STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK

This is one of the best 70's prog albums released, yet it seems to suffer from being surrounded by comparisons with the KC masterpieces of LTIA and Red, and hence gets a much lower rating than it would probably receive otherwise. I also don't see the improvisations as a negative here, as improv has always been a huge part of what makes KC so great. Breaking my rating down track by track, I rate The Great Deceiver, and Lament 5 star tracks, The Night Watch and Starless and Bible Black at 4.5 stars, Trio and The Mincer at 4.0 stars, and We'll Let You Know at 3.5 stars. Now, saving the best for last, Fracture is absolutely at another level. It is easily one of KC's greatest tracks and therefore one of the greatest tracks ever in prog history. This is where a five star rating system fails miserably, as I would easily give Fracture 10 stars out of 5 if that were possible. I am in awe every time I hear Fracture, that music could possibly be this good. Overall, this is easily a 5 star album.