1973 and later on...
- 1973: LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC:
Oleg's Review / Joel's Review / Ayoze's Review / Richard's Review
- 1973: THE NIGHT WATCH
- 1974: STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK:
- 1974: RED:
Oleg's review / Joel's review / Richard's review
- 1974: USA
- 1981: DISCIPLINE
- 1982: BEAT:
- 1984: THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR:
Joel's review / Ayoze's review
- 1984: ABSENT LOVERS:
Joel's review / Ayoze's review
- 1985: THRAK:
Joel's review / Ayoze's review
Now we have the best drummer in history Bill Bruford,great violin and melotron player David Cross,and fantastic bass player and singer John Wetton.Lyrics now written by Robert Palmer-James.And as Peter Sinfield wrote medievil and fantasy lyrics,Palmer-James was much fond in written social-critique or sci-fi lyrics. Album opens with the first part of "Lark's Tongues In Aspic".Great guitar tone and percussion(Jamie Muir playing on it,but he went from band before the album was released) create very agressive and weird melody.Then comes SONGS."Easy Money" is great and I always like opening of this song."Exiles" and "Book Of Saturday" also great.But sometimes they're become very boring. Two closing numbers:"The Talking Drum" and "Lark's Tongues In Aspic,Part II" are also great and even better than the first part of the title track."The Talking Drum" contary to its name not a drumming benefit,but great instrumental rocker which you'll wanna hear again and again."Lark's Tongues In Aspic,Part II" is an ideal hard-rock number with great playing of Mr.Fripp. Why I gave this album a nine?Because it's kinda boring.An ideal lullaby.
So after four studio albums and one live, Robert Fripp decided
to finally dismiss the other King Crimson members and build a whole new band.
Even Pete Sinfield had to go, probably lured away by Greg Lake to serve as court
lyricist for Emerson, Lake & Palmer. New members were John Wetton on base and
vocals, Bill Bruford on drums, David Cross on violin, viola and mellotron and
Jamie Muir on percussion and allsorts, with Robert Palmer-James writing all
lyrics without being mentioned as a member of the group. Muir took part of this
album and participated on some nowadays legendary live performances. For a long
time none of those live performances were released on vinyl, but today some
of the jams are available on the box set The Great Deceiver and on the double
live CD The Night Watch.
This new group took a completely different direction than the earliest incarnation.
The earlier incarnations were more innovative and pseudo-classical than this
new lineup, which had a rather heavy sound, though not losing the innovativeness.
The previous albums were also qute depending on the atmosphere, with weird covers
and dark, apocalyptic music, while now KC had developed a rather plain, rocking
sound. Another important change is that now, since Pete Sinfield had gone and
Palmer-James took over his place as textwriter, King Crimson actually became
RESONANT, one thing of which they really didn't have much in the earlier days,
some numbers on the debut and some from Islands excepted. Sinfield was much
of writing philosophic, mystical lyrics, sounding as something from the Gospel
according to St. John, while Palmer-James had an undeniable talent for writing
rather earthbound lyrics about things from the real working-day. John Wetton
is also a much more resonantic singer than Boz Burrell or Gordon Huskell.
The album opener is a nearly 14 minutes long instrumental called "Larks'
Tongues in Aspic, part 1", and through a mood-setting intro with percussions
moving over into a quite terrific violin theme with different guitars noises
in the background, the song suddenly explodes into a headbanging HM-riff with
some of the crunchiest guitar of the era. Then the, in comparison of the HM
riff, calm intro is played once more, before once again exploding into the riffest.
Next comes a long, long jam - almost as long as the "Moonchild" one!
- though it varies, and it isn't really boring to listen at it. After a long
advent, the track moves over into a mellotron line, a really great line, BTW,
and then the track is finally over. Briefly: A great, though overlong tune.
One thing about it is that the lengthiness isn't really annoying me this time,
as it uses to do.
"Book of Saturday" is a short and cute ballad, not really bad, rather
pleasant, but lacks the crunchiness and innovativeness of the other songs. It
makes a good interlude, though.
"Exiles" is a strange sort of ballad, opening with some different
noise, passing by to a mellotron line which moves over into a violin-dominated
theme, which remains through most of the song. Soon Wetton joins Cross' violin,
and the two makes a fine couple to give the song a beautiful, interesting melody.
Fripp's acoustic guitar is an unusual but welcome element. The song changes
into a rather 'common' ballad with Wetton's voice in the middle, surrounded
by a piano and a violin. Then the song is nearly over, but in the meantime,
I can hear a flute. I don't know who's playing the piano and the flute, but
I suppose it's Muir.
"Easy Money" opens as a heavy jam, I'd hesitate to call it melody, since
it isn't really a melody. That jam, then, moves over into the first verse, which
mostly is dominated by Wetton's voice. Each time another verse is sung, though,
it's getting heavier and heavier. Some jams are here and there, and those are
also getting heavier and heavier as time passes. So the song is actually an
8-minute crescendo, with the heavy melody always there, but it slowly shows
more and more of itself, and after a while, you can't help but headbang. The
song is really awesome, I wouldn't hesitate to pronounce it to be almost as
good as "21st Century Schizoid Man"!
"The Talking Drum" is seven-minute instrumental, and mostly sereves as
part one of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". It opens quietly with some
wind noises and a talking drum. After a while is a cool bass line and a violin
added, and the track finally gets a structure. Of course Fripp also passes in
with some guitars, and around 5.30, a heavy background noise is added, and so
the song reaches the end within a screeching section, moving over into the heavy
"Larks' Tongues in Aspic part 2", which with a heavy guitar/bass interplay
moves over into a rather smooth section, often featuring a pretty nice viola.
The section is reaching higher in intensity, the repeated once again, then the
song moves over into THE part of the song; where CRUNCHY guitars and a HEAVY
base plays some things each, then joining each other into a struggling riff.
Then the mentioned first section is repeated once again, and with some few changes,
the song remains sounding that way until it ends up with a great crescendo.
Briefly: Awesomely heavy instrumental!
And so that was the whole album, one of the most peculiar hard rock albums ever!
When it comes to King Crimson, one has to expect the unexpected.
And after the complete loss of direction that followed the disintegration of
the In The Court line-up, the move the group was about to make in 1973 was rather
unpredictable. Prog-metal. Instrumental prog-metal to be more accurate, with
some excellent ballads thrown in for good measure. Refined and exquisite, but
also fierce and devastating. Take, for instance, the first title track. Hardly
is more evident that brutal contrast, that fragile (no Yes pun intended) balance
than on these thirteen minutes of magic, a carefully composed piece, yet sounding
like a chaotic improvisation, full of mind-blowing riffs and complex solos.
This is rock fearless of crossing the frontiers of jazz or classical music,
albeit in a different way than Caravan, or, God have mercy, ELP.
Thanks to the presence of not one, but two expert percussionists (Bill Bruford
and Jamie Muir, who would left shortly afterwards), Larks' Tongues In Aspic
is extremely rich in the drumming department. Elaborate patterns, tons of effects
and tuned percussion, make this a must for those who like the sound of beaten
things. And this brings me to the next track, "Book Of Saturday",
that has no percussion at all. Never mind, the calm, soothing mood and delicate
violin part make up for that. As for the lyrics... Palmer-Jones' texts in general
are an improvement over Sinfield's poetic deliriums, but are still far from
being resonant.
Now, imagine yourself in the heart of a jungle. It's raining, and you are surrounded
by natives and exotic creatures. Close your eyes. What do you hear? Why, the
intro of "Exiles", of course! The song itself is a wonderful acoustic
ballad, featuring a tender guitar solo, dramatic mellotron lines and Wetton's
mundane singing, oddly apt for this cry for a distant homeland. His voice is
also great in "Easy Money", an easy-going rocker. The first bars resemble
some march you'd hear in a galley or something. And the way the verses grow
in intensity is very cool. Kinda funky, man! The sinister laugh at the end makes
you feel uncomfortable, and paves the way for "The Talking Drum". It starts
very quiet, you hear some congas (I think), the rhythm section kicks in, then
the guitar, then the violin. Seven minutes of magnificent crescendo. It may
seem dull on paper, but wait till you hear Fripp's diabolic guitar lines and
Cross' mad, Arabic soloing. The crescendo culminates with an abrupt segue into
the most rocking KC song ever (that's saying a lot), "Larks' Tongues In
Aspic, part two". Unlike most of the other songs, it takes you by surprise
and has no quiet intro whatsoever. Instead, Fripp starts hammering right away
THE riff. It's insanely repeated over and over again, with a despair punctuated
by the screeching violin. An appropriate way to close such an album. Words can't
make it justice, but at least I hope I've made clear that this is the very best
progressive rock has to offer.
The 2nd “Great Thunderstorm-Breakthrough” of King Crimson
(The 1st one was the debut album).
