Various Artists - 1996 "Sometimes God Hides" Young Persons Guide To Discipline Vol. I

On Aug. 9, 1996 I seen King Crimson (Double Trio) at the H.O.R.D.E. Fest with other bands including, Lenny Kravitz, Blues Traveler, Rusted Root..etc.. Wearing my Larks Tongues In Aspic T-Shirt some young gentleman approached me asking if I liked King Crimson, I said of course! and he handed me a post card, told me fill it out and they would send me a sampler CD, I did and a few weeks later I recieved this in the mail.

Sometimes God Hides is a musical stew made up of guitar-laden progressive and jazz-rock tracks, mainly from King Crimson and their solo members. With the likes of Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp leading the way, this sampler from the DGM label offers a kaleidoscopic journey through the amazing guitar craft of these talented musicians, along with some excitingly vivid excursions from Trey Gunn and the California Guitar Trio and a peculiar mix of new age and ambient from the Europa String Choir. Subtitled "The Young Persons' Guide to Discipline," these 23 tracks open up a whole new world of guitar and string manipulation, fusing familiar techniques with aberrant rhythms, electronic pastiches, and appealing yet incongruous string arrangements. Cuts such as Belew's "Burned By the Fire We Make" and King Crimson's "Red" (from an official bootleg album out of Argentina) tread on cordial rock ground but are still entertaining while, at the other end of the spectrum, tracks like Peter Hammill's haunting a cappella entitled "A Better Time" and "Voices of Ancient Children" from Los Gauchos Alemanes swoop and soar with a blend of new age mystery and modernized ambience. While the focal point of most of the songs is the guitar, the surrounding atmosphere of trancelike keyboard runs and unique string applications creates a multi-dimensional effect throughout each track. Moody and eccentric, this sampler makes for a truly peculiar instrumental journey. 

This CD is a VERY GOOD sampler of the various artists signed to Discipline Global Mobile (Robert Fripp's label). It features 23 long clips of the music by those artists, and focuses mainly (as should be expected) on Fripp's bands and offshoots.
The "flow" of the album is very good, and actually works as an album, even if it is only a sampler.
The thing about King Crimson's/Robert Fripp's music is that after you discover it, and begin digging for the music that's "near" to it (band member's solo careers, Fripp's other bands), you find a LOT of great music. This CD is a great way of having a general view of all that music.

An excellent overview of music available on Robert Fripp's "Discipline Global Mobile" label. If you've already expanded your mind with King Crimson, this may blow your mind.

Track listing / Personnel:
  
01. Cage - King Crimson
02. Red - King Crimson
03. Burned By The Fire We Make - Adrian Belew
04. Sleepwalk - California Guitar Trio
05. Mingled Roots - Tony Levin
06. Midnight Blue - Robert Fripp
07. Hope - Robert Fripp String Quintet
08. THRaKaTTaK I - King Crimson
09. Radiophonic II - Robert Fripp
10. Voices Of Ancient Children - Los Gauchos Alemanes
11. A Better Time (Acapella) - Peter Hammill
12. 2006 - Robert Fripp
13. Train To Lamy Suite - California Guitar Trio
14. The Last Three Minutes - Ten Seconds
15. The Third Star - Trey Gunn
16. Sermon On The Mount - Europa String Choir
17. Be Longing - Gitbox
18. Scanning II - Robert Fripp
19. Inductive Resonance - League of Gentlemen
20. Real Life - Trey Gunn
21. A Connecticut Yankee In The Court Of King Arthur - Robert Fripp & The League Of Crafty Guitarists
22. Epitaph - King Crimson
23. Sometimes God Hides - Robert Fripp