Saturday, November 04, 2017

Transmission 8817 - The Stickman Cometh


Tony Levin

A renowned master of the bottom end, studio ace and prolific photographer
reflects on his personal and musical past, 
discusses the present King Crimson 
and prepares for the future
hometown show in Boston!

King Crimson
Peter Gabriel
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
Liquid Tension Experiment
Stick Men

T8817

"can you pull me out?"

RFW


When referencing a band, consistency is usually a variable. It could be used to denote genre, quality or members. 

In the case of King Crimson live, all three fittingly apply:

- Although their music is stereotypically categorized as Prog(ressive), it actually occupies it's long-reserved space as an ever-morphing hybrid that is equally comfortable with pounding power-chord sequences and delicate woodwind, cymbal and hushed-vocal passages.

- The brand is regal. Over 48 years, each performance is a piece of audio art, where painstaking precision collides with free-form interplay. 

- Robert Fripp is the bedrock. The foundation on which this legendary congregation of like-minded cohorts adhere to the metronomic vision, but often radically alter the path and deviate the trajectory of the author's flights.

The current eight-headed monster witnessed on the Radical Action Tour 2017 is a percussion-heavy assemblage of gifted players who breath life as one  into old and new selections. Synchronicity, perception and passion were always on display along with an obvious joy of creating 
such compelling sounds.

If you are lucky enough to get the chance to attend an upcoming recital, don't miss it.





* Special thanks to Tony Levin for joining RFW in the Archives 
and to DGMLive.com for the link and mutual vibe. 
It was a fun talk and very special show.