Customer Reviews

Thrakattak

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Essentially, this is the middle free improvisation section of Thrak from various concerts strung together into a seamless hour or so of free rock improvisation.

If you like Ornette Coleman's free jazz, or some of Sonic Youth's improvisational music from their SYR series, there's a good chance you'll like this. I like both of the above, and find this CD to be not quite of the same caliber musically (it was never intended to be a single composition in the first place), but enjoyable nonetheless.

But, there's really no way to guarantee whether you'll like this album (even if you're a KC fan), so I recommend actually hearing it before you buy if possible.

THRaKaTTaK (let's be pedantic and get the upper and lower case rendition correct) is a full-frontal aural assault on the heinous mediocrities of corporate rock. Robert Fripp and his double-trio thread together an hour of immensely satisfying avant improvisation. This material was recorded at various live King Crimson concerts in 1995. It begins and ends with an account of 'Thrak' from the album of the same name - and in a different guise from the preceding EP, 'Vroom' (1994). In between the received notes we get some idea of just how far this Crimson line-up pushed their experimental mandate.

The natural aggression of rock, the instinctive bravery of free jazz and the complex textural interest of contemporary composed musics are all called to mind as Fripp (guitar and electronics), Adrian Belew (guitar and FX), Tony Levin (Chapman stick), Trey Gunn (Warr guitar), Pat Mastelotto (drums) and Bill Bruford (percussion) set to work. The outcome is something far more terrifying and edgy than anything the band has produced in the studio so far - a milestone in improvised rock, and for once something that actually merits the much misused monicker 'progressive'.

Many sympathetic to the Crimson cause have argued that the double trio format never really gelled. Mastelotto's muscular drums and Bruford's skittering, angularly metred percussive forays found differentiated but complementary roles; Levin's distinctive stick sound continued to cut through without competition; but the guitar-based musicians sometimes seemed to encroach on each others' accents and harmonic territory a little too much. On THRaKaTTaK, however, they unleashed a sonic force that is undoubtedly greater than the sum of their not inconsiderable parts. A classic in its own right, and one to file in between Ornette Coleman and Glenn Branca. Dark, daring and delightfully demanding.

Unfortunately, many of those who listen to this album, including fans of King Crimson, will be predisposed to dismiss it as an impromptu, nonsensical array of harsh and annoying dissonance, seemingly without beginning or end, purpose or direction. Granted, there appears to be a fine line between idiosyncratic genius and senendipitous chaos when it comes to a musical treatise such as King Crimson's "Thrakattak." Fortunately, this album transcends the boundaries of such dualistic categorization, and being composed purely of live, improvisational material, it cannot be held to the conventional standard of judgment regarding studio-produced music. King Crimson has always approached music from an experimental point of view, though not necessarily based on raw passion. For the band, it has always been an intellectual journey, an exploration into the kinds of harmonical verisimilitude they can create. If "Discipline" was King Crimson at their pinnacle of controlled virtuosity, "Thrakattak" is an emblem of their musical primordiality, unfettered by convention, tonality or cadence, yet still retaining the ability to keep their atonal manifestations together through technical expertise. Sometimes genius is not understood but posthumously. Beethoven did not come to be appreciated by most people until after his death, for instance. Nevertheless, get this album, and listen to it from beginning to end numerous times - not with an open, forgiving mind, but with a scrupulously critical one. You may or may not be surprised by the amount of characteristic order embedded within the veil of ostensible, harmonic entropy, but you will be surprised, pleasantly or not, by the musical challenge this collection offers, in juxtaposition not only to other KC albums, but to the entire genre of modern music.

If, while listening to the song Thrak on the album of the same name, you found yourself thinking, "You know, this is great but I wish it were an hour long and didn't have those annoying structured parts," this is the album for you. I don't know if I had those thoughts exactly, but one way or another I love this album.

As a newcomer, I'd get Thrak first. Then judge if you want more.

An hour of free-form improvisation is certainly a frightening concept, but this album stands up extraordinarily well (even for a first listen). Dissonance and abrasion are in abundance, but Fripp's soundscape (ambient guitar) work serves as a glue that binds everything into a brilliantly artistic whole. This is quite easily the Krimson release with the most divided audience opinion, but it is also one of the best. A highly modernist and avant-garde work to be sure, but also hypnotically good (I was unable to stop listening on its initial play). Fans of the experimental, or even the ambient, are strongly encouraged to dive into this.

This is the King Crimson cd that will divide most fans right down the middle. Totally improvised and recorded on tour, Thrakattak is probably the most unique instrumental cd I have ever heard. I love it when bands take risks, and most bands would not have the guts to put out a cd that was totally improvised on stage. King Crimson are so far ahead of their time it isn't even funny. For crazy unrelenting instrumental music fans only.

As years went by, no one expected that improvised music could be of such interest. The combination with harsh electric sound, plus the unusual ochestration (2 guitars, 2 basses, 2 percussion sets) makes it even more idiosyncratic. One of the best cd's of 1996, and maybe one of the most challenging in the whole story of the Crimson King.

Live improvs from King Crimson, which will be very difficult for the average music fan to understand or enjoy! This is only for die-hard Crim-heads or people with extremely open minds who are willing to accept a sonic challenge! I let a friend of mine who is into death/black metal exclusively have a go at this album. I think he summed it up perfectly by saying, 'this is a slow descent into HELL!' I agree 100%, so strap in and take a trip to meet the Dark Lord if you dare!

Unlike most bands who are lost outside of the three chord, three chorus, three minute song world, King Crimson seeks to move beyond such conventionality and into experimentation. On Thrakattak, they include improvisations recorded live on their 1995 tour. At first, I was skeptical as to how these improvisations would stand together sans the composed material that was also part of the performance. But quickly, my fears dispersed as I listened. Crimson has always been a great improvisational band, and the talent for making these instrumentals interesting shows through here. This album is all the more needed as an antidote to the pre-programmed pop that pervades the airwaves in 2000.

Great King Crimson and there's free red cd, I join with this album in one breath and my mind and body feels good, when I listen to the that "enormous" attack of improvisational music. Band's playing is superb and music is mindblowing. King Crimson is the King Crimson and when we speak about value's of live performances, King's are a leaders and the center of creative energy in improvised music. Here is heavy riff of Thrak and atonal impro's, lots of soundscapes by Mr.Fripp, and acoustic & electronic percussions controlled by Bruford & Mastelotto, Belew is in front of all it, and Levin and Gunn there's nothing to say about them-perfect! Thrakattak stand's like a Milesstone in contemporary music, this is Crimso's masterpiece and hard to understand for all kind of listeners, but lovers of KC and avant-garde don't afraid this cd is for you. King Crimson is the King, which always win with his vision in music, with his extraordinarity, philosophy and effect's. Publishing is perfect, I'm pleased when discover band's poster in package. Long Live The King Crimson!