THE COMPACT KING CRIMSON

"The Compact King Crimson" is a compilation of King Crimson and was released in 1986. This is a compilation album that comprises only tracks from four of the studio albums of King Crimson, "In The Court Of The Crimson King", "Discipline", "Beat" and "Three Of A Perfect Pair". It means that only covers their debut studio album and their eighth, ninth and tenth studio albums. So, the six studio albums released, in between, aren't represented on this compilation.

"The Compact King Crimson" has twelve tracks. The first track "Discipline" is from "Discipline". It uses the skills of all group members to create a successful whole. I like the way how Fripp and Belew's guitars weave through each other, creating order out of controlled chaos. It proves the profound chemistry between two of the most thought provoking guitarists. The second track "Thela Hun Ginjeet" is from "Discipline". It's a rather curious and strange song. It's perhaps, the most erratic song on that album but doesn't disappoint. It's funky, spaced out and weirdly fun, but it still has a strict King Crimson's very own personality, and a truly notable bass line and an incredible drum work. The third track "Matte Kudasai" is from "Discipline". It's a very beautiful and nostalgic song. The instrumental backing contains itself a great mood to the song. This track also features the best vocals on that album and proves that Belew is a fine singer. The fourth track "Three Of A Perfect Pair" is from "Three Of A Perfect Pair". It has tight harmony vocals from Belew that soar over top of some intricate guitar work from Fripp and a great drum work of Bruford. This is a very solid track. The fifth track "Frame By Frame" is from "Discipline". It represents another great musical moment. It's a more subtle work with some amazing band's instrumental passages and some tasteful guitar duets. Fripp's own performance of an extremely fast and repetitious guitar work, is simply amazing, and Bruford's drum work which ranks among the best of his career. The sixth track "Sleepless" is from "Three Of A Perfect Pair". It begins with a fast bass line that is soon joined by Bruford's bass drum beat and Fripp's altered guitar sound. It sounds very nice. However, this is probably my least favourite song on that album. The seventh track "Heartbeat" is from "Beat". It has beautiful guitar tones, a good bass line and nice lyrics and vocals. This is undeniably a cheesy and pop song. But, this is still a great song. Probably, you may actually hear it on the radio from time to time, which is a real rarity with King Crimson. The eighth track "Elephant Talk" is from "Discipline". The four players twisted and turn their way through an unbelievably complicated and yet somehow almost danceable. Fripp and Belew guitar works are excellent making a very powerful force, showing a great chemistry between both. The ninth track "21st Century Schizoid Man" including "Mirrors" is from "In The Court Of Crimson King". It's the heaviest song on that album and it's close to the hard rock style. It's a short metaphoric poem that makes references to the Vietnam War. It's a great musical improvisation with jazz influences. It's accompanied by Lake's notable distorted vocals. It must have been quite a shock for the listeners in those days. It's different from what they had heard before. It became important and influential to the future progressive metal style. The tenth track "I Talk To The Wind" is from "In The Court Of The Crimson King". It's the most melodic song on that album. It's a serene, simple and peaceful song commanded by McDonald's flute, very well accompanied by Sinfield's lyrics and sung beautifully by Lake, in a very quiet mood. The eleventh track "Epitaph" including "March For No Reason" and "Tomorrow And Tomorrow" is from "In The Court Of The Crimson King". It's a notable and beautiful track, which would become one of the best and most beautiful symbols of progressive music. It's one of my favourite progressive songs too. The twelfth track "In The Court Of The Crimson King" including "The Return Of The Fire Witch" and "The Dance Of The Puppets" is from "In The Court Of The Crimson King". It became, with "Epitaph", as one of the best and most beautiful symbols of the progressive rock music. It represents a hymn to the symphonic progressive rock music, really.

Compilation: This is a very strange compilation of King Crimson indeed. The first half of it is from the 80's period, which means that those tracks belong only to three albums, "Discipline", "Beat" and "Three Of A Perfect Pair". The second half is entirely filled by tracks from "In The Court Of The Crimson King". So, it seems to me a very weird mix and vey incomplete too. The excellence of the four tracks of "In The Court Of The Crimson King" is absolutely fair and made the purchase entirely worthwhile. But, it seems to me very difficult to understand the absence of tracks of their albums released during the 70's, which are all great or even excellent. About the three albums of the 80's, in my humble opinion, they're very different in terms of quality. If "Discipline" is a masterpiece, one of the best prog albums made in the 80's and if "Three Of A Perfect Pair" is very good, "Beat" is definetely a less good album, indeed. By the other hand, the inclusion of so different tracks from so different eras of King Crimson is very weird and the final result is a very questionable mix. So, I'm going to rate this compilation with only 2 stars. It's a compilation for collectors and fans only.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Share this KING CRIMSON review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to VianaProghead
• Report this review (#2463108)
• Buy KING CRIMSON music online with PA partners
• Show all KING CRIMSON MP3/Stream
• Go to KING CRIMSON page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Compact King Crimson page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for KING CRIMSON related discussions