LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

The 2nd best album in this era of King Crimson. The core group of Fripp, Bruford, and Wetton are here, along with David Cross (who made a guest appearance on Red, but here he's a member) on violin, and the borderline insane Jamie Muir on percussion. What you get on this album is some of the best music Crimson has created, but mediocre lyrics are the low point of this musically perfect album.

The opener of the album, the instrumental masterpiece Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part One, is easily one of the best Crimson instrumentals. Starting off quietly with Mellotrons and Cross's violins, Fripp's buzz-saw guitar comes in the background around the 3 minute mark. Muir's insane percussion also takes shape during this hectic minute of nirvana. When the main riff kicks in, the listener is presented with a thunderous guitar and off the wall drumming. Within the next few minutes, the guitar shallows out and Cross's violins take the forefront again. Overall, a masterpiece that no one should miss.

The songs with vocal are a mixed bag, the best of which is Easy Money. The music created on these varies as well. The laid back music to Book of Saturday suits the mood. The agressive guitar on Exiles and Easy Money is also very suited for the mood presented. Wetton's vocals, while not as good as Red (My favorite vocal performances by him), are sufficient enough to sing the material written by Fripp and Palmer-James. The other two instrumentals, the Talking Drum and Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part Two, are incredible instrumental voyages that keep the hard and rough Crimson sound alive.

Overall, this is a good addition to your King Crimson collection. The Red era of Crimson is my favorite, and I'm sure that there is something on this album that will please everyone. 5/5.