March 29, 1974 - Starless And Bible Black

Three weeks since the double feature on the 8th, and a year after "Larks' Tongues In Aspic", King Crimson released their sixth album "Starless And Bible Black" on March 29, 1974. It's actually a bit of a mix between a studio and a live album, as it has some songs that were completely done in the studio, some that are entirely live, and others that are a mix of both! Percussionist Jamie Muir abruptly quit the band after "Larks' Tongues" so King Crimson are down to a four-piece with Robert Fripp, John Wetton, David Cross and Bill Bruford. This quartet really enjoyed playing lengthy improv music and became quite a tight unit. Three of the album's tracks are live pieces that were entirely made up on the spot and half of the songs are also instrumental. Let's check it out!

The first two songs on the album are the only ones done entirely in the studio, starting with "The Great Deceiver". They come out of the gates fast with a cool Mellotron-led riff and Wetton plays a cool bass riff during the verse and his singing is pretty solid, especially in the chorus. After a bit more quick stuff, the second verse is led by guitar instead of bass with Fripp playing some nice licks. He plays some pretty great stuff for the rest of the song basically soloing over the chorus at the end. I really liked this song, some of the best stuff they've done in a long time! The other studio song is titled "Lament" as slow guitar carries this song and Wetton's singing sounds great again. Cross adds some nice violin as well and Bruford plays lots of cool percussion noises as Wetton's bass takes the lead with some cool stuff. Fripp adds some great guitar and they take off for a pretty sweet, almost funk riff. Wetton's bass sounds fantastic as does Bruford's drumming. Another great song showing Crimson can still write some great studio material. Track 3 is "We'll Let You Know", an improv piece performed in Glasgow. It starts slowly with guitar and more percussion noises as Wetton joins with some wicked bass and Fripp starts to wander on the guitar. Bass leads the way as we hear trippy guitar and percussion and once Bruford brings in the whole kit, they really let loose! These guys can read each other very well and the ending has lots of great stuff, a cool song for sure that they just made up that night! The next song "The Night Watch" is very interesting; the first part is live, but their Mellotron broke during the show so the rest of the song was done in the studio, something I've never seen before. The live part has some cool violin and percussion and sounds almost like a Santana song! Wetton adds some nice vocals and it's around the 2:00 mark that it switches to studio music, though they make it a nice transition. It sounds just like the live part, they did a great job of recreating the atmosphere and with a working Mellotron the song sounds great. We hear a cool solo by Fripp and this song sounds pretty relaxed with some cool violin by Cross. Track 5 is called "Trio", another improv piece, this time performed in Amsterdam. Bruford had his drumsticks in his hands and was waiting for the right moment to join in. He ultimately never did, and so only Fripp, Wetton and Cross play on this song, hence Trio. His decision not to play was viewed as critical however, and he got a writing credit. Fripp plays a flute-like Mellotron that has a very eerie, trippy feeling to it and the bass and violin are very quiet as they add bits and pieces to this slow jam. It's a very beautiful song and I think it's just amazing that all of them made this up on the spot, and working off of each other, made this cool song. I agree that there was no right time for drums to join in, so props to Bruford for his restraint. The final song on side one is "The Mincer", yet another improv piece, this time performed in Zurich. It's a very haunting, slow opening with some trippy guitar and Fripp plays his own little thing while the rest of the band keeps the beat. Wetton sings for the final minute of this impromptu rock jam and his singing is decent, but honestly not really necessary. The music makes the song, and all three improv pieces so far have their own distinct style.

Both songs on this side were taken from the same Amsterdam show as "Trio", starting with "Starless And Bible Black", a 9-minute improv piece. It begins with some trippy guitar and lots of interesting percussion from Bruford. The guitar continues to drone and wander as Wetton carries the rhythm with some sweet bass. Now on full kit, Bruford's drums sound great as well. They all slow down and shift the music together, a very impressive transition when they just did it on the spot! Cross plays some flute-like Mellotron in this new part that sounds cool but it's still the rhythm section grabbing most of my attention. Another really cool improvised song! The final track is called "Fracture", the longest song on the album, an 11-plus minute instrumental jam! Fripp carries the song with his amazing freestyle guitar playing. The "chorus" has a heavier, slower riff that sounds cool, then it's back to Fripp's great guitar. After another "chorus" Fripp sets off on a really fast riff that sounds amazing! Bruford plays some quick percussion that also sounds really cool, but Fripp just never let's up! He just keeps playing this fast guitar riff and it never stops sounding good. Cross adds some epic violin that fits the mood well and when Bruford goes full drum kit, you know they're stepping it up now. Wetton plays some cool bass to back as they return to the "chorus". Another nice transition leads to a very quiet part with slow, trippy guitar and violin. This rolls into a thundering heavy riff with some great distorted guitar and bass, and I love it! Wetton is playing some awesome bass in this part and it sounds great. Violin takes the lead and we hear the same epic riff played on that, and it sounds great too! What a fantastic song, and a splendid way to end this record. These guys can just pull amazing music out of nowhere!

That is the end of "Starless And Bible Black" and I thought it was a really great album. Their heavy focus on improv music worked out really well, as this foursome are able to read off of each other and create some fantastic music spontaneously. This is exactly the kind of music Bruford wanted to play when he left Yes, and he does a great job on the kit, as well as adopting Muir's percussion. "The Great Deceiver" and "Fracture" are the highlights for me, but there is plenty of great music on this record. But how does it compare to their previous albums? I thought they improved upon last year's "Larks' Tongues" which brings us to their amazing debut album. They are two very different King Crimson styles: the debut has a lot more different instruments, but is very slow other than the first song, while this new one is mostly improvised and has violin, an instrument the debut did not have. It's difficult to choose as they are both great at what they do, but I give the nod to "Starless And Bible Black". I thought it was a fantastic album, and their best one yet. Can this new line-up continue to ascend to new heights? I hope so!