“Sheltering Skies” - The Long-Lost King Crimson Live Album

1980s show pressed on vinyl for the first time

Spiritual pursuits and work as a sideman in music circles primed guitarist Robert Fripp to form the group he envisioned in 1981 after laying King Crimson to rest in 1975. Along with drummer Bill Bruford, bassist Tony Levin, and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Adrian Belew, the quartet called themselves Discipline. The influence of new wave and post-punk made the group indicative of the time, bearing no resemblance to Crimson’s Mellotron swells and free improvisation. Fripp and Belew’s interlocking guitars, creating a rock gamelan, was the proper experimental flair for the group to rechristen themselves as King Crimson.

Within its short three year shelf life, King Crimson’s body of work in the 1980s amounted to a trio of albums exploring the inner depths of their newly established sound. 1981’s Discipline displays Adrian Belew’s melodic pop stylings on “Frame by Frame” and “Matte Kudasai,” yet “Elephant Talk” and “Thela Hun Ginjeet” leave plenty of room for lyrical quirkiness. Beat, released the following year, drew lyrical inspiration from the works and history of the Beat Generation and its respective writers; the title of “Neal and Jack and Me” is an obvious nod to Cassady and Kerouac. Crimson streamlined their sound in a more accessible vein, earning a spot in the Mainstream Rock chart with the single “Heartbeat.” A lack of direction for the follow-up, 1984’s Three of a Perfect Pair, resulted in a poppier “left side” and an experimental “right side.” Internal stress and tensions fraught the making of the latter two albums, which drove Robert Fripp to disband the band in 1984.

When King Crimson reformed in the mid-2010s with a fresh lineup, a part of the group’s touring repertoire included songs from the 1980s period. Their execution of the material integrated new melodic approaches, straying far from the intent of the original versions. Beat, a newly formed group led by Belew and Levin and accompanied by guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Danny Carey, has reinvigorated renewed interest in this period of Crimson. As a potential means of riding the coattails, Fripp’s record label, Discipline Global Mobile, released Sheltering Skies, a live recording taken from the Arena in Frejus, France, on August 27th, 1982.

King Crimson’s performance in Frejus in 1982 cemented itself in Crimson lore with a varied release history. Footage of the show formed the basis of the home video The Noise: Live at Frejus, released in 1984. A live album called Europe 1982, consisting of six of the ten songs performed and titled appropriately to compliment the 1975 live album USA, was slated for release but never came to fruition. The show was made available via download on dgmlive.com in 2012 and appeared on the On (And Off) The Road box set in 2016. 

Peter Willis’ “Behold The Man” painting graces the front cover, along with live shots on the back cover and inner gatefold. DGM utilizes nifty poly-lined printed inner sleeves for all their vinyl releases, not to mention sturdy 200-gram vinyl!

Sheltering Skies doesn’t necessarily offer a sonic sweet spot as if you were sitting amongst concert spectators. It’s mixed in a way that emphasizes the distinctive qualities of each player. Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp are mixed on opposite ends of the stereo spectrum, allowing the listener to hear the brashness and intricacies of their respective styles. “The Sheltering Sky” utilizes this technique to an advantage, as both guitarists trade off dissonant guitar flourishes in a tasteful style. The soundstage is airy enough for the guitarists to bleed towards the center, which hones in on the vocals and Tony Levin’s deep-rounded bass. Despite getting buried in the overall mix, drummer Bill Bruford takes center stage on “Indiscipline.” His freeform fills between acoustic and electronic percussion bounce back and forth between the speakers. Outside of material from Discipline and Beat, mid-70s staples, such as “Red” and “Larks Tongues in Aspic Part 2,” are delivered with the same level of intensity as before but with precise tightness.

Sheltering Skies is the first time the Frejus ‘82 show has been made available as a standalone release, and deservedly so. It’s a fine snapshot of King Crimson at the height of their technical powers during a period of reinvention and stands as one of the group’s finest live recordings.