Beat

King Crimson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 23, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: E.G. Records
• ASIN: B000003S1C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,952 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Neal and Jack and Me

2. Heartbeat

3. Sartori in Tangier

4. Waiting Man

5. Neurotica

6. Two Hands

7. The Howler

8. Requiem

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as "Discipline," but still an amazing album., January 27, 2004

By 

Ilker Yucel "Kryptych" (Annapolis, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beat (Audio CD)

Here was a rarity for King Crimson fans, and for more reasons than one. First, it was the first King Crimson album ever to feature the same lineup as the previous album, that lineup being the always present Robert Fripp on guitar (as well as organ and "Frippertronics"), Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Tony Levin on bass and stick (and throwing in some support vocals), and Bill Bruford on drums and percussion. This lineup was set to change the way progressive music would be perceived, with their excellent mix of pop melodicism and experimental avant garde. There was the second surprise was that if people thought "Discipline" was poppy or new-wave, they weren't ready for "Beat." The songs may be radio-friendly, but they are not without a high degree of complexity.

These are not simple songs, the blistering fretwork of Fripp, Belew, and Levin just intertwine to form a tapestry of amazing musicianship. The melodies and guitar harmonies are all just an incredible mixture of melodic structure and flying off the handle. Fripp's solos are as off-kilter as ever, showing a great need to get as much out of both his own abilities and the technology (the three '80's King Crimson albums are pinnacles of synth-guitar technology). Between the soaring solos of "Sartori in Tangiers" and the neo-jazz-improvizations of "Requiem," Fripp proves that King Crimson have not abandoned their progressive roots, even if they've embellished it with a bit of '80's new-wave pop. Bruford's drumming keeps time very well, but people underestimate the nuances of his playing. He's not just playing straight to keep time...he's keeping the "beat" of the songs, mixing in his own subtle sense of quirky rhythmic flourish. It's there, you just have to listen for it, but he really is showing off a little occasionally. Belew also gives some of the best vocal deliveries of any vocalist's life, singing with enough bravado that he actually outdoes himself ("Indiscipline" was funny... but listen to "Neurotica" or "Neal and Jack and Me"). The album's best moment is "Waiting Man." Sure it's a pop song, but it's such a sweet exercise in musical craftsmanship.

"Beat" is definitely the more accessible of King Crimson's three albums of the '80's, but this is not a bad thing. It may have been poppier, but they never sacrificed their musicianship or their sense of progressive abandon for the sake of a hit. Even the simpler songs are full of moments of intense energy and complexity that you have to wonder where the line is drawn between pop and progressive. It was as if King Crimson were trying to prove that there need not be any division, as long as it's good music. Good point, and good music it is. Many people don't like "Beat," that's their choice, and I'll agree it's not as good as "Discipline," but it's still an amazing album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short but Sweet, July 23, 2002

By 

Shaw N. Gynan (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beat (Audio CD)

The only negative comment that occurs to me with regard to this album is that it is short, five minutes shorter than most albums that KC produced, but what is here is so perfect.

Neil and Jack and Me is a great rocker with cutting edge guitar riffs. The ballad, Heartbeat, is an instant classic. More beautiful electric guitar.

Sartori in Tangier is a great instrumental, followed by the nervous, wound-up Waiting Man, which features a third world flavored percussion.

Neurotica gives more quirky, humorous social commentary, over a noisy, industrial background. After another calming ballad, Two Hands, we are treated to The Howler, which evolves into a frantically paced rocker during which Belew sings, quite desperately, "No, no, not me, burn, I don't want to burn."

The most King Crimson-like work, a typical side two outing, is Requiem. It is typical in the sense that it is relatively long (but at 6:30 much shorter than many previous KC pieces of the same ilk), but the story told entirely by instrumental music is grave. A grim industrial landscape is effectively evoked. The requiem is sung by fretless bass.

Despite the brevity, one of the all-time top KC releases.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album of the Fripp-Belew-Brufford-Levin line up, November 30, 1999

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beat (Audio CD)

King Crimson has always been Robert Fripp and whomever he chose to invite into the band. Until the 80's. When Fripp reformed Crimson with Belew (former guitarist with Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads), Tony Levin (ace bass session player and terrific stick player as well) and Brufford (original Yes drummer, one time Crimson member), the band forged an identity beyond Fripp. This was a line up that, like the first, clearly showed the musicians as collaborative equals. While Fripp was in charge, the other members clearly had a voice in writing/performing the music.

Belew's Bryne-like vocals add a definite 80's edge to this edition of KC. The first album of this line up, Discipline, was the edgier of the the three this foursome released. On Beat the songwriting gelled.

This line up reformed (adding two other musicians on drums and stick/bass) and recorded a series of fine albums (including the live recording in Argentina) but Beat is the standard all the others have to be measured by. Who would have thought that King Crimson could be both progressive and dancable?