A Scarcity of Miracles is an album by
Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins. It united former
King Crimson musicians
Robert Fripp and
Mel Collins with singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jakko Jakszyk (who previously fronted, sang for and played guitar in
21st Century Schizoid Band,
a project set up to reunite King Crimson members from the 1960s and
1970s lineups of the band and to play the band's music from that period;
he later became a full member of the band).
The basis for the album came from guitar improvisations recorded by Jakszyk and Fripp in
Wiltshire,
England with no particular intention of recording an album.
[3]
With Fripp's agreement, Jakszyk took the resulting recordings and
reworked them as songs. Collins (a frequent Jakszyk collaborator)
subsequently "heard unplayed sax waiting to be given voice" and joined
the developing project.
[3]
With the majority of music now recast as songs, an album took shape.
Two other ongoing King Crimson members - bass guitar/Chapman Stick
player
Tony Levin and drummer
Gavin Harrison - subsequently recorded the rhythm tracks.
[4]
A Scarcity of Miracles was released with the subtitle of "A King Crimson
ProjeKct".
This in turn led to speculation that it might be the basis of the next
lineup of King Crimson (the main band itself having been on hiatus since
2008, and having used the ProjeKcts as research and development work
since 1999). Fripp himself gently denied and clarified this at the time
by describing the record as "one of my favourite albums of those where I
am a determining element. It has the Crimson gene, but it is not quite
KC."
[4] However, a new line-up of King Crimson was announced in September 2013 including everyone involved in the album.
Like the covers of many King Crimson albums produced by
Discipline Global Mobile, the cover of
A Scarcity of Miracles features a painting by
P J Crook.
Title tracks
- "A Scarcity of Miracles" (7:27)
- "The Price We Pay" (4:49)
- "Secrets" (7:48)
- "This House" (8:37)
- "The Other Man" (5:59)
- "The Light of Day" (9:02)
Personnel
- Additional personnel
Studio Album, released in 2015
Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Starless Starlight Loops (11:35)
2. In the Shadow (5:36)
3. Shine and Fall (6:43)
4. Starless Theme (5:16)
5. One By One, the Stars Were Going Out (6:50)
6. Fear of Starlight (3:50)
7. Starlight Trio (11:59)
8. Sure of the Dark (3:53)
Total time 55:42
Line-up / Musicians
- David Cross / violin
- Robert Fripp / soundscapes
Releases information
Starless Starlight is "a fascinating album length exploration of a
melody - composed by David Cross and Robert Fripp - that emerged as one
of the key themes on the King Crimson masterpiece, Starless"
CD Noisy Records NOISY007 (2015)
Apr 2014
Jul 2012
Oct 2009
Sep 2007
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