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King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered Audio CD

A fair review of the King Crimson "Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all King Crimson reviews here, or go back to the King Crimson tabs.

King Crimson Band: King Crimson
Title: Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered
Rating:
Release Date: 2006-01-16
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Great Deceiver 2: Lament 3: We'll Let You Know 4: Night Watch 5: Trio 6: Mincer 7: Starless and Bible Black 8: Fracture

Excellent and a half


What a quandry: "Great Deceiver," "Lament" and "Nightwatch" are three of Crimso's best tracks. This album is one of the worst King Crimson pieces as far as conception, but also has some of their best music. That art funk they started to establish was truely edgey--edgey as the most underground prog, such as Henry Cow and about thrity Vertigo bands I could list. "Fracture" and the title track are even more exciting. They feature some of Fripp's best work as a composer and improviser, and Wetton's bass playing is increadibly athletic and adventurous--from the sound of his hands around that Fender Persicion thick neck, remind me never to pi-s John Wetton off.
Even the Mincer and We'll let you know are nice snippets of what this and could do live, and make no mistake, this was a killer live band

The problem is, none of this really cohears. Crimson should have probably done what Pink Floyd did with Ummagumma-one great studio album and one great live one, realeased as a classic double set. This would have worked much better than the patchwork that keeps this album from being top flight. .


The second studio lp (of three) from an amazing KC lineup
I've been a fan from the first album through the current lineup , it's hard to have favorites. "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", "Starless and Bible Black", and "Red" are all equally superb. . . . BUT. . . . these three albums are (for me) just the best of the lot. For those unfamiliar with this era of Crimson, all of these works have pretty much the same lineup (core of Wetton, Fripp, and Bruford).

There is a very good reason that this era of Crimson has been given so much live documentation (legal and bootleg): there is a spine chilling dynamism that never lets up. Progressive rock would never see these heights again.


High ramblings
. 3 1/2

A mid-level entry in the classic-prog band's powerful output, with typically eclectic brilliance offset by some underdeveloped rough patches- symptomatic of a lot their early work but feeling even less cohesive as a whole and in individual songs here, despite much obvious microcosmic quality.


Great deceiver!
The album is indeed a master piece, just because the music displays a wide, surreal and abstract musicianship but less explorative/comprehensive, its more melodic but yet experimental, gets a more classical aura but still with the most beautiful sense of progressive rock, and Starless And Bible Black is unique in their specific discography because its one of their best structured albums, the technical details are pure and capturing, and the production is flawless. Luis Mejia (son) - The result of a bombastic fussion; the complex, open minded and cultural style of Larks' Tongues In Aspic, with the start of the supreme dark and chaotic/hardest music King Crimson later totally acquired, Starless And Bible Black comes as the second album for King Crimson's second generation.

"The Great Deceiver" is the most bombastic, insane piece in the album, it gets their quirky sense of humor in a chaotic way, one of their bests; "Lament" is a softer piece but its dramatic, compelling atmosphere is delicate and fabulous; "The Night Watch" is probably the most classsically-inflicted piece in the album, possessing an incredible poetic theme with a castle-like scenary, the piece may be the most complex and Larks Tongues In Aspic-inspired in the album but borders from being overproduced; "Trio" is one of their most famous, a violin centered piece very unique in its form, while "Fracture" is another very famous, timeless classic, specially because its one of their instrumentals wich sounds really structured and well played, more comprehensive too, but if you notice carefully, this piece was the start of King Crimson's heavy brutality strictly kept in Red and from THRAK to The Power To Believe, the first guitar chords are very recognizable in their later works, the song is even kind of reprised in The ConstruKction Of Light in the song "FraKctured". In conclussion, this is argueably the best album from King Crimson's second generation, its certainly very well played (John Wetton's bass licks are delightful), and less explorative but more imaginative and structured than Larks' Tongues In Aspic, and much better supported, comprehensible but less brutal than Red, I strongly recommend this album for any casual listener and progressive rock lovers.


An essential representation of this KC lineup
However, the astonishing recordings of Trio and Fracture elevate this to the pantheon; how many bands have, or will ever have, the range and vision required to produce this music? Recommended listening for any musician who wishes to understand the possibilities of improvisation. Minor quibbles can be made about every record King Crimson has ever released, unsurprising as their output has been spread over 39 years and numerous lineups.


You can see a complete list of all King Crimson discography, or go back to the King Crimson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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