When Robert Fripp declared in 1974 that King Crimson had "ceased to exist" nobody could have foreseen that they would break their silence seven years later with an album that perhaps had more in common with the then current post-punk new wave than the band’s progressive rock past.Released in 1981, Discipline was a startling reinvention with a new line-up performing radically different material that managed to delight fans, confound critics & pick up a substantial new audience along the way.
30 years on, Discipline remains one of the key albums of the early 1980s and one of the most popular and influential in King Crimson’s catalogue.
As different from the 1970s King Crimson, as the 1970s line-ups had been from the 1960s band, the new quartet of Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew (ex-Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads) and Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), rapidly established itself as a force on the live circuit.
The longer songs of the 1960s & early 1970s & the extended improvisations of the live performances from the earlier touring bands were replaced with a series of short taut songs imbued with a minimalist aesthetic that featured complex interwoven guitar lines, (coined ’rock gamelan’) Belew’s distinctive vocals, Bruford’s new armoury of electronic percussion & Levin’s fluid bass & Chapman stick lines.
Songs written for the album became firm fixtures in the band’s repertoire and the stature and influence of the material has grown over the years. Matte Kudasai for example, has become something of a modern standard recorded by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling last year & performed live recently by K.D. Laing.
The album charted on release in many countries - including the UK & USA - while the touring schedule took the band through Europe, the US & Japan in its first year of activity. By the end of 1981 Crimson was, once again, viewed as one of rock music’s premier outfits.
King Crimson had also achieved a rare feat for a rock group by becoming one of the very few acts to release a classic album in three separate decades. From In the Court of the Crimson King in 1969, via Red in 1974 to Discipline in 1981, with differing line-ups & radically different sounds the band’s reputation for innovation & progression (in the best sense of the word) was unassailable.
As with other albums in the King Crimson CD/DVD-A series, the stereo CD features a new stereo mix by Robert Fripp & Steven Wilson, while the DVD-A features 5.1 mixes of the album by Steven Wilson, high resolution stereo mixes of the original & new stereo mixes, a rough mix of the album presented in its first intended running order,video footage from The Old Grey Whistle Test TV show & further audio extras & rarities.
CD:
1. Elephant Talk
2. Frame by Frame
3. Matte Kudasai
4. Indiscipline
5. Thela Hun Ginjeet
6. The Sheltering Sky
7. Discipline
Adrian Belew - Voz y guitarra
Robert Fripp - Guitarra
Bill Bruford - Batería
Tony Levin - Voz y coros
Bonus tracks:
Alt. mixes of The Sheltering Sky & Thela Hun Ginjeet mixed by Steven Wilson.
DVD Content
Discipline
24/96 MLP Lossless 5.1 Surround DTS|9624 5.1 Digital Surround
Elephant Talk
Frame by Frame
Matte Kudasai
Indiscipline
Thela Hun Ginjeet
The Sheltering Sky
Discipline
Mixed and produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson Executive producer Robert Fripp
Mastered by Simon Heyworth Super Audio Mastering, Devon, assisted by Andy Miles
24/96 MLP stereo 24/48 LPCM stereo
Elephant Talk
Frame by Frame
Matte Kudasai
Indiscipline
Thela Hun Ginjeet
The Sheltering Sky
Discipline
Original album 2011 stereo mix
Mixed & produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson Executive producer Robert Fripp
Mastered by Simon Heyworth at Super Audio Mastering, Devon, assisted by Andy Miles
Original album 1981, 30th anniversary remaster
Elephant Talk
Frame by Frame
Matte Kudasai
Indiscipline
Thela Hun Ginjeet
The Sheltering Sky
Discipline
Matte Kudasai (alternative version)
Produced by King Crimson and Rhett Davies
Mastered by Simon Heyworth
Album: Rough Mixes from recording sessions presented in original proposed running order.
Discipline
Thela Hun Ginjeet
Matte Kudasai
Elephant Talk
The Sheltering Sky
Frame By Frame
Indiscipline
These mixes date from the end of May 1981 and were prepared by Rhett Davies. The tape was almost certainly made as a “listening copy” prior to the full mixing stage. The tracks were assembled in Robert Fripp’s then preferred running order. The other point to note is the use of a far greater level of reverb than was applied to the final mix. Again this would have been a decision made by Rhett at the time and the levels applied were standard for the period. The fact that they sound so good – even in relatively unmixed form – is indicative of both the quality of the performances & the engineering. More generally, the early 1980s represented the dawn of an era when recordings can almost be carbon- dated to the year by the increased levels of reverb applied in each succeeding 12 month period, possibly to offset the limitations of then emerging digital technology. Robert Fripp’s decision to issue a final mixed album with minimal discernible reverb made “Discipline” stand out even further from the crowd. The rough mixes provide a suitable alternative. True to the spirit of the original ¼” tapes, the transfers were subject to no further mastering other than some noise reduction and a slight pitch correction applied at DGM by Alex R. Mundy.
Produced by King Crimson and Rhett Davies
24/48 LPCM Stereo
Additional Tracks
A selection of Adrian’s vocal loops
The Sheltering Sky (Alternate mix – Steven Wilson)
Thela Hun Ginjeet (Alternate mix – Steven Wilson)
The Terrifying Tale of Thela Hun Ginjeet
Elephant Talk 12” Dance mix
A small sample of Adrian’s vocal loops for the original album open this section followed by two Steven Wilson alternate mixes – including an instrumental version of ‘Thela Hun Ginjeet’ from the 2011 mixing session. ‘The Terrifying tale of..’ was assembled by David Singleton & Alex Mundy at DGM for the 2008 US tour-box CD & consists of a talk given by Robert Fripp at a Warner Bros. US sales meeting in NYC in 1981 outlining events, followed by tape of Adrian Belew from London’s Basing St. studios reliving events, followed by a blistering live take of the song from Philadelphia, PA in 1982. The 12” dance mix was issued as a radio promo in the USA.
Video Section
Selections from The Old Grey Whistle Test
Elephant Talk (recorded live at The Venue, October 1981)
Frame By Frame
Indiscipline
Elephant Talk
2-4 recorded at the BBC, March 15th 1982, introduced by Anne Nightingale
For some unknown reason, the studio recording of ‘Elephant Talk’ was grafted on to the live performance of the BBC film. It’s possible that the audio recorded at The Venue proved unusable.
Music by King Crimson, elephantosity by Belew
Published by UMG Music Ltd.
DVD Design & Layout by Claire Bidwell at Opus Productions LtdDVD Authoring & Assembly by Neil Wilkes at Opus Productions LtdDVD QC testing by Jon Urban, Bob Romano, Bob Squires, Tim McDonnell & Chris Gerhard Audio tape transfers by Kevin Vanbergen at FX Copyroom
Video Tape Transfers by DGM tape Archive: Alex Mundy Package Art & Design by Hugh O’Donnell Compiled & Coordinated by Declan Colgan for DGM, with input & suggestions from Sid Smith & Steven Wilson
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