King Crimson - "THRAK" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2019/1995 (Discipline Global Mobile)

I wrote about King Crimson's 1995 album "THRAK" a little awhile ago, concerning the CD release of this album. Listening to it again (and again) "THRAK" is King Crimson's best album. The sound of two guitars (or more overdubs), two basses, and two drummers, in other words, a double-trio setting makes the sound hard with moments of softness that is truly beautiful. "Coda: Marine 475 is like the greatest Yardbirds rave-up within under three-minutes. I have never been a mega-fan of Adrian Belew's writing, but here he shines as both writer and guitarist. "THRAK" is an accurate title to this work, because that is the overall sound of the album. 

The music is orchestral and very contained in the hands of Robert Fripp and company. Fripp is the Duke Ellington of this band, and he knows how to obtain a singular focus, while still showing each musician's character and trademark. Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto work brilliantly together to give loose almost chaotic rhythms to match the sweetness and mostly the harshness of the guitars. My favorite guitar albums are the first Television and Feelies albums, and "THRAK" is another excellent guitar record. 

King Crimson - "THRAK" CD, Album, 1995 (Virgin)

I have entered into the forbidden.  For the past year or so, I  have been listening to King Crimson, a band that I once avoided due that I couldn't stand the word "Prog."   Prejudice is an ugly thing to have in one's life, but in my fashion, I slowly started listening to the first five King Crimson albums and realized that I enjoy the music due to the intensity of the band's playing, but also their compositional streak.  In a way, it reminds me of Duke Ellington, not in style, but the fact that Robert Fripp has firm control of the band, but yet allows each musician to participate in the overall sound of the project on hand. "THRAK" is the only album I have that features guitarist and lyricist Adrian Belew in the King Crimson line up.

"THRAK" is a right name for this album, because that is what it sounds like.  It's a tense, textural record with incredible percussion flourishes, but also the intensity of the guitars riffing against each other, but with the overall approach of Fripp's soundscaping, that in a sense is the foundation of this work.   Of the King Crimson albums I own and listened to, "THRAK" is by far the heaviest due to the force of the instrumentals and some of the vocal works.  As usual, I think the weak link to King Crimson is the lyrics.  Whatever it is by Belew or others, it seems to be second thought compared to the sound of the music.   

Moreover, it's the sound of the recording and arrangements that give it a full sonic plate.   The beauty of Fripp and company is that they do look back, but always go forward.  The unique line up of a double trio or having two percussionists (Pat Mastelotto & Bill Bruford), two bassists (Tony Levin & Trey Gunn), two guitarists (Fripp & Belew), is that it's not a mess, but again, like an Ellington big band, it fits the entire motif of the big sound. 

David Bowie - "Welcome to the Blackout (Live in London '78) 3 x Vinyl, 2018 (Parlophone)

If I can look into the fortune teller's crystal ball, I can safely predict that there will be many more live David Bowie albums in the coming years.   Which by the way, I'm not complaining.   "Welcome to the Blackout" was recorded on June 30, and July 1, 1978, and the last shows of this particular tour.  Oddly enough I do not have "Stage" in my collection, so I can't make the comparisons between the two live albums, which were both recorded on the same tour.  On the other hand, it's an exciting mix of musicians backing Bowie up.  There's the Station to Station lineup of George Murray, Carlos Alomar, and Dennis Davis - a powerful rhythm section with Alomar mostly on rhythm guitar. Then there is the arty side, which is Adrian Belew, Roger Powell (from Todd's Utopia), Sean Mayes, and violinist Simon House who played with Hawkwind.

If this were a sandwich, Murray/Alomar/Davis would be the meat, and the others are expensive dressings on those two pieces of bread.  It's a terrific band, but on record, I think I prefer the Station to Station group because it was more focused and had a more of an attack on the material.  The songs on this album are almost speeding metal versions, in that the pacing is upbeat, and goes quite quickly.  Bowie's vocals and pronunciations are perfectly pitched and entirely understandable.  The Ziggy Stardust side doesn't allow any space or silence between the songs.  It's one rush of a full-length melody that is effective.  Their version of "Ziggy Stardust" is very textured and exciting interplay between the electric violin and Belew's guitar.  

The material is very much Ziggy (all in one go) with a few songs from "Station to Station" and the rest from "Low" and "Heroes."  Oh, and there is an excellent Weill/Brecht song as well.  A must for the collection or completist, but is it essential?   Tony Visconti did the original recording of the album, and Bowie did finish this live album at the time, but forever reasons, was never released until now.  Perhaps Bowie himself is a completionist as well.