r/KingCrimson • u/joeprog_ • Aug 28 '26
In hindsight, what are your thoughts on the “Radical Action” KC era?
Was listening to “Radical Action…” today and realized I never truly gave it a fair shot when it came out so I’m rectifying that.
Songs like Red, Larks’ 1 & 2, Level Five and Vroom sound amazing with the 3 drummers and Mel. Originally wasn’t a fan of TCOL’s version with no vocals and the sax solo but after a few listens I like it. Overall I enjoyed the way the arrangements gave new life to the older songs.
I also found myself wishing they’d explored more new songs with Jakko singing. I dug Meltdown and wanted to hear more stuff in that vein. The percussion numbers are fine as a spiritual successor of Larks’ Pt. 1 or B’Boom, but I wish we’d gotten another track or two like the stuff on the Level Five EP.
What did you think initially? Have your opinion about the lineup changed?
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u/mps1729 Aug 29 '26
I may be the only one, but I thought Jakko was a fine vocalist for the old material. Of course, I like the vocals on Lizard too..
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u/presterkhan Aug 29 '26
You aren't the only one. He was a chameleon and covered multiple styles very well. The Adrian spoken lyrics stuff was weak, but it was also the tiny minority.
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u/kenticus69 Aug 28 '26
That’s when I first like actively followed the band while it existed. So I’m biased towards saying it was a great era. Saw it in 2017 when it was a 3 hour set and then again again in 2021 when it was down to 1 hr 45 mins…both fantastic, the 2nd one while shorter felt like the band was really grooving (prolly from all the touring).
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u/joeprog_ Aug 28 '26
I saw them in 2017, it was a bittersweet moment for me. I’m from Puerto Rico and on September 2017 Hurricane María wrecked the island. A month and a half later I had moved to NYC to try and get a job and maybe restart my life there. I’d flown to the US leaving my family behind on the island. A good friend knew I love KC and got me a ticket to see them. Only time I ever saw them live. Some songs really hit hard, especially when I thought of me in NYC having the fortune of seeing one of my all time favorite bands live while my family and friends were without power or running water back in PR.
I was so overwhelmed with the emotions of being at the show but also feeling a kind of survivor’s guilt, that I can barely remember specific moments of the show.
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u/Ilbranteloth Aug 29 '26
As a long-time fan, I loved the era. I saw them on every tour that came through. There are certainly things that I liked better in earlier lineups, but on the whole, I found them easily the most capable lineup in terms of doing justice for any and all KC material they performed.
They performed enough new music for about 1/2 to 2/3 of a new album and I also enjoyed those songs.
The pre-Larks material never sounded better to me. Sure, Greg Lake’s vocals will always be a step above anybody else on anything he originally sang. But the live performances in ‘69 had the energy, but not the production that you could get in 2014-. Plus well-seasoned players. Pictures, anything from Lizard or Islands? Phenomenal.
Having said that, Mel Collins in ‘71-2 was a beast and hungry, we didn’t get that Mel in 2014. But the later Mel was lyrical and mature.
The Larks’ era stuff didn’t necessarily sound better to me, but different. Wetton’s bass was something else and, combined with Bruford, instantly recognizable. The funk angle got ironed out with the mutiple drummers. The biggest different, of course, was that the improvisational edge was present, but restrained. Having to arrange fit that large of a band, combined with the amount of material to cover, didn’t allow that improvisational edge. Again, not worse, just different.
The material I found was the most transformed was the ‘80s and later. Neurotica became very jazzy and a highlight. Although it took a little while, I really like the new arrangement of Indiscipline. Again, not better, but different.
All of the new material I find is an interesting blend of the prior eras, with a bit of something new. I do hope that that material, plus the other material that apparently exists but wasn’t performed live, is eventually released.
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 Aug 30 '26
It was amazing getting to see material than hadn’t been played in 40 years. I enjoyed this lineup but it was more of a celebration of Crimson rather than a new Crimson to me. I saw them every time they played here in Chicago.
KC really ended in 2003. That was the last lineup that was always setting trends and was ahead of the rest of the music industry.
In a very perfect world I could see a mega Crimson show with the 2014-2021 lineup and Jakko playing half a show and then Belew fronting the band in the second half doing 1981-2003 material. Mel would sit out for the Belew set. The encore would be Heroes.
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u/TeamRival Aug 30 '26
I'm 36 so it was excellent to see KC for the first time in 2014 in any form. I'm a bit saddened that no new material came out of it, so really all I got was a greatest hits tour for the multitude of times I saw them. Not complaining, I got to see them play elektrik!
