THE CONSTRUKCTION OF LIGHT

King Crimson has always been at the forefront of creativity. As one of the defining bands that define the term progressive, on this one they appear to have gained new insight. Every band before this time had been creating albums that they hoped they're good. Crimson in this case seemed to be so progressive that they don't try to make good music anymore. In a dazzling display of ingenuity, they excel in creating an album that is completely not worth listening to, something no prog bands had consciously attempted before.

All sarcasm aside, The ConstruKction of Light is still one of the least enjoyable works of not only prog, not only rock, but music in general. The band seemed to believe that having smooth guitar playing unusual chromatic or whole tone lines completely ignoring the bass pulling the same tricks at the same tempo while the drums keep a constant reminder of the completely unneccesary shifting time signatures would create a uniqe atmosphere and sound that would sweep the intended audience off their feet. While the album can be called 'special', it is unique in the sense that it is indeed progressive and innovative but still an unbearable listen and extremely difficult to appreciate.

The standouts only serve as even lower points. "ProsaKc Blues" is plain annoying, with Adrian Belew's goofy voice bumbling along an unusual fusion of blues and avant-garde prog rock. From the opening track alone the listener should be aware that the ConstruKction of Light is NOT a masterpiece in any stretch or sense of the word. However, if the listener is not convinced, there are still other tracks to show King Crimson's large blunder in creating the album. After 2 songs of the sound described earlier, the band decides that Fripp should speed things up in "FraKctured" since after all there can't be too much of a bad thing, right? And after that horrible dissonant guitar speed excercise, there is "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum", with completely stupid and uninspired vocals vomiting out even more banal lyrics. If the listener wants more, there's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part IV" which will only serve to dissapoint fans of the energetic and groundbreaking first parts of the installment by injecting it with the rest of the headache-inducing ConstruKction of Light sound.

Therefore, approaching this album should only be done by the people who know what they are getting into. New fans should stand far clear of it, as Crimson had already showcased their absolute brilliance in plenty of early albums, and would even show a better side of themselves later with their excellent album "The Power To Believe". Crimson fans probably know to set themselves up for dissapointment when listening to the album, because of the large amount of dislike vented towards this album. Ultimately, ConstruKction of Light is nothing but a mess and show what happens when an uninspired band tries too hard to keep progressing their genre. Good thing you saved it for next time Crimson!