•
Rating: Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins (A King Crimson ProjeKct) – Scarcity of Miracles
That the Crimson King is not just a musical group…well, that seems to be established, and indeed obvious.
It is an entity, a musical form in its own right that comes to life not every 2 years to present us with a mediocre disc, but only when the world has a real and urgent need for it.
It delights us with world tours and then goes back to sleep, leaving us hoping to see and experience it again in a more or less distant future, and no one knows in what form, with which characters, and whether it will play one genre or another.
And those who have followed it for many years and have delved into its musical form know this well.
If the King will need one year or ten, only fate knows, and we, poor subjects, wait, re-listening to the old (master)pieces and the solo projects of the various members who are increasingly pairing with each other (musically speaking), even more so than in the midst of "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom."
Then the news, tossed onto the DGM site, now a true North Star for fans of the genre.
This time, big changes are afoot, something that hasn't happened with an album for a while, and as is necessary every decade, to tackle the passage of time.
There is Jakko M. Jakszyk, the only one (a little more) unknown to the masses, who nonetheless brings a good resume consisting of several years with Level 42, 21st Century Schizoid Band, and solo albums (not to mention that this also started as such, with the others as luxury guest stars, and that's saying something).
And he especially brings his splendid warm voice, powerful, penetrating.
In one word: mature.
There is Mel Collins, saxophonist and flutist on several essential albums of the early KCrimsonian era, as well as with dozens of other groups; a character always very dear to me for his taste in tackling pieces that certainly don't lend themselves to sax and flute, but somehow become instruments one can’t do without.
There is Gavin Harrison, and the certainty of not having been able to make a better choice. One of the most technically gifted drummers (and Steven Wilson is no fool!) as well as having technical skills, definitely possessing executive taste, something often lacking among today's tech-happy musicians. A "modern" drummer, light-years away from Mastellotto and his passion for technology and his allergy to 4/4, yet indispensable.
There is Tony Levin, and I won't waste any more words (and indeed, I would waste some more, seeing as it feels strange to hear him play bass almost all the time and very little stick, a rare fact now as I associate him with his Chapman and no longer with the 4-string).
There is, of course, the Genius around which Everything revolves.
Fripp’s guitar is recognizable after an instant, and I find it hard to believe that he allowed Jakko to play even a note: avalanches of soundscapes, acoustic guitars, solos so Frippian that they cannot be more Frippian, and his portfolio of cunning.
He’s a Leonardo of experimental innovation, a Picasso of melody, a Maradona of sound exploration; 40 years have passed but it seems like yesterday.
From such greatness, it was difficult to know what to expect, and what comes out by mixing all these thinkers is something completely unexpected: not that I was yearning for the surgical hardness/coldness of "Power to Believe," mind you, but it is undeniable that the first listen surprises and leaves something incomplete.
And this, as every shrewd music consumer knows perfectly well, can only be a good thing.
With repeated listens, one begins to understand that the experience combined with the years of the individual musicians, is all encapsulated in these 6 long-duration songs, without lapsing into self-satisfaction or the exasperation of improvisation.
Atmosphere reigns supreme, melody overshadows rhythm, arrangement triumphs over impact.
Double-tracked vocals, harmonies at every turn, guitars as we know them that often disappear to make room for the most atmospheric soundscapes, and saxophone and clarinet making everything softer yet no less intriguing.
In a homogeneous album like this, a sterile and descriptive track by track is useless; let it be said only that the start is bewildering, with the title track being a 7-minute-long wonder that leaves you breathless (with singing that cannot fail to be physically addictive even to the most experienced music lover) and that the ending of "The Light of Day" is a musical nonsense, difficult to say the least, yet indispensable in its 9 minutes that nearly struggle to pass.
In between is everything that 5 gentlemen in their 50s and 60s (apart from Harrison who is around 48) can offer us, drawing from their up-to-forty-year experience and innovative taste; all to be listened to repeatedly to convince oneself that today, the mother doesn't make any more experimenters who combine taste with technology.
You can call it by their surnames, or Projekct (to expand upon the many that were already given to us) or however you like: for me, it always remains the new King Crimson album.
And for this, I say thank you.
Track Listing:
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)
Total Time 42.22
Robert Fripp – Guitars, Soundscapes
Mel Collins – Alto & Soprano Saxophones, Flute
Jakko M Jakszyk – Guitars, Vocals, Gu Zheng, Keyboards
Tony Levin – Bass & Chapman Stick
Gavin Harrison – Drums & Percussion
Loading comments slowly