After the four “classical art-rock albums”, Robert Fripp have took a time-out
for several months. That time he took part in the super-avantgarde project with
Brian Eno (we have NO PUSSY FOOTING as result, do we?) and changed all the band’s
line-up. The new line-up was:
Robert Fripp (guitar, mellotron, devices)
Bill Brufford (drums)
John Wetton (bass, vocals)
David Cross (violin, viola, mellotron)
Jamie Muir (percussion and allsorts)
+
new lyrist Palmer-James.
Fripp and Co. seriously changed the principals of the band’s music. King Crimson
became the almost unrecognizable. Where are all those heavenly medieval songs,
calm symphonies and nice acoustic ballads with so quiet and gentle winds? Now
we have the hammer-like heavy sound of electric guitars and jazz-hard-rock drums,
oftenly changed by suddenly quiet playing of violins, bells and so on. The lyrics
became more “earth-closed” without those Sinfield’s post-hippian allegories
and myphological and fairy heroes. In 1973 we had absolutely another band (maybe
the basic reason for it was the influention of Brian eno?), but “the invisible
something” of perfect sound make us recognize the unequal music of “Good Old
King Crimson”. Really, only Mr. Fripp and Co. could play such kind of music,
it is impossible to interfere King Crimson with something else.
To my opinion, the another characterizing thing of LTIA is the following fact:
this album is basically determined by instrumentals. The 1st of them LARK’S
TONGUES IN ASPIC (PART-ONE) is my favorite composition here. I must note the
very important thing: all these avant garde improvisations played by King Crimson
on their 1973-1974 albums aren’t based on jazz. (We already listened their unsuccessful
jazzy experience of 1972; I mean EARTHBOUND). These improvisations were the
1st firmly Crimson’s ones.
The album begins with the great 13-minute instrumental LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC
(PART-ONE). The development of this composition is absolutely unpredictable:
it starts with nearly-1,5-minute quiet sound of little bells, and then we have
the main theme with alarmly-playing violin suddenly transforming into … CRACK-BOOM-BOOM-BAH-TRRRRRH!!!
… into the powerful thunder of riffing guitar and roaring rhythm-section. It
sounds two times, and then we have the solid improvised-section: at first we
have disrhythmic parallel-playing of Brufford’s drums and Wetton’s bass, and
then some minutes of Cross violin’s dissonant playing (this album is the one
of the best examples of using of violin in rock-music). But my favorite moment
on LTIA (PART-ONE) is its coda contains of (at first) the disturbing short theme
of violin and (at the end) the nice (rather dark though) solo of Mr. Fripp.
Then we have BOOK OF SATURDAY – the gentle ballad based on “crying” half acoustic
guitar, some short solos of electric guitar, violin and the shady bass-guitar.
Wetton sings so sadly and sincerely here! Oh, maybe it’s the best example of
Wetton’s singing (I cannon say that Wetton’s voice is strong or ear-pleasant).
Though this song is absolutely unlike to ballads of previous King Crimson’s
albums: it’s not as such quiet as LADY OF THE DANCING WATER or MOONCHILD and
it hasn’t those medieval influences as EPITAPH or ISLANDS. It’s just the new
kind of Crimsonish ballad style.
After this we have the four 7-minute songs. The 1st of them is the best non-instrumental
composition here; EXILES is the violin-based wonderful ballad with some dissonant-sounding
fragments. Great song! Sometimes Fripp’s guitar sounds like a violin too (don’t
forget that since NO PUSSY FOOTING Fripp uses his new “violin-tuning” for guitar).
He oftenly says that such kind of tuning gave the more possibilities for musicians
than the usual “E-B-G-D-A-E”-tuning. At the end of EXILES we have an excellent
coda based on acoustic-guitar passages and the magical playing of violin.
The 2nd side of LP is more heavy and powerful than the 1st. It starts with some-fusion-oriented
hard-rock number EASY MONEY. It has very good and REAL lyrics; it hasn’t a lot
of guitar riffs or noisy percussions, but this composition is very heavy by
its inner tension; the music (very suitable for lyrics) is rather dark and evil-predictable.
Those times King Crimson always included EASY MONEY in their line-concerts.
Maybe the most memorable moment of this song is in the end of it: do you remember
that terrible evil laughing? (It’s interesting to me, whose laughing was recorded
here?)
After this laughing you can hear the strange sounds of blowing wind faraway
fanfares(?), those gave me very terrible feelings (it’s like buzzing of thousands
flies around the dead flesh, brrrrrhhhh). Thus we have the beginning of very
dark and “lifeless” (and it’s really very dark and “lifeless”!) instrumental
THE TALKING DRUM. Maybe this excellent composition is rather out of place after
the such “decadance”-style ballads as BOOK OF SATURDAY and EXILES or after overthought
ice-clear hard-rock track as EASY MONEY. But as-if-from-nowhere-appeared THE
TALKING DRUM is the great by itself improvised instrumental and it is the most
suitable predecessor for the album-closing instrumental LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC
(PART-TWO). LTIA (PART-TWO) starts after the horrible wailing (I’m not sure
what instrument has made such sound). All King Crimson’s fans can always recognize
this one of the most favorite compositions with the 1st guitar-riffs, which
are so brain-breaking and angry-sounding. Maybe LTIA (PART-TWO) is the haviest
Crimson’s composition till VROOOM; and its heaviness is reached by not only
the instrumental cacaphonia (oh, that powerful dissonance between violin and
guitar!!!!), but also by its internal pressure on listener. This song can break
your spirit out and make you crazy!
Buy this great record immediately. Also I want to say that LTIA would be favorite
for not only the prog-fans; hard-rock, metal and even more-extremal-styles fans
would be very happy to have this album in their collection.
Send your comments and reviews of "Lark's Tongues In Aspic"
After the releasing of their masterpiece LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC King Crimson went to their European Tour, and this concert were recorded live in Amsterdam Concertgebown, November 23, 1973. Listening to this album I usually have rather mixed emotions: THE NIGHT WATCH is full of complexy improvisations, those are not always very sucsessful though. If to compare this live-album with LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC, I don’t listen THE NIGHT WATCH such oftenly ‘cos it’s very moody-specifically. Also you can find on this album some compositions from released some months later STARLESS AND THE BIBLE BLACK-album (LAMENT, FRACTURE, THE NIGHT WATCH, TRIO and the title track), some compositions from the previous album (but unfortunately we haven’t LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC (part-1) here) and also the KING CRIMSON fans got a big surprise at the end of the record – the new live-version of 21ST CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN… The record starts with EASY MONEY, which sounds much better at concert then at studio; it’s more powerful, sincere and “alive” here with forced volume of riffing guitar and drums. It’s really more memorable here then on LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC album, hard-rock fans would get the great portion of delight! Though the rest material is rarely better than the studio-versions, for example the next song LAMENT, it’s even rather boring here and is out of place after EASY MONEY. To my opinion, LAMENT is the “typical studio-oriented composition”. And the following-after BOOK OF Saturday adds nothing new here, only the lack of limited playing of violin. Honestly, Cross sounded better on studio-records with that excellent crystal-sound. Then you can hear some “la-la-la”-words of John Wetton before the following lengthy instrumental FRACTURE. To my opinion it’s one of the most KC’s underrated composition reviewed by a lot of “pop-oriented” commentators of many well-known by our review sites. FRACTURE is whole based on “new Fripp guitar tuning” and its melody is very interesting and unusual (but I’ve read a lot of stupid opinions of not very thoughtful commentators that this composition is boring and not entertaining, but why must it be entertaining, catchy or memorable??!!?!???! It’s art rock! It’s not the composition recorded by Britney Spears or suchlike!), this composition has a lot of innovative musical ideas, melodically and technically (believe me; being a student some years ago I played guitar and sung in some rock bands and sometimes even seriously wanted to be a rock-musician – but it’s an another story – I only want to say that FRACTURE practically hasn’t standard rock and playing-elements features in all). Though I must note that the live-version almost has no differences with the later-released studio-version. After FRACTURE and some clap you can hear the sounds of nice little bells and quiet playing of Fripp and Cross, then Wetton and Brufford join to playing too – it’s the beginning of very beautiful ballad THE NIGHT WATCH. This song is the kind of BOOK OF Saturday, such sad and nice, only a bit longer and more rock-sounding. It has the especially nice fragments at the middle, I mean the short simple solos of Fripp (though this version differs with the studio-version, it hasn’t that wonderful Wetton’s “wah-wah-wah…” singing).And then we have the rather unsuccessful instrumental IMPROV: STARLESS AND THE BIBLE BLACK which is almost absolutely similar to the next album’s title track. Maybe I simply cannot understand this composition (I don’t deny such variant), but I don’t see any solid musical structure or any sense in it. It seems to me, that maybe the sense of this composition is to show us Fripp’s guitar-playing possibilities. I’m sure, musicians tied to create a solid improvisation, but maybe they used not suitable and not very successful way to do it. I feel that this composition is not finished and even naive. Though the cd-2 begins with “major” note… We have the beautiful instrumental IMPROV: TRIO here. It’s one of those good-old heavenly-kind compositions which you can listen on the 1st album or on ISLANDS; this magic sounds give me so high feelings and wonderful emotions! Stylistically it’s the kind of the-2nd-half-of-18th-century-music of Vienna, but instead little string-orchestra we have only one violin and also a lot of magic sounds of electric guitar and gentle bass-line. I’m gonna comment it with more details on STARLESS AND THE BIBLE BLACK-album review… and then we have the another excellent number – EXILES from LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC album. It sounds a bit heavier and faster here, with a bigger volume of drums and mellotron, it even doesn’t sound as ballad on the live. Maybe that’s why I prefer its studio-version, but anyway the live-version is great too. Though where’s the great acoustic-guitar coda?!!!? Then we have the another case of STARLESS AND THE BIBLE BLACK-like improvisation named THE FRIGHT WATCH. But it’s very more successful ‘cos it has the definite musical picture and gives real impressions to listener. It’s also very dark and very suitable to transform into the following THE TALKING DRUM. THE TALKING DRUM sounds much faster here and it has neither studio-version’s mystical dfarkness nor the incredible absolute-bass-sound; it really has a big lack of impression on this live-record. Brufford plays greatly, but all the song is damaged as I’ve already said. Then (logically, isn’t it?) we must have LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC (PART_TWO) and so we have it! We are recognizing it by those first powerful guitar-riffs, but… Sadly, but I haven’t listened such rrrrroarrrrrring wailing as on studio version before the transforming to, and again, the live-version sounds much faster and less harder and impressive than on LARKS TONGUES IN ASPIC-album. Maybe the problem is in sound-engineering? Though I don’t think so. …It was almost the final of this concert and the band tried to finish it faster, it seems to me. But, you know, nothing really professional likes any kind of urgentness… Such coda could be rather unsatisfied to listeners. But being almost left the scene King Crimson turned and got back and suddenly played 21ST CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN at the end! I think it was a big surprise for the band’s fans! It’s not my very favorite King Crimson’s composition but anyway I was very glad to hear it here. And this live-version is rather interesting, at 1st we have a violin except winds here, and at 2nd this live-version contains improved instrumental mid-section, and the song sounds even heavier than on IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING. Though I almost cannot hear the violin here, it’s basically played by guitar and rhythm-section…and the public were in great delight!Before the absolute end of the album you can hear the little quiet piece of Frippertronics’ playing by Robert and that’s all. This live-record is very good as it is, but if you have already listened LARKS TONGUES IN ASPIC and STARLESS AND THE BIBLE BLACK albums, it wouldn’t add a much really new to you. That’s why I gave not very high rating to this record.
