Reply-To: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Sender: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Precedence: bulk From: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk To: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Subject: Discipline #139 D I S C I P L I N E The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 139, Saturday, 18 June 1994 Today's Topics: Myrbein 'Radio On' help!! First Day ordering Fripp, FFWD (The Orb) and The Future Sound Of London Guitar Craft My reassessment of UK. Spin 1ne 2wo Cloud About Mercury Kiss of Reality CD Gong Crimson mini-CD news album cover musings Adrian Belew/Psychodots review [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: hoh at approve dot se (Goran Larsson) Subject: Myrbein Date: Sun, 12 Jun 1994 00:01:03 +0200 (MET DST) On a limited edition CD (only 1000 copies) named "Myrornas krig" by a strange Swedish group called Myrbein I found this: track 13: Larks' tounges (sic) in Aspic part II (6.21) By Robert Fripp Recorded september 1993 in Stockholm. Did Fripp play in Stockholm in september 1993 or is this a very good "copy" of the real thing? If it is real, what is this bootleg doing at the end of a "normal" CD? A bit confused... -- Goran Larsson Phone: +46 13 155535 FAX: +46 13 160533 Approve AB +46 589 12810 +46 589 16901 hoh at lorelei dot approve dot se ...!uunet!mail.swip.net!lorelei!hoh [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: 10 Jun 1994 18:08:00 +0100 From: MPE at hop dot dinoco dot de (Michael Peters) Subject: 'Radio On' help!! From the end of the seventies I remember a black+white movie called 'Radio On' (*not* Radio Days). It was a Wim Wenders-like sort of road movie with that special late-seventies feeling to it, and a soundtrack consisting of Kraftwerk, Bowie, and also Fripp (with 'Urban Landscape' and assorted music from the 'Exposure' album). I haven't seen the movie since but I liked it a lot. Is there anybody out there who has a copy? -M Michael Peters mpe at hop dot dinoco dot de CIS 100041,247 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 12 Jun 1994 02:31:38 -0400 (EDT) From: LENNBOB at delphi dot com Subject: First Day ordering HECK at HUSC4 dot HARVARD dot EDU writes: >> An odd fact about _The First Day_: The song order is not the same on vinyl as on the CD. In particular, "Brightness Falls" comes after "Jean the Birdman" on vinyl, instead of at the end, so the last tune is "Darshan". I've not yet listened to it all the way through, so I've no idea what that might do to the overall feel. I'm supposing though that the reason for the difference is the vinyl format: It'd be hard to put "Darshan" and "Brightness Falls" together on Side 4. << Of course, Mr. Heck is thinking of "Bringing down the light". "Brightness falls" has always followed "Jean the birdman" on The First Day, regardless of format. "Bringing down the light", on the other hand, is only included on the CD version of the album. It does not appear on the cassette, either. Kevin lennbob at delphi dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Subject: Fripp, FFWD (The Orb) and The Future Sound Of London Organisation: IRISA / INRIA Date: Sun, 12 Jun 1994 17:41:20 +0200 From: Eric Rutten Hi there, The "Trance Europe Express 2" sampler is out and features one track by FFWD (basically The Orb with Robert Fripp): has anybody heard it? how does it sound like? The Future Sound Of London's new 2CD is out also, and features "guitar textures" by Fripp on one track. The presence of Fripp is very discrete, but I really like the disk all the same: fine ambient house all along. That's it ... Eric ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eric Rutten | room: 221 (Green 338) IRISA / INRIA | phone: +33 99 84 72 33 Campus de Beaulieu | fax: +33 99 84 71 71 F-35042 RENNES CEDEX - FRANCE | e-mail: rutten at irisa dot fr ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 12 Jun 1994 19:27:09 -0500 From: mkopelbe at students dot wisc dot edu (Murray Kopelberg) Subject: Guitar Craft Hi, are there any other Guitar Craft participants out there? I would like to find out what you have been up to! Please contact me at mkopelbe at students dot wisc dot edu Thanks! Murray Kopelberg [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: mathias at tarkus dot ocis dot temple dot edu (mathias thallmayer) Subject: My reassessment of UK. Date: Mon, 13 Jun 94 4:06:34 EDT First, I would to say to Chris that Crimson happens to be one of my favorite bands. It was because of the Crimson