STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK

I certainly do not find STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK to be a "disappointment," as some have maintained -- far from it! While it may not quite equal LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC for inventiveness, it is a very good effort from this classic lineup. Wetton's bass and vocals are as strong as ever, Fripp's guitar sounds like a weapon, Cross's violin really adds to the overall feel, and Bruford is, of course, the best.

"The Great Deceiver" is one of the heaviest, most frantic and cutting songs Crimson ever released, and "Lament" is a powerful portrait of the jaded rock star. "The Night Watch," -- inspired by Rembrandt's famous painting -- is a beautiful piece of classic prog (Palmer-James does a great job as a lyricist), and the airy instrumental "Trio" is simply lovely. While the other songs are not as noteworthy, "Fracture" is a notable exception. My favourite track on the album, this 11+ minute song starts out slow, then steadily builds to an absolutely explosive finish. This one MUST be played loud!

Simply put, if you like LARKS' TONGUES, RED and USA, you should find plenty to enjoy on this album.

3.5 stars really!! Sunless And Babe's Bumpland

Hot on the heels of Lark's Tongue, the band started touring, and despite losing quickly Muir, they chose to go on as a quartet and when the came back to the studio to record this SABB album, they'd grown into a very tight quartet. Of course Muir's exciting percussions and noises are missing into this album, and the very bland artwork and probably some lesser worked-upon songwriting make this album quite a deception compared to Lark.

This one sounds sloppy to me, unfinished studio tapes and weird song endings. Although I see this mostly on the first side of the album I realize that I must be one of the only one to think that way but try the "Aspic" or "Red" albums as they represent the best of this line-up. Strange song structures such as Lament or un-interesting writing as trio makes that much is lost on me in the first side. Even the more conventional songs like Nightwatch and Great Deceiver appear a little weak and would be fillers on either album preceding or following SABB.

The two instrumental on the flipside are a bit unstructured to my liking, but they tend to be the best tracks of the album, solid energetic and crunchy. The instrumental numbers on Aspic were so much more interesting and riveting. Still much worth a spin, though! And as a Crimson fan, it's relatively inconceivable not having this album in your shelves, even if it is the poorest Crimson studio album of the 70's

LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC was a fine debut album for the brilliant '73-'74-era Crimson, but, as any fan of live KC from this period will attest, it needed live performance to really inject life into that album's music. STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK , however, is a great improvement; much earthier, starker and ballsier than its predecessor, it's a truly dark, eerie masterpiece that unnerved me totally on early listenings. There's a hell of a lot of amazing stuff on SABB; THE GREAT DECEIVER rocks, despite ultra-surreal lyrics; LAMENT starts slowly but soon morphs into an audacious slice of hard-rock blitz; THE NIGHT WATCH is totally English, totally Crimson; TRIO is simply beautiful; THE MINCER is scary and funky (Bruford, needless to say, is brilliant throughout). But it's Side Two's duo of "improvs" that really elevate this album to greatness. STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK is horror-movie stuff put to music, a tour-de-force of group performance - Fripp's guitar is weirder than it has ever been up to that point in KC's recorded history; and FRACTURE is almost as spooky, with a magnificently cathartic finale that ends the album much more successfully than the rather limp LARKS' TONGUES PT 2 did on the previous LP. Wetton, Bruford, Fripp and (the tragically-undervalued) Cross make a tremendous team on this landmark album, and it's an essential part of the Crims' canon. No future studio album they made would better it.

This record is very experimental. FRIPPp's guitar is often random in the high notes, and the percussions are numerous. WETTON's bass is full of bottom and very present. The drums parts are very good. The dark keyboards parts remind me the early TANGERINE DREAM. I wonder if sometimes they were not influenced by the krautrock style. The music is often not very loaded, so that you can fully listen to all the drums and percussion parts.

A remarkable animal with a pair of dangerous horns on its head, an impregnable shell of exquisite design and the beat of a gentle heart beneath it all. The listener may first feel he's cornered the beast in error, as "Starless" immediately flies into attack mode, baring its horns and teeth on the opening two tracks. In this pose, our animal is most basilisk, arresting the audience with a stunning display of power, planting the flag on a peak of intensity that had yet to be called punk rock. Just as abruptly, CRIMSON exposes a softer side on "The Night Watch" (one of their most elegant entries) and the lovely instrumental "Trio." "Starless" falls into disarray soon afterward, delving into amorphous lands with "The Mincer" and the title track. With "Fracture", however, clarity emerges from chaos, and we're given a glimpse of the tightly reined vision of CRIMSON that would appear on "Red" and, later, "Discipline".

"Starless And Bible Black" can be alternately draining and exhilarating at various junctures, but prog fans should deem the journey essential. A "favorite" CRIMSON album is bound to be a matter of taste, but I wouldn't mind arguing on the side of Starless. Despite the loss of percussionist JAMIE MUIr and the personal difficulty I have in detecting the work of DAVID CROSS, these sessions concede nothing to "Larks Tongues". BRUFORD does a brilliant job of covering as a drummer/percussionist, WETTON gives the band one of their most viable bass guitarists to date, and FRIPP's guitar work is inspired. Artful and intense, this CRIMSON generates at least as much energy as VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR. As such, "Starless" may be the most appealing of the "original" CRIMSON albums for the second generation of fans who found the marvelously manicured indiscipline of the post-"Discipline" outfit intoxicating.

This must be the greatest progressive-experimental album of all time! Last month, when I was looked trough my King Crimson album collection, I realized that I wasn't all that familiar with albums like "Islands" and "Starless and Bible Black". Although I've heard them before, I had a strange feeling that these albums entailed some totally new performances this time around. At first I found the album to be very quiet and uninteresting, still I gave it another go and noticed the greatness of that quietness. This album has a huge amount of secrets well "hidden" in it, so don't just listen to it, but really LISTEN! By that I mean that you have got to understand or at least interpret everything you hear or otherwise you'll end up with a very strange and unresolved album. But really it's quite excellent. I consider it King Crimson's best, ranked among the progressive genre's greatest.

Defining statement of Prog Rock. I might like "Larks Tongue" somewhat more, because "Larks'" is such a strong statement, but "Starless" is expansive, mysterious, "Trio" is beautiful, as art is and don't they call this genre too, art rock, well, when it's King Crimson it is. "Nightwatch" is exhilirating. If one has "Larks", you need this too and vice versa. Forthermore, this disc is a point of reference to KC.

My favorite of the 70's KC studio albums; this is such a varied and yet cohesive collection- a raucous, caustic opener immediately followed by the reflective (and eventually even harder-rocking) Lament..."The Night Watch" is a perfectly composed anglo-tinted gem, from the heartbreaking opening swell to the melancholy narrative; the quiet, simple beauty of "Trio", the creeping menace of "The Mincer"...but the opus is in the extended tracks on the second half. "Starless" and "Fracture" are similar in tone and direction, penultimate examples of the mid-period KC sound: heavy, seemingly improvisational but with perfect flow and balance...emotionally cathartic, this is one of the few Prog albums that really compliments a heavy session of lovemaking! My only regret is "We'll let you know", which is a pointless throwaway jam, and the slightly muffled quality of the recording throughout.

This is another timeless classic of the AMAZING KING CRIMSON. This album in particular is quite a strange amazing album. Just listen for all the strange subtle things going on and thats what really makes this album. Their creativity and musicianship on this album....phenom. Get this album and basically all other Crimso albums.

it's a good album, but it could have been better. at least the first 6 tracks are great. maybe because part of this release was recorded live and i love inspired improvisation. the last 2 tracks seem to match the pattern of LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC part II. they are powerful, but pretty repetitive.

Probably Crimson's weakest album of the 72-74 era, but still, it's very good. I don't think Crimson could have made a bad album during this period, more than in any other at least. Quite varied, half studio half live album, it could have been a real testament of the Wetton era, but it falls short of it. maybe not because of the album itself, but because the other two (Lark's and Red) are such masterpieces; any album in the middle of this two giants will see quite weaker than what it really is, but taken on it's own it's pretty damn good!

The studio songs are some of the best they have produced ever. The powerful and fun The Great Deceiver, with it's astonishing riff and Bruford´s tornado percussion. What a shocking way to start off an album! Lament would become a live classic during these years, a small 4 minutes rollercoaster that goes from gentle singing and violin to groovy rhythms to weird atonal soloing to heavy riffing. A personal favorite of mine. And of course The Night Watch. beauty personified. What a. beautiful song, really, it´s so damn beautiful I fall short of another description but this one! Outstanding!

From the live tracks it´s important to remember that most of them are improvisations, so do not take them as a "song", but rather as a piece of music. As a matter of fact there is only one real composition in this part of the album: Fracture, but I will talk about this one in a while. From the improvs the absolute bests are We´ll let you know for it´s funky feeling, Wetton takes the cake here, and Trio, a sound collage of mellotron, violin and some others that achieves an unexpected calmness and beauty (again with this word, I need a dictionary) if we keep in mind that what we hear came out at the very moment with no preconceived idea. Extraordinary! Funny thing, although Bruford does not play in this one he still is credited for the song for the fact that he decided not to play, but he sat down during the 5 minutes doing nothing. jajajaja, got to love that! Now there are also some songs we could, or at least I could, live without. The Mincer goes absolutely no where, with Wettons vocals put over in the studio to give it some coherence and that sudden stop (they literally run out of tape during the live recording) makes this a forgettable number, while Starless and Bible Black also suffers from this "going no where" it's not that bad, but again, nothing really shocking either.

But if you want shocking. then get really for the last track. Of course I´m talking about Fracture. If you ever need prove of how original Fripp can be, just listen to this. The progression in the guitars, the dissonant bass, the grand final. probably the best song of the whole album, this one, although live recorded is no improv. Terribly good, Fripp you freakin´ genius!

The meat in the 70s KC studio sandwich. My least favorite of the 70s trilogy, but by no means bad. The Great Deciever starts things off perfectly. A true Crimson track. Fast, complex, avanty, fun lyrics and really a powerhouse. Next is Lament. A decent tune, that provides a little cushion after the manic start. Then comes the thrid song. A great little piece to clam thigns down a bit. Then comes The Night Watch. A spooky track with great vocals and guitar work. A fantastic piece. Then comes Trio, an instramental that is ok. Then The Mincer, a extension of the previous, but it ends great. The title track was a bit over long, but offers some memorable moments. Finally comes Fracture, an explosive little instramental. The end is true Crimson yet again. All in all, this shows what KC was capable of live, interjected into a studio album. Certainly the most improv based work in the KC studio catalogue (at least of the 70s). Recommended to fans of this type of music.

After "Lark's tongue in aspic", came "Starless & Bible black", King Crimson's sixth studio album which is partly live! I would rate it slightly better than its predecessor because it has "Fracture", the track a huge section of King Crimson fans consider their best effort. The album continues the almost the same mood as "Lark's tongue in aspic" but this album is more instrument based than the previous. Needless to say Robert Fripp (Guitar), Bill Bruford (drums/percussion), David Cross (Violin/Viola) and John Wetton (bass/vocal) shows the mastery in their respective instruments.

The album starts with odd (Well, may be not odd enough when you consider the Crimson factor) "The Great Deceiver" which is partly vocal track. "Lament" is a vocal based track and it is not dear to the fans but it is not that bad, although it ends so abruptly, it may surprise you. From the fifth track "Trio", they start building grounds for the final assault and approach continues in the next track "The Mincer", both these tracks are mainly mellow interplaying between guitar & violin. The title track "Starless & Bible Black" has some vocal in it and it slowly picks up the pace and when you are ready for the final assault, it again goes mellow. "Fracture" starts rather bombastically, it is really a gem of a track which may make you want to bang your head against something hard and you are adviced not to have fragile objects beside you while listening the song unless you have complete control over you. This particular track begs to play it in higher volume to get the maximum effect.

If you have listened "Red" or "lark's tongue in aspic" and want more, get this asap. It may not be a great point for starting with the band but it is definitely one the best and darkest albums the band has produced. It is in my top three King Crimson album list along with "In the court of Crimson King" and "Red".

Who said "Starless" was King Crimson's prog apex? "Fracture" is the real deal and is surely one of the reasons I come to like this album so much. It took some time for me to really get around this album after being blown away by 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic', but I guess that was because of the majority of this album consist of improvised material. The written songs here are the strongest ones, especially the two opening proggers which have enough ideas alone to fill a side, Crimson style. However, "Fracture" remains my favorite KC composition. Ever. Not even "Schizoid Man" can reach up to the dark and menacing moods of this track, and the complexity of it alone would give an orchestra a run for their money. Sadly, this album doesn't really get the attention it deserves though the improvs (live, with audience noise removed) here really adds to the album overall although they're not the strongest ones in Crimson's catalogue.

A very rewarding album in the end, just a tad misunderstood. 4.5/5

Starless And Bible Black comes at the listener with all the subtlety of a bar room brawl only better choreographed and punctually orchestrated. The unfocused period of Lizard and Islands were well out of scope and the Fripp/Wetton/Bruford/Cross line up had exercised their strength with Larks Tongues In Aspic and by this album were a well oiled machine working together in complete harmony and consistency. "The Great Deceiver" could be an auto biographical song concerning Robert Fripp, in title only though, as The Crimson King tore his King Crimson vision through another line up but one that would leave their most impending legacy and strongest progression to date. Even more so than the Adrian Belew era of the eighties that produced Discipline and its two weaker clones, Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair. The energy and convincing aggression on Starless And Bible Black is wide and consuming. The recording at the AIR Studios is massive and the bass tone especially sounds wide and vibrant while it gives plenty of scope especially to the two longer tracks on the B side of the album. The manic doom filled and aptly titled album ender "Fracture" and title track "Starless And Bible Black", which scorches away on progressive passages of improvisation juxtaposed with well arranged interplay between the musicians. In the eye of the storm lies a beautiful gentle flowing number. Tagging on to the back of "The Night Watch" "Trio" is excellently polarised with the rest of material on the album though inconspicuously fits into the concept giving an added texture but it soon crashes into "The Mincer", probably the weakest song on the album that comes across as an unfinished aimless jam that ends quite abruptly. Starless And Bible Black like its bookended counterparts is a timeless album. The mark of any skilled group of like minded musicians is an ideal to produce music that may be peerless without thinking it to be peerless. The method in which the musicians approached the music through their instruments is extremely intelligent. The trilogy of albums released by King Crimson in the mid seventies are well ahead of their time. Starless And Bible Black sits in the middle chronologically and musically almost tearing between Larks Tongues In Aspic and Red albums. A great release of tension.

There are shorter songs on this album, but don't let 'em fool you. It works as suite-like pieces and just 3 tracks have lyrics of any kind. The Great Deceiver has nonsensical lyrics based on some sight-seeing while on tour in Italy and musically it's one of their most impressive rockers. Lament is a highly complex piece that starts as a ballad and ends up in some great frenzy. We'll Let You Know is a short, funky instrumental based on Bill Bruford's great drumming skills and Fripp's wailing guitar. The Nightwatch is the ballad here, complete with a lovely little melody in the chorus. It's about a Rembrandt painting. Trio is a quiet instrumental led by violin and The Mincer kinda announces the 2 lengthy instrumentals that follow by being very spooky. The 2 instrumentals, the title track and Fracture, are kinda hard to explain and have to be listened to to get a grip on it. There's a lot of tension- building going on in both and where the title track turns into a kind of groove, Fracture just gets louder and louder and builds up to some impressive riffage. Crimson-fans should get this album right away, it's superb!

The jams suck and are boring, but the first four songs are pretty good. Most people worship "The Great Deceiver" but I think they're overrating it, while they ignore the pretty "Lament" (which is basically a crescendo), the nice ballad "The Night Watch", and the instrumental "We'll Let You Know" (which is better than the rest of them). "Fracture" is another good one, a long instrumental composition with very insteresting moments here and there. The rest is boring, so I ignore it (although "The Mincer" barely "passes the test"). You probably will too.

I always found this album a little disappointing and having heard their live album "The Night Watch" now I know why - Starless was largely tracks taken from the concert, remixed, overdubbed, and in doing so much of the vitality of the live concert has been lost. Check out "The Night Watch" and you will find live versions of amongst others Fracture, Night Watch; and listen to Trio compared to the dull version on this album.

Starless & Bible Black has its moments but now The Night Watch is available they seem few and far between.

A controversial album indeed, but still containing exceptional music. The positive sides of this record are the wonderful live tracks from the Amsterdam concert; The improvisation "Starless and Bible Black" is one of their most powerful jams, reaching long duration and having eerie, mystical feeling, it is like a religious experience borne from amazing musicianship and talent. This is followed with the band's most important composition "Fracture", and this is also the most essential recording of it from the versions which I have ever heard. The "Trio" is also from the same concert, a quiet, beautiful musical wandering, where Bill doesn't play a single note. The only problem with these tracks is that they are also found now from "The Night Watch" double CD, which has the whole Amsterdam concert in it.

The few studio recordings on this album are good though; "The Great Deceiver" which they didn't quite manage to play in satisfying way at the concert stages, and "Lament" which then worked in the concerts much better. "The Night Watch" is a beautiful ballad from Rembrandt's famous painting which being held at the Amsterdam's national museum, but the version presented here is a bit weird. The pastoral opening is from the Amsterdam concert, but the main song is redone in the studio, as mellotron crashed during the concert. If this kind of editing doesn't bother, this is a good version, but I have heard the best rendering of it on their "Live in Mainz, Germany 1974" CD. "We'll Let You Know" is in my opinion their dullest improvisation, almost nothing happening there, and "The Mincer" is a quite stupid track. It has a recording from a live jam, where the tape runs off during middle of the play, and then there's some studio overdubbed singing on it. Quite disappointing, the version without these studio overdubs can be found from "The Great Deceiver" box.

I just wanted to point out that much of this album was actually recorded live. We'll Let You Know, the first 1/3 of The Night Watch, Trio, and Starless and Bible Black were all recorded live. The fascinating booklet that accompanied the vinyl version of Young Person's Guide to King Crimson gives the dates that they were recorded, and close listening will reveal the parts that are live and that are studio. The most noticeable is The Night Watch.

Great album by the Crimsos. Probably the best expression of the middle King Crimson era.

I think this one's a gem. It's kind of strange to listen to this after "Larks' ", because the mood is pretty different. Here KC show an unusual "sunny side", which can be heard in great songs such as "The Great Deceiver" and on the instrumental "We''ll let you know". It seems like they were trying to be kind of more accessible here, given the songs' length (which is shorter than usual). But this impression soon dissolves as you listen to such strange pieces like "The Mincer", really weird, almost nightmare like, with a quasi lullaby vocal part over a pretty strange groove. But then again you enter into dreams with the most beautiful ballad Mr. Fripp has ever come up with and one of the best rock songs ever, "The night watch", simply amazing. Whoever is not touched by this is not human. And it's follower, "Trio", one of the sweetest pieces of music ever written, simple, beautiful, moving music. The weirdness is still there with "Starless and bible black", which I would consider a masterpiece just for the title, even though it is the song I like less on the album: it's a long, overlong (and a little pointless in my opinion) improv. Pretty atmospheric anyway. The album ends with a masterpiece of prog and one among KC's best, the instrumental "Fracture", which sees Fripp at the peak of his amazing guitar skills, and leaves you just breathless with its awesome final crescendo. Beautiful and crazy.

This album is pretty diversified and interesting, it has the most beautiful ballad by KC, it has one of the best instrumental songs ever, it has the irony, it has the adventure, it has a playful atmosphere at times that we rarely find again in KC's discography.

Higly recommended.

It goes up rapidly, and the power of expression of the improvisation has the tension to the sorrow and performs various works. It is the most advanced work if it sees from the viewpoint of avant-garde. However, I feel that it is about the settlement in the work a little.

Well. Never been a MASSIVE fan of King Crimson, but I do like them and own several albums. This has turned out to be a favourite! It is perhaps one of the most listenable 'early' albums. John Wetton's voice is pleasant and Robert's electronics and guitar work are impressive and innovative. But the album is not without it's flaws...

The Great Deceiver is a hard, rockin' opener with a...whats this? A discernible melody line in a King Crimson song!? Wow. It's a great rocker with all the complexity of prog. Quietens down, turns into a strangely syncopated drum and bass work with John Wetton singing in a distressed voice. Good song! You'll love it instantly. Cigarettes, Ice Cream...10/10

Lament is exactly what the title of the track says. But it all changes a bit into the song...becoming a frantic, schizoid song with distressing vocals and frantic guitar work. And clapping...if only it had stayed how it was. The only thing keeping it together is Bill Bruford's steady drums and John Wetton's creeping bass. Ends nicely. 8/10.

We'll Let You Know is a stop-start funk track with wah guitar and funky bass. Not bad. No vocals. 8/10.

The Night Watch is, after 1 and a half minutes of silly noises, a rather pleasant ballad with a very...ahem catchy chorus. Nice song though. The first song I heard off this album. 9/10

Trio is a strange, orchestral piece played on what I think is the violin, mellotron and bass guitar. Very interesting, quite melancholy. EDIT: It's actually quite beautiful. 9/10.

The Mincer is a weird, eerie song with strange spooky mellotron sounds and weird choppy dissonant guitar. This track just scares me... 7/10.

Starless And Bible Black, the tile track, is a strange, ambient track with only rare moments of melody. Makes an interesting listen. If anyone could tell me what the title means I would be grateful! 8/10.

Fracture is an equally strange song with cool guitar effects. Honestly, these last 2 tracks need to be heard to be believed! 9/10.

Wonderful album, my favourite at the moment!

Well you could say it's normal for them, but their harsh and brainy execution concerning a few live jam sessions (here you find an extract from a few ones), plus a couple of typical ballads by J. Wetton (always supported by the cello and the mellotron as well, in a remarkable way), create together an unbalanced work. Produced at the famous Air Studios, this album was criticized at that time, as for its uneven features. Therefore you find elements of experimental and avant-garde music within, afterwards reproduced by the so called "Zeuhl Music", even though the melodic lines (sometimes simple and a bit depressed too) by D. Cross and J. Wetton altogether, which was another "trademark" of the original K.C., are pretty anyway. For me that's not enough to let it be as a unique or essential album if you regard of their complete discography, and moreover its discontinuity is quite irritating. yet the skill of the musicians, but also the important "change of route" in the song "The Great Deceiver" (except on the "calmed" tone regarding the vocalism inside the ballads, which sometimes is a bit strident ) could be interesting after all.however by considering the experimental K.C. and for instance another famous album like "Lark's Tongue in Aspic", being always regarded as a much better and more complete work, sometimes at the end you can remain unsatisfied about this "Starless &.": nevertheless you could make your own best choice, according to your preferences!!

Resumed score:

"3 stars" as for a couple of songs, especially "The Great Deceiver"...

"2 stars and an half" as for the controversial choice regarding the jam sessions taken from a live...

Strident, angular, dark and chilling as its title suggests, "Starless and Bible Black" is a hard ride, but ultimately quite a rewarding one. It takes repeated, careful listens to get into it, and even then chances are it will never become your favourite KC album. When I first heard it, my reaction was one of perplexity, something like "well, OK, it's not bad at all, but is it that good either?". Even now, I only tend to put it on when I know I will be able to sit for a while without being interrupted by other tasks. There's no way out of it: you MUST listen to "Starless..." in order to really appreciate it, otherwise it will just seem to you like a bunch of weird, disjointed sounds with some quieter moments thrown in for good measure. I would say that the title of the closing track, "Fracture", is in a way the album's statement of intent.

John Wetton's performance is one of the best features here. In fact, his vocals are vastly superior to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", even though he still sounds rather weak in the upper ranges, as in the second part of "Lament", which would be more suitable for a hard-rock singing style. In the opening "The Great Deceiver", he snarls and spits out the biting, acerbic words in a way that complements the music perfectly. Moreover, his powerful, aggressive bass playing really comes to the fore on this record, especially on "We'll Let You Know".

"Starless..." offers fewer vocals and far less melody than most KC albums, the wistful "The Night Watch" and the instrumental "Trio" being the only moments of respite in the frantic, tense feel of the whole. Fripp's guitar is at its most experimental, as in the eerie, disturbing "The Mincer"; while Bruford's crisp, complex drumming patterns provide a perfect foil for both Wetton's booming, muscular bass lines and Fripp's wild guitar excursions. David Cross's violin, though, is somewhat under-employed here in comparison to "Larks'..." and "Red".

"Starless and Bible Black" may not be a masterpiece like its follow-up, the monumental "Red", but it's an album no self-respecting prog fan can afford to ignore. This is KC at its darkest and most intellectual - not for the faint-hearted maybe, but progressive in the true sense of the word.

This line up is amzeing. The three albums includeing Starless and Bible Black are a must have for any lover of music. This album showes a group of musicians at their vary best. I like Yes, Asia, ELP, and others this is sooooo diffrent, in such a good way. You have to see what guys like Wetton, and Bruford bring to KC in this balls out all or nothing trio of ablums that rang in sound from sweeping, delicat, and silent to crushing and ruff in the flick of a drum stick. Highly recomended!

For me this is KC's best 'studio' album. It really gets a high abstraction level, with a great live improv selection. It makes me think if it has to be considered a studio album, because there are only 2 complete 'studio' versions (TGD and Lament). However, there's no sound difference between the studio and live tracks; they all sound as good as ever. For me (although I know many reviewers would not agree), the best improvs are "The mincer" and "We'll let you know" (I think the other ones are also excellent, but I feel they particularly create great abstract atmospheres). S&BB is an excellent combination of compositions and improvs: "We'll let you know" is well placed after "The great deceiver" and "Lament" whole exaltation; and what clould be better than a silent introduction and a relaxed melody like "The night watch" after the power of "We'll let you know"? Followed by "Trio" it becomes a 10 minute break before coming again to the abstraction (the edited "The mincer", which I would know if it comes from the 'lost' part of "The law of maximum distress", and an abreviated "S&BB"). And then we find the best way to end an album: "Fracture"; I won't write anything about this... better listening to and then think about it... so great. It's a pity the following incarnations didn't play it again ... but at least now we have four great versions (Amsterdam-studio, Toronto, Asbury Park and Providence). At the moment I'm still waiting for more late-1973 live material.

It's not easy to review an album which is probably my favourite of all times, but I'll try to give something more than just the exclamations of love and excitement. This is perhaps a little more "difficult" album from all KC albums from seventies. (Although I'm not quite sure if a term "difficult" makes any sense for a prog-fans...) Somehow it is also less accomplished than "Larks Tongues", (big part of material was recorded live). You can find here tracks which attack You at first listen (and then at every next) - mad "Great Deceiver" is a good opener for this reason. After the great opening, sharp and packed with energy it goes later on in a lighter form, with melodic refrain and very interesting rythms. Althoug Jamie Muir is gone (a pity) this album seems even more interesting in terms of rythm. Wetton's very dense and intensive bass playing and Brufford's brilliant drumming take a lot of space here. It is really great in improvised tracks (We'll let you know; Mincer) but it's even better - I think - in songs (Great Deceiver, Lament, Nightwatch) were they have to keep in the form, and still are extremely inventive. Brufford was a great musician even in "Trio" were he does not play a sound! Very right do consider him as one of the authors of this improvised track. "Trio" belongs to this musical wonders, were every sinlge sound is perfect and Brufford's silence is a part of it. Especially that - as we all know - KC improvised "blows" could go in very defferent directions. After Brufford's "intervention" it could become one more mad improvisation (as providence, starless and bible black and alll the others which evolve from gentle begginings). Fripp is just as good as usuall, so I will only point out that solo from "Nightwatch" and his playing in "Fracture" are among his absolutely bigest echievements. No wonder he made two "remakes" of the "fracture" guitar motives in last years. I fell that this album is more" mysterious" and "dark" than any other Kc album. It has a lot of somehow hidden moments. All the changes of mood seem even more sudden than on other albums because here we have relatively short tracks. Wild energy is happily maried here with intense beauty nad musical perfection. I have an uncler idea, that we can find some common points between Crimson from this peroid and Mahavishnu Orchestra. King Crimson from "Thrakattak" comes back to improvised music much related to "starless and bible blac" and goes even further.. Well, for me that's the highest point of all the KC history. Even if "starless" is not here, but on "red".

I agree with some of the reviewers here that consider SABB the best of the Crimson albums of the 70. At least for me it´s at the same level as Aspic and far better than Red, and probably the pressence of David Cross can explain part of this oppinion.

Obviously there are more reasons and the most important for me is "The night watch" that stil i consider to be one of the most beautiful pieces of prog ever written. After the avalanche of sounds, Wetton´s voice and Fripp´s guitar came sublime. For a melancholly man lime me - in the way of Pinder´s song - this piece always move me to the bone.

Of course there are other great songs here. "Great deceiver" is an excellent intro and "Lament" takes another bit of Wetton magnificient voice. "Trio" is for me the other piece to remember. An experimental song with a very slow tempo, ambient music if you like.

Intrumentals in the original side 2 results excellent ieces but i find them to be a little boring. Overall it´s a strong album and probably the darker in ambient and sounds of the trio FrippWettonBruford. Not essential but quite an excellent addition in prog collections

This album contains much more improv than last one and is therefore much less accessible.

