Help A Snood get into King Crimson 5.1 .................... Don't laugh 8P

[Snood]

Well Snood never been much into KC, mainly because me never listened to them................

DOH!!!@:

Did some research and listened to some clips..............looking to dip my foot in the KC water.

Of course getting - In the Court of the Crimson King

Leaning also towards RED, DISCIPLINE & LARKS to start out with as my 2nd 3rd & 4th discs.............

Was not so swept away by Poseidon or Lizard by the small clips me heard of those, but seems LiZARD is supposed to be awesome in 5.1

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny Suggestions on my list or what a SNood should get. Me Tends to lean towards harder edge lotta guitar stuffz.

Actually had 8 of them in my cart at one time but went hmmmm............need to make sure me likes these guys.

Thank You in advance :banana:

So which ones should Snood pick up as a KC beginner?

 

[LizardKing]

You need this to start with:

A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson

But seriously in surround I'd go in this order:


Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Discipline
Red
Starless And Bible Black
Lizard
In the Court of the Crimson King
Islands
In The Wake of Poseidon

YMMV....

Each album is quite unique - and has a different sound/style. Some consider the 72-5 lineup the best - but I like em all....

 

[LizardKing]

Oh Yeah - the surround mixes are all great!

 

[rtbluray]

My favorite King Crimson surround mixes:

This order:
1) Larks' Tongues in Aspic
2) Red
3) In the Court of the Crimson King
4) Discipline
5) Lizard
6) Islands
7) Starless & Bible Black
8) In the Wake of Poseidon

 

[Valhalla]

I would get Larks' Tongues, Red and Lizard and listen to each 3 or 4 times. If you haven't got into it by then you probably never will. LTIA and Red because they are usually the most popular, and Lizard because it is the most complex. If you like free jazz you will probably love Lizard once your ear '"understands" it. It is definitely much better in surround because there's too much happening to hear it all in stereo.

I went through a similar thing recently. It seemed to work - I am now waiting for my Larks' Tongue and Road to Red box sets to arrive!

 

[LizardKing]

Agree with the comments above about Lizard.... Happy Family is mind blowingly complex - there's sooooo much going on.... The surround on that is a revelation... It's nice that they give you a break after Happy Family with Lady of the Dancing Water....Celebrate the Lizard :banana:

Personally I'd give them a bit more than 3-4 listens....

 

[Cygnus_X1]

I've a newbie to KC but for me, In the Court of the Crimson King is the most casual-listener friendly disc I've heard so far. I enjoy that disc.
Larks' Tongues in Aspic sounds like they improvised a lot, tough to wrap my head around that one. I haven't popped in Lizard yet.

 

[colsky]

One unique thing about Crimson is that each era of the band is like listening to a completely different group, with Fripp there as the common factor. And I love it all

In the Court of the Crimson King/Poseidon
completely different from
Lizard
completely different from
Islands
completely different from
Larks/Starless & Bible Black/Red
completely different from
Discipline/Beat/Three of a Perfect Pair

If you likes your guitar, then my recommendation would be Red first. Probably the most accessible (and heavy) of the early periods. The instrumental last part of that album's closing track Starless has always been my favourite Crimson music.

They are all classics to me, but obviously In the Court of the Crimson King is another good place to start as that's where it all began. Poseidon is similar in parts to Court, and I believe there are many people who prefer it.

Lizard and Islands come into the acquired taste bracket. Probably the most "difficult" 2 of them all. A friend of mine who likes his difficult jazz likes these 2 the best. You probably need to give these 2 time, but they are well worth it when they get you. Lizard especially is so complex and difficult to describe. They have all benefited from 5.1, but probably Lizard most of all. It is an incredible listen in that format.

The best sounding Crimson 5.1, in my opinion, is Larks Tongues. Another essential purchase. Similar in ways to Red, but more difficult and a bit more instrumental.

The Discipline era is nothing like the 70's stuff. Similar if anything to Eno period Talking Heads. Discipline is the best from that period.

So to start, get the surround versions of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Red, In the Court of the Crimson King and Discipline. Then take a deep breath, turn out the lights and get Lizard!

Don't you love this forum, everyone spending your money for you!!

 

[César]

Hey Snood, if you want a piece of advice, I'd suggest that you should avoid listening to snippets of KC songs, specially if they are low fi samples. Youtube songs or low rate mp3 will only give you a muddy presentation and will lead you to a wrong opinion of KC.
If you have the chance of getting the 5.1s, begun with that. If not, start please with good stereo versions. If you like guitars, I'd begin with Red, followed by LTIA. Both surround versions are stunning, specially LTIA blu-ray. Disciple has always been a bit difficult to digest for me, so I'd leave that one for later. Then, In the Court is a must and I'll add Thrak. Don't miss out this little gem in stereo, for me it's a killer.

 

[peterzach]

Well Snood never been much into KC, mainly because me never listened to them................

DOH!!!@:

Did some research and listened to some clips..............looking to dip my foot in the KC water.

Of course getting - In the Court of the Crimson King

Leaning also towards RED, DISCIPLINE & LARKS to start out with as my 2nd 3rd & 4th discs.............