connection (and also Jobson's work with Curved Air, etc.) that led me to UK. I had wondered what would it be like if Emerson had replace Lake and Palmer with Wetton and Bruford. Of course, UK didn't answer that question but nonetheless produce much great music. Wetton and Chris Squire are my favorite bassists. Bruford one of my top drummers. And of course, Fripp is the No. 1 guitarist for me. I wish he had played with UK instead of that annoying Holdsworth. In regards to my remark about Asia, I said it partially facetiously. I was getting tired of people denigrating Asia and I also believe Genesis, although good, is over-rated. --------- My Reassessment Of UK I have recently obtained a CD of the UK concert at Penn's Landing. I did attend this concert and have heard tapes of it, but not in a long while. I also have the Paris performance of the Danger Money band. Listening to these live performances I have had to reassess my postion on the band. If you think that I've changed my mind on Holdsworth, guess again. Penn's Landing has only confirmed how annoying and out of place he was with UK. No, the person I owe an apology to is John Wetton. I had said that his work with UK was nowhere near as good as his work with Crimson. This is true only regarding the released recordings. Live, in concert, he was every bit the fiery player he was with KC. Why he was subdued on the albums is a mystery to me. In Holdsworth case, his over-indulgences were kept in check. In Wetton's case he was overly restrained. In regards to Bozzio, he does an excellent job of drumming with the band (as I've said before). But listening to him perform material from the first album, I believe he acquits himself admirably (who talks like this? ;-) ) filling Bruford's shoes. I don't understand what people have against the man. Also, the UK band performed live three pieces that would later be recorded for the Danger Money album: "Caesar's Palace Blues", "Carrying No Cross", "The Only Thing She Needs". These pieces are remarkably similar to the versions that were recorded (with Bozzio replacing Bruford and the jettisoning of that dead-weight, Holdsworth). I can't understand how people who enjoyed the first album claim they were "disapppointed" by Danger Money. Half of the album would have been the same. I think that many listeners put too much emphasis on Holdsworth's contribution to UK and on the two disposable songs on DM. The albums are much more similar than they are dissimilar. -- Mathias [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: Clive Backham Subject: "Spin 1ne 2wo" Date: Mon, 13 Jun 94 16:17:02 BST Feedback to a couple of items in Discipline #138: Owen Gwilliam asked for information about "Spin 1ne 2wo". I replied to an earlier question about this, so may as well say the same thing again. Spin 1 2 is primarily a Rupert Hine project, and he plays keyboards. Tony Levin plays bass, Paul Carrack is on it (vocals and a bit of Hammond). I can't remember the names of the guitarist and drummer. They cover a lot of rock classics. It is all done *very* professionally: note perfect, dynamics just-so, rhythms accurate to the millisecond. Unfortunately, it has no soul. The thing is just too sanitised. Over-produced is a word that springs to mind. The copy I have is from Italy, on Columbia (part of Sony, I believe, as if anything wasn't these days). Catalogue number is 473-910-2. Rami wrote: > - In another interview on this (interesting) newsletter Daevid Allen tells > about the time Bill Bruford drummed for Gong: > "... At one point we played with BB in Gong and Steve [Hillage] really > enjoyed that but I loathed it because the only thing that ever changed > was the acoustics. Bill was very quick to get all the complicated Gong > music down but then he played it identically every night. > It was disappointing to me and Didier [whotsisname] and other people who > liked everything to be floating." > Not a very nice thing to say about a great jazz-orientated drummer... I > personally tend to doubt Allen's talent, but haven't heard enough from > him (neither Soft Machine nor Gong) so i just pass it on to more > knowledgeable members. I think that Bruford's short time with Gong was just another gig to him. It happened in early '75, shortly after the Crimson split, when Bill seemed to be guesting with various bands while trying to decide what to do next. I have two theories as to why Bruford didn't try improvising in Gong: 1. He couldn't relate to their musical style, so just played what he'd learned. Gong played fairly complex stuff, but in a rather undisciplined way, especially live. I wouldn't ever suggest that Bruford can't jam, but he does seem to enjoy some kind of solid foundation (however obscure the time signature might be). 