King Crimson on anyone's desert island disks should be of no surprise. Extremely innovative and other level musicianship.The amazing thing about Tony Levin is that he's still playing at a world class level IN HIS 70's!!
Saw the Big Man in a super small venue playing with The California Guitar Trio. He was fantastic, while totally supporting the other musicians in a very benign fashion! Wonderful true musician!🤩😎
Fripp and Bruford used this bassline as an audition piece when looking for a bassist. Every player would get to listen to the riff one time on a tape and be asked to play it back. Levin came in on the 2nd or 3rd day of auditions. Fripp stated that he wasn't aware Levin was available or else he'd have been his first call.
Those three albums, Beat, Discipline, and Three of a Perfect Pair were some of the best things to come out of the early 80s. Fripp's insistence of complexity woven into the simple was such a great departure of the King Crimson of the mid-70s.
As a 16-year-old guitarist when this record came out (in a band at the time) it changed me forever... it was just beyond comprehension, yet somehow totally enjoyable
@@cygmusmandulis7533 Those "dorky talking parts" were a real converstaion that Fripp secretly recorded. Belew arrived back at the studio after what he describes in the song had just happened to him. As he began to explain what happened. Fripp being Fripp, tells him to hang on a moment, goes & slips a small tape recorder in his pocket. Then proceedes to record the exacerbated Belew's tale lol.
Definitely my favourite King Crimson album, and that's incredibly tough to say when they have only full on bangers. Robert Fripp collaborating with Adrian Belew really was a gift for all humanity.
Tony Levin's contributions were also indispensable. Same could be said about Bruford. Fripp once said that this had been his dream line-up for a long time. I can say, without fear of contradiction, that his dream-come-true benefited us all!
@@MattSmith-ky9do In terms of sheer talent and technical mastery per person it's easily the most stacked quartet in the history of popular music. Only other group that might come close is the Corea/Clarke/Meiola/White lineup of Return to Forever or the original lineup of Casiopea.
... I really fucking love Thrak, which has pretty much the same members as the *Discipline* era, it's just a lot noisier and more raw than they usually get. I love that shoe gaze sound that Fripp just kind of slid right into.
@@DreamMorpheus42 I’m always looking like the weirdo for liking Thrak more than In the Court of the Crimson King but man that one’s sick too. Probably my favourite lineup too but Indiscipline is way too much of a banger not to have that album as my first from their discography. Then again, it’s freaking King Crimson every album is sick
Court of the Crimson KIng and Red are also in the discussion IMO. But Discipline is what really introduced me to King Crimson. I was a Greg Lake fan but had not heard the other stuff until 81.
I have to vouch for Frame by Frame. The guitars play this hypnotic 7/8 riff that goes in and out of phase with the other and it makes me feel like I'm swirling.
This track is also amazing because there is never a lead instrument. The four parts are totally intertwined. It is also the obvious inspiration behind the intro of "Vicarious" by TOOL. Many thanks for this video (and for your great channel)!
Assuming this was recorded in a studio, couldn't there have been a lead instrument that band members heard, but was not added to the released recording?
@@gregparrott They didn't need that, not even click tracks or metronomes, and they played it live many times. Most of their music from 1968 all the way to 2021 had most tunes woven out of poly-rhythms, counterpoint, dissonance... and yet all strangely not as odd feeling, until you tried to figure out the details and play it. This was by far not the most complex. Many a guitarist have either given up, or went insane trying to learn Robert Fripp's guitar in "Fracture", only few have succeeded, and it took a few of them years to do so! The band went through several iterations and personnel changes, and all superb musicians with only one consistent member: founder Robert Fripp, but I think they were all highly advanced aliens!👽
@@justaguy2365 I agree , for me Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black , and Red are as perfect a trio of albums as it gets . Starless and The Night Watch still speak to me after all these years
Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair failed to live up to the promise of Discipline. As Fripp said, he traded one year of bliss for two years of misery. Most of this was Belew and Bruford's doing. After Fripp's radical reconfiguring of the instrumental roles in a rock group, with the sixteenth notes transferred from the drummer's high hat to the guitars, Belew and Bruford set about bringing back the same-old way of doing things. Fripp hated what that band became. Beat and Pair have their moments, but they could have been so much more.
