Album of the Day

Discipline, by King Crimson (1981): Seven years passed between Red, the final end of 70s Crimson and the reconstituted unit that produced Discipline. Aside from the time, the albums sound like they come from different planets - musically speaking, of course. Gone are the 10+ minute opuses, replaced by sleek New Wave-influenced tracks. It's hard to think that "Elephant Talk" or "Indicipline" were the product of the same band that produced "Starless." And, of course, it wasn't, really. Only Fripp and Bruford were carry overs and the original plan was to call the band Discipline, as well. But the Crim name carries a certain weight and so it carried on into a new decade and, eventually, a new century. It ain't Red. It ain't In the Court of the Crimson King. But it is utterly brilliant, from start to finish.