The second in the trilogy of albums from the early eighties incarnation of the band, and my favourite period of the band. It was a stroke of genius by Robert Fripp in bringing in Adrian Belew, and I was aware from his work in Talking Heads. As well as being a second guitar player, Belew brought a pop sensibility and melody to the band. This album is definitely the most commercial Crimson ever were.
Any band of the time would have wished they could have written a track like Heartbeat. It’s such a beautiful song with a killer melody and hook, and superbly sung by Belew. Another thing that this version of the band opened up to, was influences from around the world, especially Africa and electronic drums. Discipline was full of these influences, and this album does carry on that vibe especially on tracks like Sartori In Tangier, which is a superb instrumental. The Africa influence can be heard best in Side 1 closer, Waiting Man, with the amazing Tony Levin playing the Chapman stick like he is playing a rhythm instrument.
There are still elements of Crimson of old, with (at times) the complete whack a doodle of Neurotica and experimenting with time and grooves, and Fripp with his Frippatronics. Bill Bruford is superb on this record, and I’m not sure if his talents have not been showcased better on any of the myriad of projects he has been involved with. This album and Discipline are my favourite KC records and both come highly recommended.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