I remember I saw the 1981 version of King Crimson (which I now call the classic line up) live on a now defunct late night TV show...they performed "Elephant Talk" from that same album. I was very young at the time (about 17), and was very taken by what I'd heard. Never heard anything musically like it. I heard all types of various tones textures and colors in their overall sound - it was very, very interesting. I hadn't heard the album though until decades later. Boy, how did I miss this one??? To this day, "DISCIPLINE" is not only one of my favorite avant-garde prog-rock LPs (very influential as well); it is in my opinion, it's one of the greatest albums ever made!!!
One of my favorite albums: it just never gets old. I saw King Crimson play it live for the first time in Amsterdam on 7 Sep. 1982 (I still have the ticket stub). It was in a circus tent on a parking lot next to the old Olympic stadium. At one point, Adrian Belew drew our attention to the elephant pattern all around the inside of the tent just before they played Elephant Talk.
I saw them play "Discipline" in its entirety in the Amsterdam Paradiso the year it came out. 'Totally floored and blown away' does not even begin to describe the experience. Otherworldly musicianship.
Fun and interesting. I knew a couple of guys who were students of Robert Fripp and showed me some of that stuff in the early eighties. Always felt like there was a connection between that recording and Steve Reich
Anyone hearing this analysis might think the piece itself is "difficult" or not really listenable, but the opposite is true, as you point out. It doesn't feel hard or difficult. It's a cool groove and the interlocking guitars are trippy. Then you carelessly start wondering what's actually going on and you fall into the abyss of WTF. So thank you for going there and coming back with this!
I remember having feeling like there is snake nest in my head each snake slithering in their own pattern when I listen to Discipline. Like, you know, album cover graphics coming to life. Amazing band King Crimson.
I once gave my copy of this album to a guy who only knew 70s Crimson, he liked to get high on weed while listening to 70s prog (we were in the 90s) when he gave me back the album he just said he never wanted to hear it again, from a common friend I then learned the album had given him a realy bad trip...
Tony Levin is a ridiculously great player. He deserves the respect that he gets. You can also hear the same kind of guitar rhythmic overlaps when you listen to Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists recordings. Very cool stuff. Going back to Levin for a moment, he's a very personable guy (met him when he was touring with the California Guitar Trio years ago), and his writing is very funny. Worth reading some of his books.
Indeed s down to earth cat. Wish I had chatted him up more. A friend of mine met him and said “ It’s a pleasure to meet my idol G Gordon Liddy, sir”He said Tony thought that was funny.
I tried to interest a band I played with in covering some Reich but only one other band member got it. I did manage to inject some minimalism in some stuff I wrote with the band, though.
Thank you for breaking this down. A friend introduced me to this in the late 80s when I was in my late teens/early 20s. Sounded a little “off” at the time, just like when another friend introduced me in high school to The Talking Heads “Remain In Light”. Those 2 albums are definitely desert island worthy (eventually I woke up). If only the classic rock and other mainstream stations would little by little start weaning the populace from crap like “Radar Love”, “Paradise By the Dashboard Lights” and you’re not going to hurt my feelings in the least if most of Queen and Journey are jettisoned for King Crimson & the Heads.
Whenever I hear one of my all-time fave albums my goosebumps get beaten up by some bad-ass New York City goosebumps - it's a dangerous place! And snap, I discovered Steve Reich & Philip Glass 20 years later too!!! Never too late thankfully.
This era of King Crimson is without a doubt my absolute favorite. Been spending almost all of my days practicing guitar just trying to break down each of these songs and Fripp and Belew's parts. Levin is without question my favorite bassist of all time, same with Bruford on drums. This album and song changed my life and compositional approach for the absolute best, so glad to see it getting more love and recognition!
Your transcriptions in these videos are supremely helpful. I had the good fortune to meet Tony Levin at a Stickmen show last year and he was nicer and more humble than anyone of his pedigree has a right to be.
Amen! First heard Discipline in 81 on vinyl and then heard KC play it live about an hour later in Québec City, about 4th row from the stage. Mind blown 🤯 The album has been on my desert island 10 ever since! More Tony Levin please!
I've listened to this piece of music well over a thousand times, both live and the studio version, and it never ceases to amaze me. Tony Levin's stick work on Neurotica on Beat is also incredible.
I consider myself a huge music lover but I always am learning about great tunes and records I've never heard from your videos. Not only do I get to learn about musical concepts but also great recordings and musicians. Thank you for these great insights.
Another great lesson that doesn't feel like a lesson... this channel helps me appreciate great, bass focused music I would've otherwise missed out on- thank you!
