the years since then, but probably only 6-8 more times. I am hoping to make this 'farewell' tour. Fripp is great, but can be a little arrogant at times(He once claimed that Jimi Hendrix didn't even know how to hold a guitar pick "correctly").
There's not much better in my world than sharing a love of music with like minded others, and for that, I am grateful to everyone here.

Yo!! Rockers!!!

Believe it or not, I have a huge amount of KC recordings, coming in third behind Grateful Dead and Miles Davis. Regardless of era, the Crims have never been less than interesting and are often much more..........

My only gripe about Fripp (who is an ace guitar player) is that he has occasionally released suboptimal audience recordings, probably because sometimes those were the only recordings available............

Rock on,

Doc
What's another word for Thesaurus?

I haven't heard much of Robert Fripps pre King Crimson recordings. It must have been a hell of a thing, though, to see them support The Stones at Hyde Park in 1969. Sympathy For The Devil was one thing-but this was of a different order entirely.

I didn't see them in the 1970s, although I caught them twice in recent years-and they are stunning live-three drummers at the front of the stage and a set list to die for.

These Crimson box sets are pretty impressive too. My favourite is "Starless". But for sheer value for money and wealth of improvised music the "Heaven and Earth" box set takes some beating. I have had it a few years, and I have no where near got my head round it all. Whole shows improvised from beginning to end, under the title of Projekct recordings. Many of these are on the blu ray discs included. Late 90s -2000 or so they were recorded.

The equivalent in Dead terms to these Prokekct recordings would be if the band had played whole shows which consisted of nothing but drums and space.

Heard a snippet of "I Know You Rider" going out of the top of the 7th.

If Joe Buck wasn't so enamored with the sound of his own voice, I might have been able to pinpoint the show, or at least the era. Sounded pretty hot.

Oh, now out of the bottom of the 7th, Althea. I'll have to go back and listen if they did this every inning!

FYI.. I just got a text from Dennis' wife asking what the fluck a $345 charge was doing on their card from Rhino for the new Jim Stafford limited edition box set.

The Fripp/Crimson stuff often amazes me. Big fan and saw them a bunch in my youth.. hope to catch this tour if possible.

The GD still amazes me also.

Decided to stream Billy and the Kids at Red Rocks tonight.. so glad I did. Amazing. Jerry might be dead but the Grateful Dead lives on and some the folks yielding their own custom axes.. are right up there with him. Tom Hamilton and Billy Strings are amazing.. add in Carlos Santana who sat in on Billy's 75's in Hawaii and.. perhaps I made my point.

This music is 'almost' as strong as ever and it's still growing and picking up new musicians, new fans and seemingly accelerating.

Hoping/wishing HendrixFreak is alive and well and freaking feely in the crowd.

Shoutout to AJS.. our favorite sports (and GD) enthusiast.

My fumble. I had Mr Fripp as an Ex King, when he is still quite current. My apologies. Thanks!