Sid Smith
Author of In the Court of King Crimson [2002]

Hello Sid and thank you for sharing time with the readers of The Giant Progweed. First off, congratulations on your latest book In the Court of King Crimson. Its been a long time coming!

Sid Smith:  Yes it has!  I'd been waiting around for somebody to write the thing for years.  The Eric Tamm book was excellent but for a variety of reasons wasn't able to go into the kind of detail of the relationships between the band members, which I'd been looking for.  So, I looked around, and seeing no other runners decided to get busy. 


What has been your relationship to Robert Fripp prior to and throughout writing the book? Did you have full cooperation with all parties and did you have contact with all concerned throughout writing the book? Especially Peter Sinfield?

Sid Smith: I'd had no previous relationship with Robert, other than being a fan of the music.  Robert had read some of my stuff on Elephant Talk and eventually - to cut a tedious story short - I was invited to help staff the merchandise stall for the ProjeKct One gigs in London.  Thereafter, I did the same for the UK leg of the P2 tour and then all of the American P4 tour – the sordid details of which are fully documented in the sleeve notes to the P4 live album, which appeared a couple of years ago. 

Robert was very supportive without ever trying to exercise any kind of editorial control.  Ian McDonald was another ex-member who was wonderfully helpful, and I can honestly say that without his involvement, the book would be severely impoverished. 

Of course, a couple of ex-members were initially reluctant to speak, and one even suggested a kind of written audition to see if I was worthy.  I politely declined such a generous offer and carried on regardless of my literary shortcomings and lack of experience.  Eventually though, pretty much most of the major figures decided to contribute.  I think people  realized that this was a book whose time had come and it was probably better for them to throw their 2 cents in. 


I found the book extremely informative and even learned things about the band I had no prior knowledge of. I especially enjoyed the way you take the reader through Crimson history, introducing each release within the specific time frames with comments on each track from each LP and into the Discography/Live tours. Then the follow up chapter on the players and what they contributed and what they're up to as of 2002.  Extremely well plotted and executed! How did you decide on this format?

Sid Smith: When people write to me, I always say that if the book told them something that they didn't know, or changed the way they heard / approached the music, then I'm a happy camper.  Crimson fans are by and large extremely knowledgeable about the subject and have a capacity to retain a vast amount of tiny, niggly detail.  When you're pitching at that kind of public you'd better try and get it right!

The format evolved over the writing period of two years.  Initially, it was going to be a list of every track with some kind of factoid inserted.  However, as the research process developed, it seemed a shame to ignore the various narrative threads which were obvious and apparent.  I also kept reminding myself that this was an opportunity to produce the kind of book on KC that Id always wanted to see.  I also knew that it was important that this wasn't just another re-telling of the story from Robert's point of view.  The contribution of many of the musicians in KC has been extremely underwritten and I was keen to try and make their voices heard. 


I myself never seem to be able to get enough of the 73/74 incarnation of the band. I attended three of the 1973 shows and left stunned and shocked at the beauty of how well the band came together as a unit. I can't recall ever experiencing music in a live setting with that much power and magic. What period of Crimson history do you find to be the most defining moment of Crimson and why, and were there any moments that previous members were reluctant to discuss? Gordon Haskell seems to be a bit bitter about his circumstances of the time.

Sid Smith: From a personal perspective, the Larks Tongue band with Jamie Muir on stage was it!  This concert changed my life in all sorts of ways I could never have envisaged back in December 1972 – you and I doing this interview for example!  As I said in the introduction to the book, hearing that music altered something in me.  I can't really explain it any better than that.  The music was just so powerful, that it took me a very long time to come to terms with what I'd encountered.  I was somehow transported to a place I'd never been.  You see, I told you I couldn't really express it. 

In respect of band members being reluctant to talk - only Boz Burrell evaded the dragnet really, although I think that with a bit more time, he would have come around.  Being in King Crimson had a profound effect on Gordon, and I think it's true that he felt very cheated for many years.  That's what comes across in the book.  He was the wrong choice at the wrong time and with hindsight, it was always going to go wrong. 

