b o b

The complex pattern of interweaving lines on the cover perfectly represents the music inside. If you like music written and performed with an almost mathematical precision, then the 80s King Crimson is right up your alley. And this album is, by most accounts, their best. Discipline was originally the band's name, with Bruford and Fripp from the previous 70s incarnation of Crimson joining up with guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew (fresh from Frank Zappa's band) and bassist Tony Levin (who has played in innumerable jazz and rock bands). The music they created apparently inspired Fripp to revive the King Crimson name. On their first album, songs like "Elephant Talk", "Frame By Frame", "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (an anagram for Heat in the Jungle) and the title track showed the band's new style of having the nimble melody lines of each of the stringed instruments play off one another to create almost hypnotic patterns. Meanwhile, the beautiful ballad "Matte Kudasai" showed a poppish side to the band that would come more to the surface on the subsequent two albums. The tricky compositions don't leave much room for improvisation, other than the occasional guitar solo. Fans of the 70s band might be disappointed because of that. Also, Bruford doesn't get much of a chance to cut loose, as his role is reduced mostly to keeping time. And he doesn't use the cymbals much, to avoid stepping on the guitarist's frequencies. For what it is, this album is pretty much perfect. Well, in a perfect world "The Sheltering Sky" might not ramble on quite as long as it does, but that's a very minor gripe. This is probably my favorite Crimson album, which is odd because I don't actually own a copy (no need to, since between the Frame By Frame boxed set and the Absent Lovers and B'Boom live albums, I already have one or more versions of every track). review by Bob Eichler — undated —

j a c k

I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I first heard this, but this wasn't it. It sounded to me like quirky early-80's new wave pop or something. Leads with weird sound effects, heavily chorused clean guitars, nerdy vocals... I got a good chuckle out of "Elephant Talk" and "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (still do!). But when I stopped to listening to what I thought it sounded like on the surface, and started to listen to what they were actually doing, it grew on me in a big way. I noticed all the interlocking parts, the polyrhythms.. hey, this is tricky stuff! So I got used to that. Then I began to hear the big picture. When trying to explain it, I keep coming back to that cover design. All those lines, weaving in and out of each other.. it's dizzying trying to follow it. Notice how the lines follow a very precise path — it knows where it's supposed to be, and it knows to stay out everyone's way. Notice how it comes back around full circle to where it started. But take a step back and look at the whole picture... it's quite lovely, without having to study it under a magnifying glass to figure it out. So it is with this album. I just let it weave around, twisting and turning... letting it carry me around in circles. Robert Fripp has stated, "Discipline is a vehicle for joy," and I concur. A very uplifting album. review by Jack Hesse — undated —

h e a t h e r

It is hard to write about a classic, well-known, well-discussed album. So, I will do my best. This is a rare, great album that is overflowing with ideas. It's an amalgamation of rock, minimalism and contemporary classical forms, world beat, pop, and even elements of jazz improv. Belew brings in a guitar style that mimics animal sounds (this time, elephants, mice, and swooping birds) and a strong pop sensibility. Fripp brings minimalist ideas to the composition and exciting use of counterpoint between the two interlocking guitars. Fripp introduces a guitar style he will use in KC's music for the next twenty years; short arpeggio figures which are used as a minimalist basis for the music and are used to develop and build tension in the music through repetition and through variations on the small patterns (the 1973 instrumental "Fracture" was the first major instrumental in this style). Also, Levin and Bruford are the quintessential killer rhythm section. I think this album rises about live versions of the same music solely because of the "Sheltering Sky", which is usually not played live and when it is, it doesn't cross over well. It is a 9 minute hypnotic beauty depicting the shifting sands of the desert under the vast blue sky. Too beautiful and colorful to describe, and easily one of Fripp's five best instrumentals. Which is saying a lot, since this band's major strength rests on Fripp's instrumental compositions. review by Heather Mackenzie — 1-27-03 —

j o e

I actually purchased the 80s King Crimson studio albums in reverse order the first time I had heard them as a teenager. But within the first few minutes of "Elephant Talk," I knew I had found the album that contained the essence of their sound for this period. It's hard to think of a better example in this genre where a band has managed to convincingly merge old elements of their style--the virtuosic playing, odd time signatures, room for improvisation--with new elements that had not been in evidence previously, with the same degree of artistic accountability. Gone is the 'heaviness' and very British feel of the Larks' era, replaced with a more cosmopolitan approach: the influences of new American recruits Belew and Levin, and the emphasis of collective play and rhythmic sensitivity from ethnic influences such as Balinese music. Gone was the mellotron, replaced with newly acquired guitar synth gear. These all contribute to the album's forward view. However, ultimately, it is the execution of these ingredients and the songs themselves that make the album shine. There is not one weak track on this album, and each one has something creative about it, if not brilliant. "Elephant Talk" features contrasting 'mouse' and 'elephant' guitar synth solos. On "Frame by Frame," Bruford creates an off-kilter, syncopated effect that people generally can recognize sounds odd but don't know why (in actuality, it's because Bruf delays one of his hits by a sixteenth note each phrase). "Indiscipline" features a reversal of the traditional role of rock instruments, with drums taking the lead. It also features one of the most infamous soliloquies of the genre. Then there's the weaving, micro-precise polyrhythms of the album's instrumental closer "Discipline," itself an aptly-titled diametric opposite of the chaotic "Indiscipline." In short, Discipline is perhaps the most successful and in a sense truly 'progressive' comeback of a prog rock group that had been away for seven years. I would say it is a must have for anyone interested in the genre. If you love this album, be sure to check out what I think of as its fraternal twin: the Talking Heads' Remain in Light (produced by Fripp's collaborator Brian Eno and also featuring Belew on guitar). review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

e r i c

A desert island disc for me! I hope to never find myself without this CD in my collection. On some level this one just clicks with me. As much as I like just about every phase of King Crimson, this would be the one I would keep if I could only have one from KC. The great stick intro of Levin and the hilarious guitar noises that emanate from Belew during "Elephant Talk" make it a favorite. The precision interweaving lines of Fripp and Belew during "Frame by Frame" are wonderful. The beautiful "Matte Kudasai" is followed by the other extreme with the heavy riffing of "Indiscipline". "Thela Hun Ginjeet" has a great groove and Belew's spoken word story of a frightening encounter in NYC is quite original. The music still sounds fresh and vital today, and Belew and Fripp work together on such a level as to reinvent the dual-guitar approach to a band. A real gem: essential! review by Eric Porter — undated —