Fallen Angel (King Crimson song)

Last updated
"Fallen Angel"
Song by King Crimson
from the album Red
Released6 October 1974
RecordedAugust 1974
Studio Olympic, London
Genre
Length6:03
Label Island (UK & Europe), Atlantic (USA)
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s) King Crimson

"Fallen Angel" is a composition by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It is the second track on their seventh studio album, Red , released on 6 October 1974.

The lyrics are a man's lament over the tragedy of his young brother, who joined a gang and was stabbed to death on the streets of New York City, sung with deep pathos by John Wetton. [2]

The motif used in Fallen Angel is an arpeggio by Robert Fripp, part of an improvisation performed by five members during the recording of Larks' Tongues in Aspic in 1972. Guest musicians Mark Charig (cornet) and Robin Miller (oboe) appear during select musical passages. Charig and Miller had previously played on the albums Lizard (1970) and Islands (1971). [3]

It was the last of King Crimson's studio albums to include acoustic guitar played by Robert Fripp. This is also the last time the acoustic guitar appears on a studio-recorded song, with the exception of an acoustic version of 'Eyes Wide Open' (performed by Adrian Belew) on the 2002 mini-album Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With.

The band had never performed the song live since the time it was released on album, but it was finally performed live in Chicago in 2017. [4]

Personnel

with:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Crimson</span> English progressive rock band

King Crimson were an English-based progressive rock band formed in London in 1968. Led by guitarist Robert Fripp, they drew inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, blues, industrial, electronic, experimental music and new wave. They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres. The band has earned a large cult following, especially in the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Fripp</span> British guitarist, composer, record producer, and author (b. 1946)

Robert Fripp is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session musician and collaborator, notably with David Bowie, Blondie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall, the Roches, Talking Heads, and David Sylvian. He also composed the startup sound of Windows Vista, in collaboration with Tucker Martine and Steve Ball. His discography includes contributions to more than 700 official releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Belew</span> American musician, songwriter, and record producer

Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual approach to the instrument, his playing often resembling sound effects or noises made by animals and machines.

<i>Larks Tongues in Aspic</i> 1973 studio album by King Crimson

Larks' Tongues in Aspic is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, released on 23 March 1973 through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. This album is the debut of King Crimson's third incarnation, featuring co-founder and guitarist Robert Fripp along with four new members: bass guitarist and vocalist John Wetton, violinist and keyboardist David Cross, percussionist Jamie Muir, and drummer Bill Bruford. It is a key album in the band's evolution, drawing on Eastern European classical music and European free improvisation as central influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.K. (band)</span> British progressive rock supergroup

U.K. were a British progressive rock supergroup originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band was founded by bass guitarist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford, formerly the rhythm section of King Crimson. The band was rounded out by violinist/keyboardist Eddie Jobson, and guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Bruford and Holdsworth left in 1978, and Bruford was replaced by drummer Terry Bozzio. Jobson, Wetton and Bozzio reformed U.K. for a world tour in 2012.

<i>Islands</i> (King Crimson album) 1971 studio album by King Crimson

Islands is the fourth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in 3 December 1971 on the record label Island. Islands is the only studio album to feature the 1971–1972 touring line-up of Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace. This would be the last album before an entirely new group would record the trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red between 1973 and 1974. This is also the last album to feature the lyrics of co-founding member Peter Sinfield.

<i>Lizard</i> (album) 1970 studio album by King Crimson

Lizard is the third studio album by British progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 11 December 1970 by Island Records in the UK, and in January 1971 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. It was the second consecutive King Crimson album recorded by transitional line-ups of the group that did not perform live, following In the Wake of Poseidon. This is the last of two albums by the band to feature Gordon Haskell and the band's only album to feature drummer Andy McCulloch.

<i>Red</i> (King Crimson album) 1974 studio album by King Crimson

Red is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 6 October 1974 on Island Records in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in North America and Japan. The album was recorded at Olympic Studios in London in July and August 1974, and produced by the band themselves.

<i>King Crimson Live in Mainz</i> 2001 live album by King Crimson

King Crimson Live in Mainz is a live album by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in March 2001. The album was recorded at Eltzer Hof, Mainz, West Germany, on March 30, 1974.

<i>The Night Watch</i> (album) 1997 live album by King Crimson

The Night Watch is a live album by the English rock band King Crimson, recorded in Amsterdam in 1973, and released in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wetton</span> English musician (1949–2017)

John Kenneth Wetton was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left handed, he was known as a dexterous right handed Bass player and had a booming Baritone voice. He joined the band Family in 1971 for a short time before joining King Crimson in 1972. After the breakup of King Crimson at the end of 1974, Wetton was in progressive rock and hard rock bands including Roxy Music (1974–1975), Uriah Heep (1975–1976), U.K. (1977–1980), and Wishbone Ash (1980–1981).

<i>Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson</i> 1991 box set by King Crimson

Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson is a 4-CD box set by the band King Crimson, released in 1991.

Richard William Palmer-James is an English guitarist, songwriter and lyricist. He may be best known as one of the founding members of Supertramp ; writing lyrics for several songs by the progressive rock group King Crimson in the early 1970s; and for writing lyrics for the 1985 hit "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" by Sandra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centipede (band)</span> English progressive rock group

Centipede were an English jazz/progressive rock/big band with more than 50 members, organized and led by the British free jazz pianist Keith Tippett. Formed in 1970, it brought together much of a generation of young British jazz and rock musicians from a number of bands, including Soft Machine, King Crimson, Nucleus and Blossom Toes.

"Starless" is a composition by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It is the final track on their seventh studio album, Red, released on 6 October 1974.

<i>The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume One – 1969–1974</i> 2004 box set by King Crimson

The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume One – 1969–1974 is the first of two 4-CD sets of compilation albums, showcasing the entire production of the British progressive rock band King Crimson. This set of discs contains both studio and live performances ranging from the beginnings of the band in 1969 to their first dissolution in 1974.

<i>The Great Deceiver</i> (King Crimson album) 1992 live album by King Crimson

The Great Deceiver is a 4-CD box set by the band King Crimson, consisting of live recordings from 1973 and 1974, released on Virgin Records in 1992. In 2007, it was reissued on Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile label as two separate 2-CD sets, each featuring new artwork. The box set is titled after a song from the group's 1974 album Starless and Bible Black.

<i>The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson</i> 2006 compilation album by King Crimson

The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson is a compilation by progressive rock band King Crimson, released in 2006. It contains select studio tracks from the two box sets, The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume One – 1969–1974 and The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume Two – 1981–2003.

"Islands" is the title and closing track of the album of the same name by the progressive rock band, King Crimson, released in 1971. The song's pastoral, mellow, and quiet feeling distinguish it from the album's first four tracks. The song was played live only a few times in 1971, with Collins using a regular concert flute, and Fripp playing guitar in place of Marc Charig's cornet.

<i>Live at the Orpheum</i> 2015 live album by King Crimson

Live at the Orpheum is a live album by the band King Crimson, released by Discipline Global Mobile records in 2015. The album was recorded on 30 September and 1 October at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California on the band's The Elements of King Crimson US tour of 2014.

References

  1. Kopp, Bill (2021-08-20). "Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia". Newcity . Archived from the original on 2021-08-21. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  2. "Red King Crimson". Pitchfork.com. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. "RED - THE LONG VIEW". DGM LIVE.com. 2016-11-03. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. "King Crimson: Official Bootleg: Live In Chicago, June 28th, 2017". allaboutjazz.com. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2022.