Was not so swept away by Poseidon or Lizard by the small clips me heard of those, but seems LiZARD is supposed to be awesome in 5.1

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny Suggestions on my list or what a SNood should get. Me Tends to lean towards harder edge lotta guitar stuffz.

Actually had 8 of them in my cart at one time but went hmmmm............need to make sure me likes these guys.

Thank You in advance :banana:

So which ones should Snood pick up as a KC beginner?

Others have made some great suggestions, I came into King Crimson only having heard the 'Court' album and Discipline and 3 of a Perfect Pair.
I have bought all the surrounds as they came along and don't regret getting them as Steven Wilson's mix of all of them is just fantastic.
I am not a improvised jazz fan so Lizard seemed like a album I would hate but I have grown to like that one in surround.
So I think your idea of which ones to get first are a good representation of who KC are.
Court and Discipline were the easiest for me to digest as Court is verry proggy like Genesis,ELP,Yes,Gentle Giant and I liked Discipline as it is very similar to what Talking Heads were doing.

peter

 

[blue.monk]

Good on ya Snood! You're getting some great suggestions here. The SW surround mixes are uniformly excellent. You're in for a strange and wonderful journey. For the record my favorite mixes (thus far) are Discipline, Larks' Tongues and Lizard.

 

[proufo]

I would advise to avoid compilations. KC albums are complete if not concept pieces, not assortments of songs that could be un-sinfully mixed and matched.

I'd start with Crimson King, then Islands, Tongues and Lizard. Sequentially is good too, giving, say, 20 or so relaxed listens (no discipline, pun intended) to each album.

 

[DennisMoore Jr.]

Well Snood never been much into KC, mainly because me never listened to them................

So which ones should Snood pick up as a KC beginner?

Hi my friend,

First of all KC is not easy access, kinda like the first three Gentle Giant records. YES had bubblegum sweet harmonies and lyrical hooks meant to soothe to go along with
the musical virtuosity, ELP had Greg Lake's butter smooth tenor to go with tried & true classical arranging.

KC has abrasion, abruptness with little vocal harmonies to go with the musicial vituosity. You mentioned "An Observation". That was the end of
KC working with smooth vocal lines or harmonies.

My point is KC is not for everyone just like Gentle Giant isn't for everybody.

I do enjoy KC but not at the level that I consume ELP - YES - Genesis - Renaissance, etc...

To start, I would stick exclusively to Steven Wilson's KC 5.1 mixes. KC was a totally different band with each recording, so who knows what may suit your fancy?

Also, Adrian Belew has a stunning & clear rich voice. So the Belew era is good if you enjoy smooth vocals.

 

[OppoFood]

Good thread starter Snood, I looked at buying KC but held off.

Then I bought Lizard as is was going cheap.

Played it in stereo on my pc at work (it arrived there) and hated it.

Looks like I did everything wrong as a KC virgin - wrong album, wrong player choice, wrong mood !

Might just give them a second chance with a different album.

 

[Scott M4]

I'd suggest Court, Red & Discipline as starters. 3 utterly different great albums. If you like one in particular,next buy the album just before or after it.

 

[LizardKing]

Good thread starter Snood, I looked at buying KC but held off.

Then I bought Lizard as is was going cheap.

Played it in stereo on my pc at work (it arrived there) and hated it.

Looks like I did everything wrong as a KC virgin - wrong album, wrong player choice, wrong mood !

Might just give them a second chance with a different album.

Even I wouldn't recommend starting with Lizard...

Hey Oppofood - Maybe go for Discipline... totally different...

 

[DuncanS]

For me its In The Court Of, Red, Starless, and Islands which is very different.

If you're open to a band that experiments, are phenomenal musicians, and produce music that doesn't always work for everybody, Crimson are for you. Its a bit like Frank Zappa, great music, but often you've got to be in the right frame of mind to listen to it. I had only ever heard In The Court Of when as a teenager I got Islands for Christmas, I didn't know what to make of it, it wasn't like In The Court, but it was so intriguing I had to listen again and again. Even after all those intervening years, I still find it strangely wonderful.

Go wild buy the whole 5.1 catalogue.....:chill

 

[kap'n krunch]

Hi my friend,
...

To start, I would stick exclusively to Steven Wilson's KC 5.1 mixes. KC was a totally different band with each recording, so who knows what may suit your fancy?

That's what I was thinking...

Kcrimson is not ONE band but SEVERAL!!!

it's apples and oranges and bananas and kiwis and Pineapple, ...etc!

 

[Snood]

Wow , Everyone thank you........Think from all the suggestions think Snood has an idea of the next 3 or 4. Thinking Court, Red, Larks, Discipline then prob Lizard (Lizard as an experiment lol)

Already ordered COurt, but will prob order Red and Larks tonight............Will put my foot in the water and see.

then if Snood comes out of that list mesmerised.........then onto some of the rest.

Thank you all so much for all of everyone's help, Snood thought Snood was gonna get flamed for not being into KC yet. lmao :banana:

 

[Valhalla]

Keep us informed as you become indoctrinated (or not)!