2. This possibility is more contrived. Perhaps Bruford recognised the musical inability of some of the band's members, and mistakenly thought that varying things would make life too difficult for them. Ironically, it appears that bumbling about was the way that Gong made such charming music, and what should have sounded like a dog's dinner came out as a gourmet meal. At the time, Gong had only two seriously talented musicians: Steve Hillage (guitar) and Didier Malherbe (sax/ flute). (Pierre Moerlen, probably Bruford's equal on the drums, was of course on sabbatical during this period). As far as Daevid Allen's talent is concerned, he is certainly more talented as a poet/storyteller than a musician. His real strength lies in his lyrics, which veer between harmless silliness and savage attacks on all manner of organisations (religion, big business, etc). That said, he is a reasonable guitarist and singer. Just because he is not a virtuoso musician does not mean that he is unable to recognise whether other (more talented) musicians fit in. We don't disparage Brian Eno in this respect. Clive Backham McDonnell Information Systems, Hemel Hempstead, UK email: cbackham at uk dot mdis dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 13 Jun 94 13:53:46 MDT From: pmartz at dsd dot es dot com (Paul Martz) Subject: Cloud About Mercury I keep hearing about an album called "Cloud About Mercury" which has, among others, Bill Brufurd on drums. However I can't find this anywhere, don't know the name of the band, and no one working in local record stores has heard of it (huh, big surprise). So, if anyone has any tips on where I can pick this up, please let me know. Thanks. -paul "Eno is the one, Eno's the one to take pmartz at dsd dot es dot com One hundred percent for your stomach's sake... Evans & Sutherland Bubbly bubbly Eno!" [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Subject: Kiss of Reality CD Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 15:19:17 EST From: Peter Evans toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk writes: > Subject: Kiss of Reality CD > Date: Mon, 30 May 1994 12:13:16 +1000 > From: David Mitchell > > Someone mentioned this CD in the last digest... > > I saw these guys recently at a tiny jazz club in Melbourne. Then I > went and saw them again, and I would have seen them again if they > hadn't left town... Umm, well, they broke-up and the drummer and stick player went back os :( > The lineup was a Stick player, a guitarist and a drummer on an all > electronic kit. I remember the guitarist was a local (Australian) and > the Stick player was (I think) Volker Rehn, but I can't remember any > more personal details. Well, I can help with the guitarist. His name is Dave Pittaway(sp?), he's a Crafty and is currently teaching at Mainstreet Music in Greensbrough (Melb. Aust). I've also heard word of him running a few Crafty style courses here in sunny Australia. Luckerly, Dave is talking about reforming the group (with a different drummer/bassest :) in the near future, so look-out for them in Brewery Lane, the Rainbow or any of the other Jazz/Prog. venues in Melbourne. > By the way, typing this makes me want to ask: Are there any tips on > the net on Fripp's new standard tuning (CGDAEG)? I'm interested in > trying it out, but would like to have a starting point (chord > shapes/solo theory/whatever) as I don't really have the time to devote > to working it out for myself...hmm, that sounds pretty bad, but it's > probably true as well. A quote from Tamm's book might save a few strings here :) 'Because the new tuning calls for the second string to be tuned a full fifth higher than in old standard tuning, and the first string a third higher, it was not uncommon for strings to break when Crafties tuned up. I found Fripp's explanation for this mundane operation of the laws of physics and metal stress exasperating and mystifying: he said the guitar whose strings snapped was not 'ready' for the new tuning. He suggested those guitarists whose strings were breaking should somehow mentally prepare themselves and their guitars to accept the new tuning, and that then the strings would hold. I objected heatedly: why didn't we just use lighter-gauge strings specifically engineered to be tuned at higher pitches, which would also result in considerably less string tension, especially on the unwound second string, which was so tight that it was a real bitch to play? Fripp responded testily, "I'm telling you, it's *not* the string gauges that are causing strings to snap," ending all discussion on the matter. 