"The Great Deceiver" is a mix between a great rock song and silly Frippertronics- based improv. Same goes with "Lament", but on a darker note. "We'll Let You Know" is total improv - not the kind of music I like from King Crimson. Fortunately, this album contains beautiful gems like "The Night Watch" and "Trio" - one great ballad and one great instrumental with a "trio" of violin, mellotron and bass (strangely Bill Bruford doesn't play on this song though he is credited for the songwriting). "The Mincer" is another nice track - this time the prog parts really blend well with John Wetton's lyrics. The album ends with "Starless And Bible Black" and "Fracture", which really sound like Larks' tongues part I and II - one improv written by the whole band with lots of time changes and one Fripp-driven improv.

Rating: 64/100

It is useless, I give up. Every single record I hear from KC it is the best. I have been in love with them all. And this is no exception to the rule. From the saddest violin ever in "The Night Watch" (I used to be one when I was studying so I feel related to this particular song) to the crescendo in "Fracture" everything screams genius. Love Bruford and I am convinced Wetton had an excellent, excellent voice. And do not even let me started on Cross or we´ll never be done here. Excellent record.

As Sid Smith put it in his book "In The Court of King Crimson" (Helter Skelter, 2003), this album was recorded with Bruford's thought on the band's uncertainty to carry on without Muir, although this was quickly dispelled as Crimson began a punishing tour of UK, Europe and the States. [page 174]. Between mid-March and early July the new quartet played more than 60 gigs with only a few days off. At the end of the tour the band returned to the UK in December for some overdue Christmas R&R with family and loved ones and in January 1974 entered the Air studio to begin work on their first album as a quartet, almost exactly one year after the recording of "Lark's Tongue in Aspic".

The opening track "Great Deceiver" is a dynamic composition showing Fripp and Cross combined their work in an excellent way. The power of vocal by Wetton is also key contributing factor to the beauty of this song that later became the title of the compilation boxed set of 4 CDs (see my review on "The Great Deceiver at this site). "We'll Let You Know" sounds like improvisation work with tight bass lines by Wetton which brings the music moves in various styles. "The Night Watch" is a nice ballad with good melody and right balance. Other tracks like "Starless and Bible Black" are interesting ones to enjoy and they indicate the early King Crimson sound. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Interesting concept with this Crimson album, as half of the album is performed live in front of an audience (the same concert as the live release The Night Watch), and the other half performed in the studio. The live tracks on this album range from totally out there improvs (Starless and Bible Black) and impeccably structured songs (Fracture); regardless, this is probably the weakest album of the Wetton/Bruford era of the group. The members of the bands are great (as always) on this album, with Wetton giving great vocal performances and incredibly tasteful bass performances, Bruford going off in his own world of complex and lush drumming, Cross creating sorrowful lines on his violin and mellotron, and Fripp, who brings all of it together, with his endlessly complicated and intricate playing. It all adds up to a recipe of success. But is this album I success?

Unfortunately, there are many strengths to this album, but there are also some weaknesses. Lament is an overall weak tune, with a bland intro and a somewhat unispired middle section. We'll Let You Know and The Mincer are also pretty forgettable instrumentals, despite the excellent performances from the band. However, those songs comprise of less than half the album. So let me tell you about the strong tracks.

The Great Deceiver is the opener to the album, with a strong opening riff that is really heavy for its time. A memorable chorus and a strong bass performance from Wetton top off the track. The Night Watch appears after Lament and We'll Let You Know, and it's one of the most beautiful pieces the group had created at that time (with only Exiles being ahead of it). The great mellotron work from Cross is augmented brilliantly from a great guitar line during the instrumental breaks from Fripp. Easily one of the best on the album. Trio is one of the two completely improvisational works on the album. It's amazing how intuitive the group is, because this song sounds like in no way, shape, or form, an improv. Every musician performances couples perfectly with everyone elses to make a truly enjoyable experience.

Starless and Bible Black is the second true improvisational track on the album, and it really is strong. The drumming on this track is also notable, with Bruford really going all out on this track. The guitar from Fripp is also utterly superb. Speaking of superb guitar from Fripp, Fracture totally takes his playing to the next level. Words cannot describe how utterly complicated the guitar playing on Fracture is, it's just so, unbelievably difficult to play those dissonant lines that are played all around the fretboard in such a quick sequence. Fripp really is one of the greatest guitarists of all time because he can play songs as complicated as this. Wetton, Bruford, and Cross help him out all along the way, with strong performances from all of them as well.

Well, musically, this album is hit and miss. Vocally, this album is hit and miss. But despite these faults, there is a lot to like about this album. If you are a guitarist, or any musician as a matter of fact, you should get this album because you will be blown away by some incredibly talented (an understatement) musicians. For me, I liked this album, but I wouldn't call it a masterpiece such as Red or Discipline. It's a good album. 3.5/5.

What a fantastic record! Who writed that it isn't enjoyable to listen? It is true that it might take you long time before getting in this precious work, and that listener needs to be prepared good for listening this masterpiece. King Crimson is so interesting and chalenging because this fact. Composition Fracture really impresed me deep. Very inteligent work, masterpiece of progressive rock instrumentals. I must admit that Lament is my least favourite King Crimson song, but it is setled in good place, in this fantastic album. Here we got many nice and powerful rock playing, excelent and strong guitar, not to mention the best bass of all times! Fripp makes really crazy powerfull sound here, and bass is strong and the best of all King Crimson albums. Weird tracks structure makes me even more on this. That is what innovative music should be:weird and beautiful. Really unique combination of guitar-bass-drums action with not even one weak minute. Just be sure your volume is high while listening this!

As previous reviewers wrote, it seems that some songs in this album were recorded live in concert, but the band mixed out the sounds of the audience, added overdubs in the studio and released the songs as part of their new "studio" album.

"The Great Deceiver" has interesting things, like a very good violin and guitar. Wetton sings lead and backing vocals.

"Lament" has good lyrics about the music bussiness, and it is more heavy than the previous song.

"We`ll Let You Know" is an instrumental improvisation which I like.

"The Night Watch" is a ballad with a good instrumental introduction, good guitars by Fripp, and again all vocals by Wetton. It is the best song in this album, IMO.

"Trio" is a peaceful instumental song without drums. Curiously, Bruford had a songwriting credit despite not playing in this song.

"The Mincer" sounds like another improvisation with few vocals and lyrics, and it sounds at the end like the tape was finished without the song being totally recorded.

"Starless and Bible Black" is another instrumental improvisation without much form until the end.

"Fracture" is credited as be composed only by Fripp, and it seems like the song had a clear structure prior to be played. It is a "neurotic" instrumental song, heavy in some parts, with Bruford playing tuned percussion. It is very good piece of music which at the end has a climax. One of the best instumental songs played by this line-up of King Crimson.

Soon after the release of Larks' Tongues in Aspic percussionist Jamie Muir departed from King Crimson to pursue a different, non-musical career. This, in turn reduced the band to four members, Robert Fripp, David Cross, John Wetton and Bill Bruford. Jamie Muir defiantly left an impression on the band as Bill Bruford adopted his style of using strange, assorted percussive objects which range from a bow-saw to pistachio nut shells. For some reason I don't find Starless and Bible Black as interesting as a majority of King Crimson's classic albums. I guess its because a lot of this album is inconsequential and almost inaudible instrumental songs in which nothing really happens. Many people will disagree with me on that.

There are one or two very good songs here, and The Night watch is the first to come to mind. It begins with a quiet violin theme which erupts into a big crescendo. Some of the lyrics are spoken which effectively makes it a rap. The Night watch is easily the best song on Starless and Bible Black, just take on listen and compare it to the rest of the album. Lament is another highlight and the song is basically a crescendo, as the opening starts of quiet but with intensity and then erupts and gets louder and louder. The Great Deceiver goes down with me as one of the strangest King Crimson songs; it's so different to the rest of Starless and Bible Black. The rest of the album is essentially instrumental and the second half of the album features nothing which particularly stands out.

David Cross's violin plays a major part in Starless and Bible Black and he seems to almost overshadow Robert Fripp. In some of the instrumentals the interplay between the band is incredible, even if a bit boring. Bill Bruford is at his peak here and some of the percussion rhythm is amazing, it makes me wonder how he is capable of being fast enough to keep up, the whole band is amazingly talented.

1. The great deceiver (3/5) 2. Lament (4/5) 3. We'll let you know (3/5) 4. The night watch (5/5) 5. Trio (3/5) 6. The mincer (3/5) 7. Starless and bible black (3/5) 8. Fracture (3/5)

Total = 27 divided by 8 = 3.375 = 3 stars Good, but non-essential

Starless and Bible Black is an essential album for any self-respecting King Crimson fan and if you enjoy instrumental music then this stuff is for you. Also, Starless and Bible Black is one of the few progressive albums where the violin is used constantly, and as lead instrument tied together with the guitar. I'd recommend Larks' Tongues in Aspic over Starless and Bible Black as it is, in my opinion a more advanced version of Starless and Bible Black.

Starless and Bible Black, the second album by the famous 73-75 King Crimson line-up, is divided into two distinct parts. Some songs are recorded from studio work and some are coming from live improvisations. The recording of five live improvisations for a studio album was meant to make a controversial work. Indeed, it became a controversial album.

Fist, I have to point out the incredible musicianship and musical talent that those guys display in this album. Fracture, which is a improv piece doesn't even sound like it was improvised. The bass and drums playing is basically perfect in every song. Fripp is in top shape and Cross's is fairly present. That said, let's move on to the actual review of the songs.

The album opener, The Great Deceiver is a superb rocking piece from King Crimson with an awesome riff and weird lyrics. It is one of my favorite King Crimson all-out rocking track. Then, we have Lament which is a good slow song that gets more interesting as it progresses. However, at the end, it gets really interesting (it turns out heavy) but then comes a really abrupt end which turns into an interesting but not very enjoyable jam they named We'll let you know. The Night Watch is next. This song is excellent I must say. It's a guitar-driven slow song with great vocals and a wonderful guitar solo. Yet another set of impovisations follows. This time, we get three of them. Trio and the Mincer are two improvs that doesn't get anywhere in my opinion. Soma parts of Trio are beautiful and mellow but as a whole, those tracks aren't really interesting. Plus, the Mincer's end happens so abruptly that it ruins the whole song. It looks like the tape ran out or something. Finally, we get an interesting atmospherical improvisation and that is Starless and Bible Black. This song creates an uneasy atmosphere and it succeeds very well. No matter how much I think that the improvisations kinda ruined the album in some parts, my favorite song on Starless and Bible Black is an improv. I'm talking about Fracture. This marvelous musical progression is fabulous and demonstrate Fripp's talent like a few other King Crimson songs. That song is essential.

What bugs me about this album is that it's partly an ambient album and partly a rock album. If it was meant to be an ambient album from start to finish, I wouldn't have been so hard on the improvs because they provide good atmospheres but, since there are also clearly not ambient tracks on there, I cannot overlook the fact that the album is uneven. Still, I recommend to have a listen to those live jams at great volume alone in the dark. It's a cool experience. 3 stars for this uneven but still good King Crimson effort.

-Bern

Starless and bible black is a great king crimson album. It really captures the experimental side of the group at that time. Several of the tracks are seemingly spontaneous, but in an interesting way. The first track is loud and obnoxious, catapulting the listener right into the album. After that, the lights dim for the tale of a jaded rockstar. Soon, the lights give way to darkness...and then...bible black. Some very dark music here. You'll find yourself in some very sinister music, very dark, very cool! It's a very 'journey to the unknown' type album. One slight problem is a couple of abrupt endings to songs. Those are easily ignored though. This isn't quite as good as larks' tongues though, but it's definitly essential to any crimson discography. Not a good starting point to hear crimson, but a fine album nonetheless. I give it 4 stars, only because it's good, but i've heard better from them.

It's an impressive feat for a band to release two masterpieces in an entire career. To release two masterpieces back-to-back is even more amazing. But to release two masterpieces in a single year (!) is something that only King Crimson could do.

I bought this album with trepidation, hearing that it wasn't as good as the excellent "Larks' Tongues" album, or the astonishing "Red" album. After I had given it two spins, I was astonished. THIS was the weak Wetton-era album? Ha. This album is now fighting with Red to be my second favorite progressive rock album ever (nothing beats Thick as a Brick), and I'm pretty sure that it's winning.

The opening track was a hell of a surprise at first. The title of the album, for some reason, evoked feelings of melancholy, and of sadness. The Great Deceiver snapped me out of that in a hurry. Bizarre tempos, and silly lyrics are icing on this excellent rocker.

Lament may be the most underrated Crimson song ever. It's soft, it's heavy, Wetton's singing is great for a change, and Fripp and Co. are once again excellent.

Tracks 3-7 are mostly jams. With the exception of the title track, they are short enough, and varied enough to sustain interest. We'll Let You Know and The Night Watch are especially great.

The album closes in amazing fashion with Fracture. Wow. I really can't describe this track well enough to do it justice. It's heavy, it's beautiful, and it's scary. Much like the entire album.

In conclusion, if you like Wetton-era Crimson, you probably have this already. Crimson's heavy side has never sounded better. Easy 5/5.

This Crimson album is right between two greats, and as we all know, theses in-between albums are more often than not overlooked. Here's a perfectly ligament review: I can't really consider it a great album. It's sloppy and very forced. The member seemed strained, as they are all trying their hardest to make this album work but it just falls short. The writing is dry and uninspired at times. But the opening and closing tracks are fantastic, so it's not all bad. That is very true for some people who hear this album, but unfortunately, it is a mildly close-minded way to listen to the album. If you look passed the unorthodox song structure and composition style that is only the surface, you will see that below there is a a most mature sounding album: an extremely slow but rewarding experience therein. Though sound quality and production and sub-par, the music is wholly unique, and moves with a power not even Crimson has reached before. The jazzy upbeat sections balance with the eerie darker sections, the powerful aggressive segments, the serene beautiful moments, and the epic grand finale. Every fan of slow and free-form jazz should own this album: as it is a very close cousin to that style of music. This album should probably be bought after other more important releases (ITCOTCK, Larks' Tongues, Red), and even still should be scrutinized with care. This is a very high 3 star rating!

When "Starless and Bible Black" was originally released in 1974 it was not readily apparent that six of the eight tracks on the album were performed live in concert. Robert Fripp has long maintained that King Crimson was a "monstrous live creature" and that this particular incarnation relied upon improvisation as if it were the band's own "life's blood". Now, with the benefit of almost twenty-five years of hindsight, this album proves Mr. Fripp was correct as to both counts.

After the release of the King Crimson recordings "The Great Deceiver" in 1992 and "The Nightwatch" in 1997 we now know that no less than four songs on this album ("We'll Let You Know", "Trio", "the Mincer" and "Starless and Bible Black") were either improvised completely "off the cuff" or based upon loose compositional themes. We also know that "The Night Watch", "Trio", "Starless and Bible Black" and "Fracture" were recorded at the famous Amsterdam Concertgebouw show of November 23, 1973. The live tracks were later modestly enhanced in the studio to good effect for the album. "The Mincer" received the overdubbed vocals of John Wetton. "The Night Watch", which suffered a meltdown live, received overdubbed guitar, violin and mellotron parts. "Fracture" received a violin line in its middle section.

Each of the live improvised tracks on this album demonstrate the full mastery that this particular incarnation of King Crimson had achieved in improvising as as a form of musical expression. The transformation that King Crimson had made in just a little over a year forces comarisons to such acts as Captain Beefheart's Magic Band and The Mothers of Invention rather than their former prog brethren, Yes, Genesis, ELP and the like. When Crimson was improvising each member was listening to and playing off the leads of their bandmates. The two tracks that demonstrate this best are "We'll Let You Know" and "Trio". The quiet restrained "Trio" is actually "played" by Fripp, Cross and Wetton, however, Bill Bruford is given compositional credit even though he doesn't play a note. Later, Robert Fripp would describe Bruford's contribution as "admirable restraint", so as to underscore the principals that less is more and the simplest is the most difficult to discharge effectively.

The two studio tracks on the album, "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament" kick things off as the first two tracks on the album in typical fashion for Crimson. A loud, raucous cacophony of sound, mind bending time changes and abrupt stop/starts of sound and rhythm. The roaring opener lurches abruptly into "Lament" and it's modestly strummed guitar intro that is recorded at a modest decibel level. This doesn't last long and soon the decibel level rises abruptly and the sudden and abrupt time changes soon follow. All this in two tracks that last approximately four minutes each.

The opening section of "Lament" also effectively demonstrates Bill Bruford's new expanded approach to percussion, the large variety of percussion instruments he plays and the overall free technique he has adopted. This stands in stark contrast to his days in Yes when his role was more restained, composed and restricted to his drum kit.

The album's magnum opus is the Fripp penned "Fracture". The song is over eleven minutes long and has three major sections. The song is the perfect showpiece for Fripp's well known cross-picking technique, however, the contributions of each of the band members is crucial to the piece. In the two opening sections of the song the other band member's roles are more instrumentally restrained and in support of Fripp. The final section of the song features the entire band playing ithe main theme of the song in full ensemble strenth and at maximum volume. Once again, there are the requisite abrupt volume and time changes. Enough to keep the listener constantly adjusting the dial on the stereo.

Lyrics seem to be an afterthought with King Crimson, especially this particular incarnation. Only four of the album's eight tracks feature lyrics, penned by Richard Palmer-James, a friend of John Wetton's who was enlisted for the task. The lyrics do seem to mesh well to the music, though they seem a bit pretentious a times.

It is this reviewers opinion that King Crimson was and is one of the great live performing bands in all of Rock Music. The intense energy along with accomanying skill of musicianship demonstrated by this band has always been uncommon. It therefore follows that this album should be held in high regard, given the origins of the recorded material.

Four and one quarter stars rounded to four stars.

Just wing it.

What seems as a largely improvisational instrumental album is more or less just that. Because of this, Starless and Bible Black has its hits... and its misses.

The best of these themes is the title track itself, but unfortunately even it has it's mishaps. We don't really get rolling till the powerful bass line comes in about 4 minutes into the song, and then it seems almost entirely too short-lived. There's lots of experimentation and exploration throughout, which really shines in certain sections. Unfortunately, there are also parts where you wonder what exactly was the point of all this.

Lyrics are almost entirely absent, but if you are similar in taste to me, you'll know that I've never especially cared for lyrics much in the first place, and I view the vocals as another instrument to add to the music rather than a driving force. The absence of Muir from LTIA is noticeable as his presence would have really benefited this album.

As always Fripp and Co. possess mastery of their instruments and are able to make ordinary parts much more. However, this album does show a lack of consistency and solidness throughout that would be found on Red and LTIA.

They certainly took a different approach to this record with four of the tracks being improvised or having improvised sections, while half of the tracks were recorded live with the audience edited out. There is a "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" flavour to this album as well. Of their first six studio records I would rate this behind only "In The Court Of The Crimson King" and "Larks' Tongues In Aspic". Yes, I really like this one.

"The Great Deceiver" hits the ground running with violin and guitars, until it completely stops and the lyrics are spoken. Nice solo from Fripp during the last minute of the song. "Lament" opens with reserved vocals as mellotron and violin come in. The percussion is cool reminding me of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". Bruford also gives us some outstanding drumming and a good solo from Fripp 3 minutes in. "We'll Let You Know" is an instrumental that features different sounds peircing in and out throughout the song. There is some funky bass and drumming later in the song that create a melody.

"The Night Watch" has some faster paced vocals that remind me of GENESIS for some reason as well as mellotron and violin. Great tune ! "Trio" is an improv of bass,mellotron and violin. "The Mincer" features lots of mellotron and some amazing guitar melodies. "Starless And Bible Black" is another improv that works perfectly. This one is quite atmospheric to open and has some screaming guitar along with mellotron,percussion and various experimental noises. "Fracture" opens with guitar as heavy drums come in. There is a real frenzy 6 minutes in and at 8 minutes the sound is nice and heavy. This song builds beautifully to an explosive climax.

This is a must have for fans of progressive music. 4.5 stars. I'm bumping this up to 5 stars after getting the re-mixed and expanded version late in 2011 because it sounds amazing.

Easily King Crimson's most underrated album. After reading all the reviews here I picked it up with some trepidation and was shocked at how good it is. It has since become my favorite of the John Wetton era records. The Great Deceiver opens the album with a frenzied power not achieved by the band since 21st Century Schizoid Man. John Wetton's vocals are in extremely fine form here, as is his bass on We'll Let You Know. I realize that most of this album is improv, but oh what improv it is! The Night Watch is fantastic and Trio sounds like it was carefully composed. Amazing that they made it up off the top of their heads. Fracture is as good as everyone says it is, and the title track is slightly better than everyone says IT is. The only track that disappoints is The Mincer, but it's only a little bit below the excellence of the rest of the record. If you've been holding out on buying this one due to negative reviews, you should reconsider. You may be pleasantly surprised (like me.)

Not completely satisfied with the results they were getting in the studio, King Crimson decided to take some of their live recordings, remove all audience noises/responses and use those basic tracks as the foundation for five of the eight songs on this album. Only this band would do something radical like that and have it come out sounding as good as it does. Since there's no mention of this process on the LP cover, I wondered for decades how they had managed to get such a raw, in-the-moment atmosphere to surround this project and now, thanks to this site, I know. "Starless and Bible Black" is one of the group's most underrated efforts and I've never understood why that is because it's just so damned intriguing.

"The Great Deceiver" kicks the door down from the get go with its compressed, tightly- wound hard energy but then turns into anti-rock as soon as the unorthodox verse begins. Bassist John Wetton frantically sings twisted lines like "Health food faggot with a bartered bride/likes to comb his hair with a dipper ride," provided by lyricist Richard Palmer-James and you know you're in Crimson's wicked world immediately. As strange as the song may be the catchy chorus of "Cigarettes, Ice Cream, Figurines of the Virgin Mary" will stick to your brain like some kind of macabre nursery rhyme. "Lament" is next and it is one of their most engaging tunes ever. It's about a former rock idol looking back on his overnight success and the inevitable decline that followed. The melody is simple yet profound at the start, then the tune develops into something more dramatic. It's a song made up of different segments and ideas separated by a recurring musical sigh portrayed by an augmented guitar chord. In the end the singer has no regrets and has humbly accepted his reduced role in the rock and roll biz. "I like the way the music goes/there's a few good guys who can play it right/I like the way it moves my toes/just say when you want to go and dance all night." Exquisite. "We'll Let You Know" follows and the instrumental's deliberately slow buildup has always caused me to envision a disassembled robot pulling himself together piece by piece. It finally rises and takes a few clunky steps before his battery runs down. It's a great example of how these four musicians could work together on a very avant-garde experiment without ever stepping on each other's toes.

Speaking of imagery, to my seasoned ear the beginning of "The Night Watch" has always sounded like nostalgic music composed to accompany an old-time silent movie with its sad but beautiful melody. (The fact that it was recorded on stage only adds to its magic.) Inspired by Rembrandt's famous painting, Palmer-James' lyrics bring the master's art to life with lines like "The smell of paint, a flask of wine/and turn those faces all to me/the blunderbuss and halberd shaft/and Dutch respectability." The descriptive words, Wetton's restrained vocal delivery, Robert Fripp's tasteful guitar work and the reverent attitude of the group as a whole make this cut a true gem. Next, after an extremely long fade-in, you are treated to the sublime serenity that is "Trio." It features David Cross on violin and viola, Fripp on guitar and Mellotron and Wetton on bass. It's a musical glimpse of heaven and you owe it to yourself to hear it before you depart this mortal coil. I haven't mentioned the greatness of drummer Bill Bruford yet but he's been lurking just below the surface (except on the last tune, which he tactfully sat out). On "The Mincer" he opens the song with a cool, jazzy feel but then things start to wander a bit. For one thing there's no melody to speak of for several minutes as Robert's guitar and his "devices" create eerie sounds and effects seemingly at random. Suddenly John starts singing along with some three-part harmony and then the whole thing just abruptly stops. It's an odd duck of a tune, for sure.

The title song is a little over nine minutes in length and if you are patient and attentive in your listening you will be richly rewarded. After some airy layerings of guitar and keyboard sounds Bruford finally enters to establish a basic beat with the tambourine, then Wetton's bass starts kicking at the bars erratically like a caged beast. Bill's drums relieve the incredible tension as they corral the bass monster and initiate some serious funk underneath the guitar and Mellotron. It all winds down eventually with reluctant dying spasms as Cross' somber violin lays it to rest. "Fracture" is an aptly titled jazz rock/fusion piece that actually has an identifiable riff to follow but it's far from the normal two-step as it coasts along (for a while) in 6/4 time. The tune has a lot of starts and stops with Bruford even adding some rare percussive Vibes before David's fierce violin playing gives it a slight Mahavishnu Orchestra glow. After a quieter section that nearly lulls you to sleep Fripp's stark guitar awakens you rudely as they tumble into a rock beat and accompany an ascending melody that leads to a loose ending. If this were any other band the last two instrumental songs would be beyond comprehension but for King Crimson it's just another highly constructive day at the office. Er, studio. Er, stage. Whatever.

I used to wonder how Atlantic Records approached marketing these guys. The King Crimson dossier probably got handed down to whomever was the newest member of the staff in advertising as a "let's see what you can do with THIS, genius" welcome-to- the-club present. They never got played on the radio (except for their classic debut), they didn't appear on or host television concert shows and they sure as hell didn't care what some record executives thought they should or shouldn't be doing. What they did have was a horde of loyal fans that bought enough of their records to justify their contract year after year and that's why we have albums like "Starless and Bible Black" to ponder, decipher and contemplate till kingdom come. Thank God.

This is a tough album foir me to critique in that it has a few great songs on it, "The Great Deciever", "Lament", and especially "The Night Watch" are all top notch however the Crimson just seem to miss the mark on the instrumentals. Some of them take a little too long to develop in my opinion. The title track is a perfect example of this taking almost five minutes to really kick into anything that one can actually recognize. The musicianship as always is top notch and the riff in "The Great Deciever" is very cool as is the drumming in "Lament". These guys were consistently trying to push the envelope and for that this is an excellent addition to anyones prog collection but not the first Crimson album to start with. From this version of the band "Red" is still the best of their three releases.

Don't believe I am a masochist. It is true that KC is far from being a fave of mine. But in my reviewing process, I decided to review each band I picked up all the way through (in this case at least their studio albums, because it would really be too hard for me to review all their live and compilation ones). So, I have to go on like a Benedictine monk and do my job...

Loads of difficult improv work here. Worst being "We'll Let You Know" : this "song" is going nowhere. Really a PITA. "The Mincer" is of the same caliber : useless. "Lament" holds two sides of KC which are easily identifiable : a peaceful one and a noisy one. The balance being reached between the two.

One of my favourite track (there won't be many here) is, for obvious reasons, "The Night Watch" : a sublime melody with superb instrumental parts. Almost five minutes of pure joy.

My feeling about this band seems to follow the same scheme from their very beginning till this album (and probably for some more to come). While I just can't stand their noisy and improv side, I just love their melodic and symphonic one. How comes ? I don't know, but no other band provides me with this feeling.

"Trio" is another peaceful track, but could have been bombastic with a little more inspiration. This instrumental track is too repetitive to be interesting (or it should have been shortened by half). You can't hear anything from this before 1'40". This is not an isolated fact with KC, "Moonchild" was the first example and almost the whole of "Islands" was like that as well.

The album ends up with two long instrumental pieces. I would like Wetton to be more on the vocal side, since he definitely reminds me of Gregg Lake and my two preferred KC albums. The title track is pure experimental and hard to digest, I'm afraid. Nine long and boring minutes...

The longest and closing number "Fracture" is rather hypnotic. It has a catchy riff and is quite scary I must say. Reminds me a bit Van Der Graaf who also had this very dark side in several of their songs (although I prefer VDGG by far). It reminds me "Lizard" and its "Bolero" theme. The middle section is rather dull but the last three minutes are really great. Typical KC I would say.

I am not really charmed by this album. If, like me, you prefer KC's symphonic side, I suggest you to stick to their first two albums. Two stars.

BETWEEN TWO MASTERPIECES.

This album is often considered to be slightly weaker than LTIA and RED. I agree with this assessment as it is an album with a rawer edge, with tunes completely different from each other. The new hard-rocking side of King Crimson is even more developed than on LTIA with songs like THE GREAT DECEIVER or LAMENT and powerful vocals of mr Wetton. (cigarettes-ice cream, anyone?) On the other side, the band is starting to play experimental or improv. tunes that are not always easy to get into like the title track or'' we'll let you know''. K. Crimson was definitely not trying to have a ''hit'' with this album. They play what they wanted to play, not looking behind. I always was wondering what the marketing manager of the recording company could come up with to promote them. But as long as they were selling a lot of records....!

The only link to the past is this time the beautiful ''The Night Watch'' with a great violin intro. David Cross can be heard again with the sad sound of his instument in the magnificent little instrumental ''Trio''; such a beauty.

Jamie Muir is no longer on this album, but the rest of the band is the same than on LTIA. That's a first with King Crimson to keep the same musicians 2 albums in a row; will even be a third even if David Cross role will be reduced as a ''guest'' on RED.

