Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins
Label: Panegyric Records
Release: 2011
Length: 42:22
Rating: 4.5/5
For a long, way too long time, followers of prog rock legends King Crimson waited for guitar eminence Robert Fripp (guitarist, chief composer, professional dictator and longtime chieftain of a band whose last studio album came out in 2003) to finally haul themselves out of the armchair of solo seclusion and disinterest, to record anything other than one kind of soundscape or another, and to finally create something that strongly recalls the best days of that musical career, only with a minor ‘beauty flaw’.
Fripp decided to surprise everyone with a new King Crimson project that in places pulls surprisingly toward the early seventies, when symphonic-jazz elements dominated their sound, mainly thanks to the unexpected return of sax and flute, which, teamed up with Fripp’s soundscapes, create an enviably mystical atmosphere. Sadly, “A Scarcity of Miracles” isn’t quite a proper King Crimson album, even though three current members and one former member of that legendary prog rock band play on it, since it’s ‘only’ a side project, but with one important difference: it’s the most exciting and most authentically Crimson-flavored of all Fripp’s projects so far.
The album grew out of a collaboration between Fripp and guitarist/singer Jakko Jakszyk (21st Century Schizoid Band, ex-Level 42), who joined forces purely by chance and, while jamming on guitars together, realized it would make sense to turn the new ideas into a special project worthy of the legendary King Crimson legacy. It has to be said that Jakszyk, as a member of 21st Century Schizoid Band (a group made up of former King Crimson members, where Jakszyk takes on the extremely demanding role of guitarist and singer), has plenty of experience recreating the sound of their early years, the so-called Sinfield era, named after the beloved lyricist and original member Peter Sinfield.
In time, the legendary saxophonist and flutist Mel Collins joined them in the studio, a former King Crimson member and Fripp’s old buddy. Collins last worked with Fripp way back in 1974 on the cult album “Red”. Many lovers of good music also remember Collins fondly for stints with Camel (as a member) and Dire Straits (as a guest musician), although over a rich career Collins has worked with a whole slew of bigger and smaller names from the rock world. Lending their services as well were bass guitar/Chapman Stick grandmaster Tony Levin and excellent drummer Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), both members of the King Crimson rhythm section that took shape in 2008. Truth be told, this lineup would have worked great even if it had been the real King Crimson. Jakszyk’s poetic vocals faintly recall John Wetton, so plenty of nostalgics will be even more thrilled by what they hear.
“A Scarcity of Miracles” has a strongly accentuated ambient streak, so you won’t find any wild improvisations or the avant-garde elements that usually come with the traditional Crimson sound; no post-apocalyptic gloom and madness whatsoever, just the prettier, more romantic side of their sonic vocabulary. In that respect you can tell there’s no contribution from Adrian Belew, regular King Crimson singer (and guitarist), who was a key piece of the band when it came to art-rock ‘offbeatness’. What gets the spotlight is the most beautiful, ambient-esoteric side of King Crimson, the one some longtime followers have been missing ever since “Islands” (1971), their most meditative album.
The excellent title track, which is also a superb opener, is soaked in this kind of meditative mysticism and a peculiar nostalgia, the result of successfully building a mighty atmosphere through the interplay of Fripp’s soundscapes, Collins’s sax and ethereally tinted guitar phrases. Jakko’s vocals are great at building a melancholic atmosphere, but they still lack the lucid charisma, emotional conviction and range that the best King Crimson singers of the past, like Greg Lake and John Wetton, could boast.
“The Price We Pay” comes off even more impressive: besides the usual Celtic mannerisms on guitar, it’s drenched in rich oriental melos, and on top of that it has a hypnotic, addictive chorus. Levin and Harrison are noticeably reined in on their rhythmic contributions throughout, fully adapted to the ambient structure of most of the album, but their unique instrumental styles are still clearly recognizable. The mysterious “Secrets” slowly grows in ambient breadth until it completely ensnares the listener with its magical atmosphere. With his sax and flute, Mel Collins is without a doubt the main ‘star’ of the whole album. If anything, you might miss a bigger helping of his flute solos, which could have added a touch of folk-rock pastoral and brought the album even closer to the early sound, but considering that Fripp has despised any whiff of folk ever since wrapping up a short-lived ambition as an acoustic guitarist in 1970, it’s hardly surprising.
“This House” has a long ambient intro with ethereal vocalizations, sprawling soundscapes and calm sax passages, before it flows into a pleasant melody with gorgeous symphonic arrangements. This enchanting ballad could easily have landed on any King Crimson album, as it has that authentic Crimson soul and magic that earlier incarnations of the band possessed. Of everything on the album, “The Other Man” is the tensest, most dramatic and even slightly darkly tinted piece, where you can already catch a whiff of that unpredictable Crimson chaos, but they manage to rein it in just in time and steer the composition into a relatively calm tempo with occasional solo outbursts from sax and guitar. In mood it faintly recalls the “Islands” classic “The Letters”, with which it also shares a related lyric. It’s only fitting that every album bearing the King Crimson name closes in the grandest style possible, and “The Light of Day” is no exception: at nine minutes the longest track on the album, with a mysterious, extremely tense mood that slowly builds from start to finish.
Excellent as it is, it’s still right that “A Scarcity of Miracles” didn’t come out under the King Crimson name, because it’s an distinctly melancholic and poetic album that doesn’t contain a breath of that uncompromising edge, rhythmic madness, untamed improvisation and avant-garde, the elements that are a mandatory part of their recognizable sound. In every respect it’s an excellent piece of work, above all for lovers of the romantic, symphonic early-70s King Crimson without the post-apocalyptic darkness and the usual Fripp ‘madness’ and improvs, so on that front it might appeal to anyone who can’t stand the modern, let’s call it ‘metal’ version of the band and the ‘quirky’, art-rock avant-gardism of Mr. Belew.
“A Scarcity of Miracles” is a gorgeous, ballad-leaning symphonic jazz-rock album packed with Fripp’s trademark soundscapes and guitar phrases; perfect for summer meditation while watching the sun go down. The album is accessible to most listeners on the very first spin, yet it grows with every repeat listen, which is the hallmark of musicians of this caliber. Right now this is the best, and probably the most, you can realistically expect from Fripp in the direction of a new King Crimson album, and “A Scarcity of Miracles” comes impressively close to being one.
Line-up
Robert Fripp – guitar, soundscapes
Mel Collins – alto & soprano sax, flute
Jakko Jakszyk – guitar, vocals, keyboards
Tony Levin – bass guitar & Chapman Stick
Gavin Harrison – drums and percussion
Production
Robert Fripp
Track list
1.A Scarcity Of Miracles (7:27)
2.The Price We Pay (4:49)
3.Secrets (7:48)
4.This House (8:37)
5.The Other Man (5:59)
6.The Light Of Day (9:02)
