Robert Fripp did some interesting things during his late ’70s King Crimson hiatus. He produced a lot of albums, notably the second Peter Gabriel solo album and Sacred Songs by Daryl Hall. He also performed as a guest musician on a number of albums including what might be his most well-known (if unidentified as such) guitar part ever, on the David Bowie track “Heroes.”
And, he released his own outstanding solo album, Exposure. But I think, on reflection, the thing he did that was the most surprising and of the most enduring interest was to form a punk band, The League of Gentlemen. It was a shortlived arrangement, with the return of King Crimson looming, but nevertheless, the band’s small body of work answers the (unasked) question: Can Robert Fripp do punk? And would it be any good? I think the answer to both questions is “yes.”
King Crimson’s a bit hard to come by on YouTube, presumably because Robert Fripp is extremely protective of his intellectual property. But for some reason, appearances on Old Grey Whistle Test seem to trump all. That makes me happy, because this is a pretty fantastic video of the great ’80s lineup of King Crimson playing what is probably my favorite song from that era.
The last post got me interested in tracking down some more footage of Robert Fripp’s various collaborations. Most of these have only held passing interest for me, but the one that has managed to enter the canon of albums I listen to frequently is his 1993 album with former Japan vocalist David Sylvian, The First Day.
This video of a live performance of the album’s lead-off track is especially interesting as it also features Trey Gunn on stick and Pat Mastelotto on drums, both of whom would join a reformed and expanded King Crimson the following year.
Since it is now officially summer (as of yesterday, I realize), I wanted to celebrate with a “summer” track. Unfortunately the only prog tracks I have with “summer” in the title are “Blood Red Summer” by Coheed and Cambria (which I have already featured) and Rush’s cover of the Who’s cover of “Summertime Blues.”
But I did find this music video recorded by Andy Summers and Robert Fripp for the title track from their 1982 collaboration. 1982 was an interesting year. MTV was just getting big (you know, back when they actually showed music videos), The Police were huge, and Robert Fripp was busy. Strangely, those forces came together to produce this odd artifact, seemingly heavily influenced by the title sequences of Roger Moore-era James Bond films as much as by the dancing that typically accompanies gamelan music (which itself influenced the music on the album).
This track has added significance for me, as it was a stylistic inspiration for “At the End of the Day (Is the Night),” the third track on my recent solo EP, Burnt Snow.
If you’re interested in more cheesy Robert Fripp promos from the pre- and early-MTV era, be sure to also check out this video for the title track from his 1979 solo album Exposure.
The sound here is not great, but it’s rare to find live footage of the fearless mid-’70s King Crimson lineup in action, so it’s worth enduring any shortcomings in the recording. First we hear “Easy Money,” the closest thing to a “hit single” from Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. Then in the second clip the band segues into one of their signature improvs.
The two bands most conspicuously absent from the exhibit so far are undoubtedly Genesis and King Crimson. I was really hoping to find a rare gem from Genesis, like something from the elusive Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour, their last with Peter Gabriel. I found a few, but none were of the quality I was hoping for. Instead, I’ll offer up this surprising find from the brief period in 1973 when King Crimson operated as a quintet, before the… er, unique… Jamie Muir fled to a monastery, and Robert Fripp fled to a barber.
This looks to be from the Beat Club in Bremen, Germany. You’ll see plenty of clips from the late ’60s and early ’70s at Bremen’s Beat Club on VH1 Classic or YouTube, and they are all more-or-less the same: gaudy overuse of low-budget psychedelic video effects; inexplicable superimposition of the band’s name halfway through the performance, followed by a personnel list with unnecessary instrument name abbreviations. (Really? You couldn’t fit “ums” next to the “dr” right there?)
