PROJEKCT TWO: SPACE GROOVE

This album couldn't be named better. It is spacy and it is groovy. This is one of the CDs that were produced when King Crimson splitted the double trios to experiment with Fractals as Fripp named them. The lineup of ProjecKt Two is composed of Fripp (guitars), Trey Gunn (warr guitar) and Adrian Belew (V-drums). This lineup is really interesting for a lot of different reasons. First, since Belew plays the drums and not the guitar, Fripp is the only guitar player. It gives him the spotlight and we haven't heard lead guitar from him since Red. Second, the V-Drums is a really cool electronic drum kit which produces a lot of different groovy sounds. Third, the warr guitar is an instrument with a lot of potential and being in a trio, it can really shine.

This double album is entirely composed of improvs. The downside is that it's a double CD. Some of the stuff on it is really interesting but 90 minutes of improvs can be repetitive at times. About half of the album is really cool though. Space Groove II is the perfect ambient song if you're planning a Space Party. Seriously, this improv is really cool and groovy. The V-Drums and the Warr guitar especially shine on this track. There are some really great guitar parts by Fripp too. I was surprised by Belew's drum playing. He should get behind his kit more often (though I like his guitar playing too). The other two improvs are basically the same thing and the whole thing gets kinda boring by the time you reach Space Groove 1 (which is ironically the last song).

The second CD brings some new elements and is for the most part enjoyable. The only problem is that, just like the first CD, it gets repetitive after some time. I think they should have put more effort into this one and write at least two or three songs. This album seems a little bit self-indulgent in my opinion. It's interesting and very cool in some parts but it's definitely not something you will want to listen to again and again (and again). I rate this 3 stars because there is some really good stuff but the other half of it is useless.

-Bern