STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK

Between the two strongest albums of King Crimson's career, Starless and Bible Black comes off as a bit weak and sloppy, or, weaker and sloppier than normal, I should say. This album always gets the middle child treatment, but there are definitely reasons it does. Largely improvisational, something the band always seemed to lose listeners' attention during, the album meanders about and in doing so causes ones mind to do the same. Sure, there are some moments where the music is decent - every King Crimson album can be appreciated or even enjoyed at some point/points - but even the stronger tracks can get tenuous. It still stands above a handful of the band's past and future releases. So, if you are a really into King Crimson, go ahead and give this a shot, but so long as you're not a stubborn 70's prog fan, you will come to realize that this is yet again Robert Fropp & co. laying down the foundation for a myriad of future bands to build off of.