Lark's Tongues in Aspic: 30th Anniversary [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

King Crimson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: E.G. Records
• ASIN: B000003S0I
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,357 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 1

2. Book of Saturday

3. Exiles

4. Easy Money

5. The Talking Drum

6. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2

Editorial Reviews

British prog group's 1973. Six tracks including 'The Talking Drum'. Standard Jewelcase.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic! Classic! Classic!, May 2, 2001

By 

Bill Your 'Free Form FM Handi Cyber Print DJ ... (Mahwah, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lark's Tongues in Aspic: 30th Anniversary (Audio CD)

Ten to 15 albums in rock history are unlike anything that came before them, and have never been matched. Lark's Tounges In Aspic is one of them.

King Crimson created a strange mix of Stravinsky, Jungle Grooves and abstract jazz here. The title suite builds from little nature noises to a wrecking ball Les Paul riff to an eccentric, thorny funk. Each part sounds like nothing else in popular music; yet it all fits together as organically as the verse, bridge and courus of a Brill Building song.

Book Of Saturday and Exiles are ballads--in theory. But the lyrics are so filled with wry twists, and the playing is so angular, any equation with pop proves absurd a few seconds into a first listen. The two songs seem to form a genre of their very own.

The second half of the album-"Easy Money," "Talking Drum," and the second part of the title track-further experiment with the hybrids layed out on the first half. Jazz solos are played over strange animal noises. The violin is given a Mozart-like line while gongs are banged with chains. It is incredibly wierd, incredibly fresh and incrediably brilliant.

If you are sick of the same old sounds, try this. "But its from 1973!" you say.

Yes, but rock has yet to catch up to Larks Tounges In Aspic.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably good., December 4, 1999

By 

A. Wakefield "Partial Observer" (Indian Fortress, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lark's Tongues in Aspic: 30th Anniversary (Audio CD)

This album is such an amazing achievement that even Crimson couldn't replicate it. I happily give it one of my few 5 stars - unlke many, I don't come on here just to "vote" for my favorites. 5 stars means that this is a work that I can barely imagine improvement on. Although the album has it's brightest moments when the singer is not singing, that's not nearly enough to dull its value.

Briefly, the instrumentation and crispness of sound is unparalleled even with more current production techniques and the supposed progress that is always occuring. We haven't seen anything like this since. It makes other forms of "progressive" rock look like a joke. Here is a music that goes by that guise but is neither progressive nor rock. Not progressive because no one could effectively progress beyond this pinnacle of the idiom, and its uniqueness. Not rock - although of course you can hear elements of it. The musical language and instrumentation are too diverse. Rock makes its name on repetition and relative simplicity. This is musical, spontaneous, exciting stuff, the way "rock" hasn't been in years.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Album (with Strange Name For A Dish?), November 24, 2002

By 

Samhot (Star Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lark's Tongues in Aspic: 30th Anniversary (Audio CD)

1973's _Larks' Tongues In Aspic_ is arguably King Crimson's most experimental and "progressive" out of their classic '73-'74 period. This is also the album where Crimson attempted their first stab at metal. While King Crimson lost enough musicians in their long career to fill up a school classroom, the lineup of Robert Fripp, John Wetton and Bill Bruford seemed to be the finest to many. Robert Fripp (guitar/mellotron), John Wetton (vocals/bass), Bill Bruford (drums), David Cross (violin) and Jamie Muir (percussion) showcase their masterful musicianship here. They gel perfectly together to give us an amalgamation of metal blended with classical, jazz, funk and tribal rhythms to create soundscapes that are fiery, ominous, mysterious, transcendent and spellbinding. Jamie Muir (percussionist for this album only) had the creativity of a madman here, as he used plastic bottles, plates, bowls, chains and all-sorts to create otherworldly percussive acrobatics. Now, onto the tracks:

"Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part One)"--This is the first of three instrumentals on the disc. This 13 1/2 minute piece features percussive ambience, fiery drumming, slithering violins and explosive proto-industrial metal. Some of the lurking and foreboding violin textures found here possibly foreshadowed what was to be heard on "Providence" (from _Red_, on which David Cross makes an appearance). John Wetton even misses a (bass) note on here, which not only proves that instrumental wizards are human, but mistakes can make perfect art. It also gives this track a live, natural and improvisational feel.

"Book Of Saturday"--A beautiful ballad. The arrangement is unconventional for a typical ballad, but still melodic and moving. John Wetton's moving vocals combined with Robert Fripp's tasteful noodling and David Cross' soothing violin playing is truly beautiful. I believe there are no drums on this track.

"Exiles"--This track brings reminiscence to "Epitath" (from _In The Court Of The Crimson King_). Robert Fripp manages to slip a guitar line from the aforementioned track on here as well (the G-F#-G-F#-A melody). A mellow, ethereal and mellotron-laden r&b/symphonic rock track.

"Easy Money"--While featuring menacing lyrics, is mostly an instrumental showcase. Jamie Muir chain-slaps his multitude of percussive instruments with menace, while Robert Fripp noodles away with snaky, scaly and improvisation-like soloing. I call this a strange mix of classic r&b-infused hard rock, with John Wetton's vocals adding slight blues atmospheres.

"The Talking Drum"--An instrumental featuring tribal rhythms galore. This is probably the most straightforward on here in terms of rhythm.

"Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part Two)"--An arrhythmical funky hard rock instrumental. All the musicians shine here collectively. Complex motifs are layered