THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR

King Crimson continued their new 80s sound begun with "Discipline" and continuing with "Beat". This third album in the trilogy sounds familiar, with those repetitive guitar patterns of the mesmirising Fripp, and Belew's estranged vocals. Levin and Bruford are the rhythm machine and continue to hang with the band at this point. King Crimson were rock solid in this period of their career, tight and performing some innovative music.

It begins with the much heralded 'Three of a Perfect Pair', a great start with some progressive instrumentals and a terrific vocal performance.

'Model Man' follows sounding similar to anything from their previous 2 albums. But it is a good sound with strong melodies and very powerful vocals.

'Sleepless' was a startling revelation to me as it is the theme to all night music TV programme in Australia, "Rage" and it makes sense using 'Sleepless' as that show has managed to keep me up all night on a few occasions. The bass on this is stunning; Levin is a machine keeping a consistent funkadelic rhythm and the vocals are again fabulous.

'Man with an Open Heart' is a strange pop song, and 'Nuages' is an ethereal instrumental with an eerie atmosphere.

'Industry' is one of the most progressive tracks sounding at times like a steel factory, a mechanised symphony of machinery effects. It is a wonderful track from this album showcasing Bruford's inimitable drumming prowess.

'Dig Me' is wildly experimental with some weird time sig changes and fantastical lyrics.

'No Warning' is another strange track with weird instrumental sounds and finally 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part 3' ends the album with an instrumental though is is not up to the standard of the first 2 parts.

In conclusion, this is another solid 80s album from the prog masters. It is no masterpiece and a bit patchy in places but certainly good enough for 3 stars, and well worth checking out.