King Crimson – Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973)

I picked this up, a 30th anniversary reissue and remaster, in a charity shop in Milton Keynes a couple of weeks ago, but have only now got round to properly listening and reviewing.

I've long been wary of early period Crimson, not feeling the same awe for this period as many Crimson fans, and approached this with a certain reticence.

The album marked a new KC - just Fripp and four new members. Yes's Bill Bruford transferring on drums (a change he likened to climbing over the Berlin Wall, into East Germany), Family's John Wetton on bass and vocals (both of whom would remain until Fripp disbanded KC the following year), with David Cross on violin and Jamie Muir on percussion and whatever else he could find to hit. Muir lasted less than a year in the band, leaving as this album was released, but Bruford credits his unorthodox approach as a massive future influence on his approach to music.

My gut reaction is that it's an album full of great ideas, but ideas which aren't enough to sustain the whole thing, The pieces often feel too long and over-padded, and this is displayed clearly on the 13+ minute title track Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part One. The band guitar led theme is a fantastic listen, but there's also heavy reliance on percussion and violin improvisations, which aren't as interesting. The first song Book Of Saturday, is an enjoyable short piece, with Wetton amply taking on vocal duties, while the first half is completed by Exiles, again, slow to get going with two minutes of ambient intro but a fine song when it does.

Easy Money, after a slow start gets into an enjoyable song, with something of a funky central section, showing why it stayed in the live set for years after. The Taking Drum feels like an extended jam, with an understated bass riff overlain by a violin theme, with Fripp's guitar joining in as it reaches a climax, and leading straight into Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two, which goes straight for the prog rock jugular, with the guitar riff from part one and the trademark KC climbing theme to the fore, a splendid conclusion to the album.

I'm enjoying this album more with each listen, seeing its flaws as well as its strengths. Alan Niester of Rolling Stone magazine said of the album:

"You can't dance to it, can't keep a beat to it, and it doesn't even make good background music for washing the dishes,"

a sentiment with which not only do I concur, but which further endears it to me.

It's not an easy listen at times, but it is exciting, powerful, and infuriating at times.

Link to album tracks (and extras, not on my CD)

4* - is this the mighty Crim at their most pompous and uncompromising?