“Stupefying seat-of-the-pants stuff nicely served by a crisp, revelatory sound mix… and ripe for reappraisal”: King Crimson’s Sheltering Skies

King Crimson - Sheltering Skies.

After disbanding King Crimson in 1974, Robert Fripp gilt-edged his reputation for forward momentum via a series of canny collaborations: associating with Eno, Bowie and Gabriel while simultaneously embracing the new wave by recording with Blondie and Talking Heads – and even taking to the stage with The Damned.

Having doubly redefined his trademark Frippertronics with his second solo album, 1980’s David Byrne-featuring God Save The Queen/Under Heavy Manners, Fripp assembled a new Crimson for a new decade with Bill Bruford (returning on drums), Tony Levin (Chapman Stick, bass) and Talking Heads’ Adrian Belew (Byrne-alike vocal and stunt guitar).