Robert Fripp was well and truly done with King Crimson in the late seventies, but he formed a new band with Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Bill Bruford on drums and Tony Levin on bass and called it “Discipline”. Their debut album took the same name, but Fripp decided to revive the King Crimson title for a new era of 80’s Rock.
“Discipline”, the first and best of this 80’s era, is very consistent from start to finish – I imagine everyone’s rankings of the tracks will be different but I’ll give it a go anyway!
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Good
7 – Matte Kudasai
To be clear, no tracks on “Discipline” are bad. “Matte Kudasai” is the least interesting to me, despite having the most plays on Spotify, but I still like it.
It’s more chill than the others – in fact, it sounds a lot like some of the mid-80’s Crimson stuff. I just find the other tracks to be more sonically engaging.
6 – Indiscipline
If we were judging live performances (like the 1982 Fréjus one I’ve linked above) instead of the album versions, “Indiscipline” might even take the top spot. Sadly, the album version is very tame in comparison.
It’s slow, over too quickly, and lacks the flair of every live version I’ve seen.
Great
5 – Frame By Frame
“Frame By Frame” is the song I’d expect to have the popularity of “Matte Kudasai”.
It’s rich in texture yet still accessible and wildly fun.
4 – Discipline
The final song on the album isn’t as flashy as the others, but it’s groovy as hell.
“Discipline” uses multiple rhythms and metres to construct an entrancing album closer.
3 – The Sheltering Sky
I usually see “The Sheltering Sky” as either the worst or second-worst song on other people’s rankings of “Discipline”, but it’s in my top three.
I know it’s long and meandering, but the musical landscape it paints always draws me in. Tony Levin’s bass chords around three or four minutes in are otherworldly.
2 – Thela Hun Ginjeet
Adrian Belew’s erratic lead vocals, Tony Levin’s thumping bass, Robert Fripp’s quick guitar playing, Bill Bruford’s steady groove … this is 80’s Crimson firing on all cylinders.
The story Belew tells in “Thela Hun Ginjeet” (which is an anagram of “heat in the jungle”) is quite fun too.
Amazing
1 – Elephant Talk
It was actually quite hard picking a favourite track as I like them all fairly evenly, but in the end I went with the first “Discipline” track I ever heard.
“Elephant Talk” is the album opener, and Tony Levin lays down one of the best Chapman Stick basslines ever. Add to that Belew’s great lyrics that cycle through the alphabet and you get an instant classic.
Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below:
Matt Has An Opinion 