Send your comments and reviews of "Lark's Tongues In Aspic"
All of people that have ever reviewed this album asked:”Why KC(or Mr,Fripp)released this one and why they have record it live?”Well,just because after a successful Lark’s Tounges In Aspic the manegers and guys from a record label said:”YOU MUST record another album,and it must be hit!And you must record it as soon as possible!”So all of the members of the band,that planned to go to the vacantion,just decided to do SABB as non-comercial as it’s possible and full of the non-structure jams,that I always love.The album was made in the great hurry,and most of material was recorded live at 1973 show in Amsterdam,but the sound of public was earsed.You can listen all of the concert on The Night Watch.
So-there’s a little bit of line-up changing.Great percussionist Jamie Muir left the band just after LTIA was released to become a monk,and even LTIA-tour was made without Jamie.Pity...All of the record jams(except “Trio”)could be better with his percussion...
The album is divided for two parts-3 songs and 5 jams.By the way,really great jams,as I said before.People are used to hating them,but I still love them and dare to say-“Moonchild”-like jams are always the best in the KC jams.
The album opener-“The Great Deceiver” is the great rocer with amazing violin rif and funny chours.It’s about Roman Catholic Church,and I wonder-is Jethro Tull Aqualung influnced on KC?The structure and the feeling of this music also always remind me about famous Jethro Tull album.
“Lament” is a quintessential song of the album-good song and good jam rolled into the one 4-minute composition,which lyrics by the way is about that hurry in what album was made.Good jam in the middle and great ending riff,that provide us right to Red,especially to “One More Red Nightmare” in which it will be used.
“We’ll Let You Know” is a small nice bluesy jam.Mr.Guitarist were so tired to become new Eric Clapton,that have forgot about all other members.Anyway,they are here too-but don’t play mush role.
“The Night Watch” is a great track,where Wetton shows us as the powerful his voice can be.It opens with a small jam,that you may listen in full version as “The Fright Watch” on The Night Watch.By the way,have you noticed that song sounds rather “not-so-Fripp-ish”???I mean yes,there’s a lot of guitar and Mellotron,but they are not on the leading roles.
Well,and then goes absolutely amazing Mellotron/violin/bass jam named “Trio”.It is as beautiful as can be Kc composition.As first I heard it I asked:”Is it King Crimson?It sounds like Tchaikovski or something”.Fripp did unbelivebly things with his Mellotron.In fact,some people syas that there is Bruford on Mellotron,but I don’t care-“Trio” is still the best jam on here.
Then goes in fact almost jammy second side of the album,contains four jams-“The Mincer”,”Starless And Bible Black” and “Fracture”.The second and the third are compositions(first one was written by Wetton,as Fripp said in one of his intervies,and the second was written by Mr.Guitarist themself),but people usually says it jams and I...Well,I will agree,but...
“The Mincer” is the great atmospheric jam,with great vocal part at the end.It is dominated by Bill and Bob duet,with some great bass notes.But where’s Cross,I ask you???I can’t even hear him!His violin has dissapeared...Strange...
“Starless And Bible Black” is divided into two parts-first part is the guitar nooding and the second part is the strong jam.Hey,Bob(or John)you’re such a loser-why didn’t you throw away this four minutes of stupid nooding?Well,that’s why I gave this perfect album just an eight...Sooooooo pity...
“Fracture” on the way!It is a great melodic jams,that sometimes reprising “Lark’s Tounges In Aspic,Part I”,”Easy Money” and “Eptaph”,but on the eight’s minute it sudennly turned into a hard rocing jam,VERY smiliar to some parts of Deep Purple Made In Japan and to “The Great Deceiver”.I have seen a four-minute video of “Fracture”.Fripp just sitting on his chair and play that riff without any emotions!Oh,I admire that man!
So...Buy it,buy it,buy it!
P.S.And why I always advice you to buy/not to buy albums?Just because you read my reviews to know it!And I hope you relly read my reviews-I’m doing the best what I can now.
Mail your comments and reviews!
This is a subject already debated, but why the heck should
they release am album so crappy as possible after the successful “Larks’ Tongues
in Aspic”? Wanna avoid being too big, eh? Is the album opener, “The Great Deceiver”,
a warning to the listener that they might feel deceived? If we look at it that
way, the thing immediately becomes quite funny, King Crimson, the Great Deceivers,
heh...
Well, anyways, the percussionist Jamie Muir left soon after the release of LTIA,
and so the group at this time were a quartet within Robert Fripp, John Wetton,
Bill Bruford and David Cross.
Most of the album is actually some live performances with the public’s sound
erased, which might explain the sometimes weak musical skill. Still, it hasn’t
been explained WHY they released the shit. Sure, some parts of the album are
pretty cool, but it could have been much better if they had recorded the tracks
in the studio, maybe also leave some tracks in the studio, cuz many of these
tunes are far from being worth a place on a record.
The mentioned album opener, ”The Great Deceiver”, is the absolutely greatest
song on here, opening with a heavy and really fast violin/base interplay which
you remeber through the whole album the first time you hear it. It’s such an
awesome opener that it really DOES make you like the album when listening through
it the first couple of times. The intro is followed by the verse, which is driven
by a cool bass line, and with a just as cool vocal melody, it doesn’t misfit
the song. Some sort of a chorus is also there, with a chaotic instrumentation
but with a vocal melody which keeps the song’s structure.
”Lament” surprisingly opens as a lament, but the tune really ROCKS here and
there, interrupted by some crappy improvisations, but as a whole, the song is
a worthy successor to the opener. Wetton sings eminently, and the guitar playing
is almost grunge. The ending riff will on Red be played a little bit slower,
and so it makes the opening and main riff of ”One More Red Nightmare” there.
”We’ll Let You Know” is an improvised instrumental, slowly getting rockier and
bluesier, and so after a while it reaches the climax which is a darn cool bluesrock
section. The track is probably the closest King Crimson to blues King Crimson
ever have come. Still not a too successful track, the way to the climax is too
boring and non-structured.
”The Nigh Watch” has a terrific intro; a huge crescendo, getting some structure
becoming a glittering, beautiful thingy before the song becomes a rather ”ordinary”
King Crimson ballad, eminently sung by Wetton and some good guitar tunes here
and there. The vocal melody is pretty great, actually. Well, yeah, it’s a good
tune, probably some sort of a ”Fallen Angel” ancestor.
”Trio” is a boring violin/bass/mellotron interplay, unfortunately 5 minutes
long. It pretends to be beautiful but again I say, get into the studio and work
it up, boys!
