followed Discipline with Beat

In June 1982, King Crimson followed Discipline with Beat , the first King Crimson album recorded with the same line-up as the album preceding it. Beat was also the group’s only album where Fripp had no involvement in the original mixing, with Davies and Belew undertaking production duties. The album was themed around the lives and works of Beat Generation writers, reflected in song titles such as “Neal and Jack and Me” (inspired by Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac ), ” Heartbeat ” (inspired by Carolyn Cassady ‘s memoir Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal ), “The Howler” (inspired by Allen Ginsberg ‘s ” Howl “) and “Waiting Man” (inspired by William S. Burroughs ). The album contained themes of life on the road, existential angst and romanticism. While Beat was more pop-influenced than Discipline , it also featured the improvised “Requiem”, which featured Frippertronics , a guitar technique invented by Eno and Fripp using a tape loop system.