Love your videos & breakdowns. As a 63 yr old bass player I've learned everything by ear I wish I could break it down like that. I've always played by feel alternating between locking with the drummer then riffing with guitar. Most of what I learned I learned from watching my buddy from here in Buffalo Billy Sheehan. Anyway love King Crimson.
That's the album that changed the way I listened to music. I actually saw them when they were on the show Friday's. I was 13, and it blew me away. Brufords kit, Levin playing the stick, Adrian doing a wicked feedback solo with his Roland amp....and Fripp being Fripp! I remember it like it was yesterday. And Discipline would definitely be one of those desert island gotta haves! Just gotta make sure that island has electricity! :)
The song Discipline is so unusual, so fascinatingly precise, it may as well be from an alternate universe. I had no idea that music could be that way. The album blew my mind when I first heard it 40 years ago, and it still does. It saddens me that so few people have heard the song, or the album. This album is so accessible, too.
Prog is the Best obsession to have, Fantastic bands and Great musicianship !!! Yes/ Genesis 1970-77'/King Crimson/ Jethro Tull/ Gentle Giant/ Nektar/ Pink Floyd/ ELP and many more ... 👍🎼🎸🎹🥁🎻🎷🎤🎶✌
Yeah, I knew you loved Rush, but didn’t know you loved Crimson too. Haha, Rush is my favourite rock back, with Crimson being a very close second. Nice to see them get some love on RUclips
I am glad you highligh Discipline's New Wave influence. It is a classic prog-rock work, but it is very much responding to the contemporary music scene. It is very close to my heart.
Fellow bass player here, I really enjoy your channel. Please keep posting videos like this. You are helping me to not get my reading chops dusty. Covid changed a lot of things for me gig wise.
Discipline is not only one of my favorite King Crimson records (the other being Red), it's one of my favorite records period!....and has been since it came out.
Yeoh man! I thought that I was the biggest fan of this tune on the planet....I see that you dig it as much as I :) Great video! BTW, please check out Cardiacs (from UK)...they will blow your mind. Punk meets art rock meets new wave meets Zappa meets Juilliard School of Music. Take care man.
This recording is one of the reasons I started to play bass not that long ago, it just blew my mind! I won't be able to play this any time soon ha-ha but this is my goal. Thank you so much for braking this composition down, it was really helpful!
I saw King Crimson in Vancouver about 5 years ago. This tour they had 3 drummers along with the amazing Tony Levin. I loved the show so much I snagged a ticket for the next night. Simply incredible music and talent.
I had not heard this album in a few years and listened after watching this video. It’s been running through my head and in dreams for about a week now.
discipline is an incredible and unique record. fripp is like steve reich being shoved violently into prog rock guitar riffs. all of the chapman stick stuff is so groovy. fuck, it's all groovy. matte kudasai is immaculate, too.
thanks for making this video, man! I too was obsessed with this album and this song for years. I must have practiced hundreds of hours playing Fripp's part. I hope this video makes people who'd otherwise miss this album go and listen to it, because it is truly amazing. cheers!
This is my favorite period of the Crimson King and the first time I've ever seen one of these songs analyzed. Thank you! What a great take on a phenomenal song.
Discipline was my introduction to King Crimson in 2007. Such a cool album. I got the album from one of the most unlikely places. When I was in Iraq, we had giant database of movies and music on the nonclassified computers. I was able to put my hard drive in and get all kinds of music. Obviously it was a treasure trove.
I'm not a musician, but I've loved prog and King Crimson for 30 years. What I love about this era of King Crimson, something I didn't know until a few years ago, was its inspiration in Indonesian gamelan music. It basically gamelan-rock fusion.
I didn't even know that album! That's the pleasure that I have for following different bassists, everyone have a little something to add... I'll definitely check them out, thank you Paul!
I second all of that. Yep, progressive rock took over my world as a teen back in the late 70s. King Crimson was a natural "progression" for me. Bill Bruford will never know just how much influence he had upon my whole musical life (as a bassist and drummer), he and all of the people he played with. There were other drummers and other musicians but BB was the one who brought them all together or pointed me in their direction. Bassists from Chris Squire to John Wetton to Jeff Berlin to Tony Levin and beyond... all of whom I've admired to guitarists Howe, Fripp, Holdsworth, Watanabe and more. Thanks for the shout out to such an important band.
