Customer Reviews

Beat

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An unfairly lamented album, "Beat" had the incredible misfortune of being the followup to one of the truly great records of its era. Tension abounded as the band sought new directions, and while stories of Fripp storming out of the studio at one point abound, through all this, the most difficult of the three 80s Crimson albums was born.

Named "Beat" as it took its inspiration from the beat poets, nothing shows this quite as clearly as "Neal and Jack and Me"-- an overt reference to Neal Cassidy and Jack Kerouac, filled with a driving beat, guitar pyrotechnics, and a great half shouted vocal from Belew, wrapped in interlocking guitars, its clear things have changed. This is about it for interlocking guitars-- there's a couple funky songs, with driving sort of beats, the instrumental "Sartori in Tangiers" and the frantic paced and crazed "Neurotica", which features a great break that takes the pace down before popping back up in intensity.

This one has no less than three ballads, two of which succeed and one of which ("Two Hands") is pretty much throwaway in my book. Hoewever, "Heartbeat" is a great love song, far and away the most straightforward the band has ever done-- it is however responsible for the opinion that Belew was putting a pop spin on the band, and I suspect if they did it over again, this one may not have made it. "Waiting Man" however is brilliant, featuring syncopated rhythms, a wonderful vocal from Belew, may be the best track on the album.

The album closes on a bizarre note, leaning towards the future in a way-- "The Howler", with its twisted guitars and the instrumental and brutal "Requiem". Full of angst ridden guitars and darkness, this one feels older, timeless in a way, full of the sort of darkness Crimson has been known for over the years-- almost out of place on this one, but one of the great moments of the '80s Crimson.

Its not as good as "Discipline", but "Beat" is a unique and interesting record. Definitely worth checking out.

The second album from the 80's version of King Crimson doesn't have the immediate, visceral force that "Discipline" delivered, but "Beat" has lost none of its impact since its 1982 release. Envisioned as an album that would thematically and spiritually embody the scope of the great American Beat Poets, the album starts of with the spectre of "Neal and Jack and Me," told from the perspective of "a 1952 Starline Coupe."

But "Beat" also means rhythm, and the album has its share of that. "Neurotica" is a distant second to "Discipline's" "Elephant Talk," but the pulse underneath it is irresistible. The instrumental "Satori In Tangier" is made of the sort of polyrythyms that put the Talking Heads into overdrive. And if matching the spirit of the freewheeling and free-associating Beats was one of King Crimson's goals, then the aptly titled "The Howler" and angry clashing finale "Requiem" to just that.

The main difference between "Beat" and the bookending albums in Crimson's 80's block is that Adrian Belew's melodic and romantic streaks barrel to the head of the stage twice here. "Heartbeat" is the closest thing to a popsong the band recorded, with Belew liking it so much that he still pulls it out on his solo performances. His wife Margaret Belew penned the romantic "Two Hands." They are so much softer in tone than anything on "Discipline" that many fans of that album cried sell-out. But they miss the point. The "Beat" movement was all about sharing wisdom and commonality, discovering the brilliance in the everyday and gaining the freedom to be exactly the person you wanted to be. Should that goal be euphoria, then appreciating the beauty of art ("Two Hands") or the ecstasy of love ("Heartbeat") would be a part of that.

If not, well, the live review of random animal parts in "Neurotica" might be for you. Either way, "Beat" is not to be missed.

I also got a major kick out of seeing a picture of the ticket for the July 1982 concert ticket at the Mann Theater. I happened to be at that very show, the summer after graduating college. A spectacular show, and made me appreciate this album even more.

This record sounds better to me now than it did when it came out. In some ways I like it more than Discipline. Here, Crimson goes from 2 extremes pop (heartbeat) to avant-garde Frippertronics (requiem), the rest is everything in between, their most diverse release, still it beat's me why that is because I used to dislike this release

This album to this day gets a bad rap with fans of King Crimson. Beat was meligned on release, accused of being a commercial album.

It is true that "Heartbeat" is a love ballad, one of the few in the Crimson catolouge. It is also true that Beat's production is more polished than any King Crimson album before it.

