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King Crimson at the Miller Time Concerts on the Pier, N.Y. 1984 Part 4
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King Crimson
One of the pioneers of the progressive rock genre. The first official rehearsal of the band was on January 13, 1969. The first line-up comprised of guitarist Robert Fripp, lyricist and lighting man Peter Sinfield (who "invented" the name of the band), composer and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, bassist and vocalist Greg Lake, and drummer Michael Giles. They toured extensively and released the album In The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson), a seminal piece of late '60s music. Shortly afterwards, the band split to reform again suffering continuous personnel changes for a period of two and a half years (early 1970-mid 1972), releasing three more studio albums and one recorded live, with Robert Fripp as the only remaining member.
The new King Crimson that evolved in July 1972 (again with some personnel changes) marks a turn toward a heavier progressive sound, with experimental and fusion overtones, that climaxes mostly on their unique semi-improvisatory live performances throughout the whole 1973 until mid 1974, when Fripp broke up the band for good.
In mid 1981, after a full 7 years, a new-formed band by Robert Fripp (with Adrian Belew on guitar; Tony Levin on bass; and drummer Bill Bruford, who also featured in the landmark years 1972-74) will change its name, from Discipline to King Crimson. This line-up will surprisingly stay intact until summer 1984, releasing three studio albums.
Ten years after (May 1994), King Crimson start rehearsing again, this time as a double trio (added to the four above, are Pat Mastelotto on percussion, and Trey Gunn on stick). It is in this time that the Discipline Global Mobile label is started, enabling for the first time Mr. Fripp and associates to release their own music by their own (high) standards. The double trio scheme will only release two full albums and various ep's, yet it will lead to its "fractalization" to groups of three (or four), thus forming the ProjeKcts. Five such ProjeKcts will live and flourish (One, Two, Three, Four, and X), and their live and studio sessions will be released by DGM, along with numerous other recordings from all periods of King Crimson (some under the King Crimson Collector's Club; bi-monthly releases for members only). In the hands of DGM, the King Crimson back catalogue (most late additions only on FLAC/MP3 format) grows enormously, making it one of the biggest for any rock group ever.
The next reincarnation of the band, their first complete studio work being "The ConstruKction of Light" album (May 2000), omits Bill Bruford and Tony Levin and carries on until the end of 2003.
Since, Tony Levin has rejoined and Trey Gunn has departed. In 2008, with the addition of Gavin Harrison the new King Crimson is performing again.