Re: King Crimson

[Brian Patrick Arnold <ba0k+@andrew.cmu.edu>]

Has anybody seen King Crimson USA on CD?  Does anybody have further
information about Virgin Records pricing in the US?  The old Jem Records KC
went for $15.99 - ish in stores with $11.99 average prices, but since Virgin got
the E.G. Records stock, I've only seen $23.99 for the likes of Compact
King Crimson, Starless and Bible Black and so on.  Is this clearly and
obviously an "import" price or what?  I can buy in DC and Pgh areas.
I saw a re-release of Discipline from Warner Bros, but I assume this is
because they still have rights to new KC stuff.  Is this also so for Compact KC?

On another note, if anyone cares about the order of recording/release
of Crimso stuff, here's what I hope is the best synopsis:

   67/68 Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (not really KC, but formed
it)
--
1 69/69 In the Court of the Crimson King (first and definitive incarnation)
   70/70 In the Wake of Poseidon (first transition of members)
   70/70 Lizard (second, degenerating)
2 71/71 Islands (third transition, second definitive incarnation, nice album)
   71/72 Earthbound (lousy live album, I never bought it, all but Fripp left
after this)
3 72/73 Larks' Tongues in Aspic (major shift in music, third definitive
incarnation)
   73/74 Starless and Bible Black
   74/75 USA (live, released after Red)
   74/74 Red
   75/76 Young Person's Guide to KC (compilation with booklet)
--
   77/79 Exposure (really one of Fripp's solo albums, but some very Crimso songs)
--
4 81/81 Discipline (major shift in music, fourth definitive incarnation)
   82/82 Beat
   82/84 The Noise (a video of a concert in France)
   83/84 Three of a Perfect Pair
   84/84 Three of a Perfect Pair Live (a video of a concert in Japan)
   86/86 Compact KC (compilation)

BTW: I've bought everything above on CD or VHS except for USA (I have LP),
Earthbound (yech, I don't want), Cheerful Insanity (I have a tape of someone
elses
Japanese release - NOTE: hey I'd buy it if it were available on ANY format), the
Young Person's Guide (I have LP, would it ever be on CD?), and Compact KC CD
which I am debating whether to buy but can't find a decent price.  You used to be
able to get the videos through order forms inserted in Fripp's latest albums and
CD's
but that's from when Jem (Passport) Records was handling them, at $29.99 a pop.

    For those people who liked the Summers-Fripp stuff, I strongly recommend
Andy Summers' Mysterious Barricades which is dedicated to Eric Satie, but
for my ignorance it sounds very Frippian.  Summers also came out recently
with The Golden Wire, which is more jazzy but has "tape loops" which sound
very Frippertronics-ish.  The man has gone mental.  Of course the likes of David
Torn and Steve Tibbetts use guitar tape loops up-the-butt too, but at least they
do it in their own distinctive manners...

Still waiting for Kate's new album...

- Brian