However, Gordon has triumphed over the odds and last year, he topped the charts with a surprise hit single.  We were talking on the phone months before it was released.  He phoned me out of the blue and told me that he believed he'd just recorded a No.1 hit single.  When you talk to artists, it's natural for them to be enthusiastic about their work.  However Gordon was so convinced about this.  Several months later, it went in to the UK charts at No. 2.  I think everyone was really pleased for Gordon with that one – including Robert.  We talked recently and he's obviously pleased with his success.  If ever anyone earned it, Gordon did. 


McDonald and Giles seem to reflect that it was, perhaps, a mistake to leave Crimson to explore their solo side with McDonald and Giles. Do you think, had they stayed the course, that the band as a whole could have achieved a greater commercial success and if so, would the 73 incarnation still have taken place with Wetton, Bruford and Cross.

Sid Smith: I suppose it's one of the great “what ifs.”  I think it was inevitable that had McDonald and Giles stayed on, their version of Crimson would have been absolutely huge.  It's interesting the continuing power and attraction which that music has and it's influence on the whole emergence of the Prog Rock genre can't be underestimated.  They were set for mega-stardom, of that I'm sure.  Whether or not the LTIA era would have happened I really couldn't say.  Certainly, when Ian McDonald guested on Red in 1974, there was a sense that something was possible.  I think the track "Starless" has the kind of status it does because it seems to capture the grandeur of early Crimson but also infuses it with the spiky, metallic groove which Fripp was interested in.  In one sense, it's a bridge between those two very distinct and different eras. 


Do you think that we'll see another release of the "McDonald and Giles" on CD, besides the expensive Japanese release, in our lifetime?

Sid Smith: Yes! I know because I've been working on the sleevenotes for the album.  It's going to be released by Virgin later this year, in the cardboard gatefold sleeves, so it should fit nicely in between Poseidon and Lizard.  Ian and Michael did the remastering process and it sounds better than ever. 


I was astonished to read that Fripp wanted to enlist the services of Barry Godber for the cover for the second Crimson release without being appraised of his untimely death immediately after “In the Court of the Crimson King". Did you know Barry Godber?

Sid Smith: You're referring to Page 164 of the book.  It was Wetton, not Fripp, who wanted to use Barry Godber.  Barry died in 1970 so I never met him.  Recently however, I talked to his father.  A very nice man and very proud of his late son's work. 


I always felt that Jamie Muir added more of an experimental flavor to the scheme of mid-period Crimson. Why do you think that EG wanted to keep so secretive about his departure and do you think that the band held resentment to his departure at the time?

Sid Smith: Muir was incredibly important in the band and connected Crimson to another musical influence and direction.  When he went, this element was completely lost.  Bill took up some of the extra-curricular percussive but the free-form aspect of Jamie's playing was gone.  Of course, the band evolved into the powerhouse unit as result and you only have to hear tracks like "Starless and Bible Black", "Asbury Park" or "Providence" to know how special the band was without Muir. 


Another “what if.”  What would have happened if Jamie had stayed on?  There's a question mark as to how spontaneous Jamie's intense way of performing could have been maintained, especially in light of the grueling tour schedules which Crimson were undertaking.  A man can only take so much biting blood capsules and hurling great chains about!

Sid Smith: I don't think anyone in the band felt resentful about Jamie leaving.  Perhaps more surprise than anything else.  David Cross told me at the launch party of the book, that Jamie had fully explained his reasons for leaving the band.  However, certainly the others knew nothing about it at the time.  For Bill, John and Robert, only when they actually read the book did they discover what was really going on with Jamie. 

In respect of EG’s management style, Robert has commented at length on their way of working.  I guess managers have all sorts of things to consider when they make decisions. 

What do you think was the defining element that brought Fripp out from his spiritual retirement and back into forming Crimson for yet another incarnation? I'm under the general impression that Robert wanted to attempt to name it another animal instead of King Crimson and do you think his retreat added to his depth in understanding and dealings with the beast known as “the music business”?