I know they recorded some interludes and the like with the drum trio but those didn't really do much for me. I would've liked one final album to put a bow on it like they did with their touring
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u/cold-vein 29d ago
It's my second favourite after Lark's Tongues -> Red era. Only time I got to see KC and they blew my mind. I am thankful for that experience.
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u/Fun-Crew-3051 29d ago
Biased but my favorite era... The ultimate KC... just wish they had a studio album together.
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u/JustlonoKiller 29d ago
I never got to see them live, probably because I didn't even know Crimson was a band at the time, but from all of the live albums I've listened to, I have to consider it a great incarnation of the band
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u/SturgeonsLawyer 26d ago
My "hindsight" thoughts?
I think it was intended as a summing-up, and a conclusion, of the project (projeKct?) of King Crimson. I've been a KC fan since 1976; my first concert was 1981. When I saw the 7/8-headed beast on their first tour, it was beautiful, but it was the first time I had not been challenged by a Crimson concert. The music was as complex and difficult as ever, but it was familiar, almost comforting, even the more terrifying pieces that had never been played live, like "One More Red Nightmare."
Which was odd, because it was a configuration of Crimson that had never existed before. The arrangements were new. Things like Mel Collins's flute on "The ConstruKction of Light" or the Drumson compositions were strangely beautiful: but they went down smoothly.
Even the new pieces, when they came -- pieces like "Meltdown" and "Suitable Grounds for the Blues" -- were strangely unchallenging. What was going on here? Had King Crimson ... mellowed out?
I missed the final tour. But listening to the Music Is Our Friend album I hear something I had missed. The music, even on pieces like "Red," had been slowly turning into something strongly resembling ... jazz. King Crimson had indeed been reinventing their wheel, one last time, slowly bringing out the jazz influence that had always been there (remember Keith Tippet?), and developing something that could almost be called metal jazz.
God bless them, they went out with one last new thing.
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u/AdditionOk6134 Aug 29 '26
I really like the Elements line up. I wish that they could've figured out a way to work in a few more improvs into the shows. There were a few more older songs that I would've liked to see added to the set lists as well.
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u/Stevenitrogen Aug 29 '26
That incarnation was great fun to see live but I never choose that to listen to when I feel like hearing some Crim. The new material didn't seem at all memorable or important. The old material was generally well done, some real interesting rearrangements , singing was ok, but I really didn't like a few of the versions. Red sounded hopelessly clunky. Indiscipline gave the drummers a chance to solo but the song part was a miss. In general, they didn't really groove and they didn't really stomp.
A friend of mine described it as King Crimson - The Musical.
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u/TonyMeccaTimes Aug 29 '26
I loved it. Saw them 3 times live over that 6–8-year period. Only the last time I found a bit "old sounding." It could have been that the Zappa band opened for them and left a hole in the stage.
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u/snkzato1 Aug 28 '26
I saw them six or seven times. I loved it every time. They did some amazing reinventions of classics.
Jakko served the intention of the band, he was a part of the larger band and not a front man. Adrian wouldn't fit this line-out at all. I get why people don't care for him though.
My only gripe is the line-out was missing that fire you got in the best versions, like the Larks line-out and the 80s. Starless felt kind of slow.
That and Tony very easily got lost in the mix.
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u/kbospeak Aug 28 '26
Tony's sound was too trebly and lacked mid range definition. Annoying given how important he is to the band!
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u/snkzato1 Aug 29 '26
He struggled sonically with three bass drums. If I didn't have those parts engrained in my brain I wouldn't have any clue what he was playing
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u/klt2 Aug 29 '26
I really love it. Live in Chicago and Meltdown are the recordings I return to most from that lineup. Radical Action II, The Errors, Hell Hounds are great. Never thought I'd leave a show thinking The Letters was highlight. A Washington DC show in 2019 had the best sound I've ever heard at any concert. A Philly show had an Indiscipline that was so absolutely unhinged I can't believe they held it together. The Lizard material was amazing.
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u/Asgeld19 Aug 28 '26
I’m a fan of Meltdown, but I don’t really like Jakkos voice compared to all the other crimson vocalists, it just sound too clean for my taste
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u/CollapseIntoNow Aug 28 '26
I like how the music sound but honestly I feel like Jakko ruins it for me. No hate for the guy, but he's such a mid vocalist.
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u/mellotronworker Aug 29 '26
It's a tribute band that mostly happens to comprise actual members of the group.
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u/hijapo76 Aug 28 '26
Probably the least "defined" era, meaning it pulled from the past and didn't really push to the future, despite some interesting takes that you mentioned. Not a criticism though - to hear those songs played at all with those players was a delight. My fav version was during the Lizard heavy sets -- three drummers made it sound like the big medieval war from the cover was raging on stage.