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Home , Colin Edwin, David Cross (musician), Deadwing, Ian McDonald (musician), In absentia, I Talk to the Wind

Wilson who, after first adopting the moni- ker in 1987, recruited an actual band under that name 6 years later and steered it to the point where, today, it’s at the top of its genre. For lack of an- » other name, that genre is still known as TWIN . Call it what you will, but it’s the modern equivalent of what trailblazed 4 decades ago. Acknowledging the link, Fripp guested on Porcupine Tree’s 2007 , . But there’s something more KINGS profound that brings the connection be- OF DIFFERENT ERAS tween these two bands, and these two men, literally full circle: . Surround mixes of classic King Crimson and After learning the basics of surround from engineer/producer , fresh Porcupine Tree ensure that the cause of who did multichannel mixes of Porcupine multichannel music is still progressing. Tree’s (2002) and (2005), Wilson went on to make his own Reviewed by KEN RICHARDSON surround mixes of Planet and his solo al- bum of earlier this year, Insurgentes. Now, ucky is the person who, at work or “The Christmas .” , as 12 months after the release of Genesis play, finds a kindred spirit. I was he now sings, “was born in ’67, the year 1970–1975 compelled me to write in this L fortunate enough to find one of Sgt. Pepper and .” magazine that “it’s getting harder to find when, reading Eric Tamm’s 1990 book Rob- Which means that Wilson was in the crib something that qualifies as a genuine ert Fripp: From King Crimson to when Fripp began his professional music event” in the realm of music in surround, Craft, I came across this passage about career. Which also means that, whereas we get another big one: the reissue of the the Red track “”: Fripp is now 63, Wilson is only 42. first three titles in King Crimson’s 40th An- “In my opinion, it is simply the best com- Yet these two musical spirits are kin- niversary Series, namely In the Court of the position that King Crimson ever committed dred indeed. It was /guitarist Crimson King (1969), Lizard (1970), and Red to record. It is also the only King Crimson Fripp who, after debuting with King Crim- (1974), released here by DGM/Inner Knot. piece that has ever made me weep.” son in 1969, guided the band from the ’70s Each comes in a CD+DVD package whose

Closing my eyes in reverie, I thought: “At to the ’00s. And it was composer/guitarist latter platter is a DVD-Audio disc featur- h ke u pine tree , diana nitsc p o rc last. Someone who understands.” was born in 1946, the year  LEFT, King Crimson 1969 (from left): guitarist Robert Fripp, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, drum- of Ethel Merman’s “There’s No Business mer , /vocalist . Right, Porcupine Tree 2009 (from left): drummer Gavin Like Show Business” and Nat “King” Cole’s Harrison, guitarist/vocalist Steven Wilson, bassist , keyboardist .