The bass feels so natural and at ease with this complex and rich time signature. Those musicians are so incredible that they make it sounds easy to play along... Except it's not ! Thank you so much for sharing Paul. Cheers from Canada.
Props for being a KC fan. There is no other band like them for changing and evolving. Their lineups over the years have been stellar, around Robert Fripp.
Thank you very much indeed for this video, Sir. It is so gratifying to be able to share with a great musician and teacher like you the same astonishment and admiration for a masterpiece.
Paul, you're the man! Discipline is on my top 10 list too - as a matter of fact, we both share a lot in common in terms of musical taste and formative background. Love your content and your playing. Thanks for sharing it! 🙏
King Crimson on anyone's desert island disks should be of no surprise. Extremely innovative and other level musicianship.The amazing thing about Tony Levin is that he's still playing at a world class level IN HIS 70's!!
Is not world class, He is galaxy class
Desert Island Disk? No Surprises? Is this a RH reference?
I caught Tony a few years ago with Peter Gabriel.King Crimson was one of my early concerts in 72 with John Wetton.
Saw the Big Man in a super small venue playing with The California Guitar Trio. He was fantastic, while totally supporting the other musicians in a very benign fashion! Wonderful true musician!🤩😎
Fripp too, I watch his goofy videos every Sunday.
Fripp and Bruford used this bassline as an audition piece when looking for a bassist. Every player would get to listen to the riff one time on a tape and be asked to play it back.
Levin came in on the 2nd or 3rd day of auditions. Fripp stated that he wasn't aware Levin was available or else he'd have been his first call.
Weird how they would use this bass line before it was written by Levin. Must have had a time machine.
For real, youre confusing it with Red
@@andrewlloydpeterson Bruford wrote that bassline.
Fun fact: Bill Bruford actually wrote the bassline.
Another fun fact: Bill Bruford is an astounding drummer.
@@bellbrass wholesome
Another fun fact: there's pictures of Bill Bruford pre-yes and fame in general where he is seen playing bass in band
Bill Bruford once cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with a herring.
@@bulkvanderhuge9006 Chuck Norris blushed.
Those three albums, Beat, Discipline, and Three of a Perfect Pair were some of the best things to come out of the early 80s. Fripp's insistence of complexity woven into the simple was such a great departure of the King Crimson of the mid-70s.
All so good. Belew and Fripp are so different, yet they merge beautifully
Throwing Red in there as well, Bill Bruford's King Crimson is a heavenly experience
Admiral, admiral, admiral...
I was disappointed in Three of a Perfect Pair.
@@robertkaye5434 why were you disappointed with ToaPP?
Finally…someone is giving credits to one of the best music out there..yes, thanks!
As a 16-year-old guitarist when this record came out (in a band at the time) it changed me forever... it was just beyond comprehension, yet somehow totally enjoyable
Me too! Still a favorite
I was 15 at the time, and a bassist. I got to see them on the Discipline tour in Boston, and again on Three of a Perfect Pair. Amazing.
@@txa1265 I saw them in '84. It was quite an overwhelming experience, something I will never forget.
Same here. I was a teen when this came out. Worshiped it. I played guitar, bass and piano... what a challenge. These records made me LOVE music.
100%
I was 13-14 bass player and worshipped this LP
Somehow the fury of Thela hun Ginjeet struck me like a freight train even though the bass is simple, even monotoneous. All in all a superb album.
that was the stand-out track from that album for me as well, despite Belew's dorky talking parts.
haha
@@cygmusmandulis7533 Those "dorky talking parts" were a real converstaion that Fripp secretly recorded. Belew arrived back at the studio after what he describes in the song had just happened to him. As he began to explain what happened. Fripp being Fripp, tells him to hang on a moment, goes & slips a small tape recorder in his pocket. Then proceedes to record the exacerbated Belew's tale lol.
@@crimsonkate8241 i figured it prolly really happened, but didn't know that story.
haha
thx
this is a dangerous place
I thought he was talking about New York, but it was London, ha ha! Ah ha ha ha ha!
Definitely my favourite King Crimson album, and that's incredibly tough to say when they have only full on bangers. Robert Fripp collaborating with Adrian Belew really was a gift for all humanity.
Tony Levin's contributions were also indispensable. Same could be said about Bruford. Fripp once said that this had been his dream line-up for a long time. I can say, without fear of contradiction, that his dream-come-true benefited us all!
