by Ironclaw on Sun Feb 16, 2014 4:31 am
First of all, I want to thank Indyrod for all the work he puts in around here. But the thread had been going off topic for several posts before I responded to what was there, trying to relate what I was saying back to Red and reposting the bulk of my comment on the more appropriate thread.
But unfortunately, the point I really wanted to make is being ignored. It is my opinion, and it might be a somewhat well-informed one, that improvs such as Providence (on Red!), or even set pieces such as LTIA cannot be fully appreciated by people who don't have time for Bela Bartok, or Ralph Vaughn Williams, or Benjamin Britten, or Igor Stravinsky, or Sergei Prokofiev. I think that is what Fripp, and even Greg Lake, are talking about when they say that King Crimson had/has its roots in music of the European tradition. If that makes me a musical snob, so be it! Although there may be no accounting for taste, I bet there are few progressive rock musicians of a professional level who don't get into music like Bartok. And probably even some Heavy Metal ones. Richie Blackmore once said (more or less), "The Violin is mightier than the Guitar." I agree with him.
If I misunderstood what Indyrod meant, I am sorry. Perhaps you think I stated the obvious. Indeed, what I said was painfully obvious. No, what you wrote wasn't clear, Indyrod. I guess you meant to say that 20 years later after two extended periods of oblivion when Fripp and Bruford and four other guys finally chose to revisit material from the mid-70's edition of KC they didn't attempt Fracture alongside LTIA pt 2, The Talking Drum, and Red because Fracture is so difficult. That could be.
But we digress. The topic is supposed to be Red.
So, why is Red not the perfect KC album?
1. The back cover should have been the front cover. This is, in itself, unimportant and has been rectified by "The Road to Red".
2. However, having a photo of the band as the cover symbolised, as I think Vroom pointed out, that Crim was moving towards the mainstream. In other words, Red ultimately became the first step on Wetton's own "Road to Asia".
3. There is too much naked guitar sound. Kicking out the violin and replacing it with sessions from alumni and others did not quite achieve the richness of colour found on the albums LTIA and SABB.
4. The one thing that really bothers me about Red is the vocal verses in "One More Red Nightmare". I almost cringe when I hear them even after all these years. The rest of the song, including the vocals for the refrain, are wonderful.
5. Actually, Red is almost perfect.