kap'n krunch
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
...
At the end of the day Beat is a rushed too-short step-sister of Discipline; Sid Smith's excerpts remind us of this. It can also be seen as predecessor (Heartbeat, etc.) to Adrian's 1983 Twang Bar King album and tour which was great and entirely non-KC in nature. Can Beat be rescued in the new release? I certainly hope so but keeping my expectations very real in this regard.
Three Of A Perfect Pair lands somewhere between the two previous albums; I'll discuss those merits and warts another time near it's 5.1 release.
When a band records SEMINAL albums like In The Court Of The Crimson King and later Discipline, all that follows remain enjoyable for their relative merits but will surely suffer in direct comparison.
"Beat", although VERY similar to Discipline, has incredible moments that its predecessor did not even hint to: "Neurotica", "Requiem", etc. Not my favorite of the 3 albums from that lineup and I've listened to it a billion times (I had it on LP and still have a "West Germany" CD pressing), but , I'm sure I'll enjoy it in its new inception.
3OAPP is different animal, and a natural progression of the first two. The Right and Left side being a great title to differentiate the contents.... "Industry" has always been one of my faves....and man, was I floored when I saw them in that tour ant they played it AND "Dig me" back to back (well, with a little pause in between), I always liked "Man with an open heart" too...one of the best AB songs....
(I later got Abe's "Desire caught by the tail" and was immensely impressed, still on my playing list, "Laughing man" being the classic, but that's another thread!)
As for the Double Trio, I still have mixed feelings about it...can't really connect to it, but ahhhhhh, the next lineup SHAVED MY HEAD OFF!!!! I can't understand why TCOL gets so little love (like a bastard child) , to me it's a powerhouse of an album and as strong as TPTB (even stronger, since they were more intense!!!)..I'll get whatever I can get from that era, even if it's a "bastardization" of TCOL, as they have previously mentioned....
And , again, please let's keep different lineups separate...you can not compare ITCOTCK to Discipline in ANY way, it's a totally different band (remember they were going to be called "Discipline" and not King Crimson?)