The Compact King Crimson
The Compact King Crimson is a compilation released on 8 December 1986 by E'G, with the tracks chosen by Robert Fripp himself. It draws from the two different eras the band had been through by that point, so it works as a guided route through a group that kept reinventing itself. The studio albums behind it run from In the Court of the Crimson King in 1969 to Three of a Perfect Pair in 1984.
The sleeve carries Fergus Hall's painting Il Divino. Hall's artwork had also dressed the earlier compilation A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson, so the two collections sit together as companions of a sort. If you want to hear how the band's own guiding hand sees its past, this is a neat place to begin before heading into the full albums.
The Compact King Crimson: tracklist and credits
12 tracks · 1:10:22Tracklist
- 1DisciplineBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin5:04
- 2Thela Hun GinjeetBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin6:27
- 3Matte KudasaiBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin3:47
- 4Three of a Perfect PairBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin4:13
- 5Frame by FrameBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin5:09
- 6SleeplessKing Crimson and Adrian Belew5:24
- 7HeartbeatBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin3:54
- 8Elephant TalkBelew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin4:43
- 921st Century Schizoid ManFripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield7:18
- 10I Talk to the WindIan McDonald and Peter Sinfield6:06
- 11EpitaphFripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield8:51
- 12In the Court of the Crimson KingIan McDonald and Peter Sinfield9:27
- Produced by
- Rhett Davies, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Steven Wilson
- Recorded at
- Basing Street Studios, Wessex Sound Studios
- Recorded
- 1969–1984
- Mixed by
- Robert Fripp, Steven Wilson
- Engineered by
- Rhett Davies, Brad Davis, Robin Thompson
- Label
- E’G
- Length
- 1:10:22
Line-up
- Adrian Belew · guitar, spoken vocals, lead vocals, electric fretless guitar
- Bill Bruford · drums (drum set), slit drum, electronic drum set, percussion
- Robert Fripp · guitar, guitar synthesizer, effects
- Tony Levin · Chapman stick, bass guitar, background vocals, vocals
- Michael Giles · drums (drum set), percussion, background vocals
- Greg Lake · bass guitar, lead vocals
- Ian McDonald · reeds, woodwind, vibraphone, keyboard, mellotron, background vocals
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 8 December
Every year →More from King Crimson
Full discography →The best of 1986
All of 1986 →More on E’G
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia only
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1986 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 8 December 1986 | |
| Wikidata | 1986 | |
| US release | 1986 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1986 | earliest UK or European date |
6 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | GB | E’G | 077778678526 | original |
| 1986 | GB | E’G | 5012985306829 | original |
| 1986 | US | E’G | 084317800515 | original |
| 4 March 1987 | JP | E’G | 4988006610613 | other |
| 1989 | US | E’G | 017046150927 | other |
| 1989 | JP | E’G | 4988037012639 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1000×1000 | upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50) |