@@MattSmith-ky9do In terms of sheer talent and technical mastery per person it's easily the most stacked quartet in the history of popular music. Only other group that might come close is the Corea/Clarke/Meiola/White lineup of Return to Forever or the original lineup of Casiopea.
...
I really fucking love Thrak, which has pretty much the same members as the *Discipline* era, it's just a lot noisier and more raw than they usually get. I love that shoe gaze sound that Fripp just kind of slid right into.
@@DreamMorpheus42 I’m always looking like the weirdo for liking Thrak more than In the Court of the Crimson King but man that one’s sick too. Probably my favourite lineup too but Indiscipline is way too much of a banger not to have that album as my first from their discography. Then again, it’s freaking King Crimson every album is sick
Court of the Crimson KIng and Red are also in the discussion IMO. But Discipline is what really introduced me to King Crimson. I was a Greg Lake fan but had not heard the other stuff until 81.
I always struggled to wrap my head around Levin's bass line on this track but this makes it so much clearer to me, much appreciated!
Frame by Frame is one of my favorite songs by them. It’s on this record. Great great song.
I have to vouch for Frame by Frame. The guitars play this hypnotic 7/8 riff that goes in and out of phase with the other and it makes me feel like I'm swirling.
@@ThePsychoCzech Same as above!
Yes yes yes!!!
the vocals are amazing in Frame by Frame
This track is also amazing because there is never a lead instrument. The four parts are totally intertwined. It is also the obvious inspiration behind the intro of "Vicarious" by TOOL.
Many thanks for this video (and for your great channel)!
Assuming this was recorded in a studio, couldn't there have been a lead instrument that band members heard, but was not added to the released recording?
@@gregparrott They didn't need that, not even click tracks or metronomes, and they played it live many times. Most of their music from 1968 all the way to 2021 had most tunes woven out of poly-rhythms, counterpoint, dissonance... and yet all strangely not as odd feeling, until you tried to figure out the details and play it. This was by far not the most complex. Many a guitarist have either given up, or went insane trying to learn Robert Fripp's guitar in "Fracture", only few have succeeded, and it took a few of them years to do so!
The band went through several iterations and personnel changes, and all superb musicians with only one consistent member: founder Robert Fripp, but I think they were all highly advanced aliens!👽
@@Bob-of-Zoid Ahah. The alien angle! I thought so. :)
@@gregparrott Well, tell me Jimi Hendrix or Frank Zappa weren't! Hahahaa! 🤪
I loved Men in Black!😎
Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair-the holy trifecta.
Yes!!!
How I feel about the three mid 70's albums with Wetton.
@@justaguy2365 I agree , for me Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black , and Red are as perfect a trio of albums as it gets . Starless and The Night Watch still speak to me after all these years
Absolutely. It's not called _Three of a Perfect Pair_ for no reason!
Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair failed to live up to the promise of Discipline. As Fripp said, he traded one year of bliss for two years of misery. Most of this was Belew and Bruford's doing. After Fripp's radical reconfiguring of the instrumental roles in a rock group, with the sixteenth notes transferred from the drummer's high hat to the guitars, Belew and Bruford set about bringing back the same-old way of doing things. Fripp hated what that band became. Beat and Pair have their moments, but they could have been so much more.
I remember I saw the 1981 version of King Crimson (which I now call the classic line up) live on a now defunct late night TV show...they performed "Elephant Talk" from that same album. I was very young at the time (about 17), and was very taken by what I'd heard. Never heard anything musically like it. I heard all types of various tones textures and colors in their overall sound - it was very, very interesting. I hadn't heard the album though until decades later. Boy, how did I miss this one??? To this day, "DISCIPLINE" is not only one of my favorite avant-garde prog-rock LPs (very influential as well); it is in my opinion, it's one of the greatest albums ever made!!!
yep. the "color" albums were the finest lineup of KC
You saw Crimson on "Fridays" and the performance is on the Ye Olde YouzeTube. Fripp is a very happy Fripp in the clip.
One of my favorite albums: it just never gets old. I saw King Crimson play it live for the first time in Amsterdam on 7 Sep. 1982 (I still have the ticket stub). It was in a circus tent on a parking lot next to the old Olympic stadium. At one point, Adrian Belew drew our attention to the elephant pattern all around the inside of the tent just before they played Elephant Talk.
