Errors-To: admin at elephant-talk dot com Reply-To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Sender: moderator at elephant-talk dot com Precedence: bulk From: moderator at elephant-talk dot com To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Subject: Elephant Talk #1055 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 1055 Friday, 8 November 2002 Today's Topics: Les Claypool Review HWWYHTBHW on 1st listen Re: Ladies of the Road = ripoff? Pretty content with happy Mono ITCOTCK THe absolution of belief 5 topics from a creative fan Pix of Tony Levin in Mexico City (SKCC) FAYMAN/FRIPP: A WALK IN THE CLOUDS "The Power to Believe" | RF Diary BILFORD (SOFT) "RHYTHM) MACHINE" Bruford's limitations? Re: A reflection on Lizard and Andy McCulloch Bill Bruford Re: The Eno Connection Hey Psycho Ladies on the Road Re: Grand Funk Railroad Power To Believe TraKclist Dream T, Bill B, and other things to be Happy with? so much for no expectations ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to newsletter at elephant-talk dot com To UNSUBSCRIBE, or to CHANGE ADDRESS: Send a message with a body of HELP to admin at elephant-talk dot com or use the DIY list machine at http://www.elephant-talk.com/list/ To ASK FOR HELP about your ET subscription: Send a message to: help at elephant-talk dot com ET Web: http://www.elephant-talk.com/ Read the ET FAQ before you post a question at http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq.htm Current TOUR DATES info can always be found at http://www.elephant-talk.com/gigs/tourdates.shtml You can read the most recent ten editions of ET at http://www.elephant-talk.com/newsletter.htm THE ET TEAM: Toby Howard (Moderator), Dan Kirkdorffer (Webmaster) Mike Dickson (List Admin), and a cast of thousands. The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. ET is produced using John Relph's Digest system v3.7b (relph at sgi dot com). ------------------ A I V I R T S I N I M D A --------------------- Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 14:56:41 -0500 From: "Jordan Clifford" Subject: Les Claypool Review Hello All i thought since Les Claypool, his music and the music he chooses to cover are of interest to many of you readers out there that I might review his live show. Last night I went to see Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade in Hartford, CT. It's the third time ive seen them, but only the first where it is their show and could play a 2 hour + set. I thought it was a very good show. The opening band impressed me very much. A trio called Deadweight. An electric violin player/singer, a wild really talented cello player and a drummer playing strange twangy metal influenced string rock music? i have no idea waht to call it, but they are worth checking out. Les opened with Thela Hun Ginjeet, which really made me happy. They closed with and encore of Peter Gabriels "The Intruder" which was pretty cool, however after the show i talked to the guitarist who told me they were going to encore with "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" which would have been incredible, but Les was sick and wasn't feeling it for some reason. But I've seen them play that song live, so just because of how rare it probably is for them to play The Intruder, i'm happy they did. The rest of the set was very satisfying. I got the new album when it came out and i dig it, but the songs are all much better live. The band has changed though. If anyone knows the old band they used to have a keyboard player, now they have a percussionist/xylophone player instead, and a new drummer. These two did a really long(too long) improv drum solo taht didnt really flow. having seen much better live improv/jamming and musicians play off eachother I wasn't as impressed as some of the other people at the show, but it was still good. But you could tell they weren't on the same frequency, and you could see the percussionist often wanted to end it/or keep it going while the drummer did the opposite. not a good sign. The best part about that was that they used that as the bands break between sets so you still had interesting music goig on while the rest of the band rested, and they came back for another set. i feel bad that the drummers didnt get a break. So I definately prefer the keyboard player to the percusionist, but he adds a really cool vibe and it was REALLY cool to have him playing extra drums during Thela, it sounded as intense as it might be for the Double Trio to play it. The worst part about the show was definately the crowd. Being more jam band oriented now, i thought the crowd would be more of a hippie crowd. I thought wrong. apparently even after 3 years of being with the Frog Brigade hardcore metal-type primus fans still turn out to see waht he has in store. which is GREAT. im a hardcore diehard primus fan. but i dont MOSH during non-moshing songs. i dont SCREAM out things like "PRIMUS SUCKS!" during OTHER SONGS. what kind of an idiot thinks an amazing musician