The opus on this album is evidently the 11ms instrumental ''Fracture'' that is still to this day one of my 10 all time favorite pieces of music. Such power! no other prog band would ever sound so powerful IMO, than Crimson on such tracks. ''Fracture'' has everything that a prog fan wants; there is not one dull second on it. Such creativity and strength.

Not the best of the Wetton era, but still some amazing music, no one else could have come up with. Could have been 3.5 stars, but because of ''Fracture'' will be 4 stars.

Cigarettes, Ice Cream, Figurines of the Virgin Mary

A heavy, improvised album from the classic King Crimson line-up of the '70s It is also the hardest to appreciate as it is between two great albums, Larks' Tongues In Aspic and Red. Most of the tracks were recorded live and then some of them were fixed up later in the studio (such as The Night Watch). The first two tracks (The Great Deceiver, Lament) are the only songs to be recorded totally in the studio.

Only four of the 8 tracks have lyrics in them, and they are sung well by John Wetton who's voice is a perfect match for the music and the lyrics. The lyrics were written by Richard Palmer-James (who is the Richard Palmer who started Supertramp and wrote most of the songs for the debut). The lyrics for The Great Deceiver and Lament are satirical commentaries on religion and the music industry, respectively, while The Night Watch is about Rembrandt's painting of the same name and brings it to life.

Musically this album is brilliant, a godsend. The live recordings give the music a breath of life, capturing the intensity and heaviness of the band while the editing out of the crowd's sounds and applause makes this a timeless masterpiece as it is not grouped with one spot in time in the '70s but allows it to revive itself with each listen. It is a mix of heavy improvisation (Starless and Bible Black, Fracture) and melodic/symphonic prog rock (The Night Watch, Trio). The last song, Fracture is the longest track and the best track with its awesome heavy inspiration typical of this King Crimson era.

The only track that is mediocre and ensures that this is a 4 star rating instead of a 5 star is The Mincer. It has an okay start, and a great middle section - oh the improvisation!- , but after Wetton's vocals, it just abruptly ends and leaves the listener wanting for more. If there was an ending for this song than the track would still be lacking because of the shortness of it. The music improvisation that is present is not given enough time to expand and the music takes the band no where.

All in all this is a great album. All the tracks are good ones, with the exception of The Mincer. It is the hardest out of all the Wetton/Bruford era King Crimson albums to get into but once you do it is awesome. Give yourself time to appreciate and get used to the album over the course of about a week (I did this during a week when I had no school along with Soft Machine's Third). This is a great album and worth getting. My favourite tracks are The Great Deceiver, We'll Let You Know, The Night Watch, and finally the best track on the album, Fracture. 4/5 stars.

Also some of the improvisation tracks, if you listen very carefully during when it gets intense such as 8 minutes 26 seconds into Fracture and 3 minutes into We'll Let You Know you can hear a "Whoop!" or a "Yeah!" from one of the band members (I bet it is not Fripp though) as it is really awesome music around that time.

First of all I must say that I am a fan of the first KC albums , but this album changed it for me. Listening to this album is just a great adventure. It's full of relaxing images. It's a perfect mix of powerful song like The Great Deceiver or Lament, and incredibly melodic compositions like The Night Watch or Trio. If I had to choose just one album of King Crimson to bring with me on a desert island, Starless would be the one.

An uneven one, which has both masterpieces (“Fracture” and “The Night Watch”) and rather pointless stuff (improvisations). Again, as with my “Moonchild” complaints, I understand and appreciate KC experiments, but I think they should belong to certain albums. This material should have been released as a live record, while other tracks should have been in “Red”. Never mind – we can’t change it now. Enjoy it the way it is (though it isn’t the best 73-74 album).

An exciting mix of straightforwardish rock (with plenty of KC flair) and slow building instrumentals which makes for good listening every time. The tone and moods the quartet give us here are dark, eerie and sanity-draining, with a welcome increase of guitar experimentation from Fripp doing wonders to increase the dynamics laid down by Bruford's always great drumming and Wetton's unique guitar; the violin is smartly incorporated throughout as well. "Starless and Bible Black" is almost as good as its predecessor, and has a lot for attentive listeners to discover.

Let the experimentation continue.

Actually, on second thought, maybe not. Starless and Bible Black for the most part disregards many of the aspects of music that I really enjoy: structure, melody, and harmony. Despite this, I still enjoy this album every once in a while, as it serves as a nice counterpoint whenever I get burned out by my favorites. Other than that, there's not much on this record to keep me coming back very often.

The Great Deceiver, Lament. Crimson let you know right off the bat that they are not going to conform to any expecations, with absolutely bizarre and irreverent lyrics, as well as alternating blasts of guitar, bass and drum cacophonies and low volume sections. Wetton's voice seems much more appropriate here compared to Larks Tongues in Aspic, and he even lets loose some wails reminiscent of Greg Lake.

We'll Let You Know, The Mincer. These are the (mostly) instrumental tunes that feature some interesting tones and textures, and even rock a bit in places. Abrupt and quirky, they are notable more for their uniqueness than quality.

The Night Watch, Trio. Here Crimson actually attempt a bit of contemplative melody, the former a mellow vocal piece with captivating lyrics, and the latter a rather boring, simplistic improv tune.

Starless and Bible Black, Fracture. Finally, the album closes with two extended improv tracks. The title track is quite forgettable, with boring minutes of lead-in and die-down that surround about 4-5 minutes of actual interesting music. Fortunately, the final track is an absolute monster. Here Crimson deliver some gruesome and haunting melody and tones for the first two thirds, building intensity throughout. Then the final 4 minutes arrive, and you should prepare for your head to explode and face to melt. This is the only Crimson improv piece that really moves me, but boy does it ever!

Worth owning just for Fracture, and little else, unless you really enjoy improvisational music or need something much different from what you are normally exposed to. I may not enjoy all of it, but I certainly can appreciate it, if that makes sense.

Well, the lineup issues continue again, as King Crimson had yet to produce back to back albums with the same lineup. This time, the change is in the loss of percussion specialist Jamie Muir, who left for his newfound Buddhist beliefs. He was a big part of the music and overall feel on "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" with his many instruments. As a result of his absence, that feel is missing on "Sarless and Bible Black". However, the other four are back and back in top form. Bruford's drums are complex as ever and Wetton again proves his bass is excellent. The same thing goes for Cross. For the guitar work, Fripp is just getting more and more out there. That's not a bad thing either!

This is a more heavy album than its predecessor. It is very improv and jam-based as most of it was recorded live and edited later. Most of the tracks are very good, but my highlights are "The Night Watch", "Trio", the title track, and "Fracture". "The Night Watch" and "Trio" are very light and delicate, while the title track and "Fracture" are very dark and complex. Overall, this is a good album. It is kind of held back in my mind due to the other tracks which are relatively weaker (still good). The four longest songs are the best, though. 3.5 stars.

My review echoes what many others have already stated: Starless & BB is a disappointing follow-up to LTIA.

By my count there is one 5-star song on this: The Night Watch, which is incredibly melodic and diverse, with it's shimmering opening, thoughtful lyrics, a great Fripp guitar solo. It's also readily accessible, which some may view as a minus, but for me, really, I'm thinking this is one of the finest songs KC has recorded.

Great Deceiver and Trio are both pretty good songs, but the rest of the album just doesn't seem to go anywhere, save for the latter half of Fracture.

I love Great Deceiver's lyrics, the refrain of which is apparently a catalogue of things which people take solace in, only to eventually suffer because of said solace: cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the Virgin Mary. And of course the song, being a rhythmic monster, is a classic KC opening track.

But in the end, there's a bit too much meandering jamming here for my tastes. Obviously KC fans will either already have this album or want to get it -- you wouldn't want to be without The Night Watch -- but for everyone else it can go pretty low on your list of must-have albums.

Ah, Starless and Bible Black!!! This is indeed a dark carnival of King Crimson's strangest musical wanderings. Nothing bars the King from their experimentation, not the constraints of sensible lyrics, or of the "let's take turns" principle of soloing! Indeed it is a dense album.

I love it all the same, because it strikes into the difficult and dark territory that "Larks Tongues in Aspic" touched upon without fully exploring. The title of this album is perfectly fitting, as this is some of Krim's darkest and most incomprehensible music. Even the soft and sweet sections ("The Night Watch" and "Trio") seem to be coming at you from utter blackness. "The Night Watch" conjures images of stars in a night sky in those first soft washes of percussion, and "Trio" seems to suggest a fragile dawn after an infinite nighttime.

As for the rest of the album, the emotions explored in the music are ones of fear, paranoia, even rage. The music, even at it's most bare and stripped down state, is unrelenting and immersive.

In conclusion, if you pick up Starless and Bible Black, you might be in for a challenge. This is not one for people who are shy in the face of experimentation.

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.

A tough one to assess and at times a tough one to absorb, Starless and Bible Black starts very strangely, abruptly and belligerently on "The Great Deceiver" with the band playing loudly, aggressively and frantically fast before suddenly stopping on a dime as John Wetton's bass leads the way before his vocals begin with a startling "Health food faggot..." It is a real "in your face" kind of moment. The overall feel of this song is at this moment is almost punk. The effect is driven home greatly by Wetton's sometimes raspy and simultaneously thin voice and the twisted lyrics of Robert Palmer-James. The song moves through tremendous syncopated bass and drum work by Wetton and Bruford, with Fripp's highly distorted guitar and Cross' string embellishments rounding out the opener. The next piece, "Lament", is considerably slower at its start, with a sweetness and sadness in Wetton's voice and Cross' soft strings in the backgound, then in the middle, out of nowhere comes this wild funky baseline by Wetton, followed shortly afterward with a few timely explosions from Bruford and then a couple of electrifyingly colorful and dissonant cords by Fripp before moving rapidly into a ascending and descending chromatic maelstrom with Billy's tight, almost militaristic drumming in the background and with Wetton's highly charged (almost screaming) vocals in the front. Then, those highly colored chords by Fripp again, followed by a really hard driving repeating guitar line that stops as abruptly as it began leaving you with the feeling that the floor is about to drop out under your feet. It's sick. "We'll Let You Know" is a fascinating little jam that features some of Wetton's most distinctive bass guitar work on record. The overall feel of the piece is that of a sort of hornless funky jazz-- it's really not rock in the sense that I understand rock music but this in no way detracts from the fact that the musicianship is solid. It is obvious in listening to this piece that the players are in a jazz mindset, listening intently to and truly feeling the play of the other members of the band and allowing that to influence their own play. "The Night Watch" is a classically-influenced little song with lovely singing by Wetton... some of his best and with some understated bass guitar by him as well. Fripp's electric guitar plays lyrically and about as beautifully on this piece as I've ever heard it. "Trio" is another slower one and an instrumental on which Cross' high violin and Fripp's toys shine, with Wetton providing a gentle and melodious bass in the background highlightling his tremendous sense of dynamic and harmonic sensibility and taste. This is an understated masterpiece. "The Mincer" is a bizarre little experimental instrumental piece that includes some really unusual textural effects. The muffled bass line by Wetton in the last few seconds at the end (and which ends abruptly) is really provocative. The piece sounds as if it is ending where it might really be just beginning, leaving the rest to the imagination of the listener. Next, "Starless and Bible Black" a lengthy experiment featuring eery violin effects by Cross, twisted chromatic guitar lines by Fripp, a varied palette of bass approaches by Wetton with Bruford, through his refined percussion skills, keeping the unit finely tethered to Earth. It is an improvisational piece with remarkable interplay among the band. "Fracture" stands as one of the greatest single pieces of improvised music in the entire progressive rock literature. It is so together, in terms of the collective interplay among the bandmembers, that it sounds composed. It starts with a repeating chromatic/modal theme that is expanded gradually by Fripp, with a growling/droning bass added by Wetton and viola colorations by Cross. Fripp's rapidfire picking and coloration is a tour de force. Cross' viola work and Wetton's insistent and increasingly urgent bass establish a palpable tension before it all explodes. It is an absolute work of genius. WARNING: THIS RECORD CONTAINS SOME OF THE BEST EXPERIMENTAL PROGRESSIVE ROCK EVER RECORDED. IF YOU APPROACH THIS RECORDING FROM PERSPECTIVE OF CASUAL LISTENING, YOU WILL BE UNFULFILLED, PUT OFF AND CONFUSED. THIS IS A RECORDING THAT IS UNUSUALLY DEMANDING ON THE LISTENER. IT REQUIRES ONE HUNDRED PERCENT FOCUS ON THE MUSIC AND ON NOTHING BUT THE MUSIC. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL INEVITABLY RESULT IN LESS THAN OPTIMAL IMPACT WITH AN OPINION COLORED BY AND DISTORTED BY YOUR INATTENTION TO THE DETAILS. IT ALSO REQUIRES REPEATED LISTENING AS SUBTLETIES AND NUANCES WILL APPEAR ON REPEAT LISTENINGS THAT YOU DID NOT APPRECIATE PREVIOUSLY. REPEATED LISTENINGS ALSO REQUIRE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT FOCUS.

The previous larks tongue was the start of the real metal,jazzy side of King Crimson. And Starless and Bible Black is the second album of the Wetton era. Many reviews i read thought this was a let down after the great Larks Tongues in Aspic. But King Crimson always do something different from the last album. It seems with this lineup Fripp wanted to give Crimson a more experimental metal sound, and did it turn out great. Some of my favorites on this album are Lament which is more mellow crimson track with delicate vocals from wetton. Other faves are Trio, The night Watch, are all kind of similar to each other. The last two tracks are the highlights of the album, Starless and Bible Black , and Fracture. Two heavy Crimson tracks with great guitar work from Robert Fripp. Another good King Crimson album, this was the best lineup of crimson in my book. This era of King Crimson has had a big influence on bands like The Mars Volta and TOOL. 4 stars for Starless and Bible Bible, a good follow up to larks tongue, not a masterpiece

There's no mistaking seventies King Crimson; one of the most original and inventive of all the Progressive Rock bands, they sound like no one else with their fractured (no pun intended) rhythmic structures, some of the heaviest Guitars ever committed to tape mixing with the more quiet restrained yet often unsettling parts. Released between Larks' Tongues in Aspic and Red, Starless and Bible Black is however somewhat of a disappointment.

The album starts off well enough with The Great Deceiver, a powerful opener which in only four minutes still contains many twists and turns. Lament is also pretty good; starting off quietly with a chiming Robert Fripp Guitar and John Wetton Vocal the song turns out to be another noisy piece and particular praise goes to the always rhythmically inventive Bill Bruford.

We'll Let You Know, an instrumental, although interesting sounds unfinished and comes across as little more than a studio jam. The Night Watch, a very laid back piece sounds more complete but is not particularly interesting. Trio, also an instrumental is another quiet piece, Bruford totally absent and is a pleasant interlude to the bands more abstract moments. The Mincer is perhaps the least satisfying of all, again a little directionless.

After the six shorter pieces of side one of the original LP version the flip side is divided into just two instrumental tracks. First up is the title track which from a quiet start slowly builds to a loud peak but once again is somewhat directionless. More satisfying is Fracture which would not have sounded out of place on their follow up album Red. A dark and brooding piece with much use of light and shade it explodes into a fantastic Fripp riff towards the end with the full band following in his wake.

So while Starless and Bible Black contains moments of greatness they are too few and far between for it to be a fantastic album and hence the three star rating.

Don't let 'em fool you. The many improvisations that'll be found on this album (usually slightly embellished in the studio) do not make it inferior, because they're all first rate. When you put Fripp, Wetton, Bruford and Cross together on a stage, sparks did not necessarily fly, but this album captures moments when they did. No, the most serious problem with STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK is that 'a heap of fascinating snippets do not an album make'. There's a disjointed feel to the thing. Now that most of the same music can be heard in its original context (and unembellished) on superior live albums such as THE NIGHT WATCH (Live in Amsterdam) and THE GREAT DECEIVER (4-CD live box set), I'd advise new fans to go for those TRUE live versions straightaway.

However, I understand many of you will still be interested in STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK. You may want to know in what format this music was originally released. So if you insist on getting the album, let me just tell you this: I can't think of any Crimso ballad that's lovelier than 'The Nightwatch'; there's probably no Crimso improv lovelier than 'Trio'; and as for 'Fracture', well, that's ominous, high-class instrumental prog with an orchestral feel, which (in my view) surpasses the middle section of '20st Century Schizoid Man'.

Did you ever long for a four-man rock band who - occasionally - seem to equal (in symphonic power) the Concertgebouw Orchestra or the Berlin Phil? Well here they are.

OK, this is one of those albums that many people will listen to and then back slowly out of the room maintaining eye contact. Personally I'm the guy in the background tearing away down the garden path screaming like a demented victim from an HP Lovecraft story.

On the plsu side, the opening track has the sort of sound that you think Aerosmith listened to and said; Hey if we play this a bit slower and rock ti up we're really on to something. We'll let you know grants us a little respite by being uite rhythmical and uplifting. The night watch is a genuinely touching ballad. Trio is hardly Lark Ascending but the violin is soothing and melodic. A world away from the prolific fiddle playing common in the prog folk genre.

However, I totally fail to get the second side if this album. Fracture is a welcome realease from the aimless jangling of the title track and you are lulled into a sense of thinking it is a pretty decent track, but then it's all about context.

A must for KC collectors. Definitely not my cup of tea but the middle tracks of the first side raise it up to 3 stars. Although in all honesty if it wasn't King Crimson I would surely give it 2.

This album is basically a live album. As a live album, it deserves 5 stars easily, but it isn't so great as a studio album. As such, this album is a good introduction to live king crimson. As most jazz oriented folks could tell you, improv and studio are 2 completely different beasts. An improv is an organic piece. You are being given permission to look into the minds of the musicians to a degree, to get to know them. You get to obsess over how they speak to each other musically. You are struck by how brilliant they are on the spot. Unfortunately, many prog fans don't understand improv that well. They understand classical music, but might perhaps balk at a contemporary free jazz recording. For those types of prog fans, this album is not recommended.

The parts that aren't completely improvised give themselves by their brilliance. For example, the introduction to the night watch, might be one of King Crimson's greatest moments. The most structured songs on this album fit improvisation into them, and not just the solos. Sometimes, during a verse, Robert Fripp will improvise a background touch to the atmosphere. The parts that are improvised should please any jazz fans. The first 2 tracks are heavier, and are very popular among reviewers of this album. They are my least 2 favorite tracks. Catchy and fun, they lack the subtle brilliance of the later tracks. The third is very nice, but might be the weakest improv. This was taken from a set, so one can imagine they are still warming up their improv chops. The night watch, as aforementioned, has a great intro, utterly beautiful, and then breaks into a song which is great. However, the beauty notch hits its peak during trio. It is an improv, in which Bruford had the restraint to not play a single note. Violin, bass, and guitar combine to make a sort of classical sounding piece. Mincer is pretty creative, and features some odd guitar work. By this point Fripp is a demon on the guitar. It cuts out in the middle from a bad tape. Too bad, as it was so cohesive and creative. Finally, we enter the title track. It is a 9 minute improv, and shows them at their best improv-wise. It starts soft and features creative percussion, and then it builds up, before breaking and dropping back down. It is a truly great song. The final song is the infamous fracture. It is a technical tour-de-force for Robert Fripp. It is a whole tone based song, with a repeating chorus, and a build up among a theme where Fripp plays a manically fast cross string pattern requiring utter concentration, because it is the sort of thing where one wrong note could end the song. The cross-string pattern almost sounds like 2 parts at once. It is a sort of prototype to the sort of interlocking dual guitar parts of disclipine, but on one guitar, thus less complex but more impressive for Robert Fripp. Finally, the song breaks into a sort of speed metal climax. Way heavier and faster then the things bands like Black Sabbath and Judas priest were releasing around the time. Then, it repeats the theme at a more aggressive level, and picks up more and more speed until it hits a typical King Crimson conclusion (you know, bombastic, triumphant chords, ect).

This album might be worth 5 stars, or 4 stars, depending on whether you like live music. I'll give it 5 stars but stress that it isn't for everyone.

I love the dark fracutred second side of this album. The title track is both scary and funky. It's like Sun Ra, Funkadelic, and mid 70s Miles went into the future and combined forces with some of the more aggresive post rock bands like Slint, and added a hint of East Asian music. Of course this album prefigures some of the more experimental post rock, but does it with an interest in maintaining a groove and creating atmosphere over look at me math rock histrionics. I am grossly over genralizng, of course.

For me, this album represents the true spirit of progressive music.

It's been fun reacquainting with two old Crimson titles the last few months but the experiences have been decidedly different. Whereas "Lizard" was a joy all over again and a masterpiece in my eyes, "Starless" by contrast is emotionally indifferent and a tedious slog for repeated play. It's not that the album doesn't have some cool moments, it really does and I appreciate them. But there is an underlying coldness to the playing, a seeming diabolical impulse to reign in any sort of heart before it explodes into anything fun. Fripp has that old story about how he lured Bruford into the fold by saying it was time for him to play some "real music." Well sorry Bob, but as hard as they work to make this a happening album I keep having to ask myself why I should care about the "Cigarettes Ice Cream" Crimson when from the same time period I could be playing Relayer. I love improv and experimentation as much as the next guy but does it have to be so dry? Fripp can diss Yes all he likes but Yes had great heart.

"Trio" is a lovely meditation without drumming that is a rare pastoral breather in the often sharp, imposing atmospheres of Starless. The other gem for me is "The Night Watch" which combines the Crimson sound with just a bit more buttery aftertaste than the hardass stuff. A nice welling up of guitar, cymbals, and violin lead to a wistful vocal accented by Fripp's harmonics. Then comes a lead guitar line with some heart and a decent solo as well, for a moment you feel some warmth. And there you have it. The last 3 tracks are 25 minutes of straight, unflinching improvisation that will either thrill you or have you reaching for your pistol. Whether Starless is a success to you will depend on these songs. To my ear there is plenty of musical bravery on hand but not enough musical joy.

The album had it supporters when it emerged. This blurb is from Rolling Stone's Gordon Fletcher from June 1974: "They've taken the disjointed pieces of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, infused them with some life, and woven them into a package as stunningly powerful as In the Court of the Crimson King. The material relies on instrumental interaction, with Crimson now intent on exploring some of the frontiers charted by Yes. The Great Deceiver rocks out almost as maniacally as did 21st Century Schizoid Man, showing that where Yes would marvel at the world, Crimson prefers to grab it by the balls. But with Trio Crimson demonstrates that it's capable of maintaining the balance between aggression and introspection, using the juxtaposition of viola and mellotron-flute tape to evoke a hauntingly blissful serenity. The two lengthy instrumental passages that comprise Side Two of Starless and Bible Black show Crimson at its best, relaxing into lengthy improvisational patterns that spotlight the virtuosity of each member. The ease with which these moves are carried off indicates that Fripp has finally assembled the band of his dreams." [Gordon Fletcher, Rolling Stone, June 1974] More recently Brandon Wu at Ground and Sky put it another way in a few sentences from his review: "Not a good introduction to the band's work, but still an essential release for fans. I read somewhere something akin to this description, which is perfect: If Starless and Bible Black does not quite succeed, it is one of the most spectacular failures I've ever heard. [Brandon Wu, Ground and Sky]

Starless is not a bad album but I do not feel it is a masterpiece either. The first two tracks are throwaway and while some of the instrumental mayhem is choice other sections are as much fun as a root canal. This is the Crimson album for true believers of the band rather than casual fans. It is more intellectually impressive than emotionally satisfying. I believe it is a good progressive album but it is not a favorite.

Starless and Bible Black which is the sixth album from King Crimson might be my least favoured one. It continues the trend set with Larks´ Tongues in Aspic which I wasn´t too impressed with either. The second era of King Crimson with both albums belong to is very dark and pretty heavy. Unfortunately on Starless and Bible Black the music is also mostly of the jamming kind, which is something I think belongs in a live environment and not on a studio album.

The only songs I can say I like are the two opening songs The great deceiver and Lament. Fracture which ends the album is pretty good too and sometimes reminds me of the Larks´ Tongues in Aspic part II which ended that album. If King Crimson had shortened Starless and Bible Black down to an EP contained these three songs it would have been a great EP, but unfortunately we are treated with one after another of terrible instrumental songs which are just jams. No structure and all dissonant noise. No thank you. The night watch is a vocal song like the two first songs on the album though it just doesn´t have the quality of those.

The musicianship is very good, but I wish the very prominant musicians playing on this album would have used their talents wiser.

The production is very good even though I think the vocals sounds like they were recorded in the loo. But that was the same with Larks´ Tongues in Aspic.

I´m not very impressed and quite frankly I´m a bit disappointed with Starless and Bible Black. All the talent on display here should have brought something special with it, but unfortunately these brilliant musicians were too lazy and only wanted to jam. Horrible dissonant jams. 2 stars and that´s only because I like the three mentioned songs. This is definitely a fan only album.

Rating: A-

King Crimson are perhaps the quintessential art rock band. Unlike Yes and Genesis, they didn't limit themselves to one sound, but shuffled between sounds and styles on every album, each time reinventing exactly what it meant to the be art rock. From the symphonic prog of In the Court to the metallic Red to the new wave Discipline, King Crimson were always at the cutting edge of rock music, and Starless and Bible Black is no exception. Easily among their elite studio releases (though also probably the most difficult), it is a blast of perfectly constructed rock music mingled with experimental improvisation.

And what better way to open an album that's "a blast of perfectly constructed rock music" than with the sonic blast that is "The Great Deceiver". Like a punch to the face, this song hits the ground running and never stops, building around a wild rock theme. Then there's the builder, "Lament", which, despite starting slowly, ends just as insane as "The Great Deceiver" began. The next four songs continue in a similar vein, mixing improvisation into rock music, combining a wild experimentalism with the musical assaults. A surprise highlight is the beautiful "The Night Watch", which recalls the atmospheres of their debut but with better music. The only real complaint I have is with "The Mincer". While it is an excellent song from start to finish, it feels like it should've built up to a fabulous climax, but instead it ends unresolved.

I can forgive this one slight error, though, because of the way the album resolves. For every album after their debut, King Crimson's music far outweighed their lyrics and vocals (on In the Court of the Crimson King, the two were roughly equal factors), and so it's no surprise that the best songs on this album are the two long, closing instrumentals. There's "Starless and Bible Black", of course, from whence the album derives its name, which spends nine minutes tantalizing and teasing the listener in preparation for what's to come. And what's to come is the most mind-blowing piece of music (with the possible exception of "Starless" from Red) King Crimson ever created. Similar to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic pt. 1" but oh-so-much better (no mean feat, that), Fracture combines all the awesome power of the landmark opener to Larks' Tongues in Aspic (the album) without the slight noodling that characterized the latter half of that song. In short, Fracture is built around themes that are just as good, but structured better. It combines slow, suspenseful buildups with raging climactic riffs that never cease to amaze me.

So many fans of the band would say that this is a lesser effort sandwiched between two masterpieces, but, in reality, this, along with Red, its follow-up, this *IS* King Crimson's masterpiece. As the second album of King Crimson's defining trilogy (Larks', Starless, and Red), this will almost certainly continue to receive the "overlooked middle child" treatment, but that is entirely unwarranted. This is a remarkably consistent, complete, and stunning album that belongs in every music collection. Absolutely essential.

Fractured

Since this was the middle child between the albums Larks Tongues In Aspic and Red it's only natural that years later this one gets somewhat overlooked. Starless and Bible Black is a rather mixed album, all things considered, as this was the album where the improvisational method of writing that started on the previous album is somewhat abused, leading to a series of forgettable songs within the good ones.

There are a couple of classics to be had on this album still. One the first side we have the quirky The Great Deceiver which opens up the album with a bizarre arrangement of all sorts of instruments until it all slows down to just the bass for Wetton to deliver the first vocal parts. Lament is a heavy and wonderful piece which opens with a calm (almost lamenting) passage before moving on to full on Fripp guitar attack. The Night Watch is a beautiful and eerie track which turns out to be the standout of the first side.

Unfortunately, the rest of the first side is otherwise forgettable. We'll Let You Know is a quickly passed instrumental, Trio is a bit better with some very nice violin work, but still not outstanding. The Mincer is a good track with some interestingly subdued vocals and a very cool ending - the tape ran out during recording and the song just ends.

Going into the second side, the half is completely instrumental and home to only two songs. The title track, Starless and Bible Black is a track that goes on a bit long but is saved by the final and greatest song on the album. Fracture is the (by now) standard Fripp guitar fest. Full of catchy hooks and dark parts that the man is so good with, this is an instrumental that has the power to rival some of their greatest such as Larks Tongues In Aspic Parts I-II, Devil's Triangle and Red. Not to be missed!

So in the end this is an album that has a number of great songs but a number of average ones to take it down as well. Still good for all the Krimson fans out there, this probably isn't the one to start with. If you're a big fan of the prior and following album then you will probably enjoy this one, but it might not be your favorite. 3.5 stars!

This is small step backwards for the band. I am not exactly sure what it is they were trying to accomplish with this release. Did they write a couple of songs, and slap on a couple of jams because they wanted to release another album? I mean, I'm glad they did because Fracture does rock, even if it is an uneven jam; regardless, that second gen KC sound is present, and just about any flavor of that will do for most fans. It's just that, this album isn't the place to start, nor does it receive as many playbacks as their other albums.

