Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson

King Crimson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 23, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Discipline Us
• ASIN: B000IHY10K
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,382 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man

2. Epitaph

3. The Court of the Crimson King [Abridged]

4. Cat Food [Single Version]

5. Cadence and Cascade

6. Ladies on the Road

7. Sailor's Tale [Abridged]

8. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 1 [Abridged]

9. Book of Saturday

10. Fracture [Abridged]

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Elephant Talk

2. Frame by Frame

3. Matte Kudasai

4. Discipline

5. Heartbeat

6. Waiting Man

7. Neurotica

8. Three of a Perfect Pair

9. Sleepless [Abridged]

10. Vrooom

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Impossible, December 1, 2006

By 

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson (Audio CD)

I agree with the previous reviewer in that this is the most useful King Crimson compilation ever (at least for non-completists), and that previous collections can be deemed obsolete. This one covers each of the five (that would be my count) distinct phases of the band's career, and the result is a superior introduction or summary for the interested layperson. However, I would contend that there is a fundamental challenge behind the very idea of a King Crimson retrospective, from a handy one- or two-disc package like this, to an elaborate multiple-disc box set. Given the band's highly contorted career, with so many musical philosophies and experimental styles coming and going with seemingly dozens of different group members, not to mention Robert Fripp's open-minded anti-leadership, it is probably impossible to create a truly representative King Crimson retrospective.

Just like the music itself is impossible to categorize or pigeonhole, and because the King Crimson muse has evolved so extensively over the decades, efficient collection becomes nearly impossible too. As mentioned above, this release does contain many of the most "collectible" tracks from all the various phases of the twisted and adventurous King Crimson saga (I'm partial to the John Wetton era myself). But in the attempt at "representativeness," the selections can't help but appear arbitrary and obligatory, with the related problem of abridgement for certain tracks that were deemed useful but too long to cram into the few spare minutes available on these two discs. But of course, anyone interested in the history of progressive rock, from late-60s jazzy orchestrations to modern industrialized walls of sound, must be aware of King Crimson and their heavily challenging (and increasingly influential) music. This compilation gets the job done for the innocent bystander, but save your pennies for all the original albums that you'll want to start buying real soon. [~doomsdayer520~]

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction for newer fans, April 21, 2007

By 

Ed (Long Branch, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson (Audio CD)

My Band teacher recently played a couple tracks from his ipod on the stereo at school and ever since I have been hooked on King Crimson like I am on the Beatles, Doors, and Pink Floyd. They are a great band and this two disc compilation is a fantastic compilation of tracks from most of their albums (there are no tracks from the album 'Lizard' on this set). I'd recommend this cd set to anyone looking for something new to listen to than modern rock and other bands, or just anyone who loves music!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes indeed., August 10, 2010

By 

dearborne - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson (Audio CD)

I am enlightened. I lost track of King Crimson after their second album and recently heard a piece on Pandora radio then YouTube. My, what I have missed. This double cd covers the highlights of KingCrimson's albums into 21st C. They continued to be experimental and creative. They even experimented with being a double trio. Wow, what? I'm glad I caught up with them. These are cool dudes. Hot cats would be a better description. 'Discipline' is a cool piece.