RED

Red is the first King Crimson album for me to get into, and what a delightful album it is, though it seems a bit overrated in the progressive arena, or at least to me. It is quite heavy for the band, excellently dissonant guitar chords and great variation from song to song, both in instrumentation, mood, and structure (especially the eccentric Providence). Most of the music is written by the trio of Fripp, Wetton and Bruford, with some additional musicians for the recording. The album title track is probably my favorite on the album, though even it seems a little repetitive at times, but interesting to listen to nonetheless. I can almost close my eyes and see swirls of colors while listening to it (not on drugs or anything either), as the album appeals to my sense of musical imagery quite strongly. It is particularly astounding to find that this album was made in only 1974 when heavier music had just barely surfaced, but then again it's King Crimson we're talking about. Certainly heavier than most of their earlier works, it is rich with guitar overdubs ( IMO, overdubs could have been used more often for the band) and it's aggressiveness rarely lets up. Even the more subtle parts are musically aggressive, such as Starless. Though the majority of the album is great, there are times that it seems like they could have written certain sections a little better... I don't know how else to describe it. There are moments that remind me a bit of my own song-writing, which I don't think is much of a good thing. While most of the material is great, it doesn't strike me as quite a masterpiece, but relatively close to one. As well I would've liked to here Fripp's soloing more on this album. Another classic album for progressive listeners, and a great album to have for anyone who isn't allergic to heavier guitar with older progressive elements.