LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

After King Crimson was dissolved after the remarkable 1972 Islands LP it was reconstituted with arguably the finest lineup the band ever had. In between this lull leader Robert Fripp issued warnings to the music world that this coalition and the ensuing album would be the most "magical" Crimson formation to date. Deviating drastically from any other Crimson style, Bob`s threats were confirmed as early as October 1972 after their first performance at London`s Rainbow Theatre. While some of Fripp`s guitar innovations had their origins on Islands it was the overall enthusiasm and desire of all the musicians to do something daring and explorative which was what made Lark`s Tongues In Aspic an album that would fascinate and enthrall when it was released in February, 1973.

The final product would contain a balance between instrumental and song structured compositions which would be cleverly book-ended by the two Lark`s Tongues pieces ( Parts I & II ). While the title, Lark`s Tongues In Aspic, is completely abstract, it is wholly suitable for the esoteric music found here which does not adhere to any semlance of music convention. From the nervous opening of Lark`s Tongues part One a feeling of paranoia is established which is resolved briefly by power guitar chords which reach heavy metal proportions creating an even more disturbing atmosphere followed by frantic guitar/bass/violin interaction which carry on, musically, a theme of confusing isolation and detachment. This is reflected beautifully in two of the song oriented pieces sung in John Wetton`s astute barritone voice with some rather beautiful linear guitar lines from Fripp played over David Cross`s weeping acoustic violin which add even more melocholy and emptines to the overal mood. Extensive use of the mellotron takes this emphasis even further throughout the album and it is particularily effective on the other track with vocals, Easy Money, which seems to describe the shady, lonely life of a call girl and like all the pieces on the album it had powerful improvisational potential when performed live.

One of the more unlikely performers with this new line up was an enigmatic character by the name of Jamie Muir who brought esoteric avante garde sensibilities to King Crimson which gave the album an even more experimental sound. It seemed the only thing that was missing in his arsenal of improvised musical devices and percussives was the kitchen sink. They included a bowl of pistashio nuts, tuned plastic bottles, woodblocks, chimes, bird whistles and other more conventional percussion instruments ( referred to collectively as allsorts on the album credits ), but not what one would expect to find in a contemporary rock band in 1973. Perhaps the busiest man in the band, his performance here transcends art. While the other musicians were laying down the groundwork Muir was constantly at work putting on the finishing touches on every linear guitar passage, every slash at the violin and every drum beat with his carefully calculated accents , much like an artist completing a masterpiece with a brush stroke here a brush stroke there in order to achieve the final impact of each masterpiece featured on this intense work.

The closing sequence is constructed from two pieces which complement one another in an unconventional manner. The Talking Drum builds dynamically and rythmically over a repeating bass riff which opens with some wierd electro voiced horns which foreshadow the confusion and trauma with atonal guitar washes which hover throughout the piece giving a lingering effect throughout the piece subtly building up until it is cut off abruptly by the frantic overdriven rythmn guitar of Lark`s Tongues Part II which does not allow it to resolve itself. There are some soothing violin insertions creating periods of temporary respite but it cumulates into a kalaedescopic Maelstrom of noise leaving the listener with a sense of torment and anquish. Despite all the madness which occurs on Lark`s Tongues In Aspic, a controlled restraint is maintained and the tensions which are created are dynamically released at appropriate intervals both within the pieces themselves and where they appear on the album sequence. In other, words there`s a distinct beginning, middle and end on Lark`s Tongues In Aspic.

Larks Tongue`s In Aspic by King Crimson is a defining album in the development of the King Crimson creature which continues on as an ongoing work in progress to this day. It signaled the beginning of what many consider to be their most progressive ( 1972-74) era of this development. Much more experimental and less orchestrated than the 5 previous King Crimson albums it relied more on purposeful statements from the 4 principal instruments and became the framework for the band`s state of mind over the course of the next three years. One of many indispensable albums released in `73, the zenith year for progressive rock.

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