King Crimson bassist Tony Levin believes there’s a lot more to come from Robert Fripps’ reactivated band.
And he’s so delighted that the mainman came back from self-enforced retirement that he’d be happy to lend his support even if he wasn’t part of the lineup.
Crimson recently released Live At The Orpheum, recorded last year during their comeback US tour. Fripp confirmed in November that they were working on three studio tracks.
Leven tells Vintage Rock: “I’m thrilled that King Crimson is back doing stuff, and doubly thrilled that I’m in it – although as a fan of the band, I would be happy even if I wasn’t in it.
“It seems like every year we’re going to do something. It’s on the table, the possibility that we’ll come up with some new music – and maybe, eventually, a new album. That would be great.”
The lineup is rounded out by Jakko Jakszyk, Mel Collins and drummers Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison and Bill Rieflin. Levin initially thought playing with three sticksmen live would be difficult, but it turned out to be easier than he anticipated.
“Robert’s instruction to them was, ‘Reinvent rock drumming,‘” says the bassist. “They spent all of last year trying to do that. They did a good job of coming up with very creative ways to have three drummers play in a lot of different ways.
“I was expecting it to be really hard – but because of the creative parts they came up with, it was very easy. In fact I found myself playing more bass notes than I usually do.”
Fripp hopes to bring Crimson to the UK later this year, and has said he’s considering avoiding London and concentrating on other venues across the country instead. The band launched 27-disc box set Starless in October.