Same goes for ”The Mincer”, which is a totally useless jam, only with some vocals
which could have made a good thing out of it, but those vocals are only present
during the last minute of the track. The rest of it is pretty shitty, really.
”Starless and Bible Black” is yet another atonal, melody-lacking jam. Sure with
a dark atmosphere, but hey, jams which might work live aren’t always the right
thing to put on an album supposed to be a studio recording.
At last we get a useful jam withing ”Fracture”, which opens with some guitar
tunes probably heading to the 80’s King Crimson. Adding some crunchy bass and
the drums, they hands out a heavy line before the thing is repeated. Man that
heavy guitar/bass interplay is awesome! Some new guitar tunes comes by, quietly
making a weird background to a xylophone riff which later will be revived by
Cross’ viola, still with the sneaking guitar line in the background, before
the guitar suddenly makes a thrust and takes over the track. Soon afterwards,
the track falls back into the jamming which leaven through the whole album,
but suddenly the track becomes a proper rocker, with great works both from Fripp
and Wetton. The track ends up in a guitar/bass interplay, and at last Bruford
makes some noises on his drums, I don’t understand why he’s been so quiet through
the album, after all, he’s one of the greatest drummers through the history
of rock, and why not boast a bit about it? That’s the weirdest thing with album
- except that the album ever was released, that is - , where was Bill Bruford?
Send your comments and reviews of "Starless And Bible Black"
This is the best by King Crimson.Now we have also Mel Collins and Ian McDonald so... It's in fact not prog-rock record.It's hard-rock.Hard-rock in it's best.So let's go throuch the compositions. Album opener "Red" shows us an agresive character of this record.It's kinda boring,but it's OK.Mr.Fripp was always boring. Next track is "Fallen Angel".It's a ballad about man who lost his brother in a gangbands fights.With saxes it's always be great.And John Wetton is simply great!!!His voice reminds me Freddie Mercury(for some strange reasons) and Greg Lake.And what a great use of saxophone! Next is "One More Red Nightmare".No,no,it's not a "thriller-song",it's about fear of flying.Lyrics are written by Wetton,not Palmer-James.It seems that Palmer-James hadn't a single chance to influence on this record.And about music-song is the battle between Fripp/Wetton and Bruford. Then goes "Providence"-the "Moonchild"-like jam with Cross violin and cool sounds.Really beauriful."Providence" was recorded live,but we can't hear the crowd on this one. And,finally,"Starless"-maybe the best song King Crimson ever did,maybe not.But the middle track and sax line is really cool. Buy it now.
Violinist David Cross left the group soon after the release of SABB, and then there where three: (I suppose you got the Genesis quote?) Robert Fripp on guiyars and nowadays also mellotron, John Wetton on base and vocals and Bill Bruford on percussion. Of course, there's a whole bunch of "Special thanks to"-musicians; the mentioned David Cross, the great saxophonist Mel Collins, pre-King Crimsoner Ian McDonald on alto saxophone, Robin Miller on oboe and Mark Charig on cornet. That makes a pretty large band, especially since only one track features the actual trio. I should also say that Robert Palmer-James wrote some lyrics to a couple of the songs, "Fallen Angel" and "Starless".
At this time had the members' songwriting skill increased even further since LTIA, and the sound is now much more sophisticated, while LTIA was rather plain. Since the band was preliminary expanded with studio musicians, a new dimension is added to the KC sound; the mellotron is finally mostly replaced by REAL instruments, or interplaying with them, at least. This is a thing I've been waiting for since a long time, I've always thought that the music would have sounded (even) better if they had put the mellotron aside, though not necessarily totally abandon it, and put in some saxes and other wind-instruments instead. "In the Court of the Crimson King" with a wind-section replacing the mellotrons, what a thrill it'd be! Anyways, now with those extra instruments, the King Crimson sound finally reaches perfection. Yeah, I really think so; only a few other albums, Springsteen's Born to Run and Klaatu's Hope, for instance, also reaches perfection within the fact that the songwriting is at absolute top and that the interplay - plus the diversity - between the instruments is really awesome. That is perfection to me.
And so I've made clear that I recklessly and totally adore this album.
The opener "Red" features the band as a trio; it's an instrumental, with no vocals or extra instruments. The interplay between the three band members is really worth to point out: It's almost like Led Zep's "When the Levee Breaks". The bass is repetive, dark and rumbling while the guitar plays different themes and the drums...just are there, I think. At one moment of the song, the guitar fades into the background in order to give the bass more space to deliver another dark thing which I uspect has some mellotron withing it...Or maybe not? The track really blows you away when you first hear the album, and as heavy and intelligent as it is, it still makes a pleasant listen after all times I've heard the album.
"Fallen Angel" is about a guy who losts his brother in gang
fights, or something similar. The fade-in mellotron opening moves over into
a greatly sung ballad, with a beautiful oboe in the background. And how _beautiful_
it_ is_! The chorus is rather like a jam, with all the instruments playing different
things. The, after another chorus, a guitar passes in and steals the show with
a great solo. Soon Wetton will join the solo with his voice, but then the passage
masterfully moves over into a new verse. Dang beautiful, I say!
"One More Red Nightmare" has got lyrics written by Wetton, about fear of flying.
The crunchy opening riff is probably what makes this album "the beginning of
grunge", cuz it sounds as something Kurt Cobain gladly would have handed out.
Three simple tunes is what the riff is about, quite like "Smoke on the Water",
but SO much crunchier. Again, Wetton's vocals are great, and the jam section
features some really great saxes. The verses are intesively sung, and the chorus
howl is awesome. The verses are accompanied by some really cool feedback guitars
(man, this Fripp IS really inspired by Hendrix!). The jam ending up the song
is another great interplay between the band members, and again the saxes blows!
Heh, how to play a sax without blowing I'll never know, but ya know.
"Providence" is the only really low point on this album. It's from the days of SABB, when Cross still was in the group as a regular member. The track is an 8-minute instrumental, opening with some violins, hopelessly melody-lacking, just like any SABB jam. But. after a while, the track becomes dominated by Wetton and Fripp who, withing a heavy interplay, makes some sense out of the song. The track is close to drag the overall quality of the product so much that I'd prefer In the Court before this one, but the reasons why I still like Red better is a) All the other four songs on here are friggin' great, while on In the Court, only three songs are friggin' great and one is just very good. b) "Providence" is shorter than "Moonchild", plus the rocking jam is really better than the "Moonchild" intro. And c) "Providence" has only 6 bad minutes, while "Moonchild" is unlistenable through all the last 10 minutes of it. So there.
"Starless" opens with some fade-in mellotrons, which together with a sensible base and great guitarwork makes a great intro to the verses, whose vocals and awesome saxes is really tearful. The last verse abruptly moves over into THE jam section; a weird guitar repeating the same thing over and over, with a weird bass and different percussives. Slowly, the jam increases in strength and loudness, until it REALLY blows you away with its power. The rythm is really weird, by the way, 13/8 or something. The part moves over into a faster section where the base and brutal percussion keeps the song going, while a sax manages to provide a melody. Then the song moves on to the end, where lots of instruments makes a pretty cacaphonic chorus, while the bass makes the ending really beautiful within some great movements. And hey...the song is 12 minutes! How could that be? "Providence" was much longer, wasn't it? Heck, "Starless" itself makes the song worth at least a 13. It was actaully meant to be put on SABB, and thus Cross is one of the authors of it, but I'm really happy that they saved it for Red, cos this is the most exciting song I've evr heard in my life, and I really don't want it to be on the same album as "The Mincer" and "Starless and Bible Black", that would be sacrilege! Even if I probably would have given SABB a 13 it "Starless" was there...
Fripp sadly took the decision to dismiss the band soon after this album was released. That's a shame, cos within this album, the band really proved that they were able to write an album as good as In the Court of the Crimson King. Legend has that Fripp thought that the band was getting too popular for its own best. The question is if that's a rumour is used to put Fripp in the same folder as Peter Gabriel (who left Genesis since they were getting too big..), or if it's really true. Shame anyway.
...Undoubtly RED-album is the one of the greatest records of
progressive rock and it influenced all the following generations of progressive
-(and not only progressive)-rockers (such bands as UK, Brand X, Rush, Ozric
Tentacles, even Soundgarden and Nirvana, to my opinion). This album is consisted
of the five
excellent compositions, those are absolutely different, though in the same time
they all have “something common”, and thus we may listen the RED- album as monolyth-diamond.