Review 32, Starless And Bible Black, King Crimson, 1974

StarStarStarStar

This album was very difficult to get to grips with, compared to either its predecessor or its successor. Firstly, the sheer amount of texture-based improvisation means that you (well, I, you might not) have to attach the right idea or image to a piece. Second, John Wetton's vocals take a deliberate shift to a much thicker and edgier tone, which is less instantly likable, but leaves a greater lasting appeal. However, a lot of listens have left this album as a great favourite of mine, the Crimson album I'll put on for a spin when I feel like putting on a Crimson album. The improvised nature and distinct edges have left this album very enjoyable after a lot of listens. My only quibble with it is that I haven't yet found the right idea for the admittedly excellent Starless And Bible Black itself.

Starless and Bible Black kicks off with the aggressive rocker 'The Great Deceiver'. Dominated by a violin riff, monstrous percussion from Bruford and a superb example of both Wetton's thick bass and Fripp's very precise guitar. Wetton gives the vocals a rather malady-like sound, and the various harmonies are mostly lead-ups to stunning returns-to-form, and it's very impressive how they can return to sound like they're sounding the same as they did earlier while being completely different with classic solos from Cross and Wetton, before dropping off into Lament. Lyrically, the song's quite amusing if you're impervious to the PC elements of society, but I can see how they'd be offensive to some people.

Lament is a very clever two-part song, with a juxtaposition of a quirky 'ballad' and a ferocious drum-driven part which is able to make me go into a chorea-like state. The first part features a thick guitar and Wetton's rather deliberately thick vocals, and a duet of wailing guitars and violins (and an occasional bass flourish). A mellotron gives a background for the others to play over. Following the conclusion of this washed-out rock-star story, Wetton and Bruford lead us onto the heavier, biting rock song, with a savagely compelling drum part, some Fripp whirring of the highest order, great shouting vocals and superb splintering violin. Seriously edgy and again impressively minimalistically concluded.

We'll Let You Know is the first of the album's improvised pieces, with its rather dissonant feel, some truly weird percussion from Bruford, including something sounding like a horse's hooves, dancy use of sheets and proper drums. Fripp and Cross wail away cheerfully in a catlike, while Wetton does what you expect an entire rhythm section to do, only better. The sarcastic wailing disappears promptly and cheerfully.

The Night Watch is the most clearly directed of the album's pieces, deriving from Rembrandt's painting of the same name. A combination of mutilated mellotron, chaotic tingly and normal percussion, and delicate bass leads up to the wallowing vocals. The middle section, however, is where the utter perfection comes through. Wetton's folk-like vocal suits the song perfectly, Bruford and Cross (mellotron) handle the softer song's needs with no slips whatsoever. The real standout player here is Fripp with his combination of gorgeous guitar soloing and minimalistic solos. A tragic mellotron-whirling leads us with David Cross's violin to a final conclusion. Gorgeous, and it perfectly captures the feel of the painting.

Trio is mostly indescribable. A soft, improvised trio (oh wow), with all three musicians fitting in place perfectly. Wetton provides a soft acoustic bass part, slowly building up, but never dominating, David Cross provides some reconciliatory violin, and Fripp (some sort of keyboard with a flute-like sound, possibly a 'tron) similarly plays without any real boundaries in the music. A relaxing rest, and a truly uplifting piece of music.

The Mincer is an acquired taste, with its hideously dark atmosphere, curious ending choice (the tape runs out), combination of haunting solos from Fripp and Cross with a thick harmonised vocal and the bursts of Bruford percussion. As always, John Wetton provides a thundering and original bass part, including high parts. A burst of energy gives way to the tape running out, which apparently Cross and Fripp loved to pieces, while Bruford and Wetton didn't. Superb, but definitely acquired.

Starless And Bible Black is the third of the album's improvisations, with a rather bleak feel evoked by the title. I'm not quite certain what exactly the theme is, and though I enjoy the entire piece, I find it difficult to attach the right imagery and ideas to it. The second I get this piece, this album will be upgraded to a five star rating.

The standout player is indubitably Fripp, who provides some wailing solos happily reminiscent of Prince Rupert's Lament. Bill Bruford takes an assortment of percussion, while John Wetton provides a rather jumpy and sudden bass-line and David Cross's mellotron both lends a certain dissonance to the piece and highlights the others' playing. This intelligent assortment of ideas gradually builds into a more substantial piece, with a more typically used 'tron and increasingly impressive Fripp shrieks and Bruford crashes. The piece returns to a more minimalistic sound a little around six and a half minutes in, allowing some gorgeous soft guitar from Fripp and then a decisive conclusion with Cross, Bruford and Fripp combining forces to lower the piece to its equally bleak conclusion. All in all, a distinctly dark, bleak and uninvasive improvisation. Still, I can appreciate the components, but not the grand design.

Fracture is the conclusion to the album, and my favourite piece from it. A masterful, colourful piece of semi-improvisation with strong imagery and superb interplay between the quartet. Fripp's guitar introduces us to the tiny cracks in the earth, with some Wetton bass, plucked violin and Bruford choices giving us a few more tiny tears, which the various instruments gradually extend to produce an image of several increasingly widening and stretching rifts. Clever minimalistic guitar-playing and xylophone continue to take us on this musical and geological journey, and are then accompanied by a violin and a bass to provide a richer texture. Eventually, squirming solos from Cross and Wetton with a rich drumming background move us into the first tremors. A minute or so of calm guitar and whinnying bass and violin provides the calm before the storm with the knowledge that the full quake will be hitting us soon enough.

Suddenly, out of this, Fripp's guitar explodes, with a thundering bass, shrieking mellotron, insanely building percussion from Bruford. Wetton gives us a superb bass solo before David Cross's violin returns to provide Fripp with something to echo. Cross and Wetton engage in what is almost a duel, with Fripp providing a couple of additions, while Bruford tingles and crashes in behind them. A dazzling set of bass-parts from Wetton, Bruford's powerful, percussive rolls and Fripp's flawless guitar leave us stunned in the aftermath of this sonic earthquake. Masterly Crimson material, and this track alone is worth the price of the album.

In conclusion, I'm not yet giving this album five stars, because I haven't yet 'got' the title track, but I may later change my mind on that. Essential listening for anyone interested in progressive rock, and especially a Crimson fan like myself. Be warned that this is not an easy album, and will require the right mindset and energy while listening to appreciate, and is unlikely to be love at first listen for many. It may not be love at all for those not interested in the textures and ideas behind the improvised pieces. Still, a set of unforgettable atmospheres, and at least worth trying. Leave it for later in the Crimson collection, but don't leave it altogether.

Rating: Four Stars Favourite Track: Fracture

Rage, rage against the dying of the light (Dylan Thomas)

According to Eric Tamm's book Robert Fripp: From King Crimson to Guitar Craft the majority of this album was recorded live and subsequently overdubbed to bring it to it's present form. If that is indeed the case, they have done a wonderful job of both removing the audience noise completely and disguising the origins of the performances. It seems that Fripp has an ongoing reservation about the studio being a valid medium as representative of a performance, and this half live/half studio hybrid possibly offered for him, an acceptable compromise between the two competing disciplines.

'The Great Deceiver' - After being accustomed to quiet mood building intros on previous albums, it's something of a shock to hit the ground running here with an explosive salvo of sixteenth note riffing from the violin and guitar over Bruford's manic kit groove. A truly spellbinding display of controlled power and dynamics from a band who sound leaner and hungrier than ever before. I particularly love John Wetton's voice as his faintly adenoidal tenor serves as the 'eye of the storm' at the center of the Crim tornado. The chorus here is so good that it would have served a more mainstream pop classic well. In lesser hands this type of unconventional structure can sound disjointed and unbalanced but King Crimson make the difficult sound monstrously easy (and vice versa - see Prelude: Song of the Gulls)

I think the lyrics are (unusually) Fripp's, and he casts a jaundiced eye over the commercialization of spirituality that pervades the modern age:

Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the virgin mary

'Lament' - Beautiful 'chiming bell' guitar sound enhances another fine vocal performance by Wetton in a song that betrays a jaded cynicism with the machinations of the rock world in general. A feature of Cross's violin playing throughout this record is how sparing it is and his contributions carry more weight as a result. Those duetted lead moments he shares with Fripp's fuzzy black liquorice tone are exquisite. Again, sublime use of dynamics in the separate parts and boasting a melody that even Lennon would have been proud.

'We'll Let You Know' - The dramatic style change that was initiated by Larks Tongues in Aspic is emphasized on the improvisatory tracks like this one. More than any other band whose origins are from a predominantly rock tradition, Crimson demonstrate an ability to improvise using the vocabulary of rock as fluently as that employed in the jazz of say, Miles Davis' various groups over the years. When Bruford and Wetton kick into the main groove after teasing us for several delightful minutes, the effect is that of an entirely credible white funk. Accept no imitations, these guys can make Parliament sound like pale Russian bank clerks. The title may be an overspill of the caustic from Lament i.e don't call us etc?

'The Night Watch' - The rapid trilling of the guitar on the intro appropriates a venetian mandolin, but there the comparison ends, as all conventional techniques tend to in Fripp's erudite hands. A very plaintive and haunting tune sung admirably as ever by Wetton. Even on something as harmonically conventional as this (by Crimson standards) is refreshingly free of the sort of 'ear candy' coating employed by so many of their contemporaries. Unadorned, humble and beautiful.

'Trio' - So named presumably because Bruford does not play on it? This has a capricious celtic/middle eastern tinge and features some fantastic dynamic interplay between Fripp, Wetton and Cross. How unusual is this, a rock band where the individual members actually listen to what each other are playing? Those of you familiar with Scottish pranksters 'Chou Pahrot' may detect a whiff of the Wee Thing hereabouts.

'The Mincer' - After a very atmospheric build up we get a multi tracked psychedelia hued vocal from Wetton that portrays some harrowing and disturbing imagery.

Fingers reaching, Fingers reeking. Jump for the scream, Good night, honey

Your very expensively assembled 'Hi-Fi system falling through a black hole' effect at the conclusion is where the first reel of tape ran out half way through the original live recording.

'Starless and Bible Black' - Takes over from where We'll Let You Know left off. Like most inspired phenomena, this is resistant to causal analysis and appears to inhabit the realm of 'happy accidents' that Fripp and co guessed could not be arrived at in any other fashion. Perhaps Robert was justified, and that the recording studio was not conducive to the realization of beautifully crafted moments like this? These types of tracks need LOTS of listens before they can seep into your affections, but on arrival, they remain there steadfast and true.

'Fracture' - For an album that contains no weak troughs at all, this is the certifiable highpoint of the set.

(If EVERYTHING is just peaks, why does the resulting landscape NOT look like a high altitude Holland? - .....Dunno)

In its 11 minute duration we hear a culmination of everything that Robert Fripp had learned up to that point in his driven quest for perfection throughout an inconsistent but adventurous career. The building blocks for this piece are almost without exception, very short phrases and motifs that are treated with a bewildering array of transpositions and modulations as the track progresses. All the elements that made this scarlet red animal so special and thus an endangered species vulnerable to predators, are well in evidence throughout: Wetton's guttural bass provides the rock hook and generous heart, Cross supplies an ethereal mystic spirit, Bruford contributes a playful polyrythmic funk and Fripp mans the controls at Brain Central. A cerebral creature yes, but one that has learned to kick and scratch for both love and sustenance.

This is not a particularly accessible album, but one that will provide enduring rewards on repeated listens, so don't be discouraged by the paucity of conventionally 'pretty' music as what is here is damningly beautiful forever.

Don't get me wrong I am a big King Crimson fan but this was a disappointment on Lark's Tongues In Aspic and weaker than the follow up, Red. It is a largely experimental effort, half of which is recorded live and the other, you guessed it, in the studio. ' Great Deceiver' gets the album off to a menacing start and Lament follows, more a slowburner that gradually breaks into some serious riffs. The following ' We'll Let You Know and Nightwatch, both live are pretty much forgettable. The title track for me is the best here with some fine drumming from Bill Bruford. Other highlights would be Trio. John Wetton provides good bass work for Robert Fripp but to stress this was KC experimenting all the way. Absolutely no compromise. Two and a half stars.

While a good companion album to Red, this is probably the band's weakest release before their breakup in '74.

Essentially a glorified live album, this plays as a preview of what Red would be like. Indeed, it's hard to rate this release without comparing it to Red: having the title of this album come from a song from that release doesn't help. I know that this one came chronologically first of the two, but even still it strikes me more like a release of the songs that didn't make it onto Red. That may not be the case, but it's really how this album feels. The music is aggressive and interesting, with a few exciting songs and a few really strange improvisations. Wetton, though given a prominent role in this album, does not shine in his vocals as he will on their next release or in his days with Asia. I almost gave this album two stars because I did not think it would really appeal to first time listeners, but the truth is, there are some very good tunes on here anyways, even if it is not up to King Crimson's usual standards of quality.

The first side kicks off with the belter The Great Deceiver. This is easily the strongest and most energetic tune on the album, featuring lightning fast guitar and some quirkily fun lyrics. It's got instant hooks and a clever composition. The album moves on, then, with Lament, and interesting song that is unfortunately a bit unmemorable, despite some more aggressive later sections. We'll Let You Know is similar, throwing some neat parts out there but not really giving my ears anything much to stick. Following that is the other really strong song on Starless and Bible Black, namely, The Night Watch. Wetton sounds nice singing over traditional KC mellotrons, and the song sounds vast and impressive. Trio wraps up the first side of the album with a bit of spacey melody, gently plying away with its soft sounds.

Side two kicks off with The Mincer, a more aggressive improvisation, building a dark soundscape before closing it with some nice vocals. The remaining two tracks, namely the title track and Fracture, are both building tunes full of improvisation and haunting sounds from the keyboard and guitars. Though they are both pretty neat, I usually don't find myself interested enough in what they promote to listen to them very regularly. They are enjoyable, but nothing terribly lasting, in my opinion.

When it comes down to it, fans of Red will almost undoubtedly have to buy this. It's not a bad release, just not as clever and deep as the King Crimson they had allowed us to get used to before this. I'd recommending checking out either of the two other Wetton-era albums (Larks' Tongues in Aspic and Red) before this one.

King Crimson was very productive in this "metal-crimson" episode, releasing three studio albums within two years. Starless and Bible Black is the follow-up of Larques Tongues in Aspic and is a bit equal in it's sound, although the first three songs also reminds me of the first episode of KC (In the Court - Lizard).

- Side 1 - "The Great Deciever" is a happy psychedelic rock song, which has some jazz riffs like in "20th first century schizoid man". A fast opening track with some strange surroundings to get our attention! "Lament" starts as a great progressive rock ballad, but turns into an agressive prog rock monster: great song. Also in this composition some of the riffs do remind me of the earlier Crimson records, which I do like. Side one contains more progrockballads and silent and abstract progjams.

- Side 2 - The job for the vocalist is done: side two contains two composition without vocals. The first - the titletrack of the record - is a subtle, abstract spacerockjam with lots of fuzzy guitars and mellotrons and the second is a progressive metal compositions. Especially the titletrack is really nice and original. The second composition should have fit as well on the larques tonques as on this record.

Starless and Bible Black is generally seen as a bit less good then the Larques Tongues and Red, but the quality is equally high in my opinion. If this was made by a different band it would have been a must-have, but we are getting used by the quality offerings of KC. I think that the titletrack, Lament and the Nightwatch are all 5 star productions and the others are worth 4 stars, which makes this record as a whole a really great listening experience: 5 stars.

King Crimson - 'Starless and Bible Black' 4 stars

A great album, just wedged in between two unbelievable classics.

After the incredibly experimental 'Larks.' and right before an incredible jam record as 'Red', this album will obviously get some slack. It doesn't stand up to those two albums at all, but it is a great one regardless.

David Cross's violin contributions are his best on this album. Everyone else still maintains there ever vibrant sounds. The opening number, 'The Great Deceiver' is the most friendly Crimson song ever created. It features some really frantic guitar riffs from Fripp and a catchy chorus that is really humorous.

All the tracks have some instrumental goodness in them, but the true standouts are the last two mini- epics. The title track has some really cool improv's in the middle and when they exit has an unbelievably structured rhythm section by Bruford and Wetton. I will state again, unbelievable rhythm section. Fripp's guitar would also soar over them, creating an illustrious soundscape.

'Fracture' closes this album out beautifully. It stands alongside the wonderful titans that Crimson produced in their career so far. Slow song that goes into a never-ending explosive instrumental, makes it sad that it did in fact, end.

The worst of the Wetton era, but an excellent album none the less.

If Larks' Tongues in Aspic was King Crimson's Dark Side of the Moon, then Starless and Bible Black was their Wish You Were Here. Equally as adventurous and genre-bending as Larks' Tongues, Starless just solidified Crims' new sound (if they even really did have a sound). Full of experimental percussion and pieces of live improvisation, Starless and Bible Black showed that King Crimson were a prog band in every sense of the word. This album is even more ahead if its time than Larks' Tongues in many ways that one can only hear (at least I can't find words to describe my point). There is nary a dull or simply bad song on here except for Trio which I find to be a little bit too mellow--maybe that's because it doesn't have any drums(?)! But if I were to name a few of the HIGH-lights on here they would be The Great Deceiver, Lament, and the Larks' Tongues in Aspic-style Fracture.

In terms of musical performance, Bill Bruford's drumming on nearly all of the tracks is a high point on Starless. The lack of Jamie Muir on this album and Red really didn't affect his use of percussion of all sorts (wood blocks, glockenspiel, gongs, etc.). In my opinion, some of Bill's percussion lines are a bit more tasteful than Mr. Muir's. Robert Fripp also is VERY creative on here and never runs out of ideas. His riffs on The Great Deceiver and Fracture are stuck in my head. Unlike Larks' Tongues, John Wetton's complex and really melodic bass lines are higher up in the mix and actually add something to the music instead of just acting as extra places to fill in the musical holes left by Robert Fripp and David Cross. On the other hand, David Cross' presence on this album isn't nearly as noticeable as it was on Larks' Tongues but it still adds somewhat to the off-kilter combination of sounds present in this era of King Crimson.

I wouldn't recommend Starless and Bible Black to someone new to King Crimson but after one has purchased either Red or Larks' Tongues they should give this one a listen (chances are they will enjoy this one just as much).

MAYBE BILL BRUFORD ISN'T RETURNING TO YES AFTER ALL

Starless and Bible Black is King Crimson's 6th studio album and their second with Bill Bruford, formerly of Yes, in the drummer's seat. As I mentioned in my review of Lark's Tongue, I started listening to King Crimson in the 80's and 90's as a result of my being a fan of Yes, and because Bill Bruford played drums for King Crimson, I wanted to hear his work in other bands, including King Crimson. Starless was a first in the history of King Crimson, in that all 4 musicians who appeared on Starless also appeared on the previous album, Lark's Tongue, but as in the rest of their early history, it wasn't the complete lineup from Lark's Tongue, as percussionist Jamie Muir did not return for Starless and Bible Black. As a result of reading some of the previously written reviews I have been made aware that some of the songs on this album were written and performed in the studio, and some of the songs were improvised live and later edited in the studio.

The first of the eight songs on this album is The Great Deceiver, which seems to be a cryptic song about an evil person, who might be Satan or possibly a Record Studio Executive, or possibly they are one and the same. This is the second album in which Richard Palmer-James is in charge of writing the lyrics for King Crimson, but as they were with Peter Sinfield, the lyrics make very little sense.

The second song, Lament, has lyrics that actually make sense. It tells the story of a musician who had prior musical stardom, who has become lost in the shuffle and forgotten. It starts off with a nice mellow acoustical sound. Following the first two stanzas, we get some nice interplay of percussion from Bill Bruford with bass playing by John Wetton. The remainder of the songs features some pretty heavy guitar, drum and bass playing.

The third song, We'll Let You Know, is an instrumental that was apparently recorded from live improvisation. I'm personally not a big fan of improvisation as to my ears it generally comes across as disjointed. I tend to pay most attention to the drums and percussions being a Bruford fan, and he plays some pretty decent percussion at times during this song, but otherwise I don't find this song to be all that interesting.

The fourth song, Nightwatch, finds Richard Palmer-James writing lyrics about Rembrandt's famous painting of the same name. The song itself is pretty mellow with pretty laid back acoustic guitar playing and percussion. The highlight of this song is John Wetton's voice, as he is in great form here on this song.

The fifth song, Trio, is an instrumental in which Bill Bruford's contribution is sitting this song out. This is a soft and mellow instrumental with David Cross' violin interplaying with Robert Fripp on acoustic guitar and John Wetton on bass.

The sixth song, The Mincer, is also an instrumental that was improvised and recorded live. According to previous reviews, the tape ran out before the song was over, thus the strange ending to this song which just abruptly cuts off. This song seems to be the consensus least favorite song on this album by other reviewers. Although it is far from his best work, Bill Bruford plays some decent drums and percussion on this track and Robert Fripp's guitar playing is decent although highly repetitive. It is possible that this track might be an inspiration for some of today's post rock.

The seventh song is the title track, Starless and Bible Black and it fits in to my above opinion of improvisational playing. It appears that we have 4 people standing on stage playing 4 different songs with some cohesion, but not much. Kind of the equivalent of throwing things against the wall and then playing whatever sticks. Again there is some decent standalone percussion and standalone guitar playing but taken as a whole it is mostly just noise.

The eighth and final song on this album is Fractured, which appears to be the favorite song amongst previous reviewers. Apparently it is partly composed and partly improvised. It is the longest song on the album as it clocks in at just over 11 minutes, and it will be followed up on future albums with other Fracture sequels. This track definitely has more focus than the other instrumentals on this album. It features some of Robert Fripp's best guitar playing to date as well as some great drums/percussion from Bill Bruford and bass playing from John Wetton.

It is kind of funny, but for me this is the first album where Robert Fripp's skills as a guitarist were very apparent. On previous albums it seems to me as though he was pretty low key in comparison to the other musicians, but his guitar playing is very much apparent on this album. I guess that on my next time through the King Crimson discography I will have to listen closer.

My overall rating of this album is that it is worthy of 4-stars. It is definitely an excellent addition to any prog music collection, especially for those who are fans of improvisation. I also tend to agree with the majority of previous reviewers in that even though this is a good album, it is weaker than both its predecessor, Lark's Tongue in Aspics and its follow-up Red.

Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part 2: Darker and a bit more loose(improvised)

As you know already from Larks', King Crimson had moved to heavier territory, more guitar, more bass, no jazzy keyboards, Mel's sax is gone, though being replaced by David Cross' mysterious violin/viola adding a eastern flavor to the music. To summarize it in four words: ''A New King Crimson'', though this you already knew from Larks', so what can I tell you about Starless & Bible Black?

Starless and Bible Black was in the same situation as In the Wake of Poseidon, after their creative-peak(Larks'/Court), Fripp created something in the same vein or at least not in the heights of the previous', in which generally fans didn't appreciate because of the similarities, or less stunning in this case. However, I and I think a whole bunch of others consider this quite a different treat:

Starless & Bible Black is mainly a live album, in which the live tracks(all except track 1 and 2, though don't be fooled by the deleted applaude section of each of these live tracks) are mainly improvised instrumentals, this making one radical difference to Larks', rather than being elaborated compositions, which is the case of Larks', this one as I said in the title, it's much more loose.

Now to tell you a bit more detailed, the darker edge is due to the improvised instrumentals led by Fripp's dissonant guitar, John's ferocious bass work, and Bill's incredible drum work, plus the already mentioned mysterious violin. Prime examples of this 'darker edge' are: Starless & Bible Black and Fracture. Then you'll also find energetic songs like The Great Deceiver with killer guitar and fierceful rhythms, demonstrating that ''Hard Rock'' can be complex. Fripp also delivers some beauties like The Night Watch and Trio, complex, chilling experiences.

To finish this review I'll have to say that this is not an easy place to start with, though after you have listened to Larks', this one should fill your ears comfortably.

4 stars. Experimental and improvisation music lovers this album is waiting for you!

Does not live up to the hype

Starless and Bible Black is one of the early entries into the huge repertoire of King Crimson before the huge lineup changes and sound transformation. I had heard from others how great this CD is so eagerly made the purchase. I was slightly disappointed.

It starts off well enough, 'The great deceiver', with the patented familiar Crimson sound, intricate time signatures and complex drum patterns abound mixed with shades of light and dark instrumental genius. But it all begins to pale out to shades of grey by the third track. The album is inconsistent, with moments of brilliance and mediocrity throughout. The mediocre moments, such as 'Trio' and the title track, are extremely dull and this hinders the overall effect. The tracks are over long and very difficult to listen to at times. I do like a lot of jazz fusion but there is little to inspire my tastes on this effort. The noodling and messing about of 'The Mincer' is woeful and 'We'll let you Know' is insipid - unlistenable experimental efforts - the worst jazz fusion I have heard.

The shining lights are naturally a complete contrast to all the mundane music within. The dreary over long instrumental pieces descend to the depths of the worst the band have played. Very experimental but very irritating too - tuneless little gasps of air without substance. However "Starless and Bible Black" is saved by the incredible tracks 'Great Deceiver', 'Night Watch' and the wonderful 'Fracture'.

So its not a complete waste, it is definitely better than "Islands", but its a pity such a great band could sink to these depths and I was told this was a classic, but that simply is not true. It is tiring at times and never holds up against the brilliant work of the first 3 albums or "Red" which are all quintessential King Crimson classics.

(This is my first review, so if it's bad, just ignore it :P)

I'm sure most of you reading this already know the history of this album (if you don't, read the other reviews or check out wikipedia), so I'll just get right to the music:

The first track is "The Great Deceiver," one of my favorite tracks from the album. It begins off with a menacing riff, before calming down a bit when the vocals come in. However, it builds up the power again as the song moves along. Despite being more experimental, this song still has an identifiable structure, which helps the listener ease in to the even more experimental improvisational songs. 9/10

The second track, "Lament," is also a good one. Beginning off with some softer guitar, mellotron and violin work, it's one of the prettier moments on the album. After about a minute, it transforms into a rocker, and a pretty good one at that, with some nice guitar by Fripp. 8/10

The third track, "We'll Let You Know," is the first live instrumental on the album. Although it has its moments, the song as a whole never really clicks together. Maybe actually watching them play it or hearing it in a live setting would make it seem a bit more interesting. Nothing special. 5/10

The fourth track, "The Night Watch," is another highlight of the album. The live opening is pretty cool, which segues into some very nice violin by Cross. Wetton sings this pretty well, and the more delicate mellotron and percussion work (as well as some guitar) mixes well with the distorted guitar. Although quite uncharacteristic for this period King Crimson's work, it's a very nice song. 9/10

The fifth track is "Trio," is another live improvisation, although much more gentle than "We'll Let You Know." It begins with very soft and gentle violin and mellotron by Cross and Fripp. Wetton joins in about half way through, also playing very well. Cross' violin solo is very nice, too. The absence of Bruford's percussion was definitely a good decision. 7/10

The last short track is "The Mincer," another live track. In my opinion, it's a little bit better than "We'll Let You Know" because it seems more coherent. Fripp has a pretty nice guitar solo on this track. Bruford's drumming is also pretty good, and definitely helps keep things together. Although it begins as improv, Wetton does have some vocals near the end of the song, before it comes to an abrupt halt. 6/10

Finally, we get to the title track, "Starless and Bible Black," an extended live instrumental/improvisation. It begins slow (and a bit boring, in my opinion) but it builds up it's power as the song moves on, with great work by all the band members; powerful bass by Wetton, great drumming by Bruford, amazing guitar by Fripp, and nice mellotron by Cross. 8/10

Last but not least is "Fracture", my favorite track of the album, another extended instrumental. The beginning alternates between gentle guitar and violin work (with interesting percussion thrown in), a powerful riff with the whole band playing with full force, and more gentle (and later very speedy) guitar work. The song builds its power into the hard-rocking climax of the song. The dynamic and stylistic contrast in this song further demonstrates the skill of the band members. Although they all play well, Fripp really shines through with his guitar work on this track. 10/10

Overall: 8/10. A very strong album by a very talented band. Although "Starless and Bible Black" has it's weak points, the strength of the good songs balances the album out. A must have for King Crimson fans, and a good choice for any prog fan.

Starless And Bible Black is the follow up to King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic, and it seemed kind of hard to make an album better and more experimental than that. So, King Crimson didn't do that. Starless And Bible Black is in the same experimental, powerful style as its precessor, but is slightly less good. Why? Larks' Tongues In Aspic had several King Crimson classics on it, some really memorable songs, this album only has a few of those, and most of them are not as great as songs like "Easy Money" or "Exiles" from Larks' Tongues In Aspic.

The album is very much alike Larks' Tongues but has some slight differences. First, there is no Jamie Muir anymore, so there is no more wacky percussion, although Bruford seems to have a more exotic drum kit. Second, the album has much more improvisation, songs like "Trio" and "We'll Let You Know" are not very structured, were the experimental bits od Larks' Tongues had some structure in them. Third, Starless and Bible Black is much less stiff than Larks' Tongues, a really great progress.

