[stewgriff]

Bought this album (track listing here) a week ago, since I saw it being lonely between B.B. King and Korn at a local FYE...

Best $15 I've spent in a long while. I've listened to ITCOTCK, and I thought it was good, but my dislike of overblown prog (ELP) kept me from buying more. What a mistake. 32 tracks here, with a good representation of the most accessible cuts from all of King Crimson's studio albums. I knew they'd made good with ITCOTCK, but after Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Red, Discipline, etc...hell, even the new tracks are great; for a bunch of 50-60 year old farts, they still rock as hard, if not as originally, as in the 1970's. It's awesome how they can retain the originality and experimentation of the best of prog, while still keeping an ear to sensibility and excitement. I haven't been hit this hard by a group since Pink Floyd...

Where should I go from here?

 

[Xakepa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewgriff /img/forum/go_quote.gif bunch of 50-60 year old farts...Where should I go from here?

...go to school

 

[stewgriff]

Eh, already out for the weekend. Just saying, for that age, they should be making sappy melodies a la Elton John or desperately trying to hide their obvious aging a la Rolling Stones...

Come on, any suggestions for King Crimson albums? I'd like a good sampler of their live stuff.

 

[asmox]

Check out The ProjeKcts.

Four discs of live King Crimson improv, with each disc featuring a slightly different lineup. Definitely one of my favorite KC releases.

 

[Sordel]

I made do with The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson for several years, and when The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson came out (on eight CDs) I upgraded to that, thinking that there was no way that I would ever need more. Actually, though, KC is pretty addictive and I can foresee moving to the individual albums at some point. Red is the obvious first port of call, I think, though I may be checking out The ProjeKcts myself.

 

[BillC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewgriff /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't been hit this hard by a group since Pink Floyd... Where should I go from here?

Just decide which cuts you like best off the compilation you bought and explore the album/period it came from. KC has constantly evolved with the only constant being Robert Fripp. I divide their history up into four main pieces:

(I'm not much for "genre-izing" music so take this with a grain of salt)

Psychedelic Prog: COTCK, Wake of Poseidon

Art-Rock Prog: Lizards, Islands, Larks Tongue in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, Red

80's Crimson: Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair

Modern Crimson: Thrak, VROOM, etc

I'm a fan of all of their music but find myself listening to the 80's lineup and the COTCK the most. The other two periods (as I group them) are much less accessible and take more concentration from me to enjoy.

 

[GlendaleViper]

I found going sequential through the discography to be a good method, though my personal favourites are actually Larks' Tongues in Aspic and probably ITCOTCK.

 

[bwu]

Ha, I had a really similar experience to the OP's - when I first heard KC they hit me harder than any group I'd yet heard other than Pink Floyd. Also, I share a disdain for bombastic proggy-prog like ELP. With that in mind, I strongly recommend the trilogy of classic 70s albums - Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and Red. If anything, though, the live albums from that period are even more essential - USA is a good introduction but springing for the full 4-disc box set The Great Deceiver would be even better!

From the more recent stuff, Discipline is solid (I can take or leave the other 80s studio albums, although the live Absent Lovers is fabulous), and of the 90-00s material, once again the live stuff is the best. VROOOM VROOOM and Heavy ConstruKction are both way better than the last couple studio albums IMHO.

There are a bunch of reviews of KC albums on the website I run, here.

Of all the "classic" 70s prog bands, King Crimson is the only one I fully respect through all their periods, and pretty much the only one I still listen to on a regular basis.

 

[markl]

I have both of the 4CD box set versions of 21st century guides- 2CDs of studio, 2CDs of live in each one. For me, this is all I'll ever need.