'When I went home the following week I went to the music store, purchasing a selection of gauges, and restrung my guitar intelligently for the new tuning, resulting in a marked improvement in tone and playability. Fripp has since reconsidered the matter and Guitar Craft Services now offers custom sets of rationally gauged strings (11 13 23 32 46 56 and 12 15 23 32 47 60).' Pete ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Evans Email: pe at imta dot com dot au, ...uunet!imta.com.au!pe Snail: In-Mar-Tech Australia Pty. Ltd. Phone: +61 3 696-4009 10 Boundary Street Fax: +61 3 696-7449 South Melbourne, Vic, 3205, Australia "All the troubles of man are caused by one thing, which is their inability to stay quietly in a room" Blaise Pascal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 11:13:42 -0600 From: David Ewing Subject: Gong Rami wrote: > - In another interview on this (interesting) newsletter Daevid Allen tells > about the time Bill Bruford drummed for Gong: > "... At one point we played with BB in Gong and Steve [Hillage] really > enjoyed that but I loathed it because the only thing that ever changed > was the acoustics. Bill was very quick to get all the complicated Gong > music down but then he played it identically every night. > It was disappointing to me and Didier [whotsisname] and other people who > liked everything to be floating." > Not a very nice thing to say about a great jazz-orientated drummer... I > personally tend to doubt Allen's talent, but haven't heard enough from > him (neither Soft Machine nor Gong) so i just pass it on to more > knowledgeable members. I'm a big fan of the Daevid Allen / Steve Hillage era Gong. I had almost forgotten of the brief stint when Bruford played in this band. Do you any bootlegs of this exist? Even though Bruford is now playing in a jazz context (Earthworks), I have never thought of his playing as being very jazz-like (not as airy- sounding, more precise). I can see how Allen and Didier Mahlerbe (sp?) (aka Bloomdido Bad De Grasse) would feel this way. Don't get me wrong, I love Bruford's playing, I just can see how it might not mesh with the floating sound of Gong. One of Gong's first drummers, Pip Pyle, who went on to play with Hatfield and the North and National Health was superb at playing in this fast, light, jazzy style. He only played on the first(?) Gong album "Magick Brother, Mystick Sister" (not Gong at their best) if I remeber correctly. If you haven't heard Hatfield and the North, do yourself a big favor and get their two CD releases "Hatfield and the North" and "The Rotter's Club". Other fine Gong drummers, who played on Gong's great Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy ("The Flying Teapot", "Angel's Egg", and "You") were Laurie Allen (aka Lawrence the Alien) and Pierre Moerlen (aka Pierre du Straussbourg). After David Allen and Steve Hillage left, Moerlen turned Gong into a much less interesting fusion band, however. As to Daevid Allen's talent, it's hard to put a finger on. Sure, he's not a great musician or singer, but the music that he put together with Gong was really wonderful. He's definetly an eccentric - a real space age hippy. As far as his contributions to Soft Machine, I definetly prefer the incarnation of the Softs right after he left - the "Third"-era band - Robert Wyatt (another drummer in the jazzy style, btw), Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: wcsanil at ccs dot carleton dot ca (Anil Prasad) Subject: Crimson mini-CD news Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 23:04:50 EDT Just finished transcribing an interview with Trey Gunn I just did. (Which will appear in the next issue of i/e slated for July. And by the way, expect a special Crimson issue of i/e towards the end of the year featuring interviews with many other members and other mouth-watering Crimson info.) Here's a few tantalizing bits of info on the new Crimson mini-CD called "Frooom" or "Vrooom" depending on who you talk to. It comes out on Pony Canyon records in Japan in October, and in limited quantities through Discipline records in the USA. It's six tracks. There's one "Belew ballad" in the vein of "Matte Kudasai". One "quirky, spazzy song with rapping