like Les Claypool wants to have drunk morons scream shit, especailly names of songs he definatley wont play, during new songs he just wrote and is performing for a group of fans who payed to see him play. BLECK. after the show I met Les and he signed my ticket stub. nothing too exciting cause he was sick and not in the mood to do the whole autograph/talking to fans thing.. but he did anyway. but you knew he didnt want to, so i give him credit for that. anyhow, he never fails to amaze me. he is an absolute wizard on the bass. he played upright bass, fretless, a one-string upright stick bass (which i saw him use 2 years ago during a jam that he eventually worked into an awesmoe song on the new album) and all sorts of things. All in all, it was a very good show. My only complaint about the band is even though its obvious that its a group of good musicians who want to experiment with great music.. but they also need to know when enough is enough. the drum solo went way overboard into nowhere. and as much as i enjoy it most of the time, not every player has to solo during every song. Also, Scherik (?)'s sax has all these manipulations to it so his sax solos sound like screeching guitar solos. sometimes its really awesome, sometimes it makes me miss the regular old sax. Still, these complaints are not too bad in the scheme of how great the band is and what a great live show they/Les does. thanks.. I hope it wasnt too much Non-King Crimson stuff. I was goig to ask him if he thought about covering any other KC songs, but i knew he wasnt in the mood. Jordan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 19:53:37 -0600 From: "Buzz Fenner" Subject: HWWYHTBHW on 1st listen Got it out of my mailbox today after getting in from the gym, put it on, turned it up, and sat down. 30 minutes later I'm thinking, "Damn, I thought I'd heard everything..." Buzz Fenner mailto:bfenner at bscn dot com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 10:07:16 -0000 From: Sandy Starr Subject: Re: RE: Ladies of the Road = ripoff? Just one further thing to add on the 'Ladies of the Road' release. This is an excerpt from Ian Wallace's diary at Krimson News: 'When I reviewed the Ladies of the Road CD, I was only sent the first one. I received the second one much later. Too late to include in my liner notes, it consists of solos by Mel and Robert, played over the time that the Islands band where together. It has been spliced together in such a way that it sounds like one continuous piece of music. I don't know if any of the tempos where doctored but I don't think they where, because I don't think we could possibly have played it any faster, and also in those days we didn't have those convenient little electronic metronomes to rely on, so we learnt and inwardly digested tempos, and every solo sounds to me like it's at the same BPM. It has some interesting changes to it and it is very, very intense. In fact, when it finally finished, I was exhausted. It is an incredible piece of music and I think anyone who drives whilst listening to it will get stopped for speeding.' I think that we can look forward to the Schizoid Men second disc of 'Ladies of the Road' being something new, and yet old, but wonderful. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 06:44:43 -0800 (PST) From: Man In Space Subject: Pretty content with happy KC2k is my fave Crim. It is also one of my current fave bands alltogether. Tcol is my fave studioalbum, despite of its sound, and everything since has gotten even better, with the latest KCCC Nashville as a highpoint. But I wasnt expecting too much about Happy, after reading the reviews. I suspected I wouldnt enjoy the haikus, since I dont care much for that kind of segueing/filling. I was right. Im not a fan of Metallica (to put it mildly), so I didnt have high hopes for the title track. Now, it doesnt sound like Metallica to me, but apart from the piece with the titleline, it sounds like several young metal bands. Not worse, not better, but not special either. I like the song fine, but I dont think I will play it much, especially after a while. The soundscape is good, but it remains a teaser since its so short. If someone played me Eyes Wide Open, without knowing where it came from, I would have suspected that the Crimmers had assisted Ade on one of his soloalbums. I love Ades contribution to Crim and lots of other artists, but Im not crazy about his soloworks. I love ProzaKc Blues. I cant stand bluesrock generally, but Ade took the lyrical cliches and made again a very witty lyric with it. His guitarriff is a monster, the polyrhythms are both swinging and funny, and I love Pats crazy Vsounds. I miss the latter on the newer work, for me, he can leave his D&W home anytime. Potatoe Pie is the 10 millionth typical bluesrock song. LTIA4, my fave ltia so far, has got a very good remix, so thats great. The hidden track is very funny. Swwwwwwweet. Overall, I dont have the impression that this is music that only King Crimson