King Crimson
It was as if a vast cosmos of faint lights shining suddenly crystallized with the release of In The Court of the Crimson King. King Crimson's debut was music turned magical invocation, the force of creation funneled through the fingers of man. The band that would be king started innocently enough in the eponymous psychedelic outfit of Giles, Giles and Fripp. The addition of Greg Lake, Ian McDonald and lyricist Peter Sinfield in late 1968 provided guitarist Robert Fripp with the arsenal he needed to break down the wall between music and art, something that bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd had chipped away at since the late '60s. Though the band's second album, In The Wake of Poseidon, continued to win them admirers, subsequent lineup changes soon proved distracting. Lizard and Islands, despite moments of brilliance, thrust its new recruits into the battle unprepared. With the addition of John Wetton, Bill Bruford and David Cross, King Crimson found a measure of stability and skill that allowed Fripp to craft the band's original chaos into a refined formula, a unique amalgam of pomp and perfectionism, destruction and discipline. However, by the mid '70s the band proved unworkable, with Fripp retiring to a solo career and session work (the remaining members of the band resurfaced briefly in UK). Crimson's death turned out to be dormancy when Fripp and Bruford returned in 1981 (with Tony Levin and Adrian Belew) on a new album, Discipline. Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair followed, the re-vamped Crimson cultivating a new audience with its uncanny precision and exotic textures that incorporated some of contemporary music's conventions. A second state of hibernation followed, this time tentatively broken by a series of releases in the mid '90s. Though Crimson is no longer the commercial force it once was, founder Robert Fripp continues to push his music forward. New works by Fripp, King Crimson and Bill Bruford can be found on Fripp's own Discipline label.
| Date | ALBUMS / Singles |
|---|---|
| 1969 October | In The Court of the Crimson King |
| 1969 October | IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING |
| 1970 March 13 | Cat Food |
| 1970 May 15 | IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON |
| 1970 December | LIZARD |
| 1971 December | ISLANDS |
| 1972 June | EARTHBOUND |
| 1973 March | LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC |
| 1974 February | The Night Watch |
| 1974 February | STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK |
| 1974 October | RED |
| 1975 April | U.S.A. |
| 1976 February | A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO KING CRIMSON |
| 1976 February | 21st Century Schizoid Man |
| 1981 September | DISCIPLINE |
| 1981 November | Matte Kudasai |
| 1982 June | BEAT |
| 1982 June | Heartbeat |
| 1984 February | Sleepless |
| 1984 March 27 | THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR |
| 1984 | Three of a Perfect Pair |
| 1986 December | THE COMPACT KING CRIMSON |
| 1991 October 11 | HEARTBEAT - ABBREVIATED KING CRIMSON |
| 1991 December | FRAME BY FRAME: THE ESSENTIAL KING CRIMSON |
| 1992 October 30 | THE GREAT DECEIVER (LIVE 1973-1974) |
| 1993 October 19 | SLEEPLESS: THE CONCISE KING CRIMSON |
| 1994 December | VROOM (EP) |
| 1995 | DINOSAUR (EP) |
| 1995 | SEX, SLEEP, EAT, DRINK, DREAM (EP) |
| 1995 April 25 | THRAK |
| 1995 August 18 | B'BOOM: OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK - LIVE IN ARGENTINA |
| 1996 June 25 | THRaKaTTaK |
| 1996 | SCHIZOID MAN (EP) |
| 1997 April 15 | EPITAPH |
| 1998 January 13 | THE NIGHT WATCH |
| 1998 April 7 | SPACE GROOVE |
| 1998 June 23 | ABSENT LOVERS: LIVE IN MONTREAL 1984 |
| 1998 October 13 | SOMETIMES GOD SMILES: THE YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO DISCIPLINE VOLUME 2 |
| 1999 April 13 | CIRKUS |
| 1999 September 28 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME ONE |
| 1999 October 26 | THE PROJEKCTS |
| 1999 October 26 | DECEPTION OF THRUSH |
| 2000 January 25 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME TWO |
| 2000 April | LIVE AT SUMMIT STUDIOS, 1972 |
| 2000 May 23 | CONSTRUKCTION OF LIGHT |
| 2000 August 8 | BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO PROJEKCTS |
| 2000 August 8 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME THREE |
| 2000 November 7 | HEAVY CONSTRUKCTION |
| 2001 November 13 | VROOOM VROOOM |
| 2001 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME FOUR |
| 2001 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME FIVE |
| 2002 October 8 | HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY WITH (EP) |
| 2002 | LEVEL FIVE (EP) |
| 2003 March 4 | THE POWER TO BELIEVE |
| 2003 December 15 | ELEKTRIK |
| 2005 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME NINE |
| 2005 | THE 21ST CENTURY GUIDE TO KING CRIMSON VOLUME TWO 1981-2003 |
| 2006 | THE COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON VOLUME TEN |
| 2006 | THE CONDENSED 21ST CENTURY GUIDE TO KING CRIMSON 1969-2003 |
| 2006 | THE COLLECTABLE KING CRIMSON VOLUME ONE |
| 2007 | THE COLLECTABLE KING CRIMSON VOLUME TWO |
| 2007 | COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON BOX 1 1969 |
| 2007 | COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON BOX 2 1971-1972 |
| 2007 | COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON BOX 3 1972-1974 |
| 2007 | COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON BOX 5 1995 AND AFTER |
| 2007 | COLLECTORS' KING CRIMSON BOX 7 SESSIONS & REHERSALS |
| 2008 May | THE COLLECTABLE KING CRIMSON VOLUME THREE |
| 2009 April 18 | 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR BOX |
| 2009 May | THE COLLECTABLE KING CRIMSON VOLUME FOUR |
| 2009 June 30 | IN CONCERT TOKYO 1995 |
SEE ALSO...
ADRIAN BELEW discography
BILL BRUFORD discography
ROBERT FRIPP discography
GREG LAKE discography
UK discography
JOHN WETTON discography
The Roches: Keep On Doing
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