Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

13. King CrimsonLarks’ Tongues In Aspic

I’ve seen all the King Crimson line-ups except the first one, but the one with John Wetton and Bill Bruford is for me far ahead of everything. The two albums I most like are Larks’ Tongues and Red.

I have seen King Crimson play so many times, thanks to my friendship with Robert Fripp. One tour, Robert asked the EG people to accommodate us, so my wife Agneta and I had our own room. The English have a strange sense of humour, you know. One time, he said with a completely straight face “you know what, I’m bored with all of this. Why don’t you replace me in King Crimson?”. I didn’t say anything but asked Agneta later if she thought he was joking. I think he was, and in any case I have a way of playing that is very dirty. Robert is very clean. What I do, it’s a different thing, with synthesizers, so I could never replace him anyway. What Heldon does is rock ‘n’ roll.

Previous

The Quietus Digest

Sign up for our free Friday email newsletter.

Support The Quietus

Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.

Support & Subscribe Today