can play, as Robert puts it. The sound is great however (although I prefer the PX Vdrumsound), and I look forward to hear the new stuff from the Nashville cd with that sound on The Power To Believe. And who knows how the songs from Happy will evolve. Im more a scientific than believing kind a guy, but I certainly got hope for the new album. Slukes, Jan ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 16:32:24 -0800 (PST) From: Mike Healy Subject: Mono ITCOTCK I've seen a couple of things regarding a mono mix of the In The Court Of The Crimson King album. Was it released mono over in the UK? And if it was, was it a different mix, or just stereo-compressed mono? There's a bootleg CD of this out, and was wondering if anyone had any information on this. Thank you! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 18:10:17 +0000 From: "satan's right hand" Subject: THe absolution of belief So the new EP, the forth coming album, and press release...what does it add up to? This new EP is very listenable, whatever that means. nothing annoys me. Nothing makes me cringe. I felt long ago that something grand was in the air--that this new album had the chance to be the greatest album KC ever put out. after reading fripp's diary, I have to conclude this will be the most listenable, smooth, flowing album that any group of musicians under the guise of King Jism has ever put out. If not the greatest and most challenging, then at least the afore mentioned adjectives. From viewing the track listing for TPTB...it has a continual thread in the title track. It contains songs that I was excited about(level five songs). The only thing I'm concerned about at this point(before I even hear the album) is the order of the tracks. Meaning: after hearing "HWWYHTBHW" as pretty much the opening track on that EP, as well as hearing "Dangerous Curves" at the head of Level Five, how will they fit into the overall picture of TPTB when they come later? Anyway, as the end of the press release states--"...The Power To Believe is the culmination of three years of Crimsonising by Line-up Six that began at StudioBelew, Nashville, in October 1999 with the writing and recording of The ConstruKction Of Light, followed by extensive touring in Europe, Japan & the Americas throughout 2000 & 2001." This means to me this is the definitive statement for this lineup and after this album I have to wonder whether they will go on. The music will decide this I suppose. Jeramaya "there are worse things than being alone but it often takes decades to realize this and most often when you do it's too late and there's nothing worse than too late." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 15:32:34 EST From: Johnakni at aol dot com Subject: 5 topics from a creative fan Hello,I wanted to address 5 topics that have been circulating around Elephant-talk for the last few months. None of them are on Toby's forbidden list so far,luckily. I have written a few things here before. I come from the creative variety of krimso fans as opposed to the destructive ones that Adrian was complaing about in prozaKC blues. 1.Radiophonics. King Crimson and Robert Fripp have appeared in soundtracks in the 70's. It was revealed in this newsletter before that Devil's Triangle appeared in Dr.Who. I also remember Oh Well by Fleetwood Mac appearing in the same era IE the Jon Pertwee era. I recommend Then Play On by Fleetwood Mac to all King Crimson fans which is weird album where they were changing from a heavy blues band into a Turkish psychedelic band. Fripp and Eno also are on the original Hitchikers Guide Of The Galaxy Radio broadcast. Weird krautrock(see below) bands as well as Stockhausen also are on there. Interestingly, the people who did the sound effects for that were called the Radiophonics Workshop who later went on to do do Dr.Who after Ron Granier and Dudley Simpson left. The other Dr Who connection has not been confrimed for the 80's. The controversial Robert Fripp interview form musician in 1989 provides a clue. If only Elephant Talk would reprint it for the archives. Fripp says he did the soundtrack to a certain children's series,but was let go for it being too scary. There is one mid 80's episode which sounds very Fripplike. We shall have to see what the other king crimson/Dr.Who fans have to say. Rememeber:Toyah is a huge fan of Dr. Who. There have also been some murmurings about the Prisoner soundtrack from 1968.There are at least 4 albums,I have two. Many of the Albert Elms compositions should stand out to krimso fans as to sounding very familiar. Specifically,the Lark's tongue In Aspic 2 riff appears many times and even the Starless siren guitar is there. We cannot officially conclude Fripp ripped off the Prisoner soundtrack. perhaps the session guitarist for Albert Elms was a fellow Don Strike guitar student. Or maybe both certain king crimson riffs and The Prisoner soundtracks are ultimately derived from the same Debussey/Ravel/Bartok/Stravinsky compositions. The third