You can find a lot of style-influences here: art-rock (the basic way), jazz-fusion,
hard-rocc, neo-classic-avant-garde, even folk and pop balladering... though
we haven’t the pure examples of these styles at songs, but we have their almost
impossible mixtures. And of course it fels a huge influence of LTIA and SABB
albums here on RED.A lot of KC-fans consider this album the greatest
masterpiece of Fripp and Co. ever, and I almost agree with them (you know, my
favorite album of King Crimson is their 1st), I love Red-album and I think it’s
just
their most quintessentional, the most powerful, the most clasical record; it
has all the necessary compounds to be a great album! It opens with the dark
and heavy instrumental RED that has very complicated and incredible melody,
and I like
it! Yes, I know, you may ask me; Richard, why do you consider the title track
as the worst composition of the album? And I’ll answer to you: it’s just because
that the rest tracks are better! I also must sign that RED is the favorite track
here of a lot of King
Crimson fans, but it also depends on taste and features of every person’s character;
this composition is simply not friendly-relative to my mind and my heart. Anyway,
I consider this track great and it’s not guilty that doesn’t impress me so much...
The following track FALLEN ANGEL begins as very nice and simple ballad, it even
seems as the standard rock-ballad, but it’s not! After the couple of quiet and
melancholic versesit transforms into dark-heave dissonant jazzy section with
agressive chords of guitar and saxophone; the rhythm is changing too. Minute
by minute the song becomes stranger and harder more and more, Fripp and Mel
Collins (he took part in the record as the guest) performed the excellent solo-duet
here (I may say guitar and winds was trying to win in loudnessto each other
in the end of the
song) and Brufford made his drum-breaks as the god of storms and thunders!
But the most powerful and heavy track here is, to my opinion, the following
one (it’s my second favorite track on album). ONE MORE THE NIGHTMARE is basically
determined by the great rhythm section of Brufford and Wetton; it’s full of
rhythm-changes and drum breaks (it could be very suitable for the albums of
Mahavishnu Orchestra or Weather Reaport!). Also this song impresses me by its
constant changes of “colours” and “moods”: sometimes it can be major and light,
but
after a moment it becomes dark, agressive and depressive (and the lyrics of
Palmer-James are very relativefor such kind of music). I think this song is
one of the most underrated ones of all the King Crimson Discography!
The 2nd side of the Lp is consisted of the two lengthier improvised compositions.
the 1st of them named PROVIDENCE is the wonderful instrumental succesfully decorated
by violin of David Cross ( he also took part in the record as the guest). I
may say that PROVIDENCE as th previous composition is very underrated too (
all likes the title track, but almost no-one pays attention to so nice and pleasant
(but
quiet and dissonant, many commentators of review-sites calls it pretentious
- God forgives them) instrumental PROVIDENCE!). Sometimes this composition reminds
me TRIO from the previous album (which is my favorite track on SABB). Though
at the end PROVIDENCE becomes harder (we already can listen electric guitars
and
drums here) and it is more like to FRACTURE or the instrumental breaks of LAMENT,
for example. Anyway this composition is great. And at the end of the album we
have the main desert: the 12-minute multipart composition STARLESS! It starts
as the dark “nothern” medieval ballad with sad singing of John Wetton and the
quiet sounds of mellothrone. Though the sound is rather dense from very beginning.
After three verses rhythm is changind and we have the bell-sounding slow guitar
passages (it seems like Fripp’s guitar plays the gentliest lullaby, and it’s
very nice and moody especially with rare mystic touchings of violin), and further
it becomes harder and harder, bass and guitar becomes louder, Brufford makes
angry noises by his hats and begins to use the rest kinds of percussion... Dark
skies, Black Bibles, Nightmareas - all of these we have in STARLESS! It’s the
real perfect prog-rock suite!
The album is undoubtly excellent from very start till the last second! If you haven’t RED in your music-collection you’re not the real fan of progressive rock. Buy it, listen and send your comments to Sam Ulwards Review Site!
Send your comments and reviews of "Red"
It was the last KC’s record of their mid-70s line-up. It was
also the last 70s’ record of the band before the 1st King Crimson’s disorganization
(until 1981 you know).
I think that time a few people might think that King Crimson could be disorganized
after one of their most successful albums (I mean RED) where the band has demonstrated
all their strengths and powers. But, all we know, Robert Fripp is the most unpredictable
person in a whole history of music: just he has disorganized King Crimson (though
until 1981 he recorded some very interesting solo-albums and also took part
in records of such artists as Brian Eno, John Cale, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel…).
Fripp’s fans consider this period as “Robert’s time-out”.
So let’s turn back to our record… I may consider that USA contains some things
are similar to THE NIGHT WATCH live-record (see my review), but this 1975 live-album
is twice shorter (and maybe this’s good, ‘cos it doesn’t contain naïve and unnecessary
jams as on THE NIGHT WATCH is. This record opens with a half-minute sounding
of Frippertronics which was the prelude to the 1st composition of the record
LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC (PART TWO) (unfortunately King Crimson doesn’t like
to play its PART-ONE, and here’s the same thing on USA, but we all wish to listen
its live performance). LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC (PART TWO) is almost absolutely
similar to the album version; there’s only one change: violi-parts of the 1st
track are played by not David Cross, but by Eddie Jobson (great rock-violinist
– Roxy Music, UK, Jethro Tull…) who also plays piano on the 2nd track; the rest
material is recorded with David Cross anyway. By the way, Jobson’s violin-playing
on LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC (PART TWO) has no difference to the Cross’ playing…
LARK’S TONGUES IN ASPIC (PART TWO) pauselessly transforms into LAMENT. Maybe
you’d notice that Wetton’s voice sounds rather tiredly (I don’t know why) –
maybe that time he already wasn’t satisfied by the band’s creation (as Fripp
was) too? Again, this composition sounds very similar to the album-version –
and you hardly will find something new for yourself. And also you would hardly
feel that it was the live-record ‘cos musicians has played the two 1st compositions
rather suppressly.
But at the 3rd track EXILES the situation is changing: this performance of the
excellent composition is heavier and more powerful as usual and also very sincere,
the volume of bass and guitar is sharply louder to compare with original version,
and Cross’ violin sounds so wonderfully too! It seems to me that Fripp also
added some effect to his guitar sounding, ‘cos sometimes it sounds as the 2nd
violin – very gently and softly. Sometime s it seems that John and Bill play
with accompaniment of Vienna’s string quartet (or suchlike) of 18th Century.
Bruford also makes some interesting improvisations… And EXILES’ coda is simply
great! Brufford makes bravely-marching beatings while Fripp and Cross “squeeze”
sounds of their instruments - it was as if thousands of night butterflies are
flying out from your head-phones!
The 2nd side of the LP opens with the 4th track, which
isn’t performed on any other album. I think it’s just (by the way very-very-very
successful!) improvised jam named ASHBURY PARK. It’s bass line reminds me of
good soundtracks for detective-movies (I must notice that the main melody is
based on bass-line). I think this composition mibht be ver successfully performed
on any KC’s studio-album: it’s powerful, unusual, rhythm-breaking, interestingly-constructed
and also it has very good dark melody and “juiceful” and “delicious” riffs of
guitar and bass. But what’s the ASHBURY PARK?! What is this instrumental about?
After ASHBURY PARK without pause the following track begins – it is EASY MONEY.I
like this version more than album-version again: it’s more improvised and powerful.
Especially I like the volume-oscillations of Fripp’s guitar here at the long
ending of the song – musicians plays very tasteful jam here (it reminds me that
excellent instrumental-part of STARLESS on RED-album). Though it seems to me
that the very ending of the song was cut by the album-producers… But the end
of USA-album you have the “sweet desert”. Yes, I’m talking about 21ST CENTURY
SCHIZOID MAN. As usually this composition is performed very well: with usual
heavy industrial noises, distorted vocal and teeth-breaking drums. …And, of
course, you get that great mid-section (by guitar and bass, but without winds,
as on original version was, you know); it sounds crazier than “very crazily”!
No any other comments! Only listen to this record… Good album, though “its goodness”
is especially based the last four tracks those differ from original album-versions.
But the two 1st tracks have a lack of… maybe of enthusiasm, and thus I cannot
give the higher rating to USA.
Send your comments and reviews!
Another line-up.New guitarist/singer Adrian Belew with his strange elephant-noise making guitar and bass-guitarist Tony Levin.The sound is also new.Pop-rock with some new-wave-ish moments.And it works!On this album we have,in fact,no boring moments(except the title track) and no strange jams. The opener,"Elephant Talk" is some kind of introduction of Adrian Belew.His guitar with this "elephant" noises is the main star in the song and his lyric are really groovy.The song itself is great.The masterpiece,no doubt. And we have some almost masterpieces."Matte Kudasai" is really beautiful pop-song and "Thela Hun Ginjeet" is just a very good song with greatlyrics."Frame By Frame" have some dull moments,but it's great."Indiscipline",the song about how Adrian was painting a picture(I want to take a look on it:)) is maybe the most interesting song on here.But sometimes it's dull.The weak spots on here is two instrumentals in the end.They are just boring.In the title track we have some outtakes from other songs on this album.But it's just bad.Ok,this one is really good.Maybe I soon relisten two last instrumentals and will re write this review.
