In the Court of King Crimson: King Crimson at 50 (2023)
Directed by Toby Amies
Written by Documentary
Starring Robert Fripp, King Crimson
Release Date November 3rd, 2023
Published November 3rd, 2023
Robert Fripp is a bit of a control freak. The leader turned ruler of the band King Crimson has ruled the band with an iron fist for more than 50 years. The new documentary, In the Court of King Crimson: King Crimson at 50, details Fripp's control freak nature, the bridges that Robert has burned with past members and the comfort Robert has developed with a group of musicians who've grown comfortable doing what Robert asks of them. I sound like I am being critical but I am truly not intending that. If the members of King Crimson are happy taking orders from Robert, and the result is the exotic and extraordinary music of King Crimson, who am I to complain about it.
King Crimson formed in 1969 and were fractured within their first year of existence. Two of the original members, having tired of Robert's iron grip on the band, decided that life was too short to be under the rule of Robert and left. Robert chose their replacements and moved on. Every so often over the next next 50 years, Robert would choose new band members and when he tired of them, no matter how long they'd been with the band, he'd fire them and replace them. A telling story has one band member who became part of an iconic lineup for the band was unceremoniously let go after over a decade with the band. He was the lead singer at the time.
King Crimson is like a constantly evolving musical experiment with Robert Fripp as the mad scientist. Having helped to define the notion of a prog-rock band, King Crimson toured and recorded for 50 years while developing a loyal and dedicated fanbase who don't seem to mind that Robert Fripp openly berates them during shows for occasionally distracting him. The band is famously private about their live shows and have gone to great lengths to punish anyone attempting to record their show or even grab a still photo of the band during a show. It sounds almost impossible in the day and age of the smartphone but its true, King Crimson concerts are a phone free environment.
Fripp is prickly and fastidious but also fascinating. He claims to practice playing the guitar for 6 hours a day. Seated in his living room, Robert will noodle away on the guitar, following his muse wherever it takes him for hours on end. So yeah, he takes King Crimson very seriously and he has for the past 5 decades. This makes the music of King Crimson that much more fascinating as the band appears to spend a good deal of their live performances jamming and riffing off of whatever Robert decides to play. It's an improvisation highly reminiscent of Jazz fusion but with a classic rock edge. And it sounds incredible.
I've not spent much time listening to King Crimson in my life, they don't have many singles and, because of their prog-rock style, they were rarely on the radio. Hit singles are hard to come by when your songs run on for endless runs, solos, and random sounds that Robert Fripp has collected and catalogued over 50 years, slipping these sounds seamlessly into King Crimson live performances via a large tower he keeps on stage next to him. The tower gets more time and care than any piece of equipment on stage because if it fails, there is no back up. If it goes, all of the sounds go with it.
Find my full length review at Beat.Media