But even Fripp's beautful solo on "Heartbeat" would have been enough to keep the track off mainstream radio. This song, and "Neil And Jack and Me," are probably the only two tracks APPROACHING pop--maybe somewhere five block away.

Listen to "Nuroticia" and you'll here Crimson inventing all kinds of ways to create chaos with their guitars. "The Howler" is perfect dissonent art rock.

If this band was ever sold out, show me where, becuase it is not on Beat.

Everything went well. Money was paid. Product was received. Product was listened too. Final, enjoyment of product occurred, occurred, occurred.

To those who continue to compare this album with DISCIPLINE - why would you? BEAT lives on its own. It is a great masterpiece that takes another, though not radical, turn form previous album and shows the evolution one of the most creative bands in the history of rock music. By the way, I am not a King Crimson "fanatic" who has all the albums and posters on the wall. But I have to admit - in 1980, DISCIPLINE plus first album by Peter Gabriel and Talking Heads' "MY Life In THe Bush Of Ghosts" changed the way a hear rock music forever.
It seems to me that by now those who were interested enough already got BEAT long time ago.
So did I, on vinyl in 1983, and then on CD as 1989 re-master. BUt there are still fans who will buy a good re-master, or a re-master they do not have (you can read Pink Floyd pages on how many re-masters they had till this years releases).

Now, here is my question to those who actually bought this CD - which year's re-master is it?
Considering that many of the 80's albums have been re-mastered numerous times, it is important to include such an info.
By the way, that is how you will get the fans of the band to buy the same album yet again!
I already have a 1989 re-master by Robert Fripp and Tony Arnold... But would be the most recent one, because technology of digital transfer has changes so dramatically since 1989 that it may be much better sounding CD.

So who can tell me and other future customers - which year's remaster is it?

As a long time fan of progressive or art rock from the likes of Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and more recently, King Crimson, I am always eager to find "new" music. By new I generally mean music from the 1970s that has a sensibility similar to the bands I just mentioned. And although I only recently began listening to King Crimson, I liked them enough to buy their first seven albums.

As I read reviews on Amazon for the first three from the 1980s, I got excited. I didn't bother listening to the supplied snippets as reviewers promised that these albums were even better than anything King Crimson released in the 60s or 70s. Well, suffice it to say I don't necessarily agree with some of the other reviews.

While I wouldn't call any of the three albums I purchased (Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair) bad, they are closer to a funky cross between The Talking Heads and Frank Zappa than anything the band did before. The music is indeed good, but it doesn't appear to be progressive rock anymore. Instead of a mix of classical, rock, and jazz, it's more of a cross between funk, rock, and jazz.

So buyer beware! If you're ready for something more current than what King Crimson released in the 60s and 70s, these albums will deliver that. But if you wanted something a little closer to the great progressive rock of that era, look elsewhere.

This is a very good album although for me anyway it's a little below the quality of Discipline and Three Of A Perfect Pair. This is the only KC album to NOT be produced by the band and/or Robert Fripp. This album has a very early 80's feel. Very commercial feel. In fact, upon it's release several of the songs actually received a fair amount of radio play with Heartbeat getting the most. The album opens with Neil And Jack And Me which is a great songs written about Neil Cassidy, Jack Kerouac and others of the Beat movement. Hence the title of the album. Heartbeat is a cool sounding song with some nice guitar effects. Sartori In Tangier is a cool instrumental with everybody adding that something special. Waiting Man is one of the band's great songs. Most of the songs that used to make up side two sound a little off to me. Apparently at the time that there was some friction with the band during the recording of this album and also with producer which might explain why a couple of songs are a little off. Still this is a album really worth owning and there are no bad songs on it.

King Crimson's reinvented return after several years of abdication includes mad-man Adrian Belew and the incomparable Tony Levin bringing his incomparable Chapman Stick skills fresh from proof-of-concept playing for Peter Gabriel, which was just as stunning...must be heard to be believed!

While quite good, it is not as excellent as discipline, which it quite resembles, and it is not as exciting as the stuff that would come with VROOOM.