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King Crimson - The Deception Of The Thrush

Artist:	King Crimson
Title:	The Deception Of The Thrush
Label:	Discipline Global Mobile DGM 9915
Length(s):	72 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1999
Month of review:	12/1999

Line up

ProjeKCt One:
Tony Levin - bass, stick, synth
Trey Gunn - touch guitar
Bill Bruford - drums and percussion
Robert Fripp - guitar
ProjeKCt Two:
Trey Gunn - touch guitar, talker
Robert Fripp - guitar
Adrian Belew - v-drums,
ProjeKCt Three:
Trey Gunn - touch guitar, talker
Robert Fripp - guitar
Pat Mastellotto - electronic traps and buttons
ProjeKCt Four:
Trey Gunn - touch guitar, talker
Robert Fripp - guitar
Pat Mastellotto - electronic traps and buttons
Tony Levin - bass, stick

Tracks

1-7)	Masque	Three
8)	4 i 1	One
9)	2 ii 3	One
10)	4 ii 4	One
11)	Sus-tayn-Z	Two
12)	The Deception Of The Thrush	Three/Four
13-15)	Ghost (part 1)	Four
16-17)	Ghost (part 2)	Four

Summary

Well, the bullet's through the church as they say here in the Netherlands. The ProjeKCts have decided to release their music under the name of King Crimson. This is only the single disc. There's also a 4CD box called The ProjeKCts also released under the name of King Crimson. I did not get that one to review so you'll have to do with this one. One thing I don't understand: how is The Deception Of The Thrush a ProjeKCt Three/Four thing?

The music

Over half an hour is the first "track" of the album. Divided into seven parts it is Masque by ProjKCt III. The first part is slightly chaotic with electronic drums and percussion (a lot of it), some soft and peaceful keyboards in the back and the lone sounding guitar in my left ear. The bass pulses. The music has a jungle like character and can be considered groovy. Then the tracks takes a turn for the distorted. The rhythms are quite modern, but the guitar here (put way back in the mix) is noisy and has something of the old King Crimson. Throughout stays the percussion and the bubbly keyboard sounds and Mastellotto keeps hacking away on the kit audibly hitting everything in sight (possibly including his fellow musicians). The second part has a slower tempo and seems more built on low sounds. The ending is unexpectedly loud. Again a jungle atmosphere to my feeling. I wonder what the (distorted) vocal sounds are on the third part. A relaxed and melodic opening with house like rhythms (low key) and keyboards in the line of the Soundscapes. All quite relaxed but eerie. Strange but beautiful with a great buildup and evidence of emotion. The latter part is a bit more chaotic with hammered piano and Mastellotto going wild again. The song continues in an Arabic style, with echoed percussion and flute like keyboard sounds and the riff played by the bass. Lots of soundscapes and noise in the fifth part. Relaxed, but full. Ponderous. Part six however shows that King Crimson can still lay down a groove and rock. Two and a half minutes of mayhem, before we plunge into the stereoeffects and way down bass sound of the final part. Melodious and tense. The guitar is typically Fripp, playing a meandering solo but for the rest the song stays a plodding piece of weird sounds. A bluesy feel to this track.

Now its ProjeKCt One's turn with their aptly named 4 i 1, 2 ii 3, and 4 ii 4. The first of these is a hectic fast paced piece with punishing guitar work (Fripps a la Soundscapes but louder) and (probably) Gunns Touch Guitar. The drums are very audible and are acoustic this time. An urgency is evident in the music. The contrast with the second piece is almost sickening (like somewhat stepped on the break heavily and your stomach lurges forward quicker than the rest of your body). This is plain soundscapes of the kind I like very much. Because of the applause the album seems a continues live album with the same band playing. ProjeKCt Two is only present with one rather short song. I was not that happy with their Space Groove, but this meandering piece sounds better (and of course it's not two CDs this time). The song sounds quite complicated melodically and may remind some of Gordian Knot. Quite symphonic, but with lots of guitars intertwined. Next up is the titletrack, according to the booklet by both ProjeKCt III and IV. I'm not sure how they do this especially since III is a subset of IV. Both loud meandering guitars and at the end an atmoshperic part with a good melody. The last two tracks are Ghost part 1 and 2 by the fourth ProjeKCt. The first part is a driving industrial piece with a nervous second part with quick percussion and loud, as ever meandering, guitars. The second part of Ghost is quieter and eerie as the solo soundscapes of Fripp.

Conclusion

Four different sides of King Crimson. After my first listening I was not impressed. There's a lot happening in the music, but to me it sounded mostly formless. However, the music grows on you. If you liked Thrak you still might not like this album. If you liked THRaKaTTaK the chances of this are larger. If additionally you like Fripps Soundscapes then this might really be something for you. No songs on this one: just sound, groove, noise, distortion, but also some great melodies if you listen for it. An album to play with the head phones on.