RED

At the time of its release, King Crimson's seventh studio album sounded like a posthumous album, since a few days before release guitarist Robert Fripp disbanded the band (to the surprise of other band members, who were already preparing for a new tour in the United States) and entered a spiritual retreat at J. G. Bennett Foundation, a follower of the mystic Gurdjieff. Some say that the band was on the verge of repeating the success of their debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969), but it can also be argued that King Crimson ended at the right time - not only because Red was a great farewell record, but also because progressive rock began to lose prestige among critics and audiences in subsequent years, to the point of being the scapegoat of the punk movement as "all that is wrong" in rock music. After the end of King Crimson's first incarnation, Fripp would become a much sought-after musician, performing on tracks by artists linked to art rock and new wave such as Brian Eno, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel (another former progressive rocker), Blondie and Talking Heads. When he resurrected King Crimson in 1981, the band would point to other stylistic directions, as interesting as those adopted in the 1970s, showing how it was one of the bands that most took seriously the proposal to make progressive music, i.e. not clinging to the past and always moving and reinventing itself aesthetically. In this "metamorphic" aspect, KC (and Fripp in particular) has only two equivalents in 20th-century music: Miles Davis and David Bowie. "Red," the song that opens the eponymous album, is one of the most powerful and dark in the King Crimson catalog. According to musicologist Eric Tamm in his book "Robert Fripp: From King Crimson to Crafty Master", partly this is due to the use of the tritone, which in the Middle Ages was called the "devil in music" ("diabolus in musica"), because the interval between notes creates a dissonance that evokes an effect of grim tension on the listener. The title track has the distinction of being one of the few songs that has been played by all subsequent lineups of the band. "Fallen Angel" has lyrics about gang violence in New York. The lines evoke a certain delicacy (in fact, it is interesting to note that every King Crimson album has a kinder and more melodic track than the others), but in the chorus the song gains weight, with a shrill horn and a disconcerting guitar solo. "One More Red Nightmare" is vocalist and bassist John Wetton's first and only lyrics for the band (although the initial lyrics for "Starless" were also wrote by him). It's about a nightmare of a plane crash. To evoke the sense of despair, it was crucial the ferocity with which Bill Bruford plays the drum plates that he found in a trash (in fact, it is worth checking the excitement with which he reports this in his autobiography). "Providence" is an improvisation performed at a concert in Providence (Rhode Island, USA) on June 30, 1974 - incidentally, it was the penultimate gig of the band before the breakup. It's the only song on the record featuring violinist David Cross, who was fired for "artistic incompatibilities" between the end of the US tour and the album's recording in July. At first glance "Providence" sounds a bit out of place with Red (although it continues the live experiments already on the previous album, Starless and Bible Black), but it works very well to create the mood of tension that will precede the last track, as well as a short of breath after the intensity of the previous three songs. "Starless" is possibly the masterpiece of King Crimson. It's a12-minute song that synthesizes all of the band's previous stages: the beginning (until about 4:30) is symphonic and melancholic; the middle part (between 4:30 and 9:00) is an improvisation that generates increasing tension - specially the repetitive rhythm of the guitar; and the ending (from 9:00 onwards) is an explosion that oscillates between jazz and metal, reminding "21st Century Schizoid Man". According to Eric Tamm, this tripartite structure is similar to that of a sonata, as it contains exposure, development and recapitulation (the two last minutes resume the initial melody). The studio version replaces the violin that David Cross used in the live version with one of Fripp's most beautiful guitar solos, which also anticipates the atmospheric style he will adopt in subsequent years on tracks like "Heroes" (David Bowie). Palmer-James's great lyrics are brilliantly sung by Wetton, who also contributes substantively with his bass, which in combination with Bruford's drums makes up what Fripp called the "flying brick wall". All of these elements make "Starless" a worthy ending to the first phase of King Crimson. Red, for the lack of a tour and the disappointment of being a defunct band album, did not sell well (it reached only #45 on the British charts and #66 on the American charts), but in return it was King Crimson's second most influential album (the first is their debut album, after all it nothing less than invented progressive rock). It nspired from progressive metal bands (such as Tool) to grunge (Kurt Cobain included Red in his legendary list of 50 favorite albums, and In Utero is certainly an heir to its dynamics between calm verses and raging choruses). Also, it is one of the progressive albums that has aged the best; one might think that it was released in the 1990s, perhaps by combining the heavy sounding power trio Fripp, Wetton & Bruford with the sophistication of wind instruments (in particular Ian McDonald's sax in "One More Red Nightmare" and" Starless" - incidentally, this was a more than special guest appearance, as McDonald is a former member of the band, having been the lead composer of In The Court of The Crimson King).