Founded by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald and lyricist Peter Sinfield, the band initially focused on a dramatic sound layered with Mellotron, McDonald's saxophone and flute, and Lake's powerful lead vocals. Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release, with a potent mixture of jazz, classical and experimental music. Following the sudden simultaneous departures of McDonald and Giles, with Lake also leaving very shortly afterwards, Fripp and Sinfield assumed direction of the group for In the Wake of Poseidon (1970), Lizard (1970), and Islands (1971) with Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace among the band members during this period. In 1972, Fripp changed the group's instrumentation and approach, drawing from European free improvisation, and developing ever more complex compositions. With Bill Bruford, John Wetton, David Cross and briefly, Jamie Muir, they reached what some saw as a creative peak on Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (1974). Fripp disbanded this group in 1974.
In 1981, Fripp and Bruford reformed King Crimson with another change in musical direction. The new group also included Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. They drew influence from African music, gamelan, post-punk and New York minimalism. This group lasted three years, resulting in the trio of albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984). Following a decade-long hiatus, Fripp revived the group as a sextet he called the "double trio" in 1994 adding Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn. This group participated in another three-year cycle of activity that included the release of Thrak (1995), and multiple concert recordings. There was a hiatus between 1997 to 2000. Four members of the previous sextet reunited in 2000 as a more industrial-oriented King Crimson, called the "double duo", releasing The Construkction of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). After a five year hiatus, the group expanded (in the person of new second drummer Gavin Harrison) for a 2008 tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of their 1968 formation.
Following another hiatus (2009–2012), during which Fripp was thought to be retired, King Crimson came together again in 2013; this time as a septet (and, later, octet) with an unusual three-drumkit frontline, and new second guitarist and singer Jakko Jakszyk. This version of King Crimson continued to tour from 2014 to 2021, and released multiple live albums, rearranging and reinterpreting music from across the band's entire 50-year career for the first time.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KingCrimson
Studio albums
In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)
Lizard (1970)
Islands (1971)
Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)
Starless and Bible Black (1974)
Red (1974)
Discipline (1981)
Beat (1982)
Three of a Perfect Pair (1984)
Thrak (1995)
The Construkction of Light (2000)
The Power to Believe (2003)
(NOTE: Album covers, band images and YouTube links are not available due to certain legal restrictions imposed on Last.fm by King Crimson's management.)
Pictures A City
King Crimson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stark sharp glass-eyed crack and peel
Bright light scream beam brake and squeal
Red white green white neon wheel
Dream flesh love chase perfumed skin
Greased hand teeth hide tinseled sin
Spice ice dance chance sickly grin
Blind stick blind drunk cannot see
Mouth dry tongue tied cannot speak
Concrete dream flesh broken shell
Lost soul lost trace lost in hell
The lyrics to King Crimson's "Pictures of a City Including 42nd at Treadmill" convey a sense of chaos and confusion in an urban environment. The first stanza sets the scene with references to the cold, hard materials used in modern buildings, juxtaposed with the bright lights and movement of the city. The neon wheel suggests a sense of constant motion and change. In contrast, the second stanza focuses on the human element, with references to love, sin, and deception. The use of "pasteboard" and "time slot" suggests a sense of artificiality and conformity in modern life. The final stanza brings a sense of despair, with the singer unable to see or speak, and feeling lost in a broken world.
Line by Line Meaning
Concrete cold face cased in steel
A hard, unyielding exterior that's impenetrable, like a face of concrete covered in steel
Stark sharp glass-eyed crack and peel
Perceiving a bleak or severe reality, that's as delicate and fragile as the cracked skin of a glass-eyed skull
Bright light scream beam brake and squeal
A world of chaos and sensory overload that's harshly illuminated, with the sounds of screeching brakes and screams competing with beams of light and neon signs
Red white green white neon wheel
A symbol of modernity, the neon wheel represents speed, color, and movement that's always in motion and never idle
Dream flesh love chase perfumed skin
The primal drive of desire, characterized by the hunt for flesh, love, and intimacy, often shrouded in a maquillage of perfumed sensuality
Greased hand teeth hide tinseled sin
People indulging in vices and immoral behavior, camouflaging their guilt and decadence behind a thin veneer of glamour and greed
Spice ice dance chance sickly grin
The pleasures of life that can quickly turn sour, expressed through the metaphor of a dance filled with spice and ice, chance and risk and deceitful smiles
Pasteboard time slot sweat and spin
A working-class existence defined by routine, boredom, and the monotony of slot machines, sweat, and spinning wheels of fate and fortune that offers no real escape
Blind stick blind drunk cannot see
A state of helplessness and disorientation, either figurative or literal, where one is unable to perceive or understand his surroundings, like a blind person with no guide
Mouth dry tongue tied cannot speak
The inability to express oneself, to articulate one's emotions, ideas or opinions, resulting in a dry mouth and a tongue tied in knots
Concrete dream flesh broken shell
The harsh reality of a world where dreams are shattered and hopes crushed, leaving only rubble of broken promises and unfulfilled desires
Lost soul lost trace lost in hell
A profound sense of desperation and hopelessness, where one feels lost and alone in a dark world that resembles nothing so much as a hellish nightmare
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PETER JOHN SINFIELD, ROBERT FRIPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jojo45180
Concrete cold face cased in steel
Stark sharp glass-eyed crack and peel
Bright light scream beam brake and squeal
Red white green white neon wheel
Dream flesh love chase perfumed skin
Greased hand teeth hide tinseled sin
Spice ice dance chance sickly grin
Pasteboard time slot sweat and spin
Blind stick blind drunk cannot see
Mouth dry tongue tied cannot speak
Concrete dream flesh broken shell
Lost soul lost trace lost in hell
Hobo Dawg
For each King Crimson song that is allowed on youtube, Lord Fripp demands a sacrifice of twelve oxen.
y2k [rebranding]
that would make approximately 2848393929200 oxen
Naþaniel Smiþ
@y2k [rebranding] liked for the Prince username
Blooze96
@y2k [rebranding] p0
Shacky Rustleford
And a license for his pet fish Eric
tom66joad
You don't hear Michael Giles's name brought up much in conversations about greatest drummers, but what an absolute beast.
Dü Hüsker
Yep and for me hands down the best KC drummer, not matter how high fans rate Bill Bruford.
tom66joad
@Dü Hüsker I see no point in ranking them. They are both incredible drummers.
Nick Mecca
We drummers certainly know it!! Listen to the roll at the end of In The Court....
Jose Resendiz
Underrated drummer