I saw them play "Discipline" in its entirety in the Amsterdam Paradiso the year it came out. 'Totally floored and blown away' does not even begin to describe the experience. Otherworldly musicianship.
Fun and interesting. I knew a couple of guys who were students of Robert Fripp and showed me some of that stuff in the early eighties. Always felt like there was a connection between that recording and Steve Reich
Anyone hearing this analysis might think the piece itself is "difficult" or not really listenable, but the opposite is true, as you point out. It doesn't feel hard or difficult. It's a cool groove and the interlocking guitars are trippy. Then you carelessly start wondering what's actually going on and you fall into the abyss of WTF. So thank you for going there and coming back with this!
I remember having feeling like there is snake nest in my head each snake slithering in their own pattern when I listen to Discipline. Like, you know, album cover graphics coming to life.
Amazing band King Crimson.
I once gave my copy of this album to a guy who only knew 70s Crimson, he liked to get high on weed while listening to 70s prog (we were in the 90s) when he gave me back the album he just said he never wanted to hear it again, from a common friend I then learned the album had given him a realy bad trip...
My favorite album of all time
Tony Levin is a ridiculously great player. He deserves the respect that he gets. You can also hear the same kind of guitar rhythmic overlaps when you listen to Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists recordings. Very cool stuff. Going back to Levin for a moment, he's a very personable guy (met him when he was touring with the California Guitar Trio years ago), and his writing is very funny. Worth reading some of his books.
Indeed s down to earth cat. Wish I had chatted him up more. A friend of mine met him and said “ It’s a pleasure to meet my idol G Gordon Liddy, sir”He said Tony thought that was funny.
@@geraldfriend256 That's hilarious!
Tony the Stick!
@@TaxPayingContributor’Tony the Stick’ sounds like a guy who would have been part of ‘the plumbers’ for G. Gordon! 😂
I’m glad you mentioned Steve Reich! My band played 2x5 almost 8 or 9 years ago for a sold out room. 25 minutes of pure polyrhythmic bliss.
I tried to interest a band I played with in covering some Reich but only one other band member got it. I did manage to inject some minimalism in some stuff I wrote with the band, though.
Thank you for breaking this down. A friend introduced me to this in the late 80s when I was in my late teens/early 20s. Sounded a little “off” at the time, just like when another friend introduced me in high school to The Talking Heads “Remain In Light”.
Those 2 albums are definitely desert island worthy (eventually I woke up).
If only the classic rock and other mainstream stations would little by little start weaning the populace from crap like “Radar Love”, “Paradise By the Dashboard Lights” and you’re not going to hurt my feelings in the least if most of Queen and Journey are jettisoned for King Crimson & the Heads.
Whenever I hear one of my all-time fave albums my goosebumps get beaten up by some bad-ass New York City goosebumps - it's a dangerous place!
And snap, I discovered Steve Reich & Philip Glass 20 years later too!!! Never too late thankfully.
This era of King Crimson is without a doubt my absolute favorite. Been spending almost all of my days practicing guitar just trying to break down each of these songs and Fripp and Belew's parts. Levin is without question my favorite bassist of all time, same with Bruford on drums. This album and song changed my life and compositional approach for the absolute best, so glad to see it getting more love and recognition!
Thank you so much for this fantastic explanation!
You always pick the best songs, no matter how obscure. This was one of my favorite albums of that era too. Thanks for explaining the inexplicable.
Your transcriptions in these videos are supremely helpful. I had the good fortune to meet Tony Levin at a Stickmen show last year and he was nicer and more humble than anyone of his pedigree has a right to be.
I've heard so many people say the same. Many years ago I had a short exchange over email with Levin and he is gracious and generous in an amazing way.
Amen! First heard Discipline in 81 on vinyl and then heard KC play it live about an hour later in Québec City, about 4th row from the stage. Mind blown 🤯 The album has been on my desert island 10 ever since! More Tony Levin please!
I've listened to this piece of music well over a thousand times, both live and the studio version, and it never ceases to amaze me. Tony Levin's stick work on Neurotica on Beat is also incredible.
I consider myself a huge music lover but I always am learning about great tunes and records I've never heard from your videos. Not only do I get to learn about musical concepts but also great recordings and musicians. Thank you for these great insights.
I have those King Crimson albums from that period and they are amazing indeed!
@officialpdbass-.. What's this about?
Another great lesson that doesn't feel like a lesson... this channel helps me appreciate great, bass focused music I would've otherwise missed out on- thank you!