38 DECEMBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.com FEATURES DECEMBER/09 TWIN KINGS OF DIFFERENT ERAS F

ing a 6-channel version — mixed and pro- odd that this album is included in the first duced (from the original multitrack master wave of Crimson reissues in surround, tapes) by Wilson and executive-produced wait ’til you hear how Wilson has taken by Fripp. What’s more, Wilson has made a this sometimes ultra-busy, verging-on- surround mix of Porcupine Tree’s new al- free- romp and given it the expanded bum, The Incident (Roadrunner). A version sound field it has always needed. Indeed, on standard DVD in DTS 5.1 was included this music is now a revelation, from the in a mail-order-only Limited Special Edition striking clarity of those acoustic that sold out even before the regular on “Cirkus” to the -style, all- album was first released in September as encompassing improvs in “Happy Family” a two-CD set. The mix is due to reappear and the title suite’s “Bolero: The Peacock’s in the next few months on either DVD- Tale,” where the use of surround sound be- Audio or Blu-ray Disc (via the band’s own comes not just an option but a necessity. label, Transmission). You’ll also dig the details, such as the Taken together, these four mixes show fine electric-guitar work revealed in the Wilson at the top of his surround game. left and right channels of the title suite’s And the three Crimsons prove that Fripp “ Rupert Awakes.” And for all of this the sonic architect has found someone album’s verve, my favorite surround pas- who truly understands. sage just might be the dirge of “Prince Rupert’s Lament” in “The Battle of Glass ertainly, when you hear the multi- Tears.” Led by the wounded march in the channel mix of Crimson’s 1969 de- front, Fripp’s trademark sustaining-guitar » but, you’ll know that Wilson un- line emanates from the rear — as if from C derstands how to enter this Court and a genuinely distant battlefield — before magnify this King. He wastes no time in moving forward, drifting to the right for audaciously using the entire surround a slow pan, and then dissolving again far soundstage: On the opening track, “21st away behind. Century Schizoid Man,” Greg Lake’s distort- Of course, verve and volume are the ed vocals claw from the center channel as watchwords of Red. That’s “volume” as in Fripp’s raw guitar chords, starting in the loudness and size — and the greatness of left rear, slash clockwise through the four both comes through magnificently in Wil- corners, with each successive punctua- son’s surround mix. Right at the start, with tion in each successive channel. the guitar chords of the title track slash- Other tracks emphasize atmosphere ing from the center, the single-line guitar over movement. The appropriately airy figure wailing from the rear, and bass- mix of “” envelops you ist and drummer in vocal harmonies that flow from all five slamming all around, Wilson keeps the main channels. On “Epitaph,” the depth of sound so monumental that it’s nearly, of the cavernous drum hits starting at 4:18 course, in the red — as if you’re listening will remind you that DVD-Audio is not just right up against these guys in a live room. a surround sound format but also a high- Later, “Providence” does put you in an ac- resolution one. tual live Rhode Island room, yet Wilson’s By the time of the concluding title track, surround mix doesn’t just give you con- you’ll revel in the counterpoint of the rear- cert ambience; rather, you get (outgoing dwelling against other keyboard band member) ’s in the taps in the right front (for the first instru- two right channels, Fripp in the two lefts, mental break), the in back vs. gui- Bruford seemingly everywhere, and Wet- tar details in the center (for the second ton putting on a bass Master Class in the break), and especially the slow, calliope- center channel. like nudges from over your shoulder (for Red is a perfect album, and if the whole the third). All the while, the thing wraps up all previous Crimson styles that enters and reenters the track proves into one package while still breaking new that, far from monolithic, the music of this

album is often lithe and luxurious.  FROM TOP: King Crimson’s In the Court of the Acoustic guitars also figure prominent- Crimson King (1969), Lizard (1970), and Red ly in the mix of Lizard — and if it seems (1974); Porcupine Tree’s The Incident (2009).»

DECEMBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.com 39 FEATURES DECEMBER/09 F TWIN KINGS OF DIFFERENT ERAS

