What did they do next? Part 3b – Bill Bruford – Larks’ Tongues in Aspic – 389

Fantastic episode again. Great to hear this music treated with the seriousness it deserves and contextualised against the highest level of art music. That is rare (in prog circles), especially the name check for John Cage. In my adult lifetime Cage has been dismissed by many people as a musical analogue for Carl Andre’s”pile of bricks”- the single work of art most beloved of our nation’s tabloid news editors. There’s lots to love for the more adventurous prog fan in Cage’s work.

I read a terrifying interview with Jakko Jakszyk recently about playing the old Crimson music on stage. What he said about the technical difficulties and the preparation required reminded me of the documentaries Free Solo and Man On Wire. If you suffer from musical vertigo probably best avoided. As a fairly mediocre musician it brought me out in a sweat just thinking about the demands it would make on me. Mainly demands on my memory for complex arrangements. Something for which Yes are of course also renowned.

Last two gigs I have been to were actually Crimson (both parts of Larks Tongues and East Money are in the current set list) and Kiss so there is a contrast for you if you want to study the difference between art and showbiz. Both represent the apogee of completely different approaches to rock music. Starting to think there is no middle ground left to occupy here. Needless to say if you need to really work at bringing the most out of the music you are performing then the best thing is to avoid unnecessary interactions with the audience or displays of showmanship – especially running around venues or waving arms in the air could be better employed on the fret board or keyboard. Kiss have no such problems and Fripp and his cohort know better.

I would definitely fancy my chances of getting through the two hour Kiss set playing Gene’s parts. It’s the fire breathing, the nine inch platforms and the flying around in the air I would struggle with. I would have literal vertigo in that case.

I’m a huge KC fan, ever since first hearing “The Court of the Crimson King” on the radio in 1970, which blew my mind! After the debut album, my favorites are the 70s Bruford records, which I bought as they were released. While I was disappointed that Bill left Yes, I was thrilled hearing what he was doing on Larks’, Starless & Red. Having met Bill starting in ’76 with Genesis, I can tell you that he was thrilled with the challenge of this new KC music, and of playing with Jamie Muir. And he became great friends with John Wetton. They were a formidable rhythm section in KC and UK.