LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

Say what you may, but this actuall is essential for any prog fan. It's prog, it's heavy, it's mellow and it's innovative. Is it good enough? It sure is. This is in some way a pinnacle for KC and I consider it to be their most representig asset.

It's all here: the definitive KC sound - Lark's Toungues Pt. 1 & 2 and Money, the moody ballads of their first period - Book Of Saturday and Exiles, a glimpse of their 80's instrumentals - The Talking Drum... you can read their history in an album. Not to mention the artwork on the front cover which is perfect in its simple symbolism. Listening to the album you may start wondering if it's not the 70's period KC from which all the others sprung, defying the space-continuum [since it's probabely the last thing these guys haven't defied].

For a long time, I paid little attention to parts such as Book of Saturday or the begining of LTIA 1, but nowadays I just can't get enough of them, especially LTIA. It's a thrill ride and I keep re-discovering it with each play. As for LTIA 2, well, it's as much of an anthem of the Crimsons and prog generally as is 21st Century Schizoid Man. Speaking of which, this album raises the bar for prog heaviness and if people thought 21st Century was rough, boy, were they in for a surprise with this one. This might very well be the birth of prog-metal as it's nothing prog rock in the 70's had seen and would see for a long time.

Yet, this is not a treat for everyone. Strange to say this about an essential album? Not quite. I'm stating this in the sense that, although most will appreciate the composition, the strangeness of it all, the over-the-top musicianship, not all will actually enjoy it, let alone every bit of it. Some may say that the first track seems disjointed or that the overall sound doesn't tie together. But if you just sit back and try to enjoy you may discover that everything falls in the right place and that it's actually so well thought and written that it leaves you in the right mood at the end of each track for the beginning of the next (it could've even been a concept album).

I'm not even gonna start on the different dialogue bits and strange sounds inserts or on all the other things on this one. Just follow my advice and listen to it. This one belongs on the same league with Wish You Were Here, or even higher. It truly changes the way you listen to music.

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