The album starts with "The Great Deciever", an up tempo heavy rocker. Though being only four minutes long, the song has quite a few different riffs and other changes. "The Great Deceiver" is not a very complicated song, and is pretty straight forward, it is a very nice song though.

The second song is "lament". "Lament" is much better than "The Great Deceiver" and is really one of the biggest highlights of this album. Just as the first track it's a pretty straight forward song, but I can enjoy it much more than the great deceiver.

"We'll Let You Know" is an improvisation. It's not very structured and seems to be a little bit pointless, also because it's pretty short, while King Crimsons improvisations mostly are pretty lengthy.

The fourth track, "The Night Watch", is one of the more popular King Crimson Songs. The song is about Rembrandt's famous painting, and really is in the same mood as the painting is, it's very beautiful and pretty epic, though not being to long. John Wetton also does a great vocal performance in this song, and Fripp plays a great guitar solo.

Next is "Trio", a very mellow song, without any drums. The song is very calm, and that's why I can't always enjoy it. This is a song I can only listen when I'm in the right mood, a calm mood.

"The Mincer" is another improv, though it has a couple vocal lines in it. The song start very dark and atmospheric, with some great guitar work from Robert Fripp. Just as "We'll Let You Know", "The Mincer" is pretty short for an improv, and it'll be over when you're getting into it. Though being a bit too short this is a really good King Crimson Improvisations, one of my favorite.

The title track is next, and once again, its an improvisation, and it's definitely not too short. In fact, it's 9 minutes long, but nothing really interesting happens. The song has a couple of good parts, but most of the times it's a pretty dull improvisation.

Starless And Bible Black closes with "Fracture", a fantastic composition that really shows Robert Fripp's amazing guitar playing abilities. The first half excists of Robert Fripp playing the guitar pretty calm, but the song has some uplifts, like a distorted riff that pops up several times. After having repeated this riff two times, Robert plays his guitar unbelievably fast, it really is incredible, and most of all good and emotional, it's not just basic shredding. In the second half of the song the song gets much heavier, and becomes a true epic. Violin comes in and Bill Bruford once again does a great job on the drums. Amazing song.

Starless and Bible Black is not as good as the other two albums of King Crimsons heavy era, but if you are a fan of King Crimson's not always very structured improvisations you should check this album out. If you're not a fan of the improvs this album probably is not something for you, though songs as "Lament" and "Fracture" are true King Crimson classics. I'm giving this album a three star rating cause it is good, but not as good as Larks' Tongues and Red, which I both rated four stars.

Starless and Bible Black was probably my first King Crimson album I ever owned (I´m not sure if Larks Tongues In Aspic was actually the first, but probably not). It´s interesting to see with hindsight how such album was a 16 year old favorite. I just wore out my vinyl copy at the time. I used to listen to it so frequently I must have drove my parents crazy! When I found the CD version I was very glad to hear it again after so many years.

Although not as perfect as its precedor, the wonderful Larks Tongues In Aspic, SABB is another powerful release from the classic line up of Fripp-Wetton-Cross-Brufford. As usual they mix experimental, avant guard tracks (We´ll Let You Know, The Mincer, the title track) with some very beautiful, simple and poignant numbers (Trio, The Night Watch). Some mix a bit of both (The Great Deceiver, Lament). Unlike many other bands that pedal on the same slippery terrain, King Crimson always managed to come out with something both strong and memorable. Well, what to expect with such musicians? The chemistry is just perfect! I´m still amazed by their talents. Fripp´s guitar is simply astonishing while Brufford is the best drummer in the world.

After more than 30 years after its release Starless And Bible Black stands as one of prog´s most inventive works ever. They proved that the complex and the simple, the atonal and the melodic can be dsiplayed side by side and be used in full harmony to produce something exciting, fascinating and very appealing. I wouldn´t call this CD a masterpiece, it has its flaws, but it comes close. final rating: something between 4 and 4,5 stars.

Starless and Bible Black is the KC album which I love most. It's one of those albums I would take with me to an deserted island (even if the island wouldn't have electricity, I still would have the excellent artwork to look at). SaBB was the second KC album I ever heard, the first being Poseidon. At first I really couldn't figure the album out. All the players sounded fantastic, the singer was charismatic, but it was all such a chaos. It took me really a while to wholly appreciate this album, and now I regard it as one of the best things in music man has ever created.

The bulk of the album is culled from the performance at Amsterdam in 1973, and most of the album's songs are improvised. Some say that the release of The Nightwatch which contains the aforementioned gig in its entirety has made SaBB obsolete, but I beg to differ. While The Nightwatch is surely great live album, SaBB has to be considered as a studio album, no matter how some of the material is from a live gig.

And as a studio album, it's near perfection from start to finish. One might argue that We'll Let You Know and The Mincer are fillers, and I understand where they're coming from. They are a bit weaker songs than the rest of it, but they keep the flow of the album going, and quite perfectly I might add. It's such a musical and lyrical rollercoaster with some very funky parts, and also some of the most beautiful parts I've ever heard in music. Trio and The Night Watch are very beautiful, the former being it so musically and the latter one also with its fantastically poetic imagery.

The absolute highlight for me is Fracture which is a masterpiece in creating tension and then releasing it to an almost cathartic effect. It's also one of the most technical pieces of music I've heard. Fripp has said that he doesn't like to perform it live because it's so hard to play.

SaBB is without a doubt one of the dearest albums for me personally, and I consider it to be also one of the most inventive albums ever. It reaches such emotional, musical and lyrical depths that only a few other albums can reach. Definitely progressive, and worth 5 stars.

Having reacted positively to my first two exposures to the Crimson Kings (their first and third albums, In the Court of the Crimson King and Lizard respectively), I decided to lay my money down on this one when I spotted it, Red, and USA while vinyl browsing. My ears have told me over repeated listens that it was money well spent.

"Starless and Bible Black" was King Crimson's follow-up to their previous album, "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" (which I still need to get ahold of...), and it is comprised of both studio tracks and live tracks (with the applause removed and, as I have read, one track was even edited, and the album was presented as a full studio outing), with some tracks, particularly the next to last piece on the album, showcasing their immense talents for improvisation. BTW, King Crimson is the only band I have heard so far who can improvise an instrumental and keep my attention throughout the whole piece.

Additionally, the artwork was designed by Tom Phillips, who, a few years earlier, had released an altered version of the novel "A Human Document", called "A Humument" (look that one up...). A quote from Phillips's version is included on the back of the album sleeve: "This night wounds time."

So, when I decided to give the album a spin, I had the volume up a bit on my turntable, and as I laid the needle on the LP, I knew a little bit about what to expect. And then I was blasted in the face with the sweet opening riffs of "The Great Deceiver", streaming out of my speakers. It really wasn't very close to the previous albums I had heard from Crimson. The word "AWESOME" entered my mind. The frantic guitar work from Fripp, the tight bass lines and really, REALLY cool (*understatement*) vocals from Wetton, the crazy use of the violin by Cross, the virtuoso percussion of the great William Bruford, they all enchanted me. And I am still talking about the first track.

The rest of the side kept me hooked with Lament, We'll Let You Know, The Night Watch, Trio and The Mincer (in that order), with the standouts for me being the other two vocal tracks besides Deceiver on the album, Lament and The Night Watch (which is apparently a musical essay on Rembrandt's painting of the same name), and also The Mincer. Although, those are really just prologues to the second side...

So now we come to the final two tracks on the album: the nine minute title track, and the eleven minute Fracture. (Written entirely by Robert Fripp) Both are the main highlights of the album, to me. The title track is a masterfully improvised song, terrific, really you can't single out any member as performing the best in this song. And then Fracture: I'll use the words of Wikipedia and call it a "strictly composed instrumental", and it is similar to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II". It is driving and hard, and has earned the distinction on several occasions of Robert Fripp admitting that this is one of the most difficult pieces he has ever played. Indeed, I was even thinking myself while listening, "how does he do it?" Stunning finish to this excellent record. It is highly recommended.

One of KC best albums ever!!! Very experimental ( in sense of containing many raw improvs in it), heavy and perfectly mixed! Plenty of guitar, strong bass line , quite acoustic sound. For sure much more better production, than on Red album.

I know many fans don't like this album much because of it's improvs and heavy sound. I think, this is stronger side of that album, guys!

The album contains three very strong songs as well: The Great Deceiver, Lament and The Night Watch. In combination with improvs, filling the space between them, album is very interesting mix. This album as well doesn't have this jazzy elements so usual for KC of that time. Real Progresive ROCK!

Another strong point - looking now from all these years, many early period KC albums sound as dated classics. And SABB is one of a few ( near ITCCK), that dated well, and sound perfectly fresh till now.

Very recommended to all listeners, searching on heavy and experimental side of KC Mk I.

Not less than 4,5!

A disturbing one. Really, REALLY disturbing. "Starless And Bible Black" is partly composed of live tracks ("The first part of "The Night Watch", and all the instrumental tracks) and some studio tracks ("Lament", "The Great Deceiver" and the remainder of "The Night Watch"). 6 tracks on side A, only 2 on side B. Radically, this is an album conceived for the vinyl format. On CD, there is a loss of its power. Just because, on vinyl, you have to return the disc, and to listen to 20 minuytes of terrifying and creepy music, to finish to listen to the entire album. There was a sense, in returning the black vinyl disc. Which sense disappeared with the CD reissue. (Sorry if I'm a little bit cryptic, my english is not as good as it would be, I'm French.)This album rocks. Rules. 8 tracks, no bad ones here. On the first side, 6 tracks from 3,40 minute to 5,40 minute-long. Short tracks, so. Very disturbing tracks, sometimes beautiful ("The Night Watch", "Trio"), sometimes eerie, creepy ("The Mincer", "We'll Let You Know"). A kind of step down right into Hell. Side B, "Starless And Bible Black", 9 minutes of pure experimental instrumental madness. And the 11 minutes of the great "Fracture", which is a very, very, very frightening performance. Violent and creepy. Like a dozen of chainsaws. Welcome to Hell. This album will tear you into small pieces. And you'll love it for that. Sacher-Masoch isn't far. In fact, this album is really in a SM mood. Crimso's complete and terminal masterpiece.

Starless and Bible Black works a lot better for me then its predecessor. Much of the music consists of polished edits from live registrations and that may well be the reason why it sounds more gripping then the somewhat sterile Lark's Tongues in Aspic.

The Great Deceiver is a frantic start with a crushing main theme and strong verses. The chorus with its awkward melody is a bit poor; Wetton's vocals get grating here and the chord sequence is rather clear-cut for Crimson's standards. Lament and The Night Watch are a lot better and boast memorable and sophisticated vocal lines from Wetton. In between sits We'll Let You know, one of the tracks compiled from live registrations, hardly their best one though and it seems to stop just when things are starting to get interesting.

Trio is gentle improvisation of violins and something that sounds like a flute but probably lists under 'mellotron' or 'devices', it's a moment of rest and evokes the feel of the Island album. After this mellow moment, the album would have needed a strong catchy track again, but The Mincer hardly ranks as such. The vocals at the end are interesting but the first 3 minutes are tedious. It sounds like work in progress and shouldn't have qualified as suitable album material.

The second side of the album consist of live material from a concert that would be released in 1997 as The Night Watch. Starless and Bible Black is an adequate improvisation but works a lot better in its live setting. The album ends with the superb Fracture which rates among Crimson's best instrumentals.

Overall this album is uneven and sounds a bit rushed, it has a lot of outstanding material but it has become rather unnecessary since the release of the far superior The Night Watch. It's too good to be banned to the fans/completist section but I wouldn't recommend this as a necessary King Crimson purchase.

Once again, KING CRIMSON disappoints me.

After the terrible "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", pretty much anything Fripp and Co. could have released would've been an improvement over its predecessor. This is true of "Starless and Bible Black", but only to a certain degree.

Yes, the album sounds a little bit more like a true attempt at writing structured music, but it still sounds more like glorified jamming than anything else. For every person that calls this "experimentation", another one could give it a more proper (in my view) name: recorded self- indulgence and show-off. True experimentation requires form of some kind, even if the experiment involves trying out a new form or structure. We can't just press "record" in a console, play whatever comes into our minds, and call it "experimentation". There are a few moments when KC music sounds just like that. And it's a pity, for this band (and its mastermind, mostly) showed us what they could do when they had a clear goal in their minds (other than trying to out-prog everybody else, which is what it looks like they wanted to do with this album and its predecessor).

This band is no favorite of mine, but I still own some of their albums, and I'll keep giving my thoughts on them as I re-visit them. I thought the experience was going to be better than the first time I listened to all of them, but, apart from the fantastic "In the Court of the Crimson King", up until now it obviously hasn't been the case. Good thing the much better "Red" is on my listening-horizon.

Progressive rock doesn't get much better than this, unless of course it's another album by King Crimson, Lizards or Larks Tongue for example. No formulas and very few clichés, Fripp and company explore restlessly and combine all manner of musical styles into a unique mix that is all their own. All the favorite Crimson flavors are here: blistering urban jazz rock on Great Deciever, bizarre avant Brit-funk on We'll Let You Know, fierce driving Bartok/metal proto-math rock composition on Fracture and rare glimpses of sensitivity and beauty on Trio. The best thing about Crimson is despite their intellectual approach, when they decide to rock, they really rock, and in an over the top aggressive way that is only matched by other supreme hard rockers such as Deep Purple or The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Crimson also keeps it real and gritty, unlike other prog rock bands of their era there are no fairies, dragons, capes, boots or dungeons, just honest hard rock influenced by jazz fusion, modern composers and avant- garde improvisation.

The interesting lynch pin in this group is bassist John Wetton. Faced with the unbelievable challenge of fitting in between the humongous talents and egos of Bruford and Fripp, Wetton rises to the challenge and plays in an aggressive heavily distorted funk/metal influenced style that I have never heard him recreate since. The poor guy was probably exhausted after a couple years with this all star cast that tours endlessly and always sleeps with one eye open.

This was probably the last classic progressive rock album that I really felt enthusiastic about. Crimson's follow-up, Red, sounded like it was rushed out for release and relied too much on repetitive formulas and a bigger sound that was getting far too close to stadium rock. The Trans-Am crowd was never Crimson's domain as KC was far too jazzy and avant-garde for the crowd that was eating up other prog rock bands who were starting to shift to a more radio friendly sound. Soon after the release of this album the world of progressive rock would slide into arena rock influenced conformity and predictability, but fortunately the jazz funk elements in Crimson's music pointed the way towards a huge wave of creativity that would soon come from the worlds of jazz fusion and P funk.

"The Great Deciver", another expression of The Crimson King (the prince of demons). And the opening track, powerstart megaspeed guitar riff, Bruford hammering on the drumset. Then a break to a bass riff with vocal verse, lot of tempo changes on this one. "Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the Virgin Mary", "Cadillacs, blue jeans, dixieland playing on the ferry" on a full speed rock break. Then a sudden cut of ending, Like sudden death ? Great track, wild and dangerous.

"Lament" starts of like a soft ballad, breaks into a bass/drum almost funky instrumental section.Vocals comes back, now on a rock style backing, again many breaks, the track growing wilder and wilder. Great band work here, Fripp soloing, great drum/bass rythm sections, Bruford dooing his craft amasingly. Not a bad track either.

"We'll Let You Know", A Piece of supreeme teamwork, the band plays together, making Prog. magic., Wettons bass very important in the texture here, good stuff.

"The Night Watch" a move back in time, lyrics now reflect times long gone past, and the music could well be from on of the early Crimson albums, Mellotron now making this sound a lot more symphonic than on the other track, a soft ballad, some very nice soloing, great singing, very melodic track.

"Trio". very very soft, starting out with allmost nothing, slowly violin and guitars start a duo, quiet bass moving in. Even though a "Trio", Bruford is still credited, with silence ! Beautifull moments, but its would easily work as well without the first minute.

"The Mincer". Live improvisation, as an improvisation, would be fine to watch live, but it dosent contain much interesting music, seen from a studio album view. I dont find any great moments here, only highlight is the short period where Wetton is singing, holds the piece together and lift it up. Ending is cut uncleanly , augth that hurts.

"Starless and Bible Black", another live improvisation, not to be confused with "Starless" from "Red".After the relative short "The Mincer" another 9 minute improvisation, "O no" may be the logic reaction, but quite the opposite in fact. On "Starless and Bible Black" it all gets a lot more interesting. Bruford in this mood is allways worth a listen, he is doing some supreem improvised drumming here. Especialy in the mid section Wetton and Bruford working together very well. Again the track is slowly build up, but in this case it makes more sence than on "Trio", the way it moves towards a first climax at around 4.40 is a blower. Cant' say how much i would give to actualy be there ! Then it slows down quite a bit, to start gaining momentum for a last and smaller Eruption near the end. Good track, but while Bruford/Wetton are at there best, Cross and Fripp dosent become that visible.

"Fracture", 11 minutes of classic Crimson, a monster, a dinosour of prog. rock ,the amount of skills involved just stunning. Related in style to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2" . A few diffrent and very complex offbeat Fripp guitar "figures" make up the base of the composion for the first 2/3 of the track, tempo constanty changing around those themes, gives a smooth varriation in the composition. All members contributing to the final texture. At the 6.40 mark, a Ambient like section, with very little happening, for a short period, breaks into an Explotion. Track moving into a very powerfull finish, controlled heavy Ragnarock."Fracture" is one of Classic Prog's most essential instrumentals. Demanding sure, but so rewarding when You get familiar with it.

"Starless and Bible Black" is not the best Crimson album, as shown above, lot of good is to be said about the individual tracks, but as an album, to me it does not work nearly as well as the best Crimson album does. "The Night Watch" and "Trio" seems to me a bit misplaced, though i dont know where i would have put them, maby not even on this album, "The Mincer" a filler, no need for it here, with that much better improvisation right behind it. The two long instrumentals finishing the album, great tracks, not still they are sometimes a bit to much right after each other.

3,5 star rounded down, sad in a way, because so much is done right on this album. The small errors ad together in the overall impression.

This was the first of many King Crimson albums I bought. This kind of music was something I had never heard before. It just blew me away!

My favorite on the set is "The Mincer." Man, it puts you on the edge of your seat. The music is so intense. I don't think I've heard anything like it before or since its release.

Another wild tune is "Starless and Bible Black," which is wonderfully done right. It transport the listener to I don't even know where, it is so far out there. Then "Fracture" has some very intricate guitar playing that is very difficult for any guitarist to master. The whole album is definitely Robert Fripp at his best.

"The Great Deceiver" is upbeat and offbeat prog. It will suck the listener right in. Then "Lament" brings it down a notch, with some moody and effective prog oriented ideas.

This album is a must have for the prog lover. In fact, in my humble opinion, this album is the best ones by King Crimson. It gets 5 stars for originality, excellent playing,content of songs, and catchy surprises.

A lot of prog bands, King Crimson in particular, had this strange propensity to release albums that were almost complete copies or at least heavily similar to their predecessors. Of course, some of this was undoubtably an attempt at tightening up the loose ends that the previous albums left un-sewn. However, as Crimson exhibited with In the Wake of Poseidon in the past, that wasn't always the case.

And that isn't necessarily the case, here, either; one of the big misconceptions about this record is that it was merely a pale imitation of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, and nothing more. There's certainly just as much artistic merit on here as there is on Larks', and perhaps even more. The lyrics are improved significantly; they're generally reminiscent of those in "Easy Money", delineating the enormities of modern society. The individual tracks are even more explosive and engaging, with their jolting time signature changes and tasteful violin-work.

And, of course, that's only the first side.

The second side contains Crimson at their most experimental; the two epics, "Starless and Bible Black" and "Fracture", contain some of Robert Fripp's most nerve-racking guitarwork, some of David Cross's most unorthodox violin-work, and, of course, some of Bill Bruford's most independent and fractured drumwork.

But what's with the unnecessary use of invective at the poor 'health food faggot'? Offensive and unnecessary. Also, the experiments on the second side do tend to drag out a bit, but that isn't a major complaint.

Otherwise, Starless and Bible Black is an excellent album.

Of the three John Wetton era King Crimson studio albums, this one is the lesser. Which means in this case is only rates a meager four stars. Some songs sound pieced together, and therefore not quite complete. The two tracks that open the album fall into this category. But despite that flaw, both Thr Great Deceiver and Lament are both great prog songs. The former, one of the most uptempo vocal based songs of the seventies Crimson, provides quite an energetic opening to the album. And the latter (with the band's imminent breakup after the next album underlining my theory that when a band starts writing songs about how horrible it is to be in the music industry, it's time to hang it up), has some very cool rhythmic interplay.

The second half of the album is where the greatness lies. The Mincer (Did they really have to edit the ending on the CD? I like how the tape runs out on the first side of the LP.) Starless And Bible Black and especially Fracture show the height that this band was capable of.

And Bruford, not without the assistance of Jamie Muir, really shows is grasp of intricate percussion on this one.

I've been trying to write this review for the last three days without much luck. This is definitely not a good way to start my homage to Starless And Bible Black, an album that began like a pretty average King Crimson release in my collection and has now blossomed into a full-fledged masterpiece!

The biggest difference that had occurred since Larks' Tongues In Aspic was the notable level of maturity in the band's sound and direction. The compositions fit the lineup like a glove and the improvisations are as tight as they would ever be! Of course this album is not really a studio release since less than half of this material was actually recorded in a studio setting. Instead, it captures the lineups essence better than its predecessor and depicts the work in progress approach that Robert Fripp would become notorious for later on in his work with King Crimson.

The Great Deceiver is a great album-opener that kicks off the record very sharply and doesn't give us a moment of rest until the first moments of Lament. This second track starts off as a very smooth ballad with clear guitar/bass undertones of the style that the band would later develop on Red. Still, Lament is probably most remembered for its very tight jam session towards the middle of the composition and especially the abrupt ending that features one of the coolest guitar riffs in existence! The Night Watch adds another layer of depth to the band's style with prominent violin work by David Cross and Fripp's magnificent guitar. Even though I actually prefer the live version of the piece taken from the live album with the same name, this version isn't that far behind.

The best part of the album comes right towards the end with a composition that I can safely describe as my favorite song of all time! Yes, Fracture deserves nothing less that this status and listening to it will hopefully make you see things my way. It's not really a piece that I would like to break down into separate sections, even if that wouldn't be that hard to do, since its that feeling of a complete experience that makes me feel satisfied every time I hear it. It also features some of the most extreme guitar work that Robert Fripp has ever put on tape and the idea of him playing all this without overdubs completely blows my mind!

I rarely like albums that feature too much improv music, but since King Crimson were highly active in that department at that time of their career, it does make sense to hear a lot of this material on Starless And Bible Black. This album is not the easiest first listen and I would actually recommend experiencing it at least 10-20 times before making your final judgment of its material. Just remember that this is one of those albums that rewards the listener for taking the time uncovering all of its layers, be patient and it will grow on you!

***** star songs: The Great Deceiver (4:02) Lament (4:00) The Night Watch (4:37) Fracture (11:14)

**** star songs: We'll Let You Know (3:46) Trio (5:41) The Mincer (4:10) Starless And Bible Black (9:11)

While I started enjoying Larks and Red pretty quickly once I began putting a little effort into assimilating King Crimson beyond In the Court of the Crimson King, it took a very long time for me to regard this as anything other than an aggravating and overrated disappointment. As complex and noisy and filtered through avant-garde jazz as Larks was, the music that made up that release was still very controlled and precise, and if somebody was already predisposed towards prog rock it wouldn't take much more than a handful of listens to realize that Larks wasn't really so far from more "conventional" and easily assimilated forms of prog rock. King Crimson's live performances, however, tended to feature multiple group improvisations within a given concert, and these improvisations tended to take on a level of chaos and aggression that tended to go far beyond even the levels shown in much of Larks. This album contains some properly composed material in the general style of what one would expect from a successor to Larks, but it also provides a sampling of the band's live improvisations (with audience applause edited out), and there's no guarantee that a fan of Larks will necessary enjoy this material. For my part, I hated a good chunk of this album's improvised material for a long time, but while I'm still not a huge fan of it, my feelings towards it have softened considerably. Add in that I mostly like the composed material on this album quite a bit (in some cases much more than I originally did), and a significant improvement of my feelings towards the album is inevitable. I still consider it an incredibly inconsistent release, but the highs are so high that I can't help but give this a very good grade.

The first half contains three "regular" tracks interspersed with three improvs, and both aspects of the band have their ups and downs in this half. The opening "The Great Deceiver" is one of the best songs Crimson ever did, full of whacky melody twists, gruff and fast rhythm work, and a NEAT electric violin line on top of it all. It also has some hilarious lyrics against organized religion (as well as the most startling opening three words to any major prog album I can think of), inspired by a band trip to Rome. Supposedly, Fripp visited The Vatican and nearby living areas, and found his way to a gift shop in the area. He went in, and sure enough, saw that they sold, among other things, cigarettes, ice cream bars, and figurines of the Virgin Mary. Needless to say, he was disgusted, and related the tale to the band; the result was the text found here. It would be hard for me to think of a reason for a fan of the band to not love this track, even if they somehow dislike the rest of the album.

The following "Lament" is an odd chimera of pleasant balladry, screaming hard rock and angry prog jamming, and it's a weird case of a song where I like all of the individual pieces but feel like it comes together poorly. The opening verse, laced with bits of violin and mellotron, is also graced by some lovely singing, but then the song turns into a hellish mix of chaotic drumming, popping basslines and Wetton screams over frantic Frippisms, and it took me a long time to regard the song as not representing the worst aspects of prog rock bands to ruin decent material through over-complication. I more or less like the song now, but I find that I have to focus on aspects like Bruford's killer drumming more than on the overall picture. Much better is "The Night Watch," which I've always categorized as "King Crimson plays The Moody Blues" and thus have always enjoyed. The melody is rock solid balladeering, and Fripp's guitarwork (in the long drawn-out introduction but also in other bits in the song) manages to shape the song into something quite moving, bizarre sounds for a ballad and all. Not surprisingly, this was the lead single for the album; it had little to do with Crimson's new direction on the whole, but it was definitely the best impetus for drawing people into having interest in the album.

The other three tracks side one are instrumental, with the exception of some vocals that were later overdubbed into the end of "The Mincer" (which starts out centered around some eerie tuneless mellotron, then turns into a bunch of angry guitar-driven atmosphere over an ok groove before the vocals come in and the tape suddenly ends). "We'll Let You Know" has always struck me as an example of the potential downsides of the band's approach to live improvisations; there's a long period of the guitar and bass circling around each other in search of what exactly they want to do, and when the groove eventually hits, it feels oddly clumsy and, in parts, as if it's tripping over its own feet. The thing is, by the standards of improvised music, this is pretty impressive, and the fact that it doesn't completely collapse is a testament to the band's abilities; it's just that I find myself kinda wishing that the band had taken this basic idea as a starting point, cleaned it up in a studio setting, and presented it in a more traditional form. Oh well, I guess that wouldn't have been consistent with what they wanted to present in the context of this album. The remaining improv, though, speaks to the surprising beauty the band could sometimes muster up when it was making up music on the fly. "Trio" begins with a quiet Fripp mellotron improvisation, then Cross comes in on violin, then Wetton quietly plays some understated bass, and the piece grows into the three of them circling around and playing off each other in a beautiful and delicate fashion. Again, maybe the piece could have been reworked and polished into something even greater, but in this case I think that would have been to its detriment; there's a vitality here from the spontaneity of its creation that would be lost in a studio reworking.

The second half of the album consists of but two instrumental tracks, one of them improvised and one of them as tightly composed and intricate as anything on Larks (and both taken from the Amsterdam concert that also produced "Trio"). The title track (which immediately preceded "Trio" in that concert) initially follows the band's frequent rubric (as shown in "We'll Let You Know" for instance) of "Let Robert and John make a bunch of noise until they stumble on something they both like, then build a groove out of it as Bill works himself in," and while I'm not terribly fond of it on the whole (it's 9 minutes!), I have to admit that the bass groove that Wetton eventually produces (while Fripp makes all sorts of squealing guitar noises and Cross does whatever on his mellotron) is a pretty great one, especially after Bruford locks into it. The vaguely atmospheric mellotron bits in the last couple of minutes are a decent touch as well.

Where I've gone from "this kinda sucks" to "ehn, it's fine" about the title track, "Fracture" has gone for me from "This is good but horribly flawed" to "This may be flawed but it's awesome anyway." My position on the track has long been that, at 11:17, it's a little overlong and could be reduced down to 6 or 7 minutes pretty easily, and for a long time I held to the idea that it's pretty overrated by KC fans. The thing is, though, while there's still that part of me that overthinks things and sees ways to make the track a little more "efficient," it's nonetheless also true that I've found myself in the mood for this track (warts and all) an absurdly large number of times over the years, and it finally wore me down to the point that I consider it a borderline classic from this era of the band (I'd probably rate it last among the "composed" instrumentals of the 70s KC, but that just means it's an A- track instead of an A or A+). The various themes (based around a whole-tone scale, just as "Red" would be) are deployed in a way that ramps up the tension of the track to a nearly unbearable level before the band breaks into an incredible hard-prog groove that's one of the greatest head-banging moments in all of prog rock. I'm not necessarily sure if this is the best available version of the track (again, it was recorded live), but it's up there, and Bruford's "woo!" during one of the more intensely grooving sections is awfully charming.

