2 keepers
keeper avg .286
After a 7-year hiatus substantial changes are expected. Firstly, Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levin replaced John Wetton, joining Bill Bruford and founding member Robert Fripp, and stopping the revolving door to record the first of five (or 4-1/2) albums with a stable lineup. "Elephant Talk"**** opens, signaling the significant change in the band's sonic approach, adding new wave electronics and world-beat polyrhythms to the band's angular rock formula, resulting in a less aggressive hard rock sound than Red, the previous album. Though strikingly similar to Talking Heads (especially "I Zimbra" from Fear Of Music two years earlier) and the fact that the song probably gave us Primus, it's surprisingly humorous and catchy enough to be a keeper. "Thela Hun Ginjeet" and the closing title song also follow in the Talking Heads' avant-garde approach.
At least part of "Frame By Frame" resembles "Omegaman" by another ascendant band at the time, The Police, a comparison I don't make to disparage either band but to note how extensive their influence was at the time. Maybe Sting returned the favor as "Matte Kudasai" and the eight-minute instrumental "The Sheltering Sky" may have influenced his subsequent work.
The raucous, mostly instrumental "Indiscipline"**** is the album's only straightforward rock assault, adhering relatively closely to King Crimson's traditional sound. King Crimson has always had skill, beauty, humor, and intensity, but without the menace of "Red" and "Pictures Of A City," Discipline is more an interesting product of the time than a noticeably outstanding album.
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