I was lucky to listened live this masterpiece! No words for describe this group!
One of my all time favorites! Levin, Bruford, Fripp and Belew. I remember being a teen playing this with my band. That and frame by frame!
Electric Counterpoint is Sampled by The Orb (little fluffy clouds) in the early 90s. never knew that until i just heard it on this video ☺☺
Love your videos & breakdowns. As a 63 yr old bass player I've learned everything by ear I wish I could break it down like that. I've always played by feel alternating between locking with the drummer then riffing with guitar. Most of what I learned I learned from watching my buddy from here in Buffalo Billy Sheehan. Anyway love King Crimson.
YES!!! Thank you for this one- this track has always thrown me for a loop. And you're right, it's a stunning album.
That's the album that changed the way I listened to music. I actually saw them when they were on the show Friday's. I was 13, and it blew me away. Brufords kit, Levin playing the stick, Adrian doing a wicked feedback solo with his Roland amp....and Fripp being Fripp! I remember it like it was yesterday. And Discipline would definitely be one of those desert island gotta haves! Just gotta make sure that island has electricity! :)
The song Discipline is so unusual, so fascinatingly precise, it may as well be from an alternate universe.
I had no idea that music could be that way. The album blew my mind when I first heard it 40 years ago, and it still does.
It saddens me that so few people have heard the song, or the album. This album is so accessible, too.
Not a surprise to me - cheers!
Love Love Love this record!! One of my favorites of all time. Saw this lineup on this tour three times. Mind blowing stuff.
Classic album. Always happy when it is brought to light.
I saw the Discipline Tour in NYC, my mind is still blown away to this very day!
Prog is the Best obsession to have, Fantastic bands and Great musicianship !!!
Yes/ Genesis 1970-77'/King Crimson/ Jethro Tull/ Gentle Giant/ Nektar/ Pink Floyd/ ELP and many more ... 👍🎼🎸🎹🥁🎻🎷🎤🎶✌
It is indeed an all time classic and I too hear the connection with Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Great stuff.
Yeah, I knew you loved Rush, but didn’t know you loved Crimson too. Haha, Rush is my favourite rock back, with Crimson being a very close second. Nice to see them get some love on RUclips
I am glad you highligh Discipline's New Wave influence. It is a classic prog-rock work, but it is very much responding to the contemporary music scene. It is very close to my heart.
I saw them play this as the encore on the Three of a Perfect Pair tour, executed flawlessly. It was jaw dropping.
Fellow bass player here, I really enjoy your channel. Please keep posting videos like this. You are helping me to not get my reading chops dusty. Covid changed a lot of things for me gig wise.
I discovered this album in 1983, still love it and listen to it.
Amazing record.
What an absolutely killer album... My favourite KC🍻
Discipline is not only one of my favorite King Crimson records (the other being Red), it's one of my favorite records period!....and has been since it came out.
You have Broad and Excellent Taste Good Sir! Love this Channel!
I saw them, close up in concert for this album in '81. They were magnificent. Great video 👍
Thanks for introducing me to new music Professor Paul! I plan to check out King Crimson right now...
I love the magic touch of having the version of “Discipline” you chose for the outro be the acoustic one which Guitar Craft assembled!
Yeoh man! I thought that I was the biggest fan of this tune on the planet....I see that you dig it as much as I :) Great video!
BTW, please check out Cardiacs (from UK)...they will blow your mind. Punk meets art rock meets new wave meets Zappa meets Juilliard School of Music. Take care man.
Yeah, it's pretty mind-bending and the whole CD is like that.
"If you were stranded on a desert island with only five albums, what would they be?"
FIVE COPIES OF DISCIPLINE!
I'll take In the Wake of Poseidon, Red, A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, and Fear of a Blank Planet.
I saw various players of the band king crimson-one with Bowie-one on his own in Toronto. All those songs are mind blowing. You’re so right!
I had never heard it before. Thanks for turning us on to it, and thanks for your insightful breakdown of the complex parts.
Splendid analysis of an splendid song.
You opened my eyes!!! Thank you.
This recording is one of the reasons I started to play bass not that long ago, it just blew my mind! I won't be able to play this any time soon ha-ha but this is my goal. Thank you so much for braking this composition down, it was really helpful!
I saw King Crimson in Vancouver about 5 years ago. This tour they had 3 drummers along with the amazing Tony Levin. I loved the show so much I snagged a ticket for the next night. Simply incredible music and talent.