Send your comments and reviews of "Discipline"
Wow! What a song this opener -'Neil And Jack And Me"!!! Really good music and what a lyric!: "I'm wheels/I'm moving wheels/I'm 1952 Studebaker Coupe"! Really good. And this ending "Absent lovers...absent lovers.." line is just beautiful! Next song, "Heartbeat" is also great! Like it! Love it! It's a pop song, but it's better than "Misunderstanding":-) But...WHAT IS THE HELL ARE THE OTHER SONGS?????? "Neurotica" is just crap, "Two Hands" kills me with its lyrics....But "Requiem" is really good! Is "Neil And Jack And Me" available as a single???
Send your comments and reviews of "Beat"
Yeah, really. I've actually got nothing else to say than that I totally agree with George here, and I feel quite unnecessary when writing a review that adds nothing to what you already knew. Of course, if you HAVEN'T read George's review, here it is.
Despite my lack of original ideas, I'll write the review. This album is much less playful and innovative than Discipline, and so it makes a less interesting listen. Their innovativeness might be gone, though, but they have developed their songwriting skill. Discipline had the great melodies, but Beat has the other thing; the way of making the best out of what's there to make something out of. If they rewrote and rereleased Discipline, it'd be quite better than it originally was. Same goes for almost every record ever released, though, so I should shut up about this subject.
The album is mostly made out of New Wave pop with a Crimson touch added. That would make a great album out of Three Of A Perfect Pair, where there was too much reliance on useless jams, but as mentioned, most of the tracks are pretty uninspired.
The opening "Neil and Jack an Me" opens with that 80's Crimson guitar interplay and pretty good vocals. The verses are the best parts of the song, where a steady, heavy bass and energic singing makes the melody and an interrupting riff adds to the quite hard-rocking atmosphere. Unfortunately, there's more; that 80's KC riff - taken from "Discipline", BTW - shows up too many times, and the part thought to be the chorus has got far too content singing and an ugly background.
"Heartbeat" is far better then, with it's driving bass and drums and the great singing it's far superior to "Neil and Jack and Me". Fripp's guitar drops in here and there with some Hendrix-inspired guitar tunes. It's an almost perfect pop song, ranging from being a romantic ballad to being a romantic soft-rocker. I admit "soft-rocker" doesn't really fit, it's something in between "rocker" and "soft-rocker". Great anyways.
"Sartori in Tangier" is a heavy instrumental, opening with an almighty base, cool guitars and some keyboard tunes adding a touch of Incas. Somewhere in the middle becomes the song softer and smoother, then it moves over to the first part again. The tune is actually a pretty excellent one, even if it's quite simple and short.
"Waiting Man" is another poppy thing, with another 80's KC guitar interplay, with another great vocal melody, then moving "Waiting Man" is another poppy thing, with another 80's KC guitar interplay, with another great vocal melody, then moving over into a section with another awesome bass. That section also contains some interesting percussion, probably produced electrically. That section moves over into another section with another cool percussion and a weird guitar. That part moves over into the opening section, and the song is an eminent example to how a pop song can change riffs and melodies without changing tempo or intesity.
"Neurotica" is some noises, heading back to Hendrix' "E.X.P.", and a hysterical announcer, which in the long run also heads back to "E.X.P.", and so does the guitar noises which here and there shows up. The cool and jazzy drumming also heads back to Mitch Mitchell's works with Hendrix. The song is pretty cool, but it does nothing for me.
"Two Hands" features lyrics by Adrian belew's wife Margaret, it's pretty sentimental, but it reminds me of Al di Meola and so I like it. Especially the guitar seems to come right out of di Meola's guitar. The song is pretty sophisticated, but the vocal melody isn't really as great is it could have been. The ending riff is awesome, though.
"The Howler" is of the heavier kind, with quite crunchy guitars and a heavy bass. Only problem is that the vocal melody at first is pretty poor, and second, doesn't fit at all with the guitars and base. A jam featuring some weird noises are also here. The middle part of the song has also got great bass and guitars, plus those misfitting vocals. Then the first section closes the song.
"Requiem" is a six-minute avantgardic instrumental, with some guitar sounds that would have been crunchy if used in a rocking tune, but the song is six minutes of boredom, just as its superior "Nuages" from TOAPP.
And briefly: The album would have been pretty great if Belew would have picked up his more resonantic voice, some crunchier arrangements and some new songs replacing "Requiem" and maybe some other of the mediocre songs.
Send your comments and reviews of "Beat"
The '73 to -'74 KC lineup released one great album, then one rather dissatisfying one, then a glorious album and at last a live one. This 80's lineup does the same thing, except thyat the glorious album is replaced by an "only" great one (speaking of Red vs. Three of a Perfect Pair here), while the okayish live album USA now is replaced by the glorious Absent Lovers. So, in comparison, the two lineups are on the same average level. This was meant to be interesting.
Anyways, the difference between TOAPP and Beat isn't very
big, with the exception that TOAPP is much more adequate, in some way. Beat
had some really astonishing tunes plus some really boring ones, just like this
album. Beat was much shorter, only about 35 minutes long, might that have participated
to the down-dragging of the rating? Beat probably had a jam or two too much,
but so has TOAPP, and it's still a 13 for me. The pop tunes this time, though,
are MORE astonishing than on the previous output, and they're also more numerous.
I should also mention that the non-remastered CD version has got really crappy
sound, so if you're out looking for it, try to get the remastered version -
you won't regret it!
And so we've come to the album opener, "Three of a Perfect Pair", which with its typical 80's-KC guitar riff and a good, quite stretched vocal melody opens the album perfectly well. The guitar sometimes manages to play tighter, and the song slightly changes in structure. A part with some rather noodlish sounds are there too, but with a really good background work by Fripp & Levin.
"Model Man" is really dominated by the vocals, with some guitars here and there to fill up the song. The chorus, though, features a really innovative slide-guitarwork. The guitar sometimes manages to sound like pizzicatto strings, and with its awesome vocal melody, the track is a really good poppy tune.
"Sleepless" is, together with "Lark's Tongues in Aspic part 3", the album's REAL flagship. It really catches the dark mood you're in when you've been lying in your bed for some couples of hours, only waiting to fall asleep, but you never really do it. The rolling base in the opening is accompanied by a funky guitar. Then add the awesome percussion, good keyboards and an engaged vocal melody and here you are "Sleepless". That bass really gets the song going, and the bass/percussion interplay almost sounds like later Judas Priest or another hellish band. Adrian Belew's vocals are much more original than Rob Halford's or Bruce Dickinson's. The chorus isn't as dark, though, it rather sounds like a live performance with the band's mood on top and doing the best to get the public singing. Well, pretty darn awesome track, something for later progmetal bands to sound like, really.
"Man With Open Heart" opens with a cute little noodling with vocals that makes me think of a weird loving couple trying to tell the love to each other, but that isn't really what the song is about. No, the song's about things that wouldn't matter to a man with an open heart. Well, that opening later shows to be the verse. The chorus is rather heavyweight, greatly showing how well the band can fill up the sound-picture behind Belew's singing. Levin plays a funky base through most of the song, and also contributes with some back-up vocals when Belew starts singing some "Aah-aa-aah"'s. Pretty great pop tune, that too.
"Nuages (That Which Passes, Passes Like Clouds)" is a jam with some blopping synth percussion in the background, some ear-wobbling synth sounds and a bass. The jam is structured, sure, but it sounds the same in 5 minutes, and it's really boring to listen at.
"Industry", then, is funnier; a repeating bass line plus some weird synth noises might not sound so great, but as time passes, percussions are added, and a heavy guitar makes it rock. That guitar is actually what makes the track a worthy listen; though it's only the same four notes repeated over and over, it really brings something useful to the song. Belew also hands out some dark tunes on his guitar, filling up the track and adding to the dark atmosphere. Only bad thing about it is that it's more than six minutes long, and that's some couples of minutes too long.
"Dig Me" is something like the weirdest pop tune I've evr heard; from being an atonal jam with twisted vocals and really weird guitars, it suddenly becomes a chorus with the ability to sound as if someone was flying. That chorus is really cool, with great vocals and a good Bass/drums interplay that magnifies that "flying" element in the song.
"No Warning" is another jam, this time with awesome drumming but heck, that doesn't make a good track. The atonal thingy is really pretty ugly, but it's moodier than "Nuages", and so it isn't the worst song on the album.
"Lark's Tongues in Aspic part 3" opens with the typical guitar solo of 80's King Crimson, and THEN, my ladies and gentlemen, comes a part dominated by a heavy guitar and AWESOME drumming, showing that Bill Bruford is a real virtuoso on his instrument. The tight drumming is what makes the track so darn great, I think, and those first 3 minutes of the track is really the finest moments of the album. Unfortunately, the song moves over into a part where the bass and guitars goes darker and darker until they've got to start all over again. The drumming is pretty awesome there too, but not by far as excellent as at the beginning of the track, and this second part is really not bad, by any means, it's only pretty dissatisfying.
And so, this album was a pretty great listening, really something worth for you popsters to listen at - King Crimson really makes pop like no one else.
