King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me (Live 1982-84)

Starring:King Crimson
Studio: Discipline Us
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Neal and Jack and Me resurrects two stellar and long out-of-print King Crimson videos, Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan 1984 and The Noise: Live in Frejus 1982, lacing them with a few tasty extras, including a video clip for "Sleepless." Crimson's 1980s lineup--Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford--is for many fans the quintessential incarnation of Fripp's still-evolving cast of virtuosic characters. In both shows, these artists embody all that's great in progressive music: instrumental prowess, yes, but also deft interplay, daring improvisation, and a synthesis of unique musical visions into something far greater than the considerable sum of its parts.

The Frejus show was filmed, while the Japan show was videotaped. Picture quality isn't great, but the DVD improves on the contrast and color vibrancy of the original releases. Likewise, sound quality is adequate: neither exemplary nor substandard. It's all about the music. Note: The version of Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan 1984 included on this release is that of the 1991 reissue, which has a slightly different running order than the original 1984 release and omits the song "Discipline." --Michael Mikesell
Description
Adrian Belew Â guitar & lead vocal
Robert Fripp Â guitar
Tony Levin Â bass, Stick & vocal
Bill Bruford Â drums & percussion

Brand new DVD of King Crimson in the 1980's. Showcasing one of the defining live acts of the period. As Robert Fripp puts it "Records and live performance are two worlds. One is a love letter, the other a hot date. Crimson were always the band for a hot date."

These two concerts offer different and contrasting snapshots of the 80's Crimson: Live in Frejus, heavily featuring material from the album Beat and filmed on tour in Europe with Roxy Music; and Three of a Perfect Pair showcasing the band's triumphant 1984 Japanese performances.

Three Of A Perfect Pair - Live in Japan 1984

Track Listing:
Three Of A Perfect Pair
No Warning
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part III
Thela Hun Ginjeet
Frame By Frame
Matte Kudasai
Industry
Dig Me
Indiscipline
Satori In Tangier
Man With An Open Heart
Waiting Man
Sleepless
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II
Elephant Talk
Heartbeat

The Noise - Live in Frejus 1982

Track Listing:
Waiting Man
Matte Kudasai
The Sheltering Sky
Neil And Jack And Me
Indiscipline
Heartbeat
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II

Amazon.com

Neal and Jack and Me resurrects two stellar and long out-of-print King Crimson videos, Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan 1984 and The Noise: Live in Frejus 1982, lacing them with a few tasty extras, including a video clip for "Sleepless." Crimson's 1980s lineup--Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford--is for many fans the quintessential incarnation of Fripp's still-evolving cast of virtuosic characters. In both shows, these artists embody all that's great in progressive music: instrumental prowess, yes, but also deft interplay, daring improvisation, and a synthesis of unique musical visions into something far greater than the considerable sum of its parts.

The Frejus show was filmed, while the Japan show was videotaped. Picture quality isn't great, but the DVD improves on the contrast and color vibrancy of the original releases. Likewise, sound quality is adequate: neither exemplary nor substandard. It's all about the music. Note: The version of Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan 1984 included on this release is that of the 1991 reissue, which has a slightly different running order than the original 1984 release and omits the song "Discipline." --Michael Mikesell

Description

Adrian Belew guitar & lead vocal
Robert Fripp guitar
Tony Levin bass, Stick & vocal
Bill Bruford drums & percussion

Three Of A Perfect Pair - Live in Japan 1984

The Noise - Live in Frejus 1982

Track Listing:
Waiting Man
Matte Kudasai
The Sheltering Sky
Neil And Jack And Me
Indiscipline
Heartbeat
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II

DVD Extras: Sleepless video - Tony's Road Photos - Discography

Customer Reviews:

