RED

I discovered King Crimson as a result of the Asia debut album in 1982 (even horrible taste can be cured!) and have been a diehard fan ever since. "Red," along with "Starless and Bible Black," are my two favorite works from Crimson, with Red getting the nod as the better of the two. The raw power of the music, coupled with the lyrics' exploration of the more inhuman areas of humanity, make this work one of the standout efforts of 70's prog. Simply glancing at the cover of this album should be notice enough of what is in store: the three artists are lit from the left side in black and white, with touches of gold and red breaking the starkness of the photo - very reflective of the precious-metal vocals from John Wetton, the drive of "Nightmare" and the pain of "Fallen Angel," which accent rather than relieve the soul-darkness of "Starless" and the intensity of "Red." "Providence" is often (and rightly) tabbed as the weakest cut on this album, yet it is still listenable and well- executed, and it fits well with the darkside-of-humanity theme by being a place in this music where nothing much happens and nothing much changes - without in any way lessening the oppressive, brooding tone set by Fripp and Co. It is impossible for me to imagine what grunge would have been without this album's trailblazing. It is obvious to me that it would never have been nearly as good at its best, because the standard set in "Red" is high indeed. If I had to listen to only five albums for the rest of my life, this would be one of them.