People often go out of their way to praise the album on the grounds of how dynamic and complex it is, but I don't think that's the right way to approach it; I mean, it is dynamic and complex, but that's just a natural outgrowth of having so much of the album coming from improvisations (granted, "Fracture" is plenty dynamic and complex itself). Rather, I think that the best way to sell this album to a more casual listener is to frame it as an album from a band with roots in tradition but that wanted to see just how far they could stretch the boundaries of rock music, without having any idea of whether a given idea would work but with enough musical chops and common sense to make it plausible that it could. I still would recommend getting Larks and Red before this one, and would offer the caution that enjoying those is absolutely no guarantee of enjoying this one, but nonetheless it finally won me over, and if I respect it more than I enjoy it, I nonetheless embrace it in both ways.

Starless and Bible Black. A good album, with downright boring lifeless songs throughout. That being said, it also has some of Crimsons greatest in The Great Deciever, The Night Watch and Fracture. If you're still not a believer in Fripps guitar skills throw on Fracture and let your mind be blown. Trio is enjoyable, the whole track is basically David Cross's. It seems that King Crimson was running out of material after LTIA, as a number of these tracks are recorded live and some even improvised, because of this, some of it is just progressive noodling. The kind of thing where nothing happens for the entire song. Despite these tracks SABB is still a worthwhile recording. The weekest by the Wetton era, but that aint saying much.

I guess it's time a ante up and write a review for this album. Excellent musicianship. Experimental song constructs. Horrible singing voice and lyrics. "The Great Deceiver" God awful vocal/lyrics. A repellant song. (6/10). "Lament" Has a timeless quality to it's opening that I like--the multi-voiced vocal works. Then it turns instrumental, falls apart, and resorts to becoming a vehicle for the ear-grating vocals of John Wetton. Hate that fuzzy guitar, too! Rated up for musicianship. (7.5/10) "We'll Let You Know" Does the world really need another "Moonchild"? or a sound check/warmup exercise committed to tape? (6/10) "The Night Watch" opens like a classical orchestra warming up. Then moves into a "Goodnight, Irene"-type of crooner (without the singing, thank God). But then, au secours! JW appears in a MOODY BLUES-type voice. Pleasant enough. (8.25/10) "Trio" starts as "uno"--one Larks Ascending-like viola, then Mellotron flute, and then bass. Okay. So David Cross can play folk-classical. And Sir Robert can handle a 'tron. JW cannot. Again, why try to fake me with this (8.25/10). "Mincer" is eerie in a soundtrack way, but is too dynamic and too poorly engineered to ever be used as such--which makes sense since it was a recording of a live concert improv. Still, this is my favorite song on the album so far. I love hearing Fripp go spastic on his guit-box. (8.5/10) "Starless and Bible Black" more experimental sound/noise improv. How appropriate that it was recorded live in Amsterdam (where all kinds of wild and experimental things were legal). At 4:30 we finally get the rudimentary start of a song. It gradually evolves into quite a nice song structure, with Bruford and Wetton giving the band something inspiring to continue improving over. Sounds a little like the recent Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock experimentations. Why people rave so much about Jamie Muir, I don't know. Give me a stage full of things to heat or beat and I, too, could come up with some interesting accents. (16.5/20) "Fracture" one of those jams in which KC produce one of their menacing sounds. Magma taken darker. Lots of space in which to show off subtleties and Jamie Muir's percussion instincts. The jams toward the end are great--finally the band is playing together in a weave than can be construed as a "song". (17.5/20)

ECCENTRIC, COMPLEX PROG, BUT IT'S FUN, ACTUALLY

BACKGROUND: King Crimson had established themselves as fore-runners of progressive rock in 1969 with the landmark recording 'In the court of the Crimson King'. They struggled to follow this up, however, with an album that would make the same impact. They re-established themselves in 1973, however with the powerful 'Larks Tongues in Aspic', with a new, fresh lineup.

The new sound was full of heavy, dissonant guitars, a juxtaposition of loud sections against soft sections, an archaic feeling with violins and John Wetton's voice, and was very dark but donw-to-earth; didn't have that big symphonic backdrop that peers had, especially Genesis with Tony Banks. The playing was profession, with unusual melodies and rhythms. This was the follow up in 1974, how does it compare?

ANALYSIS: Well, compared to 'Larks ...' 'Starless and Bible Black' is more fun. The songs are quirky and bizzare, but mostly are very good. The vocals are a weakness, not to say John Wetton is a bad vocalist, but the vocals usually take a back seat to the instruments. The song 'Lament' is a mess, however, 'Night-Watch' is a fine English traditional song and 'Great Deceiver' is an excellent rock song. 'We'll let you know' is a funky instrumental that slowly builds up to a climax and 'Trio' is a pretty instrumental that might just move you to tears, something of a rarity for KC. The final short track for this album is 'The Mincer', a very eerie song that, unfortunately, has some mumbled vocals towards the end.

There are tow long instrumental on the second side, the title track and fractured. The title track is a collage of soft sounds that try to convey a feeling, more than anything, but for nine minutes this song is actually quite a non-event. Fractured, however... what a masterpiece! It's an excellent piece, that slowly builds up to a dramatic crescendo of heavy guitars, violin and feeling. The song is very well-written and is actually a lot of fun to listen to. Only a genius could write and pull-off something like this. Fripp, who wrote the song, knew how to build tension, hold the listener's interest, create an air of excitement, and he plays guitar very professionally.

CONCLUSION: My rating is more like three and a half, as opposed to four, sometimes the album is very sloppy, and the title track is somewhat of a miss-step, though not totally worth dismissing. In the end, King Crimson are very original, a strong, eccentric genius personality is in their music and their music, especially on this album, is quite fun.

Starless and Bible Black or Where King Crimson seem to be on top for me.

There is more reasons why I find this album as the best from the line-up Fripp - Wetton - Brufford - Cross (- Muir). Maybe it´s only just that lasts 5 minutes longer than LTIA and Red, or that there is more songs, in sum up 8. Probably it is the choice of songs which is really loaded with onloy great songs...

Always after hearing the first two songs I think nothing better can´t exist. On Great Deceiver, Fripp plays in the end one chord with never repeating rhythms and Cross plays amazing violin solo that pcomplements with Wetton´s singing and bass. I don´t mention Brufford much because he´s great every moment. Lament has one of the best endings I´ve ever heard, probably in 7/4 tones from Dim scale. We´ll Let You Know is gradually accelarating improvisation with brilliant last minute. After this, The Night Watch comes, where absolutely everything is perfect, from quiet beginning, lyrics, Fripp´s minor solo often jumping across the octave, to Wetton´s delicate strumming on the second stroke near the end where Cross plays. Trio is beautiful and Fripp´s howling guitar in Mincer (with catchy vocals melody) and Starless and Bible is howling and tone lasting and lasting endlessly. SaBB then goes to majestic ending and A masterpiece begins. I can´t understand how they can play it live, without A mistake, so quickly, everything put together. There aren´t even some notes which Fripp plays to be heard! I like most those parts in straccato and the hard-rock style ending - Wetton´s bass here in 15/8 plays such a cool riff and Fripp plays A tone over three strings in 5/8, at least to start... Perfect. The only objection is against a little bit poorer quality of stage recordings, but it´s a detail.

So, for me the KC album I play most often (actually from all albums generally), although my family goes soon mad. I guess it´s not easy for someone who listened to symphonic rock to get into this album, especially the second side, but after a few listenings it grew to my heart.

STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK is a record I've had a love/hate 'relationship' with for over 20 years - only since the last few years have I accepted its moodiness, its somewhat directionless eclecticism, and unique strangeness. Whilst the album before this, Larks' Tongues In Aspic, featured an eccentric percussionist by the name of Jamie Muir, whose incredible skills help shape a most wonderful landmark of Progressive rock history, here Master Bruford has taken on the responsibility of playing all the percussive nik-naks, as well as the kit, himself. He learnt well from Muir (who reputedly dropped a gong on his foot and joined a monastery...) and applied this knowledge to the musical extravaganzae on this album. We still have guitarist/mellotronist Robert Fripp being his 'usual' self (and that means 'unpredictable'), John Wetton who is an exceptional bassist with a great voice to boot, and David Cross with his Violin/Viola contributions and backing keyboards (since some of this material is recorded live, I don't think Fripp mastered playing the mellotron with his feet whilst soloing on his Les Paul - though I'm sure he probably tried...). The first half of the album has six tracks between 3 and 6 minutes where the styling varies between almost heavy metal ('Great Deceiver', parts of 'Lament'), to funky ('We'll Let You Know'), pastoral and slightly folky ('The Night Watch'), to mellow, meandering and mysterious ('Trio' and 'The Mincer'). The second side features 2 lengthy improv pieces recorded live in Holland at the time - 'Starless and Bible Black' and 'Fracture'. These two tracks reflect the spontaneous nature of this creative unit, but lacks the collective 'magic' which was apparent on Larks' Tongues, and the focus of the next masterpiece, 'Red'. Overall, I am content to award SaBB with 4 stars, but it's easy to see how this album holds divided opinions.

NOT AS GOOD AS "LARKS TONGUES IN ASPIC" and "RED", BUT GOOD

"Starless and Bible Black"is the disc of counterpoint between the frenzy of experimentation and "Larks ..." and the sound of heavy and aggressive "Red". Of the eight tracks, only two were made in a studio (the first two). The rest are made live improvisations.

And these are two studio tracks that I like more. "The great deceiver" is quite heavy and interesting, with great vocals, but "Lament" is my preferred.Her begins where the other left off, an abrupt note, before between Fripp's guitar and lead us to the theme principal.After Wetton's vocals (I consider this album his best work on bass), the music enters a very dark section, but the best part is just that.

Then we come to improvisations.Personally only two are worth: "We'll Let You Know" and "Fracture". The others are forgettable.And i am boring in relation to the improvisations of the King Crimson (sorry, I do not I put up with songs like "Moonchild","The Talking Drum" or "Providence"), then I like to at least two must be very good because they are the same (or at least that's what I think).

Well, overall this album is a somewhat confusing, and is the weakest part of this trilogy of albums from KC, but it's better than I expected.

Poor, poor sandwich album... the relative "bread" is so appetising; it could be ANY record wedged in between 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic' and 'Red' and it would look mediocre in comparison. 'Starless and Bible Black' is unlucky in this respect, but deserves to be heard for the simple reason that it is very good.

The line-up from '73 remains, sans Jamie Muir, but he had influenced Bruford enough for the drummer to incorporate similarly crazy percussiveness into the music on this album. The angluar and distorted guitars, linear compositions and immense dynamic range that so characterised this incarnation of the band are also present. But now we are seeing improvisation taking a bigger role, even in the studio, as well as an effort to create more succinct, straight-rock pieces. Of these, 'The Great Deceiver' is the most successful; an action-packed, hard-rock anthem that wouldn't be too out-of-place on a Led Zeppelin record. 'Lament' is also cool with its contrasting vocal sections and excellent polyrhythms. The other one I'll mention is 'The Night Watch', the token symphonic piece, which could benefit from being longer and even more epic, as it carries all the emotion of a great 'Epitaph' or 'Exiles'.

To pass the rest of the material on here as improvised noodling would be harsh, but a lot of it seems that way until one gets one's head firmly around it. The pieces are all of a different feel, 'We'll let you know' bluesy and rocking, 'Trio' calm and sublime, the title track rather dark and climactic. 'The Mincer' is aimless, building up to what seems like an introduction (making the first 3 minutes a pre- introduction?) and then being cut-off just before anything interesting happens. But overall, and when interspersed with the composed songs, the effect of these ditties is a flowing and successful album with great balance, if a little unmemorable.

However, there is a grand finale that I haven't mentioned. A strictly composed, mega-composition made of interlocking themes; some dark, some pretty, some fiendishly quick and some blisteringly loud. I of course refer to the wonderous rock bolero 'Fracture', an achievement for Robert Fripp and the pinnacle of guitar composition in the 20th century. It is proof of this band's staggering technical ability (and sheer power) that the recording is actually live, but with essential overdubs by Fripp. The piece builds in speed and volume but each time it reaches a peak, quietens down again to add a new layer of complexity. 'Fracture' must refer to the state of Robert's finger bones after he plays it! Without that song, 'Starless and Bible Black' would seem a bit more directionless, a bit less satisfying and a lot shorter.

But with it, I really like the feel of the album, and the marriage of (apparent) chaos and absolute order. I only ask that it isn't ignored because of the big guns that surround it. Cross is featured less and Wetton more, but that isn't so much of a bad thing, and Bruford has improved since Yes. 'Starless and Bible Black' is a defining album of King Crimson's second era, featuring some immense music but sadly a little filler too.

Starless and Bible Black is one of the early King Crimson releases that I really don't care for. The sound here is really messy avant-garde and jazz influenced hard rock, mostly with emphasis on the avant-garde and rock. There also is a prominent funk influence, but it doesn't really work too well in my opinion. Everything on this album has always seemed incredibly messy and forced without lacking any clear direction. The musicianship is undeniably incredible, but any one element does stand out at all through the barrage of noise. I can't honestly say that I recommend this album, but some people tend to enjoy it. I don't particularly care for it, but perhaps you will.

Starless and Bible Black ? 1974 (2.4/5) 8 ? Best Song: I got no clue! Ever wondered what KC'd be like if they decided to go hogwild and perform as a rockin' heavy prog act, a la Rush? No? Me either. Luckily that will never happen in the entirety of all music. There's probably a higher chance that Steven Speilberg will communicate with aliens via an old mono copy of Duran Duran's Rio. What's the special note about Starless and Bible Black, then? Well, it does begin with the unforgettable phrase 'Health Food Faggot'. Because the group has entered into a relatively stable line-up, the sound hasn't changed so much since Larks'. It's a series of overproduced, powerful jam sessions. The rock guitar engineering is at an all time high, which might seem to be a real benefit, but the lyrics (which I usually ignore) are worthless. That last sentence made no sense. It might seem like a real benefit, but the slick production weakens everything in sight. Even if Fripp lays onto us a massive, monumental riff, chances are they'll ignore it to have sappy violins drown everything in redundant pomposity. What a bunch of unpredictable [%*!#]ers. Ugh, this might actually be the worst King Crimson album, yet. I hate to say it, but the soft violins and cavernesque hollows they try to overproduce in each and every song grows off a man very quickly. Imagine an entire album of Moonchild played on repeat. It's so pointless, but at least they have more internal integrity than Gene Simmons!

Starless and Bible Black, not to be confused with the song that contains the phrase on the universally acclaimed Red, is a rather uncompromising album in the King's discography. An album of strain-till-you-can-hear quiet and abstract noise, it actually begins with with quite a frenzy on the (aptly named) The Great Deceiver, which also throws out a rather infamous jape at the start (and in retrospect, not as well worded as Fripp my have intended.) It then moves into a sad sounding song in which The Fripp laments, perhaps cynically, about about "Blues kids playing his licks" before descending into a fury of intense, but purposeful noise as only King Crimson could create at their prime. Then, abruptly, the album virtually takes itself of the turntable/CD player/whatever the case may be, and replaces itself with a completely different album.

The rest is a truly one-of-a-kind album full of weird sounds, abstract beeps and boops, and crashes that sound like they could belong on a complex, electro Autechre album (a weird impression I had) and often goes into totally alien sound territory, then comes back with a jazz/funk or classical sound before phasing out into space again.

The main complaint the gets levied here, is that the rest is both seemingly unmusical at times, and somewhat indiscernible from itself. While both statements are true, I don't see it as a problem. The album both explores strange new sound territory, and manages to be one of those albums of which there was nothing like at the time, and still remains one of the strangest, most unique things you are likely to hear anywhere. It is not, however, for the listener who relies on a good amount of, uh, recognizable song structure as well as vocals in their music. But for those who dare to visit a dark and beautiful sonic world unlike their own, it hits a sweet spot.

A strong followup to Lark's Tongues in Aspic - though I don't think it's quite hits the fifth star, following up an absolute masterpiece with another excellent album is still an achievement to be proud of, and displays a level of consistency which previous lineups of King Crimson had failed to attain. The album takes an interesting approach of mixing studio tracks in with edited highlights from live performances, most of which coming from the legendary Netherlands concert which would be released in its entirety on The Night Watch. To be honest, I prefer hearing the relevant songs in that context, especially the side two improvisations, because the live album captures the concert atmosphere which inspired them very well. But either way, it's a good King Crimson album which no fan of the Larks'-to-Red sound will want to pass up.

This is one of the best 70's prog albums released, yet it seems to suffer from being surrounded by comparisons with the KC masterpieces of LTIA and Red, and hence gets a much lower rating than it would probably receive otherwise. I also don't see the improvisations as a negative here, as improv has always been a huge part of what makes KC so great. Breaking my rating down track by track, I rate The Great Deceiver, and Lament 5 star tracks, The Night Watch and Starless and Bible Black at 4.5 stars, Trio and The Mincer at 4.0 stars, and We'll Let You Know at 3.5 stars. Now, saving the best for last, Fracture is absolutely at another level. It is easily one of KC's greatest tracks and therefore one of the greatest tracks ever in prog history. This is where a five star rating system fails miserably, as I would easily give Fracture 10 stars out of 5 if that were possible. I am in awe every time I hear Fracture, that music could possibly be this good. Overall, this is easily a 5 star album.

King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black (1974)

On the 'Larks Tongues in Aspic' album the legendary progressive rock group King Crimson re-established itself as founder of proto-metal progressive rock act under the ever bright waving flag of Robert Fripp. On this second offering of this line-up (that is the first that could be called 'steady') the band continues its course with heavy rock influences, harmonic experimentation and creative compositions.

John Wetton's vocals seem to have grown and the lyrics by Palmer-James provide some new bite to the music, mainly on the well written and performed 'The Night Watch' (based on the famous Dutch painting). The sound of the album is still a bit muddy, just like on the one before this. On side there is mainly song-writing and tracks with short experimentation, whilst the second side is fully instrumental and consists of two tracks (that sound like one) with free expression and heavy guitar experimentation. Most songs sound a bit like loose sand and the brilliance of form (that was a strong elemental of the debut) isn't reached any moment. Having that said, songs like 'The great Deceiver', the ballad-type 'Lament' and 'The Night Watch' are good tracks. 'Trio' has a long fade-in but does evolve into a nice instrumental, almost folk track. 'The Mincer' sounds as if it were only the intro for more to come, but the side ends just when this track begins to get shape. The intro is however very strong. On side two 'Starless and Bible Black' and 'Fracture' are both good psychedelic/progressive compositions/improvisations with inventive heavy guitars by Fripp and a strong rhythmical section by Wetton and Bruford. The percussionist of 'Larks' isn't missed a moment. The band doesn't invent much that wasn't heard on its predecessor, but more strong Crimson tracks are always welcome.

One thing that still bothers me is the lack of understanding how much dynamics a record can have. The enormous difference between loud en soft passages is almost frustrating, especially on side two. One moment you can't almost hear a thing (though the band is playing), the second moment I can't even talk to my company because of the loudness of the music. This makes the music un-attractive for people that aren't too well introduced to the progressive genre.

Conclusion. Another good King Crimson record, but I'm really glad the band changed its vision on production values on the follow-up 'Red'. The soft-loud differences are a problem. Some of the song-writing is really attractive and the inventiveness and dark/heavy sound remains a winner. I guess it's just great to have some bad-ass darkness sounding compositions from time to time. They feel powerful. Having that said, 'Starless and Bible Black' will have to settle for the small three-and-halve star rating. Recommended to fans who also liked 'Red' and 'Larks', but not a great starting point for new-comers.

6/10

"Starless And Bible Black" is a constantly neurotic piece of music that keeps the listener alert for the most part.

King Crimson are known for being daring at each album they release. Mostly, their experimentation relies on strong instrumentation, complex song structures, but especially improvisation. In a way, 'Starless And Bible Black', containing all three of these elements, is the most experimental and daring album they've released.

Being their sixth studio album, the band had left us quite a bit of material before SABB: the previous effort was and still is praised as one of the great albums of Progressive Rock ('Larks Tongues In Aspic') because of it's brave innovation and instrumentation. If that was one of the most solid and focused LP's of the band, this one is definitely more stretched out, more spread, and has wider boundaries, however, it's not focused or solid enough to be praised as much. One of the main reasons is definitely because on more than half of these forty one minutes are improvisation, whether in studio or recorded live, or whether the vocal parts were dubbed to the improvised music. The written material ends up covering only a small part of the LP. The music here itself however isn't very far from the sounds of 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic'; there are heavy, wild moments, especially in the first few songs, where sax, guitar, and jazzy rhythms are dominant. But the slower parts are the complete opposite of peaceful: At all times, this album is extremely neurotic, tense, and anxious. The eclectic instrumentation, which includes for the best part wild percussion, as it did even more in the previous album, highlights the nervousness of the sound.

'Starless And Bible Black' is a continuous mystery, but it is frustrating how some times, despite the huge attention that it requires and for the most part gains, what is heard isn't extremely thought-provoking or daring. It's listening to multiple improvisations that occasionally build into bursts of virtuously fierce moments, and then one down a bit. It's a sort of roller coaster that expects you to be constantly paranoid, when there's nothing really to be scared of, because despite the freedom it has music-wise, it doesn't push the envelop too far.

It manages for the most part, however, to be quite entertaining, especially in songs like the first two, the fierce yet memorable 'The Great Deceiver', and the more mysterious and intriguing 'Lament'. The improvised parts have their moments as well, like the brief 'We'll Let You Know' or the much longer title track, which boasts amazing musicianship on behalf of everybody. 'The Mincer' is improvised as well, however, vocals by John Wetton were added in studio. 'Trio' is a sort of mellower instrumental piece, while 'Fracture' is actually the most studied and complex song off the album. Finally, a nice little piece of beauty, 'The Night Watch', with good vocals by Wetton.

'Starless And Bible Black' is an extremely ambitious album by King Crimson, and despite the few negatives, it is absolutely well worthwhile. Essential for fans, but people who aren't so shouldn't hesitate.

My recollections of purchasing this are as vivid today as it was in 1974 when I got this as a birthday gift from my very first girlfriend/lover. I remember what I was wearing and the fast food joint where we met for a kiss and an exchange of gifts. Ever since that glorious day, I have a special place in my ventricle for this iconoclastic offering from a band that has set its stone in the prog palace yet does not evoke the highest marks by the general review illuminati who love to rate (aka competition) albums against each other, case in point the previous white "Larks Tongues in Aspic" (a total masterpiece) and the black funnily titled "Red" monument. The problem is therefore not with the 2 bookends but with the book. This recording is just as mind-blowing, jaw-slacking and ear-bleeding. Obviously, I have an emotional wing (she was French and very hot!) to go with my prayer but the facts are there: 1- Gorgeous cover, the original LP has a unique gravel-like cardboard that made it even more enticing 2- The sheer contrasts of softness and power that is the KC signature after all is suitably demonstrated in spades. 3- The quality of the performance and the material presented is simply extraordinary.

"The Great Deceiver" has fooled many fans who had never heard of the Crimson King into believing this was a metal track (that Metallica fan went on to buy Red, never recovered OMG!) . I mean is there a more brutal assault ever? No bleeping sissy intro, Wham! Straight for the jugular at supersonic speed, stopping on a bass dime and sounding effing effortless (needed that wordplay Mister Editor!) in the process, aw. C'Mon! "Cigarettes, ice cream, Cadillacs and blue jeans, figurines of the Virgin Mary", yes its sweet sedition, sonic rape, aural sex, whatever. Mostly, it's bloody insane. One word describes this 4 minute scorcher. DEVASTATING!

"Lament" immediately sets a quieter expanse, mellotron and sweet violin caressing the Wetton vocals along. Bruford boots in some savvy percussives, Wetton gets hot under the collar and begins to rumble, Fripper growling smugly, seated bifocally as always. This ability to surge into rapid ascents and dives is why their music always has this impalpable ominous streak, almost immoral or better even, perverse! The vibrant "We'll Let You Know" doesn't get much recognition but its one of my fave KC tracks ever, proof positive that Bruford is a mastermind of rhythmic polyvalence as well as reminding many that Wetton was a scintillating bass player in his heyday. I mean when the drums kick in, its just plain ferocious! Cross screeches and scratches with more authority than on LTiA and he is set to soar as on the glorious "The Night Watch" where only the Fripp solo glows higher in the night sky! This is such tremendous piece of classic prog showcasing the little details that make KC so special, the little touches of oriental influence in the mid-section for example. I still shake my head in bewilderment 37 years later. Like Bruford wearing a Boston Bruins hockey jersey! Eternal memories. . He stated in 1995: " When you want to hear where music is going in the future, you put on a King Crimson album."

Best example of opposing tones is in the next 2 tracks, a bold maneuver. The mystical and mellotron/violin heavy "Trio" gently seeps through the suddenly silent grooves with elegance and refinement whilst maintaining that foreboding I mentioned earlier. A pulsating, living organism that is inspired, genuine and ultimately free. Like a soundtrack for a sci-fi or horror movie, KC likes to elicit visions of radiant hope and contrast that "subito" with illicit darkness, which is what "The Mincer" portrays rather bleakly. Ominous, brooding, menacing, Fripp's buzz-saw axe grinds with phosphorescent burn slashing among galloping Brufordisms (this is not noodling and if it is, definitely 'al dente") , Wetton finally adding some obtuse Beatles-like singing that is again at odds with the surroundings, stroking his palpitating bass into a sudden death eargasm. The final 2 tracks could have fitted easily on the subsequent Red magnum opus. The title track is a semi-constructed improv (as per usual with this crew) that settles scores with any technical doubters and served only to augment their already burgeoning legend. In fact, as exemplified on this extended piece and the next, SaBB is Bruford's finest work ever, no weirdo Jamie Muir to fence with, all responsibility on his imposing Tintin frame. The red-ish "Fracture" is of course an iconic composition, featuring carnal guitar playing like you cannot possibly fathom let alone imitate, permeating a soft brutality, a silken torture if you will, that defies logic. The others only provide the needed platform for Robert to exhibit his unique gift, mathematical precision within the widest emotional expanse is a trait very few can crow about. (Who else? MacLaughlin? Santana? Miles Davis? Magma?) . Listening to this is like attending a Hawkwind concert in the 70s. Devastating and what can you listen to after such an onslaught?

This music is as modern sounding in 2012 than when it appeared on the scene, scaring the crap out of the rock world in the process, preaching the future Math, Metal and Post scene. I have heard this album so often; I can even tell where you hear the lads yelping of glee in the background! King Crimson could peel paint from a wall a mile away was one of the multiple innocuous comments made by the maestro. Good on You, Bobbi.

Black was and still is Beautiful.

5 Splintered Liars

Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk once said: "Sometimes I can taste the sounds. There are a lot more feelings than just the feeling going through the ears. The whole body can feel the sounds" (1975). I would say the same thing about myself, especially when it comes down to listening to "Starless and Bible Black." Hats off to the prog-rockers that made prog-rock taste like condensed milk. Yummy.

The record is detested by many to have an awful job done at mixing the tracks. Others may detest it for atonality. Also, some may loathe it for the snooze-fest induced through tension build-up during the improvisations. How many entries have I listed? Three? And you know what? They are nothing. Let's not sue the group or the producer, or the sound engineer for the mixing job, OK? It was '73-'74, and the idea of dubbing the audience out of the picture was something that was not frequently practiced. I bet if you try to pull that off today, you still would not be satisfied with the results. (That is unless you have a spare supply of microphones for every Tom, Dick, and Harry on stage. OK, so maybe they did not think ahead of time. Big deal!)

Now, about "The Great Deceiver" - the music is too good! A guy at one of my jobs once called the intro to the opener as "fast country." Think he is right? Maybe. But the most driving ingredient here is Bob Fripp's guitar. He still knew how to rock, and so did the rest of the band. They could still write some resonant, other times compelling material. Such is the story for the rest of the album.

I forgot to mention the performance quality of certain jams, like "We'll Let You Know." I think that one is not that bad. I believe what the Crims were trying to do was to imitate the approach that Miles Davis had developed and utilized when he was working with his 1969-1970 crew: a bit of poking, feeling your way around musically. If King Crimson would not be allowed different ways of building up intensity, than why did Miles allow himself that?

I guess what I'm trying to saying in this review is that the user would benefit more from this album if he/she went a little easier on the record, on the band, on the producer, and the sound engineer, and tried to enjoy the good sides of the album and adapt to its minuscule flaws. Again, time will tell. When? I don't know.

As for the advantages, the jam tracks are tight, and most of them are just blazing! Big thanks to Mr. Fripp. My biggest favorite of those is 'Fracture', one of the best (maybe even the best) "prog-metal" performances ever. And the soft tracks in the middle, gee, I really don't want to get on your nerves about my ideas of perfect music-writing. 'Night Watch' and 'Trio' are intelligently built and they are just too good. 'Night Watch' benefits from the same things that define the quality of Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds", namely melody and sound. John Wetton's voice is really sweet, and the way he sings that "Wo-o-owo-o-owo-o-..." - God, I just can't pin it down. Robert Fripp's solo in the same spot is just beyond those popular top-of-the-line rock solos. Bra--vo! As for 'Trio', I will say just this: I would sound like someone who escaped from a mental hospital if I already started writing my impression of the track. The only normal thing I have to say is that Bill Bruford was deservedly co-credited for this track.