Sid Smith: I think Robert's retreat from the music industry was about finding the tools which he felt he lacked but needed in order to survive in the business.  So emerging from it, he was better equipped as a person to negotiate the rubbish and the waste which is endemic in that line of work.  Robert will tell you that he spends at least as much time on the business and administration side of things as he does actually writing music and playing the guitar. 

It takes a great deal of personal discipline to overcome the negative and often, destructive forces to which many musicians are constantly exposed - hence the name.  Discipline was the means by which things could be possible not only in a musical sense but later, also in creating a business model which would allow Fripp to operate on his own terms. 


Every incarnation that evolves around Fripp seems to reflect a continued sense of commitment to experimentation and evolving musical ideas. Do you think Fripp will continue well into the future and involve outside influences or do you think he's more content with the current line up?

Sid Smith: I think the potential of the current line-up is staggering.  There's always a tension between songs and open-ended improvisation which characterized much of the ProjeKcts.  Yet, if any band can meet the challenge, I'm convinced Crimson can.  From my distant perspective on the workings of the current band, I think they are 100% committed to finding and exploring their own distinctive musical identity.  If you listen to the difference between The ConstruKction Of Light material in the studio and the recent Nashville gig (KCCC 19), then you can hear a band which is slowly but surely finding its feet. 


I see from the DGM web site that the next installments of the Crimson remastered legacy are being readied for an August release; USA and Earthbound. Had this been a planned avenue or were these never to have been remastered and re-released?

Sid Smith: The clamor for the release of these albums is astonishing.  I know they've planned to reissue them for years but the new stuff kept getting in the way!  Seriously though, their reissue makes sense for the completists – and Lord knows the Crimson universe has more than its fair share of those. 


With the state of the music industry spiraling into a state of suspended animation replicating itself in the interest of profit I find it interesting that so many kids from the 80/90s generation find a deep appreciation for King Crimson and its contributions to music history. What qualities do you think hold the legacy of Crimson in place to endure such timeless appreciation?

Sid Smith: I think Crimson's influence has always been out there on the margins.  The only exception to that was the first album, which kind of set the standard for bands such as Yes and Genesis.  Elsewhere in the story, I think Crimson have always tended to operate out in left-field, which given their music, seems wholly appropriate.  So, KC's influence in that sense is marginal. 

However, I notice that The Doves recently re-worked Moonchild to become M62 Song on their latest best-selling album.  Similarly, Craig Armstrong – best known for his work with Massive Attack – includes a re-vamped version of Starless.  The good thing about this is that it will lead some new listeners to want to hear the original context. 


According to your prior correspondence with me your presently working on a Brian Eno Biography. How did that come about and when can we expect to see it in print?

Sid Smith: After the success of the Crimson book, the publishers, Helter Skelter, asked me if I wanted to write another book.  I'd always liked Brian Eno's music and the publishers were up for it, so that's where it came from.  It wont be published until 2003 at the very earliest. 


I want to thank you Sid for taking time out in sharing your insights into King Crimson.   In closing, what do you see in the long term for Crimson and do you see any reunion with the original participants at any time?

Sid Smith: I think there'll always be a place for KC provided there's an audience who are prepared to support the musicians in exploring that kind of direction.  Simple stuff I know, but still true nevertheless!

In respect of reunions, well Michael Giles and Ian McDonald have got together with Peter Giles, Mel Collins and guitarist / vocals Jakko Jakszyk.  They are playing material from the first few KC albums as well as something from the McDonald & Giles and other solo material.  For many people – myself included – the prospect of seeing some of these guys playing this material is a mouth-watering prospect.  So potentially in 2002, you'll have some pretty diverse elements of the Crimson continuum on active service.  What a fascinating thought!


Thanks again and best of luck with the Brian Eno project! We'll look forward to reading it in the states and hopefully any future projects with your name on the cover.

Sid Smith: Hopefully you will.  In addition to doing some work for the McDonald & Giles album and the recent Zoom Club release (part of the KCCC), I've also written some notes for Centrozoon's album The Cult Of Bibibboo.  In addition to that I've also started work on a novel which should be ready next year.  Did I mention I'm also available for weddings and Bar Mitzvahs? 

        - Mark Gaines, The Giant Progweed [July 2002]