Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: King Crimson
Label: Discipline Global Mobile
Release: 1998
Length: 104:38
Rating: 5/5
»Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal« is a double live album that British prog rock giants King Crimson didn’t release until 1998, even though it was recorded on July 11, 1984. It’s a one-of-a-kind live document, because the night it captured was something special. It was the last date of King Crimson’s 1984 tour and also their last live show until the nineties, when they started promoting »Thrak« (1995) in Argentina, a full decade later. It was also the final act of their early-eighties lineup, which is still hugely popular among longtime fans today. Alongside the band’s strict commander, legendary guitarist Robert Fripp, it featured such musical heavyweights and charismatic figures as innovative American guitarist/singer Adrian Belew, a former sidekick of David Bowie and Frank Zappa, while bassist/Chapman Stick player Tony Levin, who most people know best as Peter Gabriel’s longtime bassist, a seasoned old hand if there ever was one, and drum grandmaster Bill Bruford, who wrote his name in gold letters in the history of Yes as well as King Crimson, formed the best rhythm section in the whole saga of this legendary band.
This utterly unique King Crimson lineup didn’t shy away from new wave and world music influences in its sonic vocabulary, and Fripp had by then swapped the Mellotron for so-called soundscapes, a special guitar technique for creating layered ambient curtains of sound, in which the electric guitar is hooked up to a special simulation device that deepens its sound and creates an almost symphonic effect. The set list on »Absent Lovers« is nearly a dream, especially for fans of this version of King Crimson, because apart from the legendary classics »Larks’ Tongues in Apic (Part II)« and »Red«, which belong to the seventies, it includes all the beloved standards written between 1981, when they reunited after almost seven years, and 1984, when they closed this chapter of their career.
Fripp’s fascination with ‘soundscapes’ already knew no bounds back then, as you can hear on the opening instrumental »Entry of the Crims«, which has a pretty dark, almost bleak atmosphere. You can tell that the guitar master’s walls of sound, which also feature a few solo improvisations on electric guitar, were still in an early phase and would become far subtler over the years, whereas here they’re still a veritable avant-garde rock nightmare. No King Crimson show may end without at least one chapter of the saga of the lark’s tongues in aspic, and in the eighties the most current one was the third part, that is »Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III)«, where the astonishing instrumental skills of the whole legendary foursome shine for the first time. Fripp’s distinctive, razor-sharp guitar sound and mathematically disciplined picking are in perfect balance with Levin’s complex bass lines and Bruford’s jazzy drum swings, while Belew’s guitar improvisations are the very picture of avant-garde disconnection.
The satire of New York street gangs, »Thela Hun Ginjeet«, is the first classic of the night and also the first vocal number, where Belew, by singing about an unpleasant incident he witnessed with his own eyes, gets the chance to stretch his vocal cords in burlesque style. The version of »Red«, laced with the sound of electronic drums, is a triumphant trip back to the seventies, specifically to the legendary album of the same name from 1974, when King Crimson wonderfully built bridges between jazz fusion, metal, and avant-garde rock. After that white-hot improvisational bomb, something completely different hits the spot, and the tender ballad »Matte Kudasai« arrives right on cue, with Belew singing it the way only he can – with extraordinary emotional pathos and a flair for melodramatic storytelling. This version includes a few extra guitar improvisations and a slightly calmer tempo. There weren’t many such tender moments in King Crimson’s history, but when they did appear, they served as a soothing buffer of light amid the prevailing dark visions of a post-apocalyptic future. The heavily avant-garde »Industry«, ruled mostly by cacophonous, salty improvisations and soundscapes, is a pretty rough return to the ‘real ground’ of gray everyday life, while the often-overlooked eighties classic »Dig Me«, in the middle of which Belew almost turns into a cyborg vocally, comes off great live too. The then-current album »Three Of a Pefect Pair« (1984) was played almost in full that night, and the title track, one of the more ‘commercial’ pieces of their career, catches the band at the peak of their onstage chemistry. The first part of »Indiscipline« features wild solo percussion improvisations from Bruford, before turning into Belew’s crazy monologue, one of the most avant-garde moves by this King Crimson lineup.
The second disc, which is a notch more accessible even for listeners who aren’t too receptive to avant-garde forms, is packed with goodies too, starting with the opening classic »Sartori In Tangier«, where the incredible Levin shines brightest with his fiery Chapman Stick improvisations. »Frame By Frame«, a classic and something of a signature piece for the eighties King Crimson lineup, kicks off a run of four melodic numbers that also had solid commercial potential. That goes especially for the new wave-tinged »Man With An Open Heart«, which, besides its humorously spiced rhythmic nuances, boasts a seriously catchy chorus. But since King Crimson were still first and foremost Fripp’s band, they avoided commercial success like the devil avoids the cross, which was one of the main reasons this incarnation fell apart. »Waiting Man«, which radiated their enthusiasm for world music through its remarkably tight bamboo percussion, was another excellent piece for winning over a Canadian crowd that was pretty loud by usual King Crimson concert standards.
By far the most recognizable performance of the night, though, was the great version of the mini disco hit »Sleepless«, the only song in their history that even got a music video. It was also the only Crimson classic played in discos, which Mr. Fripp, who always wholeheartedly despised commercial music media and label giants, probably found weirdly, almost perversely entertaining. That’s followed by a return to the seventies with a bravura version of the legendary crusher »Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II)«, which once again stirs up memories of the ‘good old’ days, when Fripp and Bruford, with the help of legendary singer and bassist John Wetton, co-created some of the most innovative and advanced compositions in the history of prog rock.
The next instrumental, »Discipline«, is in every version the very incarnation of instrumental perfection and total improvisational togetherness, so it’s no surprise it’s one of the best moments of the entire live recording. It’s also one of the few Crimson instrumentals with a positive atmosphere. »Heartbeat«, another radio hit that never was and by usual Crimson standards a downright pop-rocker, takes us back into subtle, melancholic waters. It feels just right that this extraordinary live document, which marks the end of an era, wraps up with the unforgettable evergreen »Elephant Talk«, with which this Crimson lineup first introduced itself to audiences on the studio masterpiece »Discipline« (1981).
»Absent Lovers« is hugely important historically for all the longtime devotees of the prog rock legends. The cult 1981-1984 King Crimson lineup couldn’t have asked for a better send-off, and this live album, with its practically ideal selection of performances, captures the band’s musical essence and mission remarkably well.
Line-up
Robert Fripp – guitar
Adrian Belew – vocals, guitar
Tony Levin – bass guitar, Chapman Stick, synthesizer, backing vocals
Bill Bruford – drums and percussion
Production
King Crimson
Track list
CD1
1. Entry of the Crims
1. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III)
3. Thela Hun Ginjeet
4. Red
5. Matte Kudasai
6. Industry
7. Dig Me
8. Three of a Perfect Pair
CD2
1. Indiscipline
2. Sartori in Tangier
3. Frame by Frame
4. Man With an Open Heart
5. Waiting Man
6. Sleepless
7. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II)
8. Discipline
9. Heartbeat
10. Elephant Talk