For unknown reasons, I had always thought that the title of
this album was Three Of A Perfect Chair, what makes just about as much sense
as the actual one, although now that I come to think of it, it may be a reference
to the fact that this incarnation of the band released three albums and two
of them were "perfect" (not quite, but pretty close) or that the songs
of this epoch never seemed to know whether to be melodic or avant garde ("one,
one too many schizophrenic tendencies" sings Adrian on the title track).
Anyway, the first four songs here rank among the best pop done by the Crimson
King: "Three Of A Perfect Pair" is a weird love song, with more of those
weird, interlocking, hypnotic guitar lines and an even weirder solo, and "Model
Man" and "Man With An Open Heart" are great showcases for Belew’s increasingly
grating (in a good way) voice, but is "Sleepless" what thrills me
the most: that bass line kicks butt, the vocal performance is simply chaotic,
and all those synth noises... wow! King Crimson doing a dance number! By the
way, that was the closer they ever got to scoring a hit single. Talk about artistic
integrity. Just when the sell-out accusations start to arise, "Nuages"
concludes side one: it’s a beautiful instrumental (in my opinion, way better
than "The Sheltering Sky"), again influenced by the world music that was all
the rage at the time, that with its quiet percussion pattern and delicate melodies
makes me feel like traveling across some desert.
Boom-boom-boom. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. What’s that? It’s "Industry", a menacing,
if unoriginal, jam. I usually question the sanity of those who enjoy this kind
of things, but, for once, I like it. More or less. The atmosphere never ceases
to get more and more creepy and those bass notes are like punches in the stomach.
So it’s not a waste of tape, and that’s more than I can say about its counterpart
"No Warning", whose only merit is to feature some guitars that sound like
Star Wars’ lightsabers. But nothing else. Side two, however, though hard to
digest, has some, namely two, fine songs: "Dig Me", the ode of an abandoned
car (!!) and "Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, part three", a worthy addition
to the longest saga of hard rock instrumentals in the world (do you really think
that so many sequels are necessary, Mr. Fripp?). The beginning is familiar,
but the rest sounds fresh and exciting, even if the eternal fade out isn’t as
immediately spectacular as the grand final bursts of the other parts. So while
rather uneven, Three Of A Perfect Pair is a varied album, and recommendable
if you are interested in hearing some eighties pop music that doesn’t suck.
At all.
Jesus Christ! It's a wonder that mr Fripp had such great stuff unreleased for a whole dozen years - this is really THE live King Crimson album. I admit that I haven't heard any other yet, but anyway... If I ever hear anything sounding better than this I would have to use a 16 as overall rating. Hmm, that was an interesting thought, I better go and get Earthbound, The Great Deceiver, USA, The Night Watch, Thrakattak, B'boom, Heavy Construction and whetever all these hooplas are called. Some bootlegs might be a fine investment, too. Yeah, that's a thing to work with...
Anyways, about this album: The track selection is really OK. There's only three songs from Beat, which is quite enough. Beat wasn't a too good album. The most tracks are from Discipline and TOAPP, just like I'd like to have it if I were born at these ancient times...:-) The musical offer varies a lot, there's something for every KC lover, except for those who's deep in the earlier epoch, maybe, even if there's two good ol' classics, "Larks' Tongues in Aspic part II" and "Red". There's the weirdness which has always been a part of the KC sound, there's the smooth ballads of "Heartbeat" and "Matte Kudasai", there's noisefests like "Industry", rockers like "Larks' Tongues in Aspic part III" and "Sleepless", poppier tunes within "Three of a Perfect Pair" and "Man With an Open Heart", roughness like in "Red" and so on... I'd hesitate to, in opposition of George, pronounce it as their "quintessial album", I think it's too much for the ones who are pretty deep into the group. That's my personal experience, at least; when I first heard it, my only earlier KC experience was the 73-74 lineup's stuff, and at first I didn't get this 80's stuff. Of course, it grew on me, but I still think it's preferable to own at least two of the other 80's albums before getting into this.
Oh, and the band is really f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c: Crunchy, furious, inspired, engaged...Briefly: the band sounds like what every band tries to sound and be like when they play live. Damnit I'd love to be born a bit earlier, so that I too could have experienced my favorite bands live. Poor me...
This stuff was recorded at the Spectrum in Montreal, 11th of July '84. It was the last concert for the 80's King Crimson lineup, and the band wasn't to be resurrected in almost ten years. That's a true shame, 'cos TOAPP was a fine album, and I'd gladly have swallowed another similar-styled album. Well, well, King Crimson aren't really supposed to do what people ask them to do, are they?
The concert opens with a moody noisefest, "Entry of the Crims", a 6-minute improv which sets the mood for the rest of the concert. It moves over into "Larks' Tongues in Aspic part III" which rocks even harder than the studio version, and mr Bruford really proves that he's one of the absolutely best drummers ever. The track's ending section moves over into "Thela Hun Ginjeet", which also rocks pretty well, though it's not as heavy as the previous song. The spoken parts are here excluded, but it doesn't matter since the performance is so darn excellent! After that rousing thing Belew finally says a few words to the audience, explaining the circumstances of the concert and so, and then the band starts playing "Red", the mean old rocker which opens the studio album of the same name. This time is the first time that I can actually complain about the performance, since it does *only* sound as good as the studio version, while all other tracks are usually improvements of their own originals. The dark middle section is awesome, though.
After "Red" comes "Matte Kudasai", the relaxed, jazzy ballad from Discipline. Pretty great. As the antithesis of "Matte Kudasai" comes "Industry", which easily beats the shit out of the studio version, which was pretty lame, but this time it's really the moody sci-fi thing it's supposed to be, with the cool guitar theme sounding fairly better than on the studio version. Briefly, the whole track is MUCH crunchier than the original, and pay attention to Bruford when he makes his electric drum outbursts. Just as on TOAPP, "Dig Me" comes after "Industry", and the way they transform it into a live performance is well worth some praise - I really didn't think that they could make the song sound this good LIVE - it's sort of a studio track. Live I love the track much more than studio, too. Then comes another TOAPP track, the title track, actually. Again - excellent performance. The first disc ends up with "Indiscipline", a drum-dominated tune, again Bill Bruford makes me wonder how the hell he can perform these things. Awesome! Pretty good vocals, too.
The second disc opens with "Sartori In Tangier", the first of the three Beat tunes. BTW, great work, Tony! Second comes "Frame By Frame", a poppy tune from Discipline. I suppose that song pretty much inspired the whole rest of the tunes the band put out in the 80's. There's a cool guitar hidden somewhere, too, try to figure it out! "Man With An Open Heart" then passes in, nhothing really exciting to say about it except that it's exciting to listen at. It moves over into "Waiting Man", an unjustly forgotten tune from Beat, which I dig a bit - especially live, of course. Then we have "Sleepless", which might be my favorite King Crimson tune from the 80's. It's EVEN moodier, even darker, even funkier, even better in any way, though - maybe I should have picked it as the best song, but I felt pretty unjust to the other songs by doing so - after all, the album would still be a 15 even without "Sleepless". Still...the song is so exciting, scary, whatever. REALLY great work, Tony!
Then they deliver "Larks' Tongues In Aspic part II", which really kicks ass (gotta love Levin's base!). It mover over into "Discipline" (guess from which album?), which is a good tune but quite overshadowed by "Sleepless" and "Larks' Tongues In Aspic part II". It's another this with "Heartbeat", though - that song can vindicate itself among any other songs. Excellent, guys! And so there's only one song left - "Elephant Talk", whose weird guitar noises also moves me to excitement. The song ends up with Adrian Belew thanking everybody who's been involved with the tour, and then the album's over. Oh, I feel both exhausted and druggy both at once! This is an experience of BIG measures, and I advice everybody to get it asap, since there's probably not too many copies still available out there. The first disc is also an enhanced disc, on which you can hear short samples from a huge lot of albums by interesting artists.
And, at last - Why didn't the guys record ALL their albums live????
You know, if I were Robert Fripp, I could start this review
saying that on the nights of July 10th and 11th of 1984, in the fourth year
of the reign of the fourth incarnation of the Great Crim, due to some weird
astrological combination, a breathtaking event took place in Montreal... King
Crimson made their disciplined aim come true in a performance that will be remembered
for ages to come... it was roughly translated in this recording, presented to
you by Discipline Global Mobile, a small, independent unit... all of this just
goes to show how great I am, etc. But enough of that. You can read all about
Mr. Fripp's second-rate philosophy in the liner notes, so what's the point?