ground, then “Starless” is its microcosm. RED is a noisy record, lent essays by King Crimson biographer And in surround, you can appreciate this Sid Smith and Fripp himself. final-track masterwork even more — espe- and you’ll marvel at As for video extras, there are none cially in the ostinato-led midsection, with how wilson IS ABLE on Lizard, and Court has just a 2-minute bass and drums primarily in the left and TO balance its power “Schizoid” excerpt from Hyde Park (mes- right front, woodblock in the center (all merizing though it is). More than making up the way through — who knew?), and that and glory. for that shortfall is the March 1974 French simple but ultimately devastating guitar TV performance on Red, with Fripp, Wet- line in the four corners. ton, Bruford, and Cross scorching through Compared with that and the precise de- “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two,” “The lineation on Court and Lizard, the brash, Night Watch,” “Lament,” and — 4 months almost bleeding sonics for parts of “Fallen before Red was recorded — “Starless.” Angel” and “One More Red Nightmare” may strike you as being a bit too raucous. But he progressive-metal passages this is an intentionally noisy record, and on Porcupine Tree’s The Incident after another listening, you’ll likely marvel Tare a direct descendant of the at how Wilson is able to balance its power heaviest moments on “Starless” and the and glory. rest of Red. In Wilson’s surround sound Still, I get the feeling that an instrumen- mix, The Incident begins with the grandeur tal version of “Fallen Angel,” mixed by Wilson of decay — as in the decay of a power as a showcase for the basic trio, has been chord that’s allowed to resonate through- included as a bonus track to highlight the out your listening room. This is “Occam’s »deftness and beauty of the playing under- Razor,” the first section of the album’s 14- neath the subtracted vocals and horns. part title suite, and when this song cycle It’s still in surround, as are two more bo- has finished 55 minutes later, it’s clear nuses: “A Voyage to the Centre of the Cos- that Porcupine Tree has succeeded in mos” and the unedited “Providence” (both making its music even more panoramic. previously available only in the live boxed Nothing helps a sonic panorama more set The Great Deceiver). You also get (in than a multichannel mix. And here, since stereo) a revelatory, stripped-down trio Wilson is mixing in surround something mix of the title track. that he has already basically composed There are three extra tracks on Lizard in surround, he’s free of any constraints. (all stereo-only): a runthrough of “Cirkus” So whereas he mostly reserves his solo with a guide vocal, an alternate version vocals for the center channel, he doesn’t of “Lady of the Dancing Water,” and the hesitate to put the last ethereal lines of of “Bolero” from the now deleted “The Blind House” in the back, or fill all five boxed set Frame by Frame. And back on main channels with the immersive harmo- Court, there’s a bevy of (stereo) bonuses, nies of “Kneel and Disconnect.” Nor does including two alternate takes of “I Talk to he blink at placing his lead-guitar breaks the Wind,” the isolated backing track for on “Drawing the Line” behind you; he can “Epitaph,” and The Alternate Album — a get away with this, since he has already fascinating remix/rethink by Wilson/Fripp, established the entire 360º around you as featuring scaled-back instrumental ver- his territory. sions of “21st Century Schizoid Man” and “Time Flies” is Wilson’s big the title track. (If that’s not enough Court homage. It begins with rapid acoustic for your kingdom, there’s a Limited Edition in the two left channels and the boxed set that adds four more CDs, with two rights until, at 3:10, he uncorks some further bonuses including a restored boot- David Gilmour-esque, end-of-Animals-like leg of the band’s watershed July 1969 ap- electric cascades. This leads to the mid- pearance in Hyde Park, opening for the section’s reverberating guitar punctua- Rolling Stones.) tions, which themselves are echoes from Each of these three Crimson reissues the beginning of Floyd’s “Time.” It all makes also has the album’s original stereo mix —

with Court and Lizard adding a new stereo  FROM TOP: guitarist Robert Fripp, bassist John remix by Wilson. Plus you get an expanded, Wetton, drummer Bill Bruford — alias King» Crim- photo-filled booklet that serves up excel- son 1974, in the Red.

40 DECEMBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.com FEATURES DECEMBER/09 F TWIN KINGS OF DIFFERENT ERAS

for a resounding experience. But even rowful theme before opening up a fath- more impressive is how Wilson handles the omless depth for Wetton’s single-note album’s hardest, densest material. Tracks jabs. The tears that do indeed result, as like “Octane Twisted” and (note the title) Tamm explains, are “those tears that tend “Circle of Manias” ramp up and up, their to issue out of a direct confrontation with guitars and percussion pushing at you re- what we feebly call ‘artistic greatness’ but lentlessly, yet the music never loses its is really a portentous and rarely glimpsed center of gravity. It’s the same sense of secret locked away at the heart of human order, the same mixing expertise, that Wil- experience.” Exactly. son is able to maintain at the climax of I got misty-eyed once more when I Crimson’s “Starless.” played the title section of The Incident for my older son — the first time he had eturning to that track and Eric heard high-rez music in surround. He loved Tamm’s book: Can “Starless” still it. And when, with my arms waving about, Rbring me to tears? And, for the I demonstrated to him the idea of a sound uninitiated, exactly what are Eric and I field, he understood. talking about anyway? Here’s what: At When the music of one band can be re-

11:18 in this 12-minute track, the first born in the music of another, when two when the very concept of the sound of SID SMIT H O ’D NNELL; O N WILS & FRIPP,

theme returns at last, joined shortly there- artists of different generations can speak music can still make sense to both young HU G H after by Wetton and Bruford, who hammer the same language, when 40-year-old mu- and old . . . well, it’s enough to make a U NI O N, + »the track home. It’s a conclusion that, as sic in stereo can live anew in surround, grown man — a grown fan — cry. SV RE Tamm writes, transforms the song’s early melancholy into tragedy.  TOP: Happy family reunion, Air Studios, London, October 2009 (from left): Michael Giles, Court and Wilson’s surround mix here truly goes Lizard lyricist , Bill Bruford, David Cross, Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Lizard band member for the ocular, wrapping you in that sor- and Red guest . RIGHT: PT’s Wilson and KC’s Fripp.

42 DECEMBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.com