thing I had to say about Radiophonics are the effects themselves. There has a lot of talk about how to get the same gear as Fripp and so forth. That can cost a guitarist to go like $60,000 in debt. Luckily,I accidentally discovered how anybody can make radiophonics in their basement for only about $200. All you need is a guitar and two effects called the Harmonist. The harmonist is a double pitch shifter which keeps the original voice. Hook two of them up to your guitar,and the fun begins. I won't say exactly how to hook up them. The joy comes in the discovery. If anybody is interested,I recorded some fake radiophonics on the second and third albums by my group F.Lawrence Grassen & The Floating Gondulas. We also have a Sunra-esque synth player and on the third CD, a saxophonist who used to play with Stockhausen. There are other abstract elements which cannot be compared to any other music. Contact me in private for more details. 2.Tool/King Crimson If any people out there were converted from Tool fans to king crimson fans or vice versa,and you are thinking of forming a duel cover band,but can't think of a name,you can use this name: Expectation Is Prison Sex 3.Is King Crimson A Cover Band? I was wondering why nobody seems to alarmed that the king crimson song Seizure sounds just like the Aerosmith song Lord Of The Thighs. Once again,we can't necessarily assume King Crimson ripped off Areosmith. Perhaps both songs ar both ultimately derived from some obscureYardbirds or Bo Diddly song. 4.Fripp/Frith/Braxton I talked to Fred Frith in July 1998 about the tuning controversy. He said that it is a fact that he invented the new tuning in fifths. But Fripp took it from him because he wasn't using it for anything. Remember that both lived in New York in the late 70's and early 80's. Frith said he used to go to all of Fripp's concerts back in the day,but Fripp wouldn't go to his. There is one person who should know for sure about the tuning controversy. This is a person who was not only a guitarcraft student but also a Frith student.This is Myles Boisen, a guitarist/bassist/producer based out of the Bay Area. His main group was Splatter Trio(not Cell). My favorite album is the tribute they did with Debris to Anthony Braxton called Jump Or Die. I highly recommend Anthony Braxton albums to krimso fans. His CD's are found in the jazz section of sotres even though he is rejected by the jazz community,like Marsalis, for not"swinging." His solos are the only saxophone equivalent I have encountered so far to Fripp. Braxton's compositions combine structure and improvization which can only be compared to King Crimson's live shows. For fans of thrak Attak,I suggest the Anthony Braxton Quartet live in Coventry double cd on Leo. it sound like Thrak Attak,even though there are no electric instruments,somehow. The only other direct Braxton/King Crimson connection I could think of besides Myles Boisen is that Marc Charig does a great cornet solo on a Braxton song on a Barry Guy free jazz composers' orchestra double cd. Of course,all the other British free jazz musicians are on those cd's as well. A descendent of Centipede. 5.Krautrock After listening to Brondesbury Tapes, I was amazed how much the later songs spounded to my ears like vintage Amon Duul II. Anything from 1969 to 1975 are the good albums if anybody is interested. johnakni at aol dot com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 23:21:37 -0600 From: Gerardo Liedo Subject: Pix of Tony Levin in Mexico City (SKCC) Check this one, for example http://www.albec.net.mx/personales/rocksoff/peter15fernandoaceves-lr.jpg For more... check the website we just finished http://www.albec.net.mx/personales/rocksoff/pg-index.htm Saludos Ferando y Gerardo ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 02:21:59 -0500 From: "MALCOLM XERXES" Subject: FAYMAN/FRIPP: A WALK IN THE CLOUDS PARLIAMENT OF PACHYDERMS: Yesterday, I purchased a copy of this album, and when I arrived home with it, I played it on a friend's stereo, which is customarily louder than I would normally experience such a recording for the first time. I prefer to employ the settings recommended by MR. BRIAN ENO for Ambient listening, actually.... To my surprise, I experienced a deafening silence, and could not determine what was wrong: the album had been over for some 10 or 15 minutes! I find myself unable to arrive @ a conclusion about the meaning of this incident. MALCOLM XERXES Batterie/Percussives http://www.malcolmxerxes.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 01:55:56 -0600 From: "Nadim S. Haque" Subject: "The Power to Believe" | RF Diary Hello fellow readers. I was amazed by the very brief and understating message by Rone: "In case you haven't visited in a while, Robert updated his diary on November 1." There's so much interesting content in it. For the first time (that I know of), we have an actual track listing for "The Power to Believe", also mentioning an approximate running time of 53 minutes. "Dangerous Curves" and "Level Five" and "Elektrik" and "Eyes Wide Open" are on this record, YES!!! RF's listing promises the new album to be more tied together than lots of things (consider the more recent works like "THRAK" and "TCOL" which weren't all that coherent in style and vision). But what do we read before and after the track listing? "Happy" is the left hand, "Power" the right. "In the left hand are degrees of disappointment, resignation and despair." "In the right hand, there is hope." Sounds like people who were looking at "Happy" as the calling card for the new album and were dissatisfied should try the album. It might be different. Hmmm... And what about his KC Timeline? A rather cynical (or at least sarcastic) view of life as KC knows it. With his laments about disappointment, resignation and despair, I sure hope that there won't be an "Ended again" in 2003 or 2004. Knowing that the longest time and incarnation lasted was three years (and we've just about passed the date of expiry of the 1999 group), the "Begins again, again" in 2003 provides hope (uh, yes, "The Power to Believe") that this album resets the counter to zero. And maybe things will continue to go well for many years to come. And just an interesting thought I had a moment ago: what would it sound like if our current KC set out to record a remake of "Lizard"? Hmmm... interesting! *grin* Have a good time! Nadim S. Haque sliced|suitcase ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 03:48:01 -0500 From: "MALCOLM XERXES" Subject: BILFORD (SOFT) "RHYTHM) MACHINE" Mr. Eden wrote: "Bruford is a great drummer, but he is a rhythm machine. I feel that he lacks a certain amount of subtlety and the ability to go off the rhythm" PARLIAMENT OF PACHYDERMS: I find that the above remarks are entirely contrary & contradictory to my own thoughts & feelings about Himself, all except for the introductory sentence which states that BILFORD "is a great drummer". If BILFORD "is a rhythm machine", then I hope that I can become just like him (if &) when I grow up! ("Are 'FRIENDS' Electric?"} If BILFORD "lacks a certain amount of subtlety", then I am sure that we shall soon him touring in support of N'SYNCtm, BOYZ II MENtm, or whatever they're calling themselves this week! As I understand it, "the ability to go off rhythm" is a large part of what "THIS FRIPP" dislikes about BILFORD'S playing, which led to the latter finding himself overdubbed on in "SLEEPLESS", without his prior knowledge & consent. Proof that BILFORD can indeed "go off rhythm" @ will abounds, but I cite the VHS examples of his work in KING CRIMSON: "DEJA VROOOM", especially on the intro/duet section of "INDISCIPLINE", as well as the playing in the TAMAtm STARCLASSICtm: "BACK TO BASICS" VHS. If BILFORD'S playing is in any way deficient, then we should ALL have such problems! MALCOLM XERXES Batterie/Percussives http://www.malcolmxerxes.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 10:04:06 -0000 From: "Manek Dubash" Subject: Bruford's limitations? Mr. Eden wrote: >"Bruford is a great drummer, but he is a rhythm machine. I feel that he lacks a certain amount of subtlety and the ability to go off the rhythm." I can't believe you said that! Bruford's many qualities include his wonderful ability and stated intent to leave the rhythm to someone else and come back to it later. Maybe you're not listening hard enough... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 12:43:53 +0000 (GMT) From: My Brane Hurts Subject: Re: A reflection on Lizard and Andy McCulloch snip > Andy's next major gig was Greenslade, which was an offshoot of > Colosseum > (the latter's "Beware the Ides of March" sounds embarrassingly like > "Whiter > Shade of Pale"). Now compared to KC, Greenslade is fairly > lightweight and > nonthreatening. snip > I guess it was hard > trying to > be yourself while having to compete with Carl Palmer, because he > pretty > much retires from music after this (see another ETer's post on > meeting Andy > at a company which manufactured flight cases). > > Mike Err, that was me who mentioned meeting Andy McCulloch when he was working at Bulldog cases. Somewhere in North London as far as I can remember. It would have been about 1978. I can't believe that a drummer as good as this would have stopped playing altogether. Somebody must know what happened to him... Lizard is still my favourite KC album. Andy Perry (now in Perth, Western Australia) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 07:32:14 -0500 From: "Eden, Scott C Mr (Contractor)" Subject: Bill Bruford Hi Eddy In response to my comment on Bill Bruford: "Bruford is a great drummer, but he is a rhythm machine. I feel that he lacks a certain amount of subtlety and the ability to go off the rhythm" Eddy wrote: words can't express my feelings when I read this..............I'm hoping there is another drummer with the same name, because the Bill Bruford I know is anything but the above statement!! Very disappointed and sad No, it is the same Bruford. Though I truly enjoy his style and find him to be one of the more fascinating drummers, I still stand by my statement that I think he does not really go off the rhythm. Also, considering his great ability, I find him to be one of the laziest of the great drummers (though I hope not to start on thread on this issue). I've seen him on two occasions in the 80's (one with Crimson), as well as seeing him in various live videos, and just came away with that impression. I don't think he mixes it up enough. On a related note to the above two points, I've read comments from members of two other groups Bruford played with in the 70's that show I am not the only one who ever thought this. In the 1974-1976 period, Bruford sat in with two groups that are even more eclectic and odd-musical-timing oriented than Crimson, Gong (late 1974) and National Health (late 1975-1976). Here are two comments by members of Gong: Mike Howlett : "Bill did a fantastic job of getting up to speed with our rather intricate and convoluted arrangements. He was very solid and reliable, if a little earthbound" Daevid Allen : "Bill Bruford was actually a very boring drummer to play with, because he played exactly the same every night. The only thing that changed was the acoustics. He would learn the material very quickly, very clever, and he would think of good parts, but then he would play the same every night, and so it was very boring for me. But Steve Hillage liked this, Steve liked each one to stay the same..." Gong's drummer (off and on) during the 70's was Pierre Moerlen, a very accomplished percussionist who I think liked to mix it up a bit more than Bruford. Bruford played in National Health during late 1975 through late 1976, though not continuously. Here is a comment by Mont Campbell (bass) on Bruford's playing: Mont Campbell: "It was difficult to get him to play randomly - he always wanted to play in time." So, while I admire his style, I still think Bruford is a rhythm machine, though I do not mean to imply that he just plays a rhythm and nothing else. He is certainly much more, adding plenty of interesting fills and leads. Still, he's never been one venture off the beat, so to speak. Realize however that the point of my original email was to state my admiration of Andy McCulloch's great performance on Lizard, not to discuss Bill Bruford's percussion abilities. Take care. Scott Eden ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 10:27:18 -0500 From: Dan Cooper Subject: Re: The Eno Connection In 1054, David Jackson wrote: "I don't know if this is just because from collaborating they shared some sound tech with each other (I'm sure a guy like Eno would be interested in the whole Frippertronics thing) or it actually is RF playing." Shall I be the first to point out that it was in fact Eno who introduced Fripp to the techniques and equipment that gave life to Frippertronics? Another Green World is one of my desert island discs. Love it! Peace, Dan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 12:35:37 -0500 From: Dan Buxbaum Subject: Hey Psycho Hey Psycho, So what if Mr. Fripp eats at the same falafel place when he's in NYC; he is a vegetarian after all. Looks like somebody was desperate to be a friend of Robert Fripp--but got rejected. Find yourself a reason. -- Crimson content: Does Wetton mess up the lyrics a bit during Exiles from 'The Night Watch' Amsterdam show? I always loved the tremendous interplay and subtlety (especially from Mr. BB) of that performance. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 13:12:19 -0500 From: "Michael S. O'Connor" Subject: Ladies on the Road I haven't seen any specific reviews regarding the Ladies of the Road release yet and would like to know what the dates on each track are. Which are new and which are from previous releases??? (eg is Get Thy Bearings from the Plymouth show?) mike ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 18:41:18 -0000 From: "Jim Strong" Subject: Re: Grand Funk Railroad Michael Tanigawa wrote:- "All kidding aside, I believe the two bands played in Hyde Park almost exactly 2 years apart." Thanks Mike; that'll be it - I was out of the UK for a year or so at that time, so events did tend to blur a bit! I remember I'd mucked up my timing and got to the KC concert right at the end of the set, so only heard the closing climax of (I think) Schizoid Man as I approached the stage from the rear! Really disappointing. Not so disappointing, though, as Grand Funk - I remember their sound system being pretty bad - just got white noise where I was! :-) Jim ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 20:00:33 +0100 From: "Schopf" Subject: Power To Believe TraKclist Robert Fripp has posted the tracklist of the new CD in his Nov. 1st dgm diary: "The Power To Believe 1. The Power To Believe I: A Cappella 2. Level Five 3. Eyes Wide Open 4. Elektrik 5. The Power To Believe II 6. Facts Of Life: Intro 7. Facts Of Life 8. Dangerous Curves 9. Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With 10. The Power To Believe III 11. The Power To Believe IV: Coda Recorded by Machine, and produced by King Crimson & Machine, mainly in Nashville at The Tracking Room during July and August 2002. Running time: 53 minutes." Hmm, now that I've already got the Level 5 EP, the Live In Nashville 2001 CD and the Happy EP, the only new traKcs for me will be The Power To Believe and Facts Of Life. Well, there's still hope that Level 5, Eyes Wide Open (electric version?), EleKtriK and Dangerous Curves sound quite different from the versions that I already have. But never mind, I'm looking forward to the CD anyway - I really like all the already available traKcs :o) Tom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 15:32:26 -0500 From: Jaminbenb at aol dot com Subject: Dream T, Bill B, and other things to be Happy with? Not sure where the DT bashing came into play, but I would like to jump on the band wagon (so to speak) I really don't think that the idea of anybody OTHER than KC is bashed, I just think that there is a legitimate complaint about this formerly great band in recent times. You really need to wonder about the "notes for the sake of notes" attitude that these guys have taken. I mean KILLER CHOPS are great, but there IS a point where it becomes over-bearing and the musicality suffers!! A few years back there was a side project called Liquid Tension Experiment (which was Portnoy & Petrucci, from DT, Jordan Rudess (who is NOW a full member of DT, and our own Papa Bear T Lev.) This was set up as a "notes for the sake of notes" band and that WAS respectable since it was a side project, and was marketed as such. Since Rudess joined DT as a full time member, the band went from being more song oriented to LTE with vocals, and sort of went away from the musicality of the band. (which was present up to "Falling into Infinity" which was the release prior to the "Scenes from a Memory" release) They are really a HARD band to listen to anymore. And as was mentioned, are VERY repetitive! (bands like Rush and Yes have learned to get the point across a bit more concisely, but never really seemed to get lost in their own self indulgence as this band does) The song suffers for the need to place a 32nd note unison section that makes no musical sense to the piece. Sorry guys?it just doesn't cut it musically anymore! (ya can't see the music for the notes) But enough about my opinions of DT (I'll just listen to their first 4 albums and be done with it) ?. I have to wonder what Bill was thinking by NOT wanting to re-join Crimson with Roberts "eleKctroniKc perKcussion ONLY" rules?I seem to remember that Bill used "Frisbees" exclusively throughout his tenure with ABWH, and the rejuvenated Yes "Onion" Project?!?! As well as his "hybrid" kit from the "Discipline-Beat days" (and the Thrak days to boot) But still continued to use his acoustics for projects such as his work with Patrick Moraz, and some of his other jazz explorations. Granted, as a drummer that has both to choose from, I get into moods where it's one or the other, but knowing that KC always was a challenge musically for BB , you have to wonder if the E-drum issue was just a scapegoat?? Pity though..I always enjoyed his "loose" counterpoint to Robert's "struKcture". (not to slag PM though) Bill is one of those drummers I can never get tired of hearing. I always take something away from his performances! I always liken his performances to "jamming" over a classic!!! HE is missed in the KC realm though!!! Under things to be happy with?So How about the 21STCSB! HOW exciting is that! I just can't believe that people are complaining! WAKE UP! IT'S ALL GOOD MUSIC! These guys actually deserve to be doing what they are doing since they PLAYED the music originally! Unlike some of the "tribute" bands that are out there cashing in on other peoples music these guys ACTUALLY PLAYED IT! (and I don't see Bob rushing out to put a cease and desist on them either!) I would almost have to wonder if Robert didn't (or hasn't) caught a show, and that if he wouldn't consider actually wandering up and having a go! I just hope they come over to the states for some frolic! Also in the "happy" category is the recent "Happy With" disc! Very short, but very interesting.. I love that they filled in some time with the little "vignettes" that you are calling Haiku's (whether they are or not I'm sure that they do annoy the chemically challenged in our group) but they are interesting nonetheless! "We are only immortal...for a limited time" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 15:43:48 -0500 From: "Justin Weinberg" Subject: so much for no expectations According to a rare update at Trey Gunn's site, in reference to the forthcoming album _The Power to Believe_: "Fripp has said to me that this is possibly the most definitive King Crimson recording since 1981." ------------------------------ End of Elephant Talk Digest #1055 *********************************