RED

KC isn't only responsible for helping prog rock to emerge. They also put the final nail in the coffin with Starless. Fripp's one-note solo on this amazing piece of music is quintessential anti prog.

This album isn't perfect. But the highlight are so high, I have to give it 5 stars.

Red - Listening to this, a friend of mine said: "This sounds too much like grunge to me. Couldn't they have come up with a more original sound?" Then I said, "This is from 1974. 15 years before grunge started to be a thing!" Yes. The acts from the early nineties with these heavy slow guitar riffs and bass lines know their classics. Having said this, they never matched the ingenuity of King Crimson. 9/10

Fallen Angel - Another track that paved the way for many bands to come. 15 years later. And Wetton does a great job as a singer. What a shame he didn't bring the same quality at earlier records of King Crimson. 9/10

One more red nightmare - This song alternates between heavy and light in such a great way. The instrumentals are immaculate. I am glad to say the singing is good enough for the song. It doesn't stand out but certainly doesn't distract. 8.5/10

Providence - KC liked to improvise. They already did it in 69, with Moonchild. This is one of the times it works. All of them manage to shine on this track 8/10

Starless - Now, this is a great song. One of the many coming from KC. Is it their best? I don't know. I can't tell. But it is certainly fantastic. Starting with the mellotron, then Fripp's beautiful theme solo, more mellotron, guided by the bases and the drums, another beautiful theme solo. Then the singing starts. Wetton's best performance as a singer of KC. We shouldn't forget the beautiful sax here, accompanying the mellotron, drums, bass and guitar. Then at 4.30, Fripp starts his one-note solo. Guided by Wetton's pounding base. How can something so monotonous sound so gripping? Awesome. Slowly Fripp raises the tension. When the tension becomes almost intolerable, the drums kick in and the bass gets even heavier. And Fripp continues to raise the stakes. Then at 7.51, he raises it even more. The guitar is screaming the one-notes. Higher and higher. 8.44, the eruption starts and the tempo picks up at 9.07 with a great sax solo and Bruford and Wetton showing off their skills. At 10.03 we return to the theme of the track and Fripp gives us one final one-note solo. The band is racing to the finish line. And at 11.20 sax and mellotron slow the pace and bring us back to the beginning. But this time with Bruford and Wetton testing their gear. It doesn't get better than this! 10/10

Without one of the best pieces of music ever, this album would be 4 stars. But with Starless. It has to be 5.

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