Larks Tongues In Aspic: The Movie.......2007-02-07

I'm very happy that they put this out on DVD. This features both the band's 1980's concert videos in one release. Although the Live In Japan video is from the 1991 reissue which features different song placements than the first 80's release as well as leaving off Discipline. Both Live In Japan 1984 and Live In Frejus 1982 were originally tv specials if I remember right. The performances here are excellent and I find it hard to single out favorites. The band is in top form in both shows. The 1982 show they were sharing a bill with Roxy Music. I wish that they had released some extra songs on here but I am happy that Robert Fripp saw fit to release these together one one release instead of dragging it out and making us have to buy them separate. This does include all the basic tunes from the 80's line-up(ie Heartbeat, Elephant Talk, Sleepless, ect) as well as a couple of different versions of Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 2. If you like King Crimson you'll love this.

A "Must Have" for Fans of the 80's Incarnation of King Crimson.......2006-03-20

The Fripp/Bruford/Levin/Belew lineup was my personal favorite. This DVD is, therefore, required viewing. The production is great and the performances are of the highest order. If you like this lineup of King Crimson, you simply must have this DVD.

I do remember one thing....I LIKE IT!!!!.......2006-01-09

Let me first begin by saying that this is, in my opinion one of the best line-ups this band has ever put together. If you are unfamiliar with the group here's a little background. The only constant in the band has been Robert Fripp. He started the group in 1969. Since then there have been many incarnations. In fact if memory serves the line-up is never the same on any album until we reach the 1980's with this particular line-up. They've even lost and gained members during their many concert tours as well, I also believe that during the 1972 tour Boz Burrel (drummer) was replaced with Bill Bruford because Boz was too drunk, and missed a few shows. Here's the line-up for these two videos: Adrian Belew (Lead Guitar, Backing Drums, Mellotron, and Lead Vocals) he hails from Frank Zappa, and Talking Heads fame. If you watch these videos you'll see some of his Talking Heads roots. Next is Tony Levin, a studio bassist who has roots with Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Genesis and even played with Pink Floyd (on tour) and ABHW (Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe). Levin plays Bass, Bass Synth, and the Chapman Stick® a 10-string Bass-Guitar touch board instrument that is just phenomenal and backing vocals as well. Bill Bruford plays Drums (Batterie) Electronic Drums and the Tongue Drum as well as various and sundry percussion instruments. Bill joined the band in 1972 on the Lark's Tongues In Aspic album, after leaving Yes behind as Jon Anderson would not allow him to branch out and experiment with electronics and other percussion instruments like the tongue drum. Plus he was only getting "5% for nothing" cf. Yes' album Fragile. Then there's Bobby (Robert) Fripp, he plays Lead and rhythm guitar, as well as mellotron and Frippertronics®, his signature guitar-synth machine.
First you should watch "Live at Frejus", it's a short video, only part of the entire set list is represented here. On the special features for this DVD you can hear a good version of "Elephant Talk" recorded at this venue but not seen on the video portion....it can be heard on Tony's Photo Album in the Special Features section. Mostly this concert is from the Beat album (1980, the blue album). The opening song is great Bill and Adrian play the electronic drum kit in tandem, and it's a joy to see how they put this song together live since in the studio they can dub and overlay tracks....namely Bill and Adrian playing electronic drums while at the same time playing the acoustic drums, electric guitar and singing....impossible to do all at once live. Tony's driving rhythms on the Stick®, and walking bass-lines (also on the Stick®) are just incredible to watch. He makes the Stick® look WAY to easy to play....almost makes it look as easy to play as a simple whistle! In fact he hardly ever looks at the thing, rather stares at his protégés or into the audience. Bill's drum solo just before "Indiscipline" is perhaps one of the best drum solos in the industry, and although John Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame was the first to use an electronic and acoustic kit cf. "Bonzeau's Montreaux" Bill is by far the master of electronic, and acoustic drums. He's never been a fan of the drum solo from what I hear, and even though it's short, it's extremely sweet. Robert is most likely the fastest guitar player in the industry. Some people say Yngwei Malmstein is fast....well he hasn't got SHE IT on little Bobby Fripp here. Now both concerts have been remastered in 5.1 surround, and as such, you can hear many of the limitations of the original analog audio recordings on Frejus. But it's the visuals of seeing these master musicians play their instruments which is the best part. They are all virtuosos. The video shows it's age too, but if you are a true fan, you will overlook these minor flaws. "Waiting Man", "Neal and Jack and Me", and "Sheltering Sky" are all incredibly awesome to see played "live". Encore songs "Heartbeat" and "Lark's Tongues In Aspic Part II" are also awesome....who am I kidding the entire Frejus set is awesome....you'll love it, I did!
Now after you've watched the Frejus concert, go and change your shorts....I know you'll need to by this point, then flick over to the "Japan" concert. Here the band shines once again, playing a fuller concert on video, with a few "old school" KC songs, and a good mix of the 1980's line-up songs from Beat (Blue), Discipline (Red) and Three Of A Perfect Pair (Yellow). You can tell which album a song is from as the background behind the band will be , Blue, Yellow or Red....Adrian even mentions this during the video. Here's a few kewl points: 1) There are 4 short vignettes toward the beginning where they show each member, just prior to the concert. Robert is even seen playing "Fracture" on his electric guitar sans amp. The set list is great, again as stated earlier a great mix of songs both old and new, though mostly new. And finally the sound is much better than the Frejus recording. Adrian makes some amazing sounds, and plays feedback better than anyone else in the biz, you'll see what I mean if you get this video. For fans of the old KC you'll get to see "Lark's Tongues In Aspic Parts II and III". Too bad they didn't play Part I as well! The only problems I have with this particular concert video is all the stupid "Dr. Who" type video effects. They are not only superfluous and cheap looking, but also totally unnecessary, and in my opinion detract from the overall enjoyment of those few songs where the effects are too heavy. If I wanted to see those kinds of effects during this concert video I would have dropped 2 hits of acid, and smoked some KB before hitting play. Overall this is a 15-Star DVD set on a scale of 1-10 stars. You will not be disappointed in these videos, whether you are true KC fan, or just a beginning Prog Rock upstart. Go change your shorts again and start them both over and watch them once more! Thanks and enjoy!