I agree!!
And it feels good to listen to. The vibe is strong!
💯
Thanks, I never got to know the meter there, what a masterpiece.
Awesome song! I've loved that album forever. Thanks for sharing.
I had not heard this album in a few years and listened after watching this video. It’s been running through my head and in dreams for about a week now.
I'm going to watch this video in a second. Tony Levin is the BOMB! I actually had a chance to meet and talk to him. Joy! Time to watch your video 😀
Great! Thanks so much for posting! Incredible music and my favorite version KC.
I obsessed over this album last year and it was so hard to wrap my head around the drum pattern. Love your content❤
I still have that CD from when it first was released. Good stuff!
PD, I love your posts man. Thanks for that one you did a while back about Nick Beggs.
Saw them three times in the early 80s. Once for each of that album series. It was amazing.
discipline is an incredible and unique record. fripp is like steve reich being shoved violently into prog rock guitar riffs. all of the chapman stick stuff is so groovy. fuck, it's all groovy. matte kudasai is immaculate, too.
elephant talk!
I was pleasantly surprised to see this on your channel.
That is an amazing album!
thanks for making this video, man! I too was obsessed with this album and this song for years. I must have practiced hundreds of hours playing Fripp's part. I hope this video makes people who'd otherwise miss this album go and listen to it, because it is truly amazing. cheers!
This is my favorite period of the Crimson King and the first time I've ever seen one of these songs analyzed. Thank you! What a great take on a phenomenal song.
Discipline was my introduction to King Crimson in 2007. Such a cool album. I got the album from one of the most unlikely places. When I was in Iraq, we had giant database of movies and music on the nonclassified computers. I was able to put my hard drive in and get all kinds of music. Obviously it was a treasure trove.
Have loved this album since it first came out - and of course you love it too!❤
PDBass, you never cease to amaze!
Awesome channel. Awesome choice of music.
YES! One of my all time favoriye albums. This album got me into playing stick and a Sting Ray. Such a beautiful and haunting masterpiece!
I got to know King Crimson many years after already being a fun of Primus and Faith no More so that album got me straight away! Awesome.
Your musical tastes and knowledge are truly inspiring!!!
I'm not a musician, but I've loved prog and King Crimson for 30 years. What I love about this era of King Crimson, something I didn't know until a few years ago, was its inspiration in Indonesian gamelan music. It basically gamelan-rock fusion.
I didn't even know that album! That's the pleasure that I have for following different bassists, everyone have a little something to add... I'll definitely check them out, thank you Paul!
one of my favorites. masterpiece. very good material about this stuff, we want more)
I second all of that. Yep, progressive rock took over my world as a teen back in the late 70s. King Crimson was a natural "progression" for me. Bill Bruford will never know just how much influence he had upon my whole musical life (as a bassist and drummer), he and all of the people he played with. There were other drummers and other musicians but BB was the one who brought them all together or pointed me in their direction. Bassists from Chris Squire to John Wetton to Jeff Berlin to Tony Levin and beyond... all of whom I've admired to guitarists Howe, Fripp, Holdsworth, Watanabe and more. Thanks for the shout out to such an important band.
I need to go listen to this now
As a bass player, I love discipline, this video is awesome!
My favorites from this LP were Elephant Talk, The Sheltering Sky and Thela Hun Gingeet❗🤟🏽😎🎶❤️🔥
The bass feels so natural and at ease with this complex and rich time signature. Those musicians are so incredible that they make it sounds easy to play along... Except it's not ! Thank you so much for sharing Paul. Cheers from Canada.
Absolutely superb album ! I always loved King Crimson, and I believe that Robert FRIPP is well underrated as a guitar player.
Cannot love this posting more than I do already. What an inspired lineup and album. This song merits your acclaim. Thank you again.
Props for being a KC fan. There is no other band like them for changing and evolving. Their lineups over the years have been stellar, around Robert Fripp.
Thank you very much indeed for this video, Sir.
It is so gratifying to be able to share with a great musician and teacher like you the same astonishment and admiration for a masterpiece.
Paul, you're the man! Discipline is on my top 10 list too - as a matter of fact, we both share a lot in common in terms of musical taste and formative background. Love your content and your playing. Thanks for sharing it! 🙏
Tony Levin is one of my favourite bassists. Thanks for this.
Top 5 all time for sure! I have listened to this album so many times.