More relevant is that this two CD set offers the best insight possible at how
this band sounded live. And they sounded great. Adrian's voice is in good shape,
Robert goes completely mad or plays delicate solos on his guitar when has to
and any compliments about the world's most technically gifted rhythm section
are rather superfluous. The song selection is alright by me, also. But we all
know that the live vibe alone isn't enough to make a recording worth
blowing a lot of money on and, to my ears, most of these songs don't sound radically
different from the studio versions. So two questions come to mind: "do
you really need Absent Lovers if already own the three 80's studio albums?",
and "is it a good substitute for them?". Well, let's go by parts. The only
song missing from Discipline is "The Sheltering Sky". It could have perfectly
replaced "Indiscipline" for all I care. Anyway, the others are given
a new lease of life: "Thela Hun Ginjeet" finally becomes the fierce
rocker the original version only hinted at and I, for one, don't miss the monologue
even a bit and "Frame By Frame" and "Discipline" are shorter
and tighter (not to mention that seem to end on the right note). Heck,
even the silly "Indiscipline" sounds a bit better, with its intriguing
percussive intro and Belew teasing the audience ("to see if I still like it
[silence] I DID!!!"). It's still a sloppy piece of garbage, of course,
although better than the opening, "Entry Of The Crims". Guess it's
better to consider that an extended intro to "Lark's Tongues In Aspic,
part three". The three Beat numbers are nice, and probably all that you'll
ever want to hear from that album. "Sleepless" has guitars instead
of synths, and punchier percussion, but otherwise... same as for the other Three
Of A Perfect Pair songs and the 70's riff-crazy instrumentals ("Red" and a fast-paced
"Larks' Tongues In Aspic, part two"), they're just as good as their
studio cousins. So my advice is to skip Discipline and Beat and get this one.
Of course, you still need the new edition of Three Of A Perfect Pair. Now you
wouldn't want to miss King Crimson doing a barber shop quartet number, would
you?
OK, I should mention the bands members of this lineup, even if Vroom came out earlier. The problem is that I don't really wanna get myself a copy of Vroom, since that album contains all songs on here except two. The two are "When I Say Stop Continue" and "The Cage". Anyways, the new lineup features Robert Fripp on guitars, mellotron and soundscapes, Adrian Belew on guitars, voice and words, Trey Gunn on stick and vocals, Tony Levin on base and vocals plus Pat Mastelotto and Bill Bruford on percussion.
This new lineup is the first of all incarnations of KC that doesn't feature any original ideas. OK, it's really 1995, and new, original music is really hard to find. One thing about the album is pretty original, though, and that's the titles. "Thrak", "B'Boom", "Vroom" and such. Problem: Those titles are the only original thing about the album, everything else seems to come from either TOAPP, Beat or Red. Too much comes from Beat, though; too often it seems as if the members were quite a lot sleepy whan they recorded the album. You know coffee, boys?
There's not really any interesting things to mention about the album, so I'm gonna proceed to my song describement section. The album opener "Vroom" is a pretty heavy one, opening with a cool base and lots of guitars. Makes a pretty good atmosphere. Now and then the song changes structure and gains a rather jammy structure. Those small interludes are dominated by a pretty bass and ding-ding guitars. I dig it a little bit, it seems as if the song is something like an outtake from Red, and you probably know that I obey that album. "Vroom" moves over into "Coda: Marine 475" which seems to be the late half of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic part III". Not too innovative, but not bad either.
Then comes a heavyweighting rocker, "Dinosaur". At first it sounds like another "Devil's Triangle", but soon some crafty guitars and such are added. Belew's singing is exalted, and the accompaniment ain't bad either. The chorus is the best part of the track, with Belew howling "Iiiii'm a DINOsaur!", pretty creepy. After the second chorus comes a poppy section, catchy and so, but the chorus strikes back, now even more powerful than before. The middle of the track is a mellotron passage, not worth too much obediance, but the heavy tunes coming afterwards is awesome. A new chorus comes, then some "dinosaur" sounds from Fripp's guitar, then some mellotrons and then the end of the song.
"Walking on Air" is a heavenly beautiful Belew ballad, with a great, smooth, moody vocal melody and an awesome base interplaying with the vocals. The guitars are inspired by Hendrix, and the mood by...whatever. The song might be the only original tune on the whole album. Hmm, I thought I should be able to write more about such a great track, so I've got to come up with the theory that "Walking on Air", "Dinosaur" and "Sex Sleep eat Drink Dream" are the mentioned three best songs on the album.
"B'boom" is mostly a drum solo, and I can accept it. It's pretty cool, actually. Same goes for "Thrak", which I like a little bit better, though. It's more structured than "B'boom", with other instruments than the drums playing an important role. The melody is pretty poor, though. Kinda wanna-be-heavy.
"Inner Garden 1" is a soothing, relaxing tune, it's too short though. The vocal melody is as great as the "Walking on Air" one, and I like the guitar accomaniment.
"People", then... If I heard it alone, I'd say that it was a Beat outtake. The vocals are bothered, same goes for the quite ugly accompaniment. But besides, the song IS pretty good, but only "pretty" - far from "Dinosaur", for instance. Kinda like a 1995 version of "Neil & Jack & Me", which isn't a too good thing. The song varies a lot, from being a loud rock tune to being a rather calm pop tune. With one constant element, though: The boredom.
"Radio 1" is a stupid little thing, only a mess of different noises actually.
"One Time" is a fine ballad, though it's too similar to "Two Hands" from Beat. It's better this time, though, or maybe it's just because it fits this album much album much better than "Two Hands" fitted Beat. Anyways, the song is a calm, soft tune with good vocals and a repeating base, except in the jam part which is quite dull. Good song anyways.
"Radio 2" is another noisefest. Never mind it.
"Inner Garden 2" is another "Inner Garden 1", it's entirely the same song besides the lyrics. Like the first one, it's soothing and I'd really like a longer version of it.
"Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" is a darn cool rocker, switching between a cool guitar/bass interplay and a voice-twisted hardrocker. Both themes makes a great listen. After the first section, the song becomes a l-o-u-d jam, until it returns to the first part. Once again, a loud jam section replaces the fun switchplay, and so the song ends up. OK, I admit that this is another innovative song, so at least there's two such on here.
"Vroom Vroom" is another heavy jam sounding like a Red outtake, and again I like it a lot. Heck, the middle part IS "Red"!! What is this - another carbon copy of "Red", as In the Wake In the Wake of Poseidon was a carbon copy of In the Court of the Crimson King? Yeah, probably :-). Ya know, I really like it, as I liked In the Wake just as much as I liked In the Court. The song moves over into "Vroom: Coda" sounds, just like "Coda: Marine 475", like the end of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". What's Fripp trying to do - take us on a trip of nostalgia? Isn't that kind of an anti-Crimson thing? Come on and make something really innovative instead, guys - why not try blues or something? (NP: Captain Beefheart - "Diddy Wah Diddy", awesome bluesrocker)
As usual, Fripp & co. try to give current musical trends their
own distinctive schizoid twist. Good. But this time are unable to bring anything
new. Bad. I don't see what's the deal with the double trio thing to begin with:
Mastelotto and Gunn don't add much, and the band's sound hasn't really evolved
since the last decade. Everything is in place: the crystal-clear production
(maybe too much so), the aggressive guitars, the funky bass lines, the clattered
percussion... Some elements, like the mellotron and the distorted vocals in
the disposable "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream", even hark back as far
as to the In The Court days, and this Crimson incarnation is probably the most
conservative ever. Not a problem per se, but since these guys are always
either groundbreaking or VERY derivative, we should fear the worst.
In this album, Robert "hey now! I can make my guitar sound like a string
section" Fripp mindlessly recycles over and over again the "Red"
formula, spitting out instrumentals that only somebody who hasn't heard the
original could enjoy. "Vroom" is the best of the bunch, with an
interesting guitar break and all, albeit not as crunchy as the title might suggest,
and its whispered coda, mysteriously named "Marine 475", is alright
also. But then we get the hopeless "Thrak" monstrosity, overstuffed
with nonsensical guitar lines and nothing coming even close to a melody. It's
so bad, in fact, that the preceding "B'Boom" drum solo seems brilliant
in comparison. I could do without those noises in the background, but the actual
composition manages to intrigue. And then we get to the last two songs... "Vroom
Vroom" is such an obvious rip-off, I feel compelled to stop listening to
this shit and go grab my trusty Red copy! It's as if Fripp had turned upside
down the structure of the title track from that album and dropped in the "Vroom"
melody. What he probably did. The opening lines are the same but descending
instead of ascending (now that's innovative) and look! Storming riffs? Tense
middle? Bass solo? Chainsaw guitar effects? Oh no, not again! But that's not
all: its coda overdoes the nostalgia trick by plodding along for three endless
minutes of heavy distortion. Time to sit down and try to come up with something
really new, Bob.
Oh well, at least we have Belew's contributions. Unlike Fripp, he's still at
the top of his game, and songs like "Dinosaur" and "Walking
On Air" are the only thing that make me hold out hope for the band. Both
feature good use of soundscapes and are absolute highlights. "People"
and "One Time", on the other hand, seem tired, overlong attempts
at updating earlier pop successes with impeccable melodies but rote instrumental
parts. That leaves us only with the "Inner Garden" bits, pretty
acoustic meditations, if nothing else. But would you believe that the noisemaking
is reduced to only two segments, ironically titled "Radio"? True
and verily, and they're so short they can't annoy me. What really does, however,
are all the signs of stagnation present on Thrak. Perhaps time has finally catched
up with the old Crimson King.