Amazing!

I would argue that this album is even better than its neighbors, Larks' Tongues in Aspic and Red. The improv pieces on this album are a great representation of Wetton-era King Crimson's style, much better than Red's Providence.

The Great Deceiver is my favorite short King Crimson song, and certainly a powerful opener. After an abrupt transition comes Lament, which starts out in good contrast to the opener, soft and melodic. Then it transitions to a very heavy third and fourth verse, ending strong. We'll Let You Know is a nice bass-based improv, transitioning nicely into the beautiful Night Watch. Trio is a very relaxing string-based improv on which Bruford was credited for his decision not to play. The Mincer is the weakest track, but even it has it's merits. The title track is a long-form improv, typical of the Wetton-led lineup.

The album closes Fracture. If you ever begin to doubt Robert Fripp's greatness, go listen to Fracture again. And again, and again. Then realize this was recorded live, so there is only ONE guitar playing - Fripp's. Even better listen to one of the many live versions of this song/ Every note is sheer prog-rock perfection, from the unnerving opening to the monumental conclusion.

Starless and Bible Black is an awesome, essential album that every fan of prog should have. Fripp fans get an extra treat (just as David Cross fans got treated on Larks Tongues.)

9.5/10 (.5 off for the Mincer)

Although this album is quite disjointed, the majority of it contains very good music. I really like the first two songs with vocals. Some pieces are a little too experimental for my liking. "We'll Let You Know" is not bad but just when it's starting to get interesting, it abruptly ends! "Trio" is the prettiest of the instrumentals and it reminds me a lot of some early Kraftwerk. Throughout this effort there's a nice mixture of sweet and ominous much like off "Larks Tongues In Aspic". My favourite track of all is the final one "Fracture" which is just as great as the title tracks from the band's last album in my opinion. It at least has a cool musical structure unlike the title piece from this album. Three stars.

A raw and metallic precursor to the same year's superb 'Red' album, 1974's 'Starless & Bible Black' would find King Crimson exhibiting a singularly nihilistic and darkly-wrought sonic streak ever at odds with the flowery symphonic music produced by many of their fellow progressive acts, explaining just why they are one of the few such acts to be accepted outside of prog-rock circles. With maybe only Van Der Graaf Generator coming close to replicating the trademark daunting atmospherics and challenging musical ideology of Crimson's best work, it's safe to say that the group formed by Robert Fripp back in the late sixties can be claimed as perhaps the purest evocation of the much-maligned genre, each of their original eight studio albums from between 1969 and 1974 characterized by it's own individual stylistic themes. Coming at the end of their initial phase of activity, 'Starless & Bible Black' is often, if not always, overshadowed by it's successor, an album that alongside 1969's debut 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' is regarded as one of their true classics and therefore one of the progressive rock genre's outstanding achievements. Therefore it is virtually impossible to discuss this album outside of the context of 'Red', the two entwined both in their conception and execution. 'Red', of course, is the superior album, yet 'Starless & Bible Black' also has it's merits, though in the grand scheme of all things King Crimson this is not a 'classic' release. It is, however, a significant one, laying a fresh heavy rock foundation so very different from the material produced by their contemporaries, such as the hopeful, fantasy-flecked musings of Yes or the cosmic soundscapes of Pink Floyd. Tracks such as 'the Mincer' are burnished with an ominous tone, Fripp's cutting and deliberately-discordant guitars creating a swirling, proto-metal effect several years ahead of it's time, whilst the album's closing pieces - the title-track and the lengthy 'Fracture' - also mine a similarly dark sonic pathway to impressive if sometimes overly-aggressive effect. Very much a dry run for 'Red', this is a stark, grinding and relentlessly metallic affair so untypical of both the group and the genre. It's not an altogether pleasant listen, the grimly fascinating moments of dissonant feedback and experimental curiosity almost deliberate in their attempts to confront the listener, yet this is also (another) highly-original statement from a group whose musical explorations never seem sated. Recommended then, but beware: this album bites.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Hey all, time for another review of the prog rock variety. What's on tap? Well, the 6th album by King Crimson entitled Starless and Bible Black. Honestly speaking, I have yet to find what is so great about this band. I get the fact that they were one of the first Prog Rock acts from the UK but I feel they are just an average outfit and a tad bit overrated. What is the deal here? Why are they so loved by many here on PA(is it because they supposedly invented Prog Rock??). Well let me tell you this, that's a slap in the face to Pink Floyd and The Nice and a few other bands (The Soft Machine and the Moody Blues) that tried doing different things in rock music. I understand that King Crimson tried to experiment but I feel that they end up wasting precious time and their improvs/experiments just really weren't that interesting (in my opinion of course). Pretty much everyone from the last album returned for this one (with the exception being percussionist Jamie Muir). It was released in early 1974 and I believe it is a mix of both live and studio material (interesting idea actually). For me, Starless and Bible Black is a very odd recording where it too (like Lizard before it) has its moments but it also has just really bad moments. Moments where the music just makes no sense at all (at least to my untrained ears lol) but enough of my babbling. Here is my review of Starless and Bible Black by the Crims.

Here is the tracklisting for this odd recording. Let's get the ball rolling!

1) The Great Deceiver - I believe this is a pretty darn good track. My only complaints are that it is too short and that chorus is repeated a little more than needed. Not a bad track at all though. 8/10

2) Lament - Initially, this one did not get me but it has since become a pretty nice bit. However, this too is also too short. 8/10

3) We'll Let You Know - Experimental piece but it's not that good in my opinion. Even though there is a pretty good bass riff carrying it, it doesn't appeal to me all that much. It also does not seem to have a point to it. Sounds like the band members were playing different tunes (maybe that was the point??). It really does not appeal to me. 4/10

4) The Night Watch - This piece is actually a pretty darn good piece of music. I have appreciated it more as time has passed. My favorite off of the album up to this point. 10/10

5) Trio - This classically inspired piece reminds me a bit of the violin and quiet bits of Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part One (showing a little bit of repetition, it happens). It is a beautiful track but it definitely seems out of place on the album. 8/10

6) The Mincer - This song is yet another song that suffers from repetition and by its length being so short. However, unlike the previous tracks before it this one is really not that good at all. It is just awful fluff to my untrained ears. Not a fan of it at all. 2/10

7) Starless and Bible Black - Yet again another experiment gone wrong. While the bass and drums sound very groovy and great it just doesn't seem to have a purpose or direction. I don't think it is as bad as the Mincer and We'll Let You Know before it but it too lacks any idea or focus (maybe that's the point? I don't know). I am not too big on it. 6/10

8) Fracture - This instrumental is probably the best thing (right up there with the Night Watch) on the album. It is also probably the best Crimson instrumental. I don't have any complaints about it. 10/10

Overall, King Crimson delivers yet another album that has some pretty strong points (most notably the Night Watch and Fracture) and some not so strong points for me (We'll Let You Know, The Mincer and Starless and Bible Black). It's not quite as satisfying for me in comparison to Larks' Tongues in Aspic (the previous release). You would think that the band would get better and better no? Instead, I'm left with a dry feeling listening to this as I find myself saying "this band recorded Larks Tongues??". At times (for me at least) this album sounds uninspired and lackadaisical (like they wanted to deliberately "outprog" their peers). A huge letdown for me as I thought for once King Crimson had a great lineup. It's ruined to a certain degree here. I am not saying that Starless and Bible Black is a bad album because it is not but it is a step down from the outstanding Larks' Tongues in Aspic (for me at least). Yet another 3 star rating for the Crimso. Peace out!!

King Crimson's follow up to A Lark's Tongue in Aspic, is one of the weaker Crimson albums of the 1970s. Yet even with this being weaker, it has some of my favorite King Crimson moments. I love the Great Deceiver, it would have been a great single, full of bombast and expertise, and the only spot that I know where Fripp contributed to the lyrics - Fripp heard a vendor outside of the Vatican harking "Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the Virgin Mary" and insisted to Palmer-James to include that line in the the song.

The other excellent song is the guitar workout Fracture, which was later reworked as Frakctured on The ConstruKction of Light. Fripp has repeatedly said that this was the most difficult song to play, and I concur (it takes a lot more dexterity than I have, that's for sure).

The most intriguing song is the live Trio, which only has Fripp, Wetton, and Cross participating in the improvisation. However, Bruford gained writing credit by NOT playing.

All in all weak but interesting and a sign post for the future album Red.

This album is a strange one. I was used to KC's albums like 'In the Court of the Crimson King' and 'In the Wake of Poseidon' so I found 'Starless and Bible Black' not quite as interesting when I picked out a few songs. While listening to 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic', I realised that I had not been listening to this album in the way I should have. The songs are much rawer than the balladeering style of their epics on their earlier albums, and the great grooving bass by John Wetton is quite different from the melodic bass by Greg Lake. KC has become another band, and I should have a different approach on its music then, too. So I listened to 'Starless and Bible Black' again.

-The Great Deceiver: The blasting sound of the raw guitar, fast-paced violin, devilish drums and groovy bass create the sound of the first track on this album. A surprise, as I did not expect to find such on an album that has been described by the most as 'boring' and 'with no feeling'.

-Lament: I do not really like the pompous part at the beginning of the track, but for the rest it sounds absolutely great, as groovy as it is with a slight blend of metal.

-We'll Let You Know: A great track that starts from scratch and builds up a great jam with drums kicking in on the last part of the song. A shame only the latter doesn't last any longer than just under a minute.

-The Night Watch: The first real ballad of the album. I dislike the part in which the percussion nearly makes you deaf at the beginning, but lucky for me it goes away and the beauty of this composition is revealed! I love it from there on! A beatiful violin introduces the sung part of the track and the guitar succeeds the violin in carrying the song to a climax on which your goozebumps will get little rest.

-Trio: I needed multiple listens to truly understand the essence of this song. The Night Watch might just be a buffer zone between the energetic We'll Let You Know and the lovely sound of Trio. It doesn't get boring either.

-The Mincer: It stays a spooky jam with no real core or whatsoever. If this song and the title track were kept out of the record, I might have even given it 5/5.

-Starless And Bible Black: See above. This one goes nowhere either.

-Fracture: The surprise of the SABB! When I first heard this song I thought it would be a messy jam just like the previous two, but actually this track is great! The best track of the album, even! The fast-paced guitar of Robert Fripp leads you through aggressive bass lines and violins straight from hell! It seems like King Crimson wakes up from the shrouded jams of nowhere-land.

Conclusion: I do not understand the people saying this album isn't worth listening to. It's actually great, but one should not mind the title track and The Mincer. The rest is just great!

This album is the pinnacle example of one in which the listener must keep in mind the context under which its material came into existence. Sure, the tracks for the most part seem a little more free-form than on most other albums in their discography, which is already saying a lot, but that's because this album is largely comprised of improvisational numbers taken from their live shows and EQed to an appropriate mix for a studio album. This is a ballsy move that is sure to leave some people cold. The defining factor in assessing whether or not one will enjoy this album is if they like KC's improv chops and/or how forgiving they are of open experimentation. This reviewer was completely sold and is willing to give it high marks without reservation.

This album demonstrates a tremendous amount of variety. The three in-studio songs (The Great Deceiver, Lament, and The Night Watch) are all awesome tracks in their own right, striking a balance between the upbeat energy of the LTIA songs and showing signs of the grit that would so prominently characterize red in its infancy. The improvised numbers are incredibly solid. I find it so immensely impressive that these were being formulated on the spot. This really speaks for the level of musicianship demonstrated by these four talented individuals and just how cohesively they functioned as an ensemble. Each one also presents a unique mood, proving that there was no end to their ability to evoke and express a tremendous variety of emotions in their playing. It's not only gratifying to hear how talented they were technically speaking, but how much feeling went into each performance. They're not just guys with instruments. They're true musicians and emotionally expressive artists. Nobody can deny the wealth of emotion being conveyed by these works, and this is what makes this album truly special.

As if there weren't already plenty of reason to love and appreciate this album's unique charm, we have at the end what I consider to be the group's finest instrumental achievement: the composition Fracture. I refer to this as a composition, not just as an instrumental track on a rock album, because this is so expertly composed with masterful formal treatment, contrasting moods, exploitation of dynamics and the unique idiomatic qualities of each instrument, and thematic statement, development, and recapitulation that characterizes the finest works of the classical music realm. I'm in awe of just how truly expressive and deep this work is every time I hear it. This single piece encapsulates the strongest traits of KC's music and musicians within its diverse passages: justifiable and expressive virtuosity, powerful emotion that needs no words to be communicated, and a tremendous amount of variety, balance, bold innovation, and a willingness to play some of the most challenging material and still make it sound both easy to pull off and pleasantly natural to the listener. What could make this monumental piece better than that? How about the fact that what you're hearing was recorded at a live performance and contains no overdubs? Because that's exactly what happened, and yes, Robert Fripp really is capable of playing that many notes in that many layered parts for that long with that degree of clarity, consistency, and control while incorporating articulations, dynamics, and other expressive shadings into each second of his performance without needing any help.

Whether you like this album or not, it's impossible to deny the amount of guts and ambition it must have taken to release a collection of tracks based largely on material that was conceived and performed spontaneously at live performances. At least you know this way that they are not only capable of recreating the incredibly challenging material they've been producing, but bringing something new, fresh, and dynamic to the table with each new performance. This album is a bold masterpiece in my mind, and I award it 5 stars without hesitation.

Starless and Bible Black usually gets less love than it's neighbors, Lark's Tongues and Red. Although they're all brilliant - it's King Crimson - I prefer Starless and Bible Black to Lark's Tongues. The latter is a little TOO free-jazz for me; it's too unstructured. Starless and Bible Black finds a great balance of elements.

One of the reasons I love Starless so much is the way the songs are arranged. Whatever reason the band had for grouping the short songs on side one and the two long ones on side two, it works for me. It emphasizes the variety of material on the album. The aggressiveness of later albums is here in "The Great Deceiver" and "We'll Let You Know".

The symphonic influence is here in "Starless" and " Trio". It's a real shame that David Cross' string playing didn't continue as part of the band's sound. "We'll Let You Know" is as funky as you could ask for. "Trio" could be the most beautiful song King Crimson ever produced. It's hard to find things to criticize here; this whole album is better than 95% of what you're going to hear on rock music radio. "Starless and Bible Black" gets 4 1/2 stars.

I'll make this short & sweet, Only because "S&BB" is, yes, an indispensible addition to any Crimson fan's library.

However, There is a serious flaw contained within it that the original buyers of this album in March-April 1974 would never have been made aware of, and probably still aren't aware of to this day.......

The track "Starless and Bible Black", long known as an improvisational piece, was actually:

"edited due to the constraints of vinyl" (David Singleton's exact phrase)

Now, personally, I don't know what this means exactly,

EXCEPT for the fact that we as listeners are not hearing the COMPLETE track as it was performed by KC on November 23rd, 1973.

In other words, parts have been cut out presumably in order to "save space" for Fracture, which immediately follows the title track.

SOMEONE who was present at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, with a tape recorder, NEEDS to come forth and GIVE all of us RABID, frothing-at-the-mouth, King Crimson enthusiasts.

To this day, I ask........"WHY?.....Why did you do this to us?"

The improv sounds great on it's own, the way it was mixed/mastered onto the album, but.....

To KNOW (thank you very much D. Singleton) that the track lasted a few minutes longer than the released record portrays.....is.......simply.......Frustrating.

Otherwise, excellent album.

"Starless and Bible Black" is perhaps the misunderstood second act of a glorious trilogy. While "Larks Tongues" and "Red" are focused and methodical, this album is a little bit more meandering, heavy on improv and has dramatic shifts in style and temperament over the course of the disc.

This albums ends about a million miles from where it starts. The first two tracks are more straight-ahead rock (which I think is the least interesting part of the album) whereas the entire second side of the album is completely instrumental, and actually pretty scary and intense. "Fracture" closes the album and is one of the most well-structured instrumentals I've ever heard. Starts of curiously quiet and dissonant and explodes to a thunderous crescendo with overlapping time signatures. Pretty thrilling.

The improv "Trio" is a Crimson classic and the fact that they made up such a well-structured piece on the spot is really mind-blowing. I really like "The Night Watch" too, and I only learned later that the first half is live, and was spliced with the second half in the studio (the reason for this was that the mellotron broke down halfway through the song). But it sounds fine even with this edit and you don't catch it if you're not listening for it. See the Rembrandt painting on which the lyrics are based for context.

There are a few uneven parts on this album. I still don't understand "The Mincer" since it is very unsettled and meandering, and just kind of drops off because the tape ran out. But I like it that they put this strange track on the album because even though it doesn't work for me, it shows the band trusted the listener enough to follow them on the journey.

Great stuff.

Cigarettes, ice cream, Frippertronics.

The title implies a void of nothingness, but to the contrary, a little of everything pops up on Starless and Bible Black; the second album by this King Crimson lineup. Excellent in its own right, but a bit uneven compared to its predecessor. The darker tone of Larks' Tongues in Aspic is still there, but there is a surprising amount of whimsy as well.

The first three tracks seem to carry a running theme about ego and dishonesty, particularly as it relates to the music industry. The punchy "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament" contain lyrics about liars and cheats, while "We'll Let You Know" is purely instrumental but you have to wonder if the title was inspired by something uttered to Robert Fripp by some music industry lackie after having heard some of KC's material. What? They won't play 10 minute instrumentals on FM radio?

Things get more serious from here, but there is a lighter feel to "The Nightwatch" (about the famous Rembrandt painting). Even more-so on the improvised "Trio", an oriental inspired theme, owing its tranquility (and title) to the lack of Bill Bruford's drums. Still, two of the best songs on the album.

The back-half of Starless and Bible Black sinks back into the darkness. The totally improvised title track and the powerful "Fracture" recall the best parts of Larks' Tongues. The latter being possibly the best instrumental in the whole Crimson repertoire.

The unevenness on Starless and Bible Black may be because apart from the first two tracks, nearly the entire album was recorded at live shows with only a few overdubs in studio. Regardless, it is one of King Crimson's finest and worth checking out for a fan of any of their work. You're sure to see something in this darkness.

Review n' 219

King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black

Underrated gem between gems. My favorite from the classic Crimson era. The album isn't solid, almost falling totally in the avant-garde genre but consistent tracks, which explores deeper and expandables atmospheres. And why not? Wheren't they listed as "Ecletic Prog?"Side A was made of medium lenght tunes. Side B sounds like a jam, a goddamn clever jam, where we can experience the far reach of our inner cosmic conscience. Right from the start, the classic KC freak jazz style theme will slap the listener in the face. The lyrics are far unusual. Pretty interesting the way the mood changes while it flows naturally like, passing through brutal ball crushing parts as "The Great Deceiver" to the quiet mellotron of Lament. Then I listen to The Night Watch and I wonder why the hell it isn't a classic prog hymn. Fripp touches are the best. From beauty to dissonant chords and chaotic guitar dreamscapes, it's marvelous. Here I can hear the depth and truely interaction between the members which was never heard before, playing music together, with their souls.

A silly observation. The (probably) most famous hentai series - japanese pornographic cartoons - is called Bible Black. The hentai works list from the same director includes: Discipline, Starless: 21st Century Nymphomaniacs and Heartwork: Symphony of Destruction (this last one an incontestable reference to Carcass and Megadeth).

The beauty of a young, inquisitive spirit.

Starless and Bible Black was my first introduction to the world of progressive rock outside of the Yes on rock radio and Rush Chronicles. I remembered a quote where Geddy Lee stated he and Lifeson used to pretend they were King Crimson when they first started out when I found a cassette of Starless and Bible Black digging through the crates at a local Big Lots store. I think I was 17.

I'd gone through the heavy metal phase at 14, graduating to led zep and rush and the who et all on rock radio. Was this the next logical listen for my burgeoning prog ears?

Yes and no. Of course I tried Starless right away and thought it was weird. Loud. Creative and abrasive, but even then Starless and Bible Black and Fracture back to back made my jaw drop.

Soon I found the Weirdness of FZ appealed more to me. After thoroughly exploring his razor sharp ideology and absurdist wit I sought other hills to climb and came back to the dollar Starless and Bible Black cassette at university after quickly tiring of Dave Matthews, Phish, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones dreck.

Everyone around me hated it, but I finally got it and loved it double for that. AHA!

Crunchy, haunting, gorgeous, menacing, pastoral, a lot of adjectives can be used to describe the overall sound Fripp and co. display. For young, impressionable ears like mine at age 20, the most authentic descriptors would be influential and mindblowing.

I learned another lesson from this album when I bought it on CD in 1999, how different(better) remastering technology makes these classic analog recordings sound. I didn't listen to many cassettes after starting to make a bit of money.

The verdict is I'll be giving my male children a copy of this prior to enrolling at university (My daughter will get a copy of the first Return to Forever album)

What music is all about

Fracture - Awesome.

This album continues in the same vein as the previous album (Lark's Tongues), and once again is notable for both Fripp's new (at the time) guitar sound and Bruford's quirky but awesome and original drumming. The highlight of this album is the closer "Fracture", one of rock's - or rather all of the history of music's - most original and inspired compositions. It still blows me away, 40 years later, and there have been very few pieces that are this good. Like Lark's Tongues Part II, this tune established Crimson as a major new voice in music. It is a real shame that Fripp and Bruford could not work together after the 1990s double-trio era, as they are both such original musicians, and I think it is the interplay between them that made this music so compelling. The rest of this album is also inventive, although not quite so iconic as Fracture. And of course, Wetton adds his own stamp with some great bass playing and meloncholic singing (which sometimes doesn't work as well - on Lament for instance), while Cross' violin adds a distinct character, especially in the quieter sections. Much of the album was recorded live in concert in Amsterdam in 1973 (the full concert can be heard on 'The Night Watch'), with overdubs added in the studio, and only a couple of tunes ('Great Deceiver" among them) recorded in the studio. While I love Bruford's drumming as a defining feature of Crimson, on this album one of my favourite pieces (after "Fracture") is the song "Trio" which was improvised during the live show. Bruford thought about joining in, but in the end thought the rest of the band were doing so good a job, he just sat there and listened, so it is a trio rather than a quartet improv. It works really well - a lovely piece of music. Starless and the Bible Black is another great improv here, and both the tunes the "Great Deceiver" and "The Night Watch" are quite good. But the other tunes are filler (as admitted by Fripp and others in the various Crimson biographies - they were under pressure to release a new album but didn't feel they had quite enough material). So, a couple of iconic tunes, but on the whole not quite as good as Lark's Tongues. I give this one 8.1 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 4 PA stars.

Due to being sandwiched between highly-acclaimed 1973's Larks' Tongues In Aspic and 1974's Red, - one may find it easy to understand why Starless and Bible Black gets overlooked. Before the recording of this album, experimental percussionist Jamie Muir left the group leaving Bill Bruford as the sole percussionist. Perhaps in order to compensate for their loss; this album features some of Brufords' most wacky percussive ideas which often consist of organic-sounding, highly polished staccato rolls. Guitar-wise, Robert Fripp takes on a more subdued, fairly noisy yet accompanying role for the majority of the album and often the time in which you can hear him at his clearest will most likely be the gentlest sections. Musically Starless and Bible Black is a game of two halves; - Side One has six short-to-mid-length pieces, two of which are complete instrumentals. It begins with 'The Great Deceiver' which is a very cluttered and disonnant song and it's also the closest you'll hear to a 'rock' song on this album. To follow up is 'Lament' which is a very dynamic piece of music for its short length. A gentle ballad for the most part but with a tendency to spiral into syncopated-riff mayhem. 'We'll Let You Know' is a very representative song of the album as an entirety as it showcases very archetypal Crimson quiet improv jamming with flashes of vibraphone swirls and a hazy backdrop; yet it fails to fo find its drive nor find its purpose. 'The Night Watch' is a nice vocal-led quiet song with a quasi-political undertone yet lacks real accessibility and enchantment. 'Trio' and 'The Mincer' are both left-field, experimental and mostly instrumental songs which are quite in keeping with the general mood of the album however they're not tracks one would listen to outside of the album's context. Side Two is entirely instrumental and consists of two long tracks, the first of which is the title track 'Starless and Bible Black' which is nine-minutes long and for the most part very sleepy and inconsequential. Flashes of inspiration appear throughout but at this stage it fails to capture one's attention entirely. 'Fracture' is a massive improvement and easily my personal favourite on the album; a composition solely written by Fripp and lasting eleven-minutes. The track is incredibly dynamic and undergoes many interesting key changes, mood changes and time signature changes. It begins quietly yet springs into life with a quintessentially scary and dischordant ending section akin to 'The Devil's Triangle' from 1970's 'In the Wake of Poseidon' .. and then the album finishes.    Overall; - a sprawling and ambitious work by Crimson which often gets slated due to its high focus on noodly inprov-driven instrumentals and fuzzy production values, yet I personally like it as it's quite exotic and very different. It has a certain aesthetic charm to it that only those who have listened will understand. Definitely one of Crimson's most left-field releases yet full of moments of euphoria and high levels of musicianship.  

Scrolling through these reviews I'm not surprised at all Red is considered the masterpiece and Starless is the headed stepchild. I've found most of the masses go for the glossy streamlined product. Me, I'll take the rougher road less traveled any day of the week.

My history with this album is deep - I found a pirated cassette in a store in my hometown called Big Lots when I was seventeen. My curiousity for prog music was already there from having heard Roundabout many times on classic rock radio. Still, that was pretty much it as I didn't know anybody who liked or collected prog music as a youth. My friends and I used to go to this store to look for music, I remember discovering tapes by the Chi-Lites and the Blind Boys of Mississippi, things like that. Well, when I stumbled upon Starless and Bible Black and saw the name King Crimson, I snatched it up right away, remembering from the liner notes I had read in the Rush Chronicles CD I bought from a used CD store that Geddy's gang used to play King Crimson when they were starting.

If I remember correctly upon leaving the store I popped it straight into the tape player in my 1988 Pontiac Le Mans. The first side I was a bit confused, but upon hearing Starless and Bible Black and Fracture I was mindblown. I had never, ever, ever heard anything like those tracks.

Nobody else in the car thought as I did. I think they wanted me to put back the Jane's Addiction tape.

It took me a while to develop a healthy regard for side A, and while We'll Let You Know may be a throwaway, I still like the sound of it. Ironically, I still love side B, but my favorite song here and maybe (this is saying a lot) in the Crimson canon is Trio.

In my eyes, Red is the girl you take home to mom and Starless and Bible Black is the girl you go out with on the sly. I've come to the conclusion my prog tastes ultimately swing in the King Crimson direction and if I had to pick one of the many great albums I'd pick Starless and Bible Black. Any album that begins with the words "Health Food Faggot" deserves the top spot.

There's no way for any of the classic 70's KC albums with Bill Bruford to get less than 4 stars. This one is more experimental and has the ominous darkness in it. The first track, Great Deceiver, is the most accessible number of the album. The live tracks are sometimes leading nowhere until we come to the splendid last two tracks. It is great deal of experimenting and instrumental maturity that these two tracks epitomize. Fracture has a perfectly dark atmosphere and David Cross strenghtens the tone with his violin. Fracture is one of the reasons why this album deserves 4 starts despite the unfinished feeling about some of the live tracks here. For a better introduction into the KC of that era, start with Larks Tongues in Aspic instead.

Second Lp with Wetton, "Starless And Bible Black" is one of the most controversial, extreme and unbalanced King Crimson's album. Despite presenting the same sound and arrangements as the previous record, SABB is profoundly different because it is not geometric, slow and thoughtful as Larks Tongues In Aspic but messy, unequal and almost improvised, according to a more jazzy wish. It's almost a live instrumental album.

Side A.

The beginning "The Great Deceiver (4:02)" is hyperkinetic, with a music that alternates moments of speed-rock (in advance of 20 years) with thoughtful moments. The sound is much more powerful and decisive than LTIA, with Wetton's wonderful bass in the foreground. Rating 8.

The second piece, "Lament (4:00)" is another strange track, very creative, the sound with Bruford's percussion and Wetton's bass in the foreground is increasingly jazzy and the composition is unpredictable, deconstructing the song form. Here you can hear better the violin of Cross that in this Lp is more in the background than the previous, in fact the rhythm section and the guitar of Fripp fill the whole sound scenario. Rating 8+.

These are the only two songs recorded totally in the studio.

The third piece, "We'll Let You Know (improv recorded in Glasgow) (3:46)", instrumental, is based on a really fantastic bass by Wetton, while in the background Fripp's guitar performs variations on the typical theme of jazz. it's little more than a sketch. Rating 6,5/7.

"The Night Watch (4:37)", partially recorded live, is another improvisation, but it's more melodic, the album's only burst of serenity. Rating 7,5.

"Trio (5:41) ", instrumental, recorded live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, begins too soft, the first two minutes are almost in the background but the melody is beautiful, melancholy and poignant, almost medieval, thanks to a great work by Cross and an instrument that I can not identify. It's the symphonic track of the Lp. Rating 7,5/8.

"The Mincer (improv recorded in Zurich) (4:10)" is a live instrumental improvisation, vague and directionless, with Wetton's voice over-engraved in the studio. it's the weakest piece of the Lp. Rating 6+.

Rating side A: 7,75 (average 7,42).

Side B.

"Starless And Bible Black (9:11)" and "Fracture (11:14)" are recorded live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. They are instrumental pieces, noisy, quite hard rock, criptic, dissonant, very ardous to listen. Starless is a real improvisation and begins slowly, percussion and guitar; the sound of Fripp's guitar is acid and very acute and becomes more and more acute and leads the sound of the group to abstract territories where the sound is rock but the score is jazz, thanks to the virtuosity of Wetton and Bruford. Rating 7,5.

Even Fracture begins slowly and Fripp's guitar is inhaled into a tonal scale that gives repetitive shape to the piece, whose sound robe is hard-rock but again the score is jazz. The piece alternates moments of pure minimalist improvisation with moments when it repeats a rock theme. Tra track is more structured than Starless. Around eight minutes the song became very remedied and continued until the end to conclude the album in a triumphant tone. Rating 8.

Rating side B: 7,75.

Medium quality of the two sides: 7,75.

Rating album: 7,75. Three Stars.

King Crimson's 6th album 'Starless and Bible Black' is the sometimes ignored album in the classic KC albums. It came between the two innovative and acclaimed albums 'Larks' Tongues in Apsic' and 'Red', and during a time when the band was in one of its most consistent stages, but also during a time when the band was touring more than every before. Because the band was mostly unprepared for this album in the way of having new music, the band decided to use improvised highlights from their concerts and to make them into tracks that sounded like they had been done in studio.

So, first let's look at the consistency of their line up at the time. This is the first time the entire core band remained for a second album in a row. The only person missing from the LTiA line-up is Jamie Muir, who played percussion, drums, and 'assorted found items', but other than that, Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Bill Bruford and David Cross all remained, which is the most stable the band had ever been in a line-up. Bruford had to take up the slack left behind by Muir, which he easily was able to do.

The main factor that probably lends itself to the fact that this album is the weakest of the three albums is the fact that it was made up more of improvised music garnered from live performances. Out of the 8 tracks, only four have lyrics. The crowd noises from the live performances have been edited out of the tracks, at least for the most part, in order to make the album sound like a studio album. Live albums just didn't seem to attract the music buying public back then, because live albums were usually comprised of music that had been heard before, and the public demanded new music, or at least preferred it according to their buying habits.

As was the case with LTiA, the four tracks on SaBB have lyrics written by Richard Palmer-James, who was the original Supertramp guitarist on their self-titled debut album. 'The Great Deceiver' is the first track, and has the attitude of many of the KC album openers of the time, of a somewhat complex and slightly chaotic manner as in '20th Century Schizoid Man', and this was always an effective way to start an album. This track, and the following track 'Lament' both have lyrics and were both entirely recorded in the studio, in fact, the only two tracks completely recorded in studio. The 3rd track 'We'll Let You Know', an instrumental is from an improvised performance in Glasgow, even though it sounds quite structured. 'The Night Watch' also uses some instances of live performances, but to a lesser extent than the previous track. This track is about Rembrandt's painting of the same name, described as an observer would see it and try to understand it.

'Trio' is another instrumental, improvised in concert in Amsterdam, this time it is a more pensive and sensitive improvisation. It is known as a quartet piece for three active player. Bruford was supposed to come in on drums when he felt it was appropriate, so he waited next to the drums with his sticks crossed on his chest, and then decided there was no good place to come in, so he was given credit on the track for 'admirable restraint'. The last track on the first side of the album is 'The Mincer' and is also the last track on the album to have lyrics. Even at that, the vocals don't come in until the very last part of the track. This was another improvised performance from Zurich (that is, part of a longer improvisation), and Wetton's eventual vocals were added later in studio.

The second side of the album consists of two instrumental tracks, both of which are from improvised concert performances done in Amsterdam. 'Starless and Bible Black' has a more experimental feel to it, while the longer 'Fracture' is more interesting and exciting, with a sudden burst of energy in the last four minutes that close the album off quite splendidly. Robert Fripp has said that 'Fracture' is the most difficult piece he has ever played. It is definitely one of the best recorded improvisations by the band. Fripp said that he wanted 'Fracture' to be indicative of where the band was at the time, and that is what it was. Most of the live performances were recorded in that live show in Amsterdam, and because of the impact that show had on this album, the band later released that complete show in 1997 entitled 'The Night Watch'.

So, in the end, this album is much more important than it might seem on the surface. It also takes a little more getting used to than the other two albums with this basic lineup, at least it did for me. I always considered it a weaker entry in the discography, but I have since changed my mind over that. One of the great things about this album, and the other two in this trilogy, is that it takes both sides of KC, the more symphonic sounding band of pre-LTiA, and the heavier, improvised style that the band was moving into. Both sides of the band are equally amazing to me, and the fact that they could easily do both so well is one of the main reasons I love this band as much as I do. They are my favorite band when it comes to their entire output. I do tend to rate this one just below masterpiece status, but I still enjoy it immensely.

I feel like the three albums of the improvisational period slowly progressed from soft ("Larks Tongues in Aspic") to louder ("Starless and Bible Black") to loudest ("Red").

While not as heavy as "Red", this album is still loud. Lyrically Wetton is more active this time around, already making his presence known on "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament". But the most noticeable change this time around is the lack of softer stuff. Laments are typically supposed to be fairly quiet. Well, this one is fairly quiet, for a few minutes, before it turns to 11 and blows the doors off. This is what happens when improvisation take a page out of the bebop and blues playbook.

Funny enough, those two are the only studio recorded songs on the album. The rest were from the band's 1973 tour, and of course, most of the tracks are improv. "We'll Let You Know" is a great example of that. Contemporary classical influences clashing with occasional bebop sporadic behavior with a rock and blues bone structure to latch onto. "The Night Watch" is one of the highlights here, showing restraint, but also a nice balance of Sinfield-era atmosphere and classic Fripp jazz-n'-blues sound. Decent songwriting and singing make this a worthwhile song to revisit time and time again.

"Trio" is basically a sonic soundscape while "The Mincer" is a slow bubbling improv that stews around a bit before Wetton sings some lines before the end. At first listen, these songs seem unremarkable until you realize these are mostly live songs that were edited (very painstakingly) to sounds like a studio album. Quite an impressive feat really. The title track, like most of the songs here, is also an improv, a slow starting track that builds up after a few minutes before the band breaks out into a groove before fading away into nothingness.

"Fracture" and "The Law of Maximum Distress" are the same as well, each slow building improvs that build to a head and peter out into rock grooves, blusey avant garde jazz stylings and atmospheric soundscapes. In terms of quality and songwriting, this album is nowhere near the top of my list, but for basically a hodgepodge of live improvs and a couple of standard loud Fripp heavy tunes, it does provide a nice diversity of sound and texture while also being an entertaining ride. Worth a good run through for the Crimson fan.

Probably my favourite King Crimson album after In The Wake Of Poseidon. This is experimental, but it has more a well realized and much more polished look than this predecessor 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic'. I actually much enjoy this, and I know this will upset King Crimson fans a bunch but this is unbelievably better than Larks. The first half of this album sold me and the more fluid and slightly less jam feel on this album just made me fall for this. Alright... my truth... and my final conclusion... this blows Larks into the water. I'd much rather listen to this than that unbelievably noisy and overly experimental dribble we know as the very highly rated 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic'.

Review Nº 384

"Starless And Bible Black" is the sixth studio album of King Crimson and was released in 1974. Most of the lyrics on the album are satires and commentaries to the sleaziness materialism of our society. It continued to explore the sound and style of "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" and proved that King Crimson could handle it very well. Many fans and critics always saw more "Starless And Bible Black" as a transitional album, both in terms of musical progression and line up, between the twin behemoths of "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" and "Red" than as a great album, on its own right. Still, I think to see this album in that simple perspective is to undervaluing this album considerably. I think it's more than that.

The line up of this album is Robert Fripp (guitar, Mellotron, electric piano and devices), John Wetton (lead vocals and bass), Bill Bruford (drums and percussion), David Cross (violin, viola, Mellotron and electric piano) and Richard Palmer-James (lyrics).

The album has eighth tracks. The first track "The Great Deceiver" written by Robert Fripp, John Wetton and Richard Palmer-James is a very aggressive rock song which marries a powerful riff with some of King Crimson's most weird lyrics. The song is dominated by the violin with a very precise guitar performance and on the back a great rhythm work by the percussion and the bass, which proves the perfect musical marriage between Bill Bruford and John Wetton. The second track "Lament" written by Robert Fripp, John Wetton and Richard Palmer-James is one of the greatest songs on the album. This is another heavy rock song with an unforgettable and fantastic work led by that wonder duo, John Wetton and Bill Bruford but where all the four musicians are at their best shape. The third track "We'll Let You Know" written by Robert Fripp, David Cross, John Wetton and Bill Bruford is a very weird instrumental piece of music very dissonant. It's an improvised track with some strange sounds and where the percussion section sounds chaotic. This is, in my humble opinion, one of the less interesting songs on the album. The fourth track "The Night Watch" written by Robert Fripp, John Wetton and Richard Palmer-James is a commentary in a form of a musical piece deriving directly from Rembrandt's painting of the same name. The song was also released with "The Great Deceiver" as a single. It's a calm and melodic song, perfectly performed by all band's members that captures, in my humble opinion, the feeling and sense in the context of the painting. This is another great song on the album. The fifth track "Trio" written by Robert Fripp, David Cross, John Wetton and Bill Bruford is the most serene song and is an instrumental piece of music composed for violin, bass guitar and Mellotron with the sound of a flute. The performance of the trio of the musicians is absolutely perfect which gives us a nice and relaxing piece of music. The sixth track "The Mincer" written by Robert Fripp, David Cross, John Wetton, Bill Bruford and Richard Palmer-James is another strange and weird song with some dark atmosphere with good musical notes from all musicians. However, we need to learn to like it, really. This is also, in my humble opinion, another less interesting song on the album. The seventh track, the title track, "Starless And Bible Black" written by Robert Fripp, David Cross, John Wetton and Bill Bruford is a very interesting improvised musical piece. It's also a very strange and weird song but is much better than "We'll Let You Know" and "The Mincer". It's a song with some fantastic and brilliant musical parts and so, is a very good song which probably needs lots of listenings to can enjoy it. The eighth and last track "Fracture" written by Robert Fripp is the lengthiest track on the album. It represents the epic magnus opus of the album and it's also my favourite track too. This is a masterful and colourful semi-improvisation piece of music with a strong and superb performance by the band. It's a track that reminds me strongly their other masterpiece "Starless" from "Red" and we may say this song, by itself, deserves the price of the album. This is one of the best pieces of music composed by Robert Fripp and released by King Crimson that fited perfectly well on their next studio album and great masterpiece "Red". There could be no better way to end this album.

Conclusion: Once more, I don't totally agree with many of my colleagues on this site. In my humble opinion, "Starless And Bible Black" is a great King Crimson's album and it's also, in some way, superior to "Larks' Tongues In Aspic". It's more balanced, is a more cohesive album and has also one of the best songs of the group "Fracture". It's true that "Starless And Bible Black" isn't a perfect album. Despite that, "Starless And Bible Black" is one of the heaviest albums of the band, is one of the most cohesive and it's also an album where, in my humble opinion, the musical performance of John Wetton and Bill Bruford is absolutely perfect. However, this isn't a particularly accessible album and it needs repeated listenings to be fully appreciated by its own merits. It's a must have for every fan of progressive rock. Anyway, that is what happens with all King Crimson's albums in the 70's. Besides, the band hasn't many weak points, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review #29

"Starless and bible black" is considered King Crimson's sixth studio album even when only two of the eight songs that it contains, "Great deceiver" and "Lament", were actually recorded in a studio while the rest of the album was recorded alive. The album is mainly instrumental and with more improvised jams than actually rehearsed songs. If it wasn't because of the amazing musical skills that each member of King Crimson had, this would have been a very mediocre album, but fortunately, John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, and David Cross were all extremely talented musicians and knew how to improvise in the most elegant way.

Excellent guitar solos (especially the majestic closing track "Fracture"), a lot of bombastic drums everywhere, subtle and sensual violin lines, and a very hypnotic bass are the main elements of this selection of originally live-recorded songs. Maybe the lack of rehearsed music was a failure for this record but that doesn't make it a bad album at all, just an extremely unique album, very chaotic and obscure in some moments and very romantic and sweet in other ones, providing an exquisite contrast that floats around every time you play the album.

SONG RATING: The great deceiver, 5 Lament, 5 We'll let you know, 3 The night watch, 4 Trio, 3 The mincer, 3 Starless and bible black, 5 Fracture, 5

AVERAGE: 4.13

PERCENTAGE: 82.5

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars

Here is my first-ever ProgArchives review! And how fitting that it be, at one point, my favorite, and the second release I believe I'd ever heard [from them], from the great music collective that is and was King Crimson.

As many feel, for me, this is my absolute favorite lineup, David Cross here included. The counterpoint that he has with Robert Fripp here is excellent and a necessary function for what makes this album so great and interesting (especially given its majorly improvised nature). There are times of amazingly virtuosic bass playing from John Wetton, I would think an underrated bassist in the context of the Pillars of Prog; some of the most interesting percussive elements, all of which are performed by Bill Bruford, and some of the more interesting moments that Bill had ever put to tape, in my opinion; some of the most exquisite experimentation from Fripp; and, for me, some of the best lyrics in all of Progressive Rock (see "Lament" and "The Night Watch" for the best of the best from this release).

It is no secret to those who know me how utterly baffled I've been by Larks' Tongues in Aspic and its undeniable status as beloved and critically acclaimed. "Larks...", the two-part title track, is really the only thing that does it for me. This, though, Starless and Bible Black, is in great competition, alongside Red and ITCOTCK for me, as the best output King Crimson has to offer. [Full disclosure: it is at this present time, though it shall be remedied very soon, that I have only heard a handful off of Discipline and Beat in particular. Forgive me.] [Indeed, this has since been remedied.]

1974 saw the Crimson King bring two fabulous records to the light of day - the first one of them often gets forgotten, maybe neglected, somewhat underappreciated, for reasons more than obvious. But this is just not right; 'Starless and Bible Black' is studio album #6 for the band, released in March, and the first one to have most of the material recorded live, and just a couple songs recorded entirely in the studio. Is it really shocking at this point in the band's career when the new studio album sounds nothing like any of the previous releases? There are no more symphonic inclinations, like in the first two albums, no more avant-garde jazz quests or romantic explorations, like on the third and fourth albums, and certainly no more 'classical crossover' (If we may describe it in this way), like on the fifth one - this is different; the sound is abrasive, unusual and unwelcoming. The presence of several live recordings means that most of the material on 'Starless and Bible Black' is highly experimental, borderline meaningless, and strongly improvisational. Blended with some studio recordings and edited out in the studio before release, this 1974 album has to be one of the more challenging but nonetheless essential examples of progressive rock.

Alongside Fripp, the listener will notice Bill Bruford on drums and percussion (taking this role after the spontaneous departure of Jamie Muir, a personal favorite and a man who brings a pretty unique flavor to the Crim's fifth album), John Wetton on bass and vocals, and David Cross on violin, viola, Mellotron - King Crimson's personal Paganini. It is the very presence of Cross that adds so much value and intrigue to this mysterious recording, his soloing, the manic violin parts, sometimes melancholic and sometimes hectic, the phrasing all add up to his account.

The album starts off with the two tracks that were entirely prepared in the studio, two fantastic and more straightforward rocking songs from King Crimson, 'The Great Deceiver' and 'Lament'; however, this does not mean that they are anything close to the standard and ordinary hard rock songs from the same time. Then comes the instrumental 'We'll Let You Know', about which all I could say is: why isn't this groovy bonanza a 15-minute composition, it feels like it could have been a true masterpiece of experimental rock. 'The Night Watch' is an observation upon Rembrandt's painting of the same name, 'Trio' is a dramatic instrumental piece, featuring the talents of Fripp on the Mellotron, Cross on the violin, and Wetton on the bass; It is not exactly clear what the purpose of this composition is, or why it was featured on the album. Finally, side one concludes with the menacing live recording 'The Mincer', a shortened version of the presumably very long improv.

Side two contains just two epic instrumentals, the murky title track, and the strangely uplifting and exciting 'Fracture'; They flow into each other almost seamlessly, forming this tremendously pleasant experience of enjoying some of the best experimental rock music from any band ever. Must-hear compositions for the fans of the Crim that might have missed these excellent instrumentals for whatever reason.

'Starless and Bible Black' is far from being a perfect album because it is simply a horrendous one! It is an album that invites you to listen, contemplate, not move, and decide; It is a proposal by King Crimson, an unwelcoming call to contemplate the sounds of the light and the shade.

I'm not a huge 'Starless and Bible Black' there is too much improv, and while it's good, it just seems pointless to be honest. Side 1 has a couple actual songs on it, with some interesting lyrics. Lots of boring improvisation on here, I get that for some, this is the best King Crimson album, capturing what they're like in a live setting, but for me it doesn't do it. The ONLY decent song is 'Fracture' which every time I listen to I feel disappointing, It has a really cool album cover though. Might be my least favorite original KC album, at least 'Lizard' has a nice title track. Maybe i'm not cultured enough for this album, it just doesn't click. Sue me.

Faithful to the compulsion to experiment and improvise as fundamental energy sources to develop their works, King Crimson take a step further with the complex "Starless and Black Bible", their sixth album (although to call it complex in the case of Robert Fripp's band is like saying the most common thing). Studio recordings and live improvisations, isolated from the sound of the audience, force the listener to a new exercise of concentration and maximum attention in order to enter the schizoid Crimsonian universe.

Difficult to digest tracks like the disconcerting "We'll Let You Know", the chaotic order of "The Mincer", or the intemperate "Starless and Bible Black" and Fripp's screeching and persistent guitars, contrast with Wetton's peaceful and grave voice in the precious "The Night Watch", a title taken from one of the works of the Dutch painter Rembrandt, with the relaxed and instrumentally magical "Trio" and David Cross's violins overlapping with Fripp's guitars, and also with the excellent and extended instrumental dalliance "Fracture", dominated almost from beginning to end by Fripp's errant and distorted guitars again, in a constant half-time with jazzy airs and reinforced by Bruford's drums. One of the album's best.

A hypnotic cocktail full of chiaroscuro sensations, from which only the agile and catchy critique of consumerism "The Great Deceiver" and the nostalgic and at the same time unleashed "Lament" are spared. Curiously, both songs, with more conventional structures, are the only ones on the album recorded in the studio.

"Starless and Bible Black" is one of the few King Crimson albums in which the same musicians from their previous work, "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", were kept on, and it was also the ideal transition to the indispensable "Red".

Very good.

3.5/4 stars

Their next album, Starless and Bible Black, is somewhat odd, in regard to how it was recorded. The band wanted to better capture the energy of their live shows, so most of these songs were tracked in concert. However, the work done in the studio was so extensive that this release is considered to be part of King Crimson's studio discography. Of the eight songs on the album, only two were entirely recorded in the studio.

One of these in-studio songs, "The Great Deceiver", opens the album. It's got a high-energy, distorted main riff, which is vaguely reminiscent of some of the band's past work, such as "21st Century Schizoid Man". The verse is pretty loose, but it pulls together into a tight, catchy chorus.

"Lament", the other in-studio track, follows. It starts off gentler than the opener, but it delves into a fuzzy, frazzled sound in its second verse. Wetton's bass playing is a highlight here, throbbing and popping beneath Fripp's guitar.

I like these two studio songs a lot. The stuff that was recorded live, though, often underscores my issues with Fripp's focus on improv.

"We'll Let You Know" is an entirely improvised piece, and it sounds like it. The song opens with unfocused, unsteady noodling. Bruford does a good job working with what he was given, but this song doesn't really ever come together into anything until the final 45 seconds. Even then, it's a decent-enough jam, but it's nothing too noteworthy.

"The Night Watch" has a bit more structure and features some studio overdubs, due to some hardware issues the band had at the concert. Cross's violin is lovely, and Wetton gives a great vocal performance. This is a fairly sweet, gentle piece, in the same vein as "Exiles". Fripp gets in some good soloing, and the Mellotron enriches the piece further.

Another improvised piece follows: "Trio". This song is titled as such because Bruford does not play on it. However, he's still credited as a co-writer, since he made an active decision not to add any drums. Featuring just bass, viola, and Mellotron, it's actually pretty good, as far as improv goes. It's quiet, meditative, relaxing, and with a vague sense of warm nostalgia.

Side one ends on "The Mincer", yet another bit of improvised music. (Wetton's vocals were overdubbed in the studio.) The first half feels a lot like a Pink Floyd song from 1969. There's a hazy, woozy atmosphere, and keys and guitar both vaguely float about. As the song progresses, Fripp's and Bruford's styles become more recognizably Crimsonian. Unfortunately, this track suffers from the same problem that afflicts "We'll Let You Know". A lot of the playing here comes off as noodling that doesn't amount to much of anything. It hints vaguely at what the band might get up to eventually, but they never build to that hoped-for high.

Side two consists of two long instrumentals. The first, the improvised title track, starts off with more of the aimless ambiance I've come to expect from this band's unscripted work. Something of a recognizable pulse finally emerges a bit before the five-minute mark, and Bruford and Wetton really shine. Cross's work on the Mellotron is fine, but Fripp's continual strangulation of his guitar grows tiresome for me. At least the song has a satisfying (though brief) climax, where Fripp and Cross both pull out some long, twisted notes.

"Fracture" has more to immediately grab onto. (I also couldn't find any source that explicitly identified this track as being improvised, so there may be more structure to this song than other ones on the album.) The main riff is lurching and full of dread, and the effects applied to Cross's violin remind me of David Jackson's saxophones in Van der Graaf Generator. It eventually moves into a section of quiet claustrophobia, where violin and clean guitar tread delicately around one another. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)" gets a brief revisitation, and it really sounds powerful in a live setting. Parts of this song can drag on a bit, but it's still a strong conclusion to an otherwise-spotty record.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/04/15/deep-dive-king-crimson/

While already one of the most eclectic of prog bands that got the larger prog party started with its 1969 classic "In The Court Of The Crimson King," Robert Fripp ingeniously steered his baby through a multitude of varying styles, techniques and songwriting ingenuity all throughout the early 1970s dropping a few instant classics that caught on with the fans immediately as well as albums that reached unthinkable complexities that took longer than usual to cultivate a warm and fuzzy feeling over. Obviously KING CRIMSON was less concerned with instant gratification for the fans and fully devoted in an almost monkish manner of astute dedication to its craft where each album had to stand on its own and the very thought of a simple copy and paste and then shuffle around a bit approach was not even remotely part of the equation.

One of the most significant reasons for these extreme changes between albums was the unstable lineups which found every album hosting a whole new prog soiree with members joining the team and then departing as soon as they exited the recording studio. By the time KC got to its fifth album "Lark's Tongues In Aspic," the lineup of Robert Fripp (guitar, mellotron), Davis Cross (violin, viola, piano), John Wetton (bass, vocals), Bill Bruford (drums and percussion) along with secondary percussionist Jamie Muir proved to be the most cohesive lineup and not only delivered one of the band's most revered classic albums but followed with a demanding tour that left little time for conjuring up new studio material for the next chapter of the KING CRIMSON saga. By tour's end only a mere two studio tracks had emerged from the precious little down time the band experienced which led to the dilemma of what to present to the record company for new album material.

The genius of Robert Fripp transcended such obstacles though and after reflecting on the amazing musical moments that the band had honed during their live performances, KC members noticed how extraordinary some of the live improvised footage turned out from the band's extensive touring schedule and opted simply to capture the magic of a live setting and simply assimilate it into the context of a studio album. Shrouded in secrecy and unrevealed until well after the band broke up after "Red," KING CRIMSON meticulously scoured through an entire tour's worth of the best improv moments (primarily lifted from a sole Amsterdam show) they mustered up and mixed live recordings with new studio embellishments. The result was one of the greatest (mostly) live albums that nobody knew was (mostly) live! STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK was born and thus KC created one of the most eclectic albums in their already far-reaching canon that led up to it. The clever KC kept it all under wraps due to the fact record companies pay less royalties on live albums even when they are mere samplings incorporated into the mishmash of live / studio hybrids. The album's title refers to a quotation from the first two lines of poet Dylan Thomas' play "Under Milk Wood."

Enjoying the stability of the same lineup minus Jamie Murr who abruptly exited due to purported back problems leaving Bill Bruford to tackle all percussive duties, STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK found the band shifting gears once again and delivered an eclectic potpourri much more steeped in jazz and classical then anything from the rock paradigm but once again unleashed the goods in a way that was well outside the parameters of the more popular progressive rock acts of the day. While a divisive album for many fans, STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK is one of those albums that you can never predict exactly where it goes. Roughly 3/4 improvised live material and only a quarter studio only, the album begins with the completely new power packed "The Great Deceiver" which delivers one of the hardest rocking songs of KC's career with Fripp's spidery guitar riffs haunting the time signature rich musical motifs that offer the most authentic of true 70s rock that KC ever delivered infused with a hard rock energetic performance. Just one of four tracks that featured lyrics, STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK was a mostly all-instrumental affair with complex liberties and creativity flourishing at every juncture.

"Lament," the only other completely studio track, follows with a softer orchestrated intro ceding to another heavier rocker and "lamenting" the pitfalls of fame and losing one's anonymity when on the world's stage as a famous rock band. On tour, Wetton even received an impromptu marriage proposal from an unknown female fan accompanied by her brother to guarantee the success of her fanaticism run amok! After the first two tracks which in a way prognosticate what Fripp would revive in the 80s starting with the trilogy of albums that began with "Discipline," the rest of the album takes on a more contemplative cerebral approach with thoughtful instrumental compositions that showcase the aleatoric improvisational skills that the band had honed into Olympic winning performances as each musician developed the perfect methodology of punctuating the silence between the other's playing techniques, a feat almost unheard of in the context of rock music and more akin to the greatest masters of the classic world of jazz. The "Night Watch" showcased the band's skillful studio mastery of removing any traces of live setting audience noises which was totally absorbed from the single night at the Amsterdam Concergebouw concert.

Being the head scratching shapeshifter that it turned out to be, STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK morphs into a chamber rock session with "Trio", which found Bruford sitting out and twiddling his thumbs while violinist David Cross evoked more of an Antonio Vivaldi vibe than anything remotely resembling how the album began just a mere five tracks prior. The most daring and complex creations of the entire KC playbook emerge at the end of the album with "The Mincer" delivering an abstract almost Soft Machine style of free jazz only accompanied by Fripp's eccentric guitar accompaniments. The track meanders instrumentally only to throw the curveball of Wetton's lyrical contributions emerging towards the end. The track seamlessly cedes into the all instrumental title track which threw the entire world of classical, jazz, rock and chamber music into the cauldron and unleashed a monstrously bizarre track kept from losing any connection to reality by Wetton's groovy bass lines. Cited as the most difficult composition to play guitar on of his entire career, the closing "Fracture" seems like a totally different band that how the album began with "The Great Deceiver." The track in many ways showcases the apex of Fripp's unique playing style that differed so greatly from any other guitarist of the era.

While often ignored for the more cohesive popular masterpieces that bookend it, STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK really is one of the more difficult nuts to crack in the KC playbook but attentive listens over long periods of time reveal its ingenuity and musical innovation in a way that a mere one exposure or even two, three or four could possibly achieve. In many ways the album showcases the pinnacle of the progressive rock paradigm that had apexed in the years of 1973 and 1974 and taking the visionary fusion of rock, jazz, classical and creative license to its logical conclusion. STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK may not be the most accessible of KC's lauded string of masterworks that were crafted for the relatively short time span of 1969-1974 but after allowing it properly sink in and work its magic, it definitely stands high in the standards set out by the early pioneers of prog and has retrospectively garnered much more acceptance than it did initially when deemed inconsistent and arcane for many.

My personal experience is basically the same as most as my first several encounters left me feeling indifferent and only by attentively listening for many years has the album really gotten under my skin. The album proved to be the perfect transitional stage between "Lark's Tongue" and "Red" and although the band was on the verge of breaking up, showcased the magnanimous nature of what talented dedicated musicians can achieve when they fully commit themselves. Perhaps just a smidge behind the album it followed and one that came after but nevertheless STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK now screams masterpiece every time i put it on. For those having a hard time with this one, don't force it. Let it sink in. It truly is one of those albums that only reveals itself after numerous exposures and astute attentiveness. While many dismiss this as a mere space filler between "Lark's Tongue In Aspic" and "Red," STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK is certainly no slacker when it comes to high quality and compositionally challenging progressive rock. In fact it was TOO complex for its own good in many ways but has more than stood the test of time and in many circles equally revered as just another classic in the impressive KC canon.

4.5 but rounded up because it very well could become a perfect 5 as time elapses