Crimson Comes to Life.......2005-10-17

Neal and Jack and Me is a must have dvd. There's something special about seeing such intricate music come to life in a live format. All members in this incarnation of King Crimson put in performances of the highest quality. Songs from Three of a Perfect Pair such as Industry are given a new sense of freedom and excitement. The picture is of a very high quality considering it is coming from a video transfer and the surround sound is brilliant. Highly recommended.

A Light In The Dark Ages.......2005-08-27

For many, the 1980's were the dark ages of popular music. For example, in 1982, Olivia Newton-John,'s 'Let's Get Physical' was the number one song of the year. In 1984, Prince's 'When Doves Cry' was at the top of the charts. Beyond 'keeping the torch lit' during such years, King Crimson kept it raging for high-minded progressive rock. This DVD is a video testament to such power. During such moments, they may look as cheesy as "Men at Work" or "Duran Duran," with their clothes, guitars and electric drums. But make no mistake, this was one of the premium King Crimson line-ups. During "the Beat" and "Indiscipline" time periods, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford were a combination of virtuosity and good timing. Indeed, the world would never again see such a synchronicity of song writing, vocals, instrumental brilliance, chemistry and flat-out creativity. The sound is futuristic by today's standards. This music would eventually lay the foundation for the up and coming jamband revolution. Les Claypool solidified this sentiment when he made 'Thela Hun Ginjeet' a staple of his live shows. Beyond "Neal and Jack and Me" being the essential video of King Crimson's 80's period, it is the only video document of the band's climax.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Man on the Eiffel Tower

Simpsons, The - Love, Springfield Style : Video

Impostor [Director's Cut] [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: A Better Way to Die

Stargate Kommando SG-1 Folge 09: Enigma/Übermenschen