King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black (1974) (@256)

King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black (1974) (@256)

(Review from progreviews.com)

With a bang, this album starts and doesn't let up for air until about mid-way through. Of all the King Crimson mid-period, this one perhaps is there most consistently breathless -- let's see: we've got hyped-up blues-prog in "Great Deceiver", the schizophrenic narrative "Lament", marvelously cohesive improv in "We'll Let You Know", "Trio" and the title track, the symphonic ballad "The Night Watch", the spooky, atmospheric "The Mincer", and arguably Fripp's finest masterpiece, "Fracture." If ever a progressive band was lean, mean, and ready to fight, it was this one.

Fripp has stated that he always thought his drummer and bassist of this period were great players, but never sure if they were a great rhythm section. In any case, Bruford and Wetton set the tone for many of the pieces on this album. Tightly wound, precise punches and jabs; bladed, metallic bass figures rip through thin layers of mellotron and violin, while high-tuned toms and snare keep ahead of the beat and make no room for error, or even diversion. This is not to say the two men weren't sympathetic performers, but driven.

While the whole-tone adventures of "Fracture" and later pieces such as "Red" and "One More Red Nightmare" have captured the attention of many progressive fans, the most distictive aspect of this band may have been its willingness to step out of its structured pieces into improvisation. The mid-period King Crimson were doubtlessly the *most* popular proponents of free-improv in the history of prog. "Trio" is simply that: Fripp, Cross, and Wetton delicately composing in the moment; "We'll Let You Know" is avant-funk without the burden of a dancefloor; "Starless And Bible Black" is exotic, dark, and well-timed - leading into the explosive "Fracture" in much the same way as "The Talking Drum" led into "Larks Toungue part II" on the previous album.

This album saw the band at the height of its powers, and should be a reference to all those defending progressive as something other than bombastic flower-music.

Line-up :
- Robert Fripp / guitars
- Bill Bruford / drums
- David Cross / violin, viola, kbds
- John Wetton / bass, vocals

Track List :
01. The Great Deceiver - 4:02
02. Lament - 4:06
03. We'll Let You Know - 3:41
04. The Night Watch - 4:41
05. Trio - 5:40
06. The Mincer - 4:11
07. Starless And Bible Black - 9:12
08. Fracture - 11:14