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May 07, 1981  |
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Polytechnic Manchester, England |
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Notes
Although they only had five gigs under their belt, Discipline entered Manchester sounding confident and ready to take on all-comers. You can almost hear the brashness in this line-up as they launch into a set that just four weeks previously did not exist.
There’s a palpable joy in the bouncy rendition of Elephant Talk (reprised also as an encore) and Frame By Frame’s incorporation of Steve Reich’s phasing patterns sounds as hair-raising now as it must have done at the time.
Red, being played in public for the only the sixth time since it first appeared on Crimso’s 1974 album of the same name, receives a rapturous welcome. In the post-punk era during which this concert took place, it’s interesting to note that a call for 21st Century Schizoid Man from a member of the audience is met with significantly less enthusiasm. That said, the reception given to Larks’ Tongues In Aspic borders on the ecstatic.
To some extent the material that had been fashioned during the Discipline rehearsals the previous month are still fluid and not everything is fixed in place. The Sheltering Sky, originally born from an improvisation, is being moulded and shaped onstage at Manchester. Fripp’s solo towards the end of the piece dramatically incorporates the introductory ascending lines from Red.
Restored from a bootleg source, Alex “Stormy” Mundy has breathed a fiery life into this recording which captures the excitement of the night both on and off the stage.
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| Tracks
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Personnel
Adrian Belew - Guitars, Drums, and Lead Vocal
Bill Bruford - Acoustic and Electric Drums & Percussion
Robert Fripp - Guitar
Tony Levin - Bass, Chapman Stick, Synth, and Backing Vocal
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Audio Source: Bootleg Cassette
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Fan Reviews
Gimme a few more stars to throw on this one, Sat., Dec 5, 2009
Written by DeVito
Back around 1976 or ’77, as a 15-/16-year-old, I started listening to Crimson. Unfortunately Crimson had broken up a couple years earlier, and the various surviving “progressive rock” bands were stepping all over their dicks in their rush to sell out. Punk held no interest for me (still doesn’t, although I can appreciate it on a conceptual basis). I mostly lost interest in rock and was getting into Coltrane and Miles, Oregon and Old & New Dreams, Ravi Shankar and Balinese Gamelan, and just generally trying to sample (or in some cases devour) a half-century of recorded music. But Larks’, Starless, and Red were staples that carried me a long way too. When Discipline came out, I don’t remember what I thought it would be like, or if I was expecting any particular kind of style or thing; all I remember is dropping the needle on the record and being hooked -- listening to it over and over and being obsessed with it. I love the Discipline Crimson. It was the first King Crimson lineup I saw live, so it holds a special place for me in that regard, but it’s more than that; the feel of this group was just so different. It was unique then and it’s almost more unique now, if that’s possible. The opportunity, so many years later, to hear these early recordings is just beautiful -- and I don’t give a rat’s ass about the lo-fi sound, or any of that; it’s just beautiful. To hear Creation is a special privilege in any context. If you’re concerned about audio fidelity I’d say the audio here is similar to that on the Moles Collectors Club release (that is, listenable bootleg). So what. The music is thrilling. For me, “The Sheltering Sky” is the pinnacle of this set -- I love this tune and always have. I’ve been alternating listening to this and the 8/15/2001 concert for the last couple of weeks. What a breadth of perspective. When I was young I didn’t expect to live very long, or particularly want to; but I’ve grown to appreciate what this world has to offer. I hope I can hang around for a while. --DeVito
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