STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK

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.