I am pleased that the recent Sunday Sermon touched some readers. I have had little of note to report over the last few days. I have spent much of the time listening to recent snippets of live King Crimson. Some wonderful moments, some honourable moments, some 'tired moments'. Which leads me to late night diary musings upon the nature of a 'tired' moment, and in particular the importance of 'intention'.
'Frying Pan' continues to frustate me. Do all the players have a common intention? The power of a band in full flight with a truly common purpose is stunning. The early moments of the former KC four piece are a classic example, or the recent concerts by TOOL that I have witnessed.
I find myself comparing 'Frying Pan' with 'Indiscipline'. The role of all the parts of Indiscipline seem well defined, from the joyful, teasing of the vocals and drums to the power of the instrumental sessions. But what of 'Frying Pan'? I hear a joy in the original drumming on 'Projekction' – the stadium rock of 'We will Rock you' in which the drums themselves are sufficient to carry a whole song – and yet I have not sensed that joy since. What now is the intention of the part? What is the intention behind the constant switching of the beat, beyond frustrating a tapping foot? And the ascending, descending guitar lines similarly had a wonderful, dangerous, joy, stretching your tolerance of discord. Has that dangerous joy also departed? And what of the bass part? In hearing this song in my head, I hear no bass line. Is it absent, or is it the invisible glue? And what is its intention? The vocal – a composite of Beatles, Belew and Rundgren – is one of Adrian’s strongest. How does this fit with the rest? A frustrating listen. A pearl waiting to be polished - not by me, you understand, by the band.
I was excited to speak with Fripp, and to hear about his new home - "our kind of house", as he put it. I look forward to accepting his invitation for a glass champagne and a bed for the night in the coming months.
"Rightness is its own necessity."
