RED

Another unbelievable record from the Crimson guys, this time in the form of a power trio: John Wetton, Bill Bruford, and Robert Fripp was the line-up in charge of this mind-blowing album that has become a classic of Progressive Rock music. Continuing with the hard Progressive Rock that characterized their previous two albums, "Red" got also a very powerful sound filled with amazing drum and guitar solos, they didn't miss the formula of hard-rockin' passages mixed with soft ballads.

1.- Red (06:16): Very aggressive rock with lots of powerful drum lines and a very intense guitar riff that fills most of the song. The middle part with the double bass played by Mark Charig (who had also played in "Lizard" and "Islands") gives the song an obscure atmosphere, pretty interesting.

2.- Fallen angel (06:03): Beautiful and melancholic, soft in some moments and strong and powerful in others. The wind instruments are also present here. Amazing

3.- One more red nightmare (07:10): Hard Rock with a nice and subtle jazzy touch; the drumming is awesome along with the sax. To be the longest song on the first side of the album this piece closes it really nicely.

4.- Providence (08:10): King Crimson playing some kind of avant-garde? This song reminds me a lot of bands such as Henry Cow, Art Zoyd, or Julverne but with the unrepeatable King Crimson style of Fripp's distorted guitar riffs. This is a live improvisation in the same vein as almost the whole "Starless and bible black" album, probably the song that I like the less in here.

5.- Starless (12:16): WOW!! Could I say something about this song that hasn't been said yet? This piece is one of the most popular on the whole King Crimson discography, and maybe that is because this is so epic! 12 minutes of madness through obscure lyrics, powerful guitar lines, amazing drumming, and very elegant wind instrument arrangements. This song is a bomb that could literally blow your brains out.

One of the most ambitious King Crimson albums ever released, and the last of the Bruford-Wetton-Fripp ensemble; after this record, King Crimson split up and the band was declared dead until 1981. Absolutely unmissable!

SONG RATING: Red, 5 Fallen angel, 5 One more red nightmare, 5 Providence, 5 Starless, 5

AVERAGE: 5

PERCENTAGE: 100

ALBUM RATING: 5 stars

I ranked this album #16 on my TOP 100 favorite Progressive Rock albums of all time.

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