Frame by Frame - The Essential King Crimson

Frame By Frame: The Essential King Crimson is a compilation (4-CD set) by the band King Crimson, released in 1991.

King Crimson are a rock band. Formed in London in 1968 (but featuring a transatlantic line-up since 1981), the band are widely recognised as a seminal group in the development of progressive rock (although the group members resist the label).[1] The band have incorporated diverse influences and approaches during their five-decade history (including jazz and folk music, classical and experimental music, psychedelic rock, hard rock and heavy metal,[2] new wave, gamelan, industrial, electronica and drum and bass) as well as balancing highly structured compositions against abstract improvisational sections and an interest in pop songs. The band has a large following, despite garnering little radio or music video airplay.[3]

With guitarist Robert Fripp as the only consistent member (and therefore considered to be the band's leader and motive force), King Crimson's line-up has persistently altered throughout its existence. Eighteen musicians and three lyricists have passed through the ranks, although the tenure of certain members has sometimes extended for decades. King Crimson's sound has varied according to its instrumentation - earlier line-ups featured prominent saxophone and keyboards, while subsequent line-ups replaced this with (variously) violin, innovative acoustic or electronic percussion, interlocking guitars or touch-style instruments. The band are notable for continuous engagement with contemporary music technology - in addition to Fripp's extensive work in loop music both in and out of the band, King Crimson pioneered the use of Mellotrons in the 1960s; Roland guitar synthesizers, Simmons electronic drums and the Chapman Stick in the 1980s; dense MIDI processing and the Warr Guitar in the 1990s, and Roland V-Drums in the 21st century. King Crimson's existence has been characterised by regular periods of hiatus (each of which have been initiated and concluded by Fripp). From 1997 until the present day, various subdivisions of King Crimson have continued to pursue aspects of the band's work and approaches via a series of related bands collectively referred to as "ProjeCts".



°Disc 1: 1969-1971

"21st Century Schizoid Man" (Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield) - 7:20
"I Talk to the Wind" (McDonald, Sinfield) - 6:05
"Epitaph" (Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield) - 8:44
"Moonchild" (Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield) - 2:26
abridged version, omitting the improv section of the song
"The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) - 9:25
"Peace: A Theme" (Fripp) - 1:16
"Cat Food" (Fripp, McDonald, Sinfield) - 2:45
single version
"Groon" (Fripp) - 3:31
previously featured on the compilation (2LP set) A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson (1976)
"Cadence and Cascade" (Fripp, Sinfield) - 4:10
new mix, replacing Gordon Haskell's original vocals with vocals performed by Adrian Belew, July 1991
"The Sailor's Tale" (Fripp) - 7:27
abridged version, removing approximately 3.5 seconds' worth of the cymbal introduction
"Ladies of the Road" (Fripp, Sinfield) - 5:31
"Bolero" (Fripp, Sinfield) - 6:45
new mix, replacing Gordon Haskell's original bass guitar with bass guitar performed by Tony Levin, June 1991

Tracks 1-5 from In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
Tracks 6-7 & 9 from In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)
Tracks 7-8 released as the single Cat Food/Groon in 1970
Track 12 from Lizard (1970)
Tracks 10-11 from Islands (1971)

Total Running Time - 67:47



°Disc 2: 1972-1974

"Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I)" (Bill Bruford, David Cross, Fripp, Jamie Muir, John Wetton) - 10:53
abridged version
"Book of Saturday" (Fripp, Richard Palmer-James, Wetton) - 2:53
"Easy Money" (Fripp, Palmer-James, Wetton) - 7:55
"Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)" (Fripp) - 7:09
"The Night Watch" (Fripp, Palmer-James, Wetton) - 4:40
"The Great Deceiver" (Fripp, Palmer-James, Wetton) - 4:03
"Fracture" (Fripp) - 6:57
abridged version
"Starless" (Bruford, Cross, Fripp, Palmer-James, Wetton) - 4:38
abridged version
"Red" (Fripp) - 6:17
"Fallen Angel" (Fripp, Palmer-James, Wetton) - 5:59
"One More Red Nightmare" (Fripp, Wetton) - 7:09

Tracks 1-4 from the album Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)
Tracks 5-7 from the album Starless and Bible Black (1974)
Tracks 8-11 from the album Red (1974)

Total Running Time - 69:08



°Disc 3: 1981-1984
All tracks on disc 3 written by Adrian Belew, Bruford, Fripp and Tony Levin, unless otherwise indicated.

"Elephant Talk" - 4:42
"Frame by Frame" - 5:08
"Matte Kudasai" - 3:48
"Thela Hun Ginjeet" - 6:26
"Heartbeat" - 3:54
"Waiting Man" - 4:22
"Neurotica" - 4:48
"Requiem" - 6:36
"Three of a Perfect Pair" - 4:11
"Sleepless" - 5:22
"Discipline" - 5:05
"The Sheltering Sky" - 8:16
"The King Crimson Barber Shop" (Levin) - 1:31
also featured on the compilation Heartbeat: The Abbreviated King Crimson (1991)
subsequently featured on the reissued version of the album Three of a Perfect Pair (1984)

Tracks 1-4 & 11-12 from the album Discipline (1981)
Tracks 5-8 from the album Beat (1982)
Tracks 9-10 from the album Three of a Perfect Pair

Total Running Time - 64:08



°Disc 4: Live 1969-1984

"Get Thy Bearings" (Donovan Leitch) - 9:21
recorded at Plumpton Racetrack (at the Ninth National Jazz and Blues Festival), Streat, UK, August 9, 1969
subsequently featured on the live album (4-CD set) Epitaph
"Travel Weary Capricorn" (Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield) - 4:23
recorded at Plumpton Racetrack (at the Ninth National Jazz and Blues Festival), Streat, UK, August 9, 1969
Subsequently featured on the live album (4-CD set) Epitaph
"Mars" (Gustav Holst) - 8:09
recorded at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, California, United States, December 14, 1969*
subsequently featured on the live album (4-CD set) Epitaph
"The Talking Drum" (Bruford, Cross, Fripp, Muir, Wetton) - 8:30
recorded at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, November 23, 1973
subsequently featured on the live album (2-CD set) The Night Watch (1997)
"21st Century Schizoid Man" (Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield) - 9:15
recorded at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, November 23, 1973
subsequently featured on the live album (2-CD set) The Night Watch
"Asbury Park" (Bill Bruford, Cross, Fripp, Wetton) - 6:52
recorded at the Casino, Asbury Park, New Jersey, June 28, 1974
previously featured on the live album USA (1975)
"Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part III)" (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin) - 2:35
recorded at Le Spectrum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 11, 1984
excerpt version; full version subsequently featured on the live album (2-CD set) Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal (1998)
"Sartori in Tangier" (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin) - 4:08
recorded at Le Spectrum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 11, 1984
subsequently featured on the live album (2-CD set) Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal
"Indiscipline" (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin) - 5:26
recorded at the Arena, Fréjus, France, August 27, 1982
subsequently featured on the live album (King Crimson Collectors' Club release) Live at Cap D'Agde (April 1999)

Total Running Time - 61:20