Andrew
Keeling's Desert Island Crim
by Sid Smith on Sat., Jun 10, 2006
Andrew
Keeling's connections with King Crimson
go back to when he wrote to Fripp at the
age of 15 asking if he could join the band.
He
was surprised to receive a reply from the
guitarist and an offer to write an arrangement
of "Lady Of The Dancing Water".
"Robert had quickly written it in pencil
(the melody line plus chords) and invited
me to do an arrangement of it. I did so
and sent it to him. When Lizard came out
and I heard what Robert had done with Peter
Sinfield's words I learnt a great deal about
not what to do with an arrangement: Robert's
original was a wonderful indication of control
and simplicity done so as to heighten words.
Mine was an overblown monster of a thing!
I think Robert set my future in motion by
inviting me to arrange something."
Of
course, Andrew will be known to many visitors
to DGMLive. The composer kept a diary on
the old DGM site and produced two guides
to King Crimson's Music; In The Wake Of
Poseidon and Larks' Tongues In Aspic with
another title dealing with the debut album
being prepared.
His
haunting track Meditatio was one of two
by him featured on the DGM-released Present
Moment album, Hidden Streams by Opus 20
and in 2000, he released his own album,
Quickening The Dead for the Riverrun label.
Along
with Bert Lams, Keeling has also scored
Robert Fripp's Soundscapes for orchestra
and in 2005 he released Reclaiming Eros
for the Burning Shed label (see my review
on my blog). Burning Shed will also be releasing
an album of solo piano music by Keeling
this year.
He
also maintains a regular diary over at Krimson
News which chronicles his twin passions
of hill walking and writing music . Andrew's
website also contains many resources and
articles of interest to Crimheads.
So
without further ado we have Andrew Keeling's
Top Ten KC – and in common with other
guests in this spot, he’s had a bit
of difficulty in whittling things down to
just ten tracks.
It's
impossible to single-out individual songs
for a KC Top 10. It's always been my belief
that the songs are parts of a much greater
whole. So, a top 10 albums within and without
King Crimson is, for me, a more practicable
way forward than just individual songs.
It also strikes me that this list is likely
to be chronological.
1)
In the Court of the Crimson King
I
first heard this on December 9th 1969 after
a school concert. It stunned me to the point
of having to listen to it twice in a row.
From this point onwards my life changed.
From the opening 'noise' of Schizoid Man
to the closing bars of the title-track this
is a magical album. This album came from
somewhere else. It encapsulates the entire
ethos of musico-archetypal otherness, going
well beyond the counter-culture of the late
1960's. It's of no wonder that the power
of this rendered KC immobile. It was a lightning-bolt
to all of us. It was also the structural
prototype for most of the subsequent KC
albums.
2)
In the Wake of Poseidon
I
bought this on its release-date, summer
1970. Pictures of a City was stunning then
and remains so to this day. The problem
is that, often, popular music comes with
ready-made nostalgia. It is often impossible
to separate our primary experience of the
music with the actual music content itself.
When I learnt the acoustic guitar part and
transcribed the music of the title-track
for my Musical Guide on the album, I realised
why this music has stood up. Cadence and
Cascade is sensational; Catfood in a league
of its own. Mick Farren once said, I believe,
that KC weren't rock 'n roll. He was right!
They were jazz! And the album concept? Clearly
KC were in a league of their own.
3)
Lizard
I
bought this album on its release date in
December 1970. How on earth did Fripp and
Sinfield manage to a) write Poseidon b)
go on to create this album in so short a
time? Cirkus is one the strongest pieces/songs
of the period. Lady of the Dancing Water?
What can one say? This illustrated that
Fripp and Sinfield were to the 1970's what
Lennon/McCartney were to the 1960's.
4)
Islands
The title track is one of the most beautiful
things I have ever heard. The lucid structural
placing of keyboards is masterful: piano
to harmonium to mellotron and back to harmonium.
The mellotron ritornello a masterstroke.
5)
McDonald and Giles
Should
this be placed as No.2? I've always felt
that the mellotron ritornello of Islands
owes a huge amount to the flying section
of Birdman, and I believe that Birdman may
well have been the b-side to the projected
KC album #2. McD & G is the polar-opposite
of Poseidon. Suite in C is something I listened
to over and over again at the time. Ian
McDonald and Michael Giles should be proud
of themselves for this one album alone.
It will be remembered far into the future.
6)
Larks Tongues' in Aspic
A
turning-point. I first heard this after
returning from a tour of Ireland. This album
was not KC and yet was KC. A shock to hear
violin instead of saxes. LTIA Pt 1 - a masterstroke.
VW and beyond. Then the 'live' versions
from The Great Deceiver. Complete with the
Wetton-Bruford rhythm-machine.
7)
Red
'A
complete thought' according to RF. The final
Starless always struck me as being the grand-playout
for the counter-culture generation. That
and Nick Drake's Pink Moon. The guitar solo
on Starless showed the way out of the impasse
of the self-indulgent early '70's virtuoso
moments of the Page's and the Clapton's.
It's as though at that moment we all waved
goodbye to electric blues.
8)
Discipline
Another
shock. King Crimson turned New Wave gamelan?
I hadn't heard Steve Reich at this point.
When I finally did it struck me that KC
did Reich better than Reich himself. Frame
by Frame is one of the strongest. Matte
Kudesai is fabulous.
9)
Exposure
RF
exposed. You Burn Me Up, I'm a Cigarette.
RF rock 'n roll? It made more sense when
I finally read Bennett and Gurdjieff. At
the time it was a shock. Hammill on Disengage,
Daryl Hall on North Star. And Terre Roche
on Mary. This is a classic.
10)
Peter Sinfield's Still tied with KC's The
Power to Believe.
A
House of Hope and Dreams and Song of the
Seagoat are, certainly of their time but
magical nonetheless. The four Adrian Belew
haiku on TPTB are beautiful.
10.5)
HWWYHTBHW
The
power of this song lies in the snap (acciaccatura)
at the beginning of the chorus.