vocals" called "Cage". One "funky off-the-wall tune" that "most people won't be able to associate with King Crimson". There's one monster isntrumental in "the Red vein", and there's another monster instrumental titled "Thrack". The last track will likely be an improvisation piece, but Gunn's not certain about this yet. There aren't any track titles for the rest yet (although since the interview happened several weeks ago, this may have changed.). Hope this has been of use to some people. />/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/> Anil Prasad | "People feel Barney's unthreatening, but wcsanil at ccs dot carleton dot ca | he could lead grown-ups to drugs." ac922 at freenet dot carleton dot ca | -- Michael Viner, author of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | "Final Exit (for Barney)" Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 16:42:30 EDT Subject: Adrian Belew/Psychodots review REVIEW: Adrian Belew with the Psychodots The Paradise, Boston MA, June 15, 1994 The opening act was the Psychodots, which is the Bears sans Belew. Their songs are, like the Bears material and much of Belew's, well crafted pop songs with echoes of the Beatles along with the incredible guitar playing of Rob Fetters. Chris Arduser is the drummer, and plays mandolin also, with Bob Nyswonger on bass. All of the Psychodots are good singers, which enables some nice vocal harmonies. The Psychodots returned after their set as the backing band for the headliner. Belew opened with some of his trademark guitar synthesizer work, which had the audience immediately captivated. Interestingly, quite a bit of the guitar solo work was left to Rob Fetters, underscoring the fact that he is one of the most underrated guitarists in the business. The material was a mixture of stuff from the latest Belew solo album, Here, along with older Belew solo material and a handful of songs each from the King Crimson and Bears repertoires. As a tribute to his former mentor Frank Zappa he did a brief a capella rendition of "City of Tiny Lites" from Sheik Yerbouti, a Zappa album that Belew played on. Adrian is doing a great job of promoting the upcoming King Crimson incarnation. The audience went crazy when they played the Crimson numbers (Matte Kudasai, Elephant Talk and Heartbeat). The arrangments were very close the the album versions of these songs, which really amazed the audience that the guys from the Bears could pull them off so well. Anyway Belew took the opportunity to get people excited about the new Crimson. I have a feeling that the new incarnation will far surpass the 80's version in popularity for several reasons. One is that Belew has developed quite a following with his solo work, in addition to the high-visibility Bowie tour of a few years back. Another is the not-insignificant radio airplay of the Fripp/Sylvian stuff. The clincher is the popularity of Tony Levin on the Peter Gabriel tour, where he received an enormous amount of applause when he was introduced to the audience. He also got a plug in for an album he played on with Boston resident Reeves Gabrels in a band called the Bentmen, by introducing himself as Des (Bill Desmond, leader of the Bentmen) and the band as the Bentmen. Unfortunately Reeves was unable to attend the show because he was playing a show with his band Modern Farmer across town, although Des, keyboardist Kathy Desmond and guitarist Crazy Eddie Nowik were there to represent the Bentmen. The album, Patient Zero, is slated to be released in the fall. The show was worth it for the King Crimson songs alone. It was also worth it for Rob Fetters' guitar playing alone...this could go on and on... Andy [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] ----- ADMINISTRIVIA ----- ** POSTINGS Please send all postings to Toby Howard, at toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk. ** SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES USA subscribers: please contact Ken Bibb at discipline-request at arastar dot com. Non-USA subscribers: please contact Toby Howard, at discipline-request at cs dot man dot ac dot uk. ** ARCHIVES The Discipline archives are available on ftp.uwp.edu, in /pub/music/lists/discipline. I'm sorry, but I cannot mail out back issues personally. ** LEGALESE The views expressed in Discipline are those of the individual authors only. Thanks for reading Discipline! Toby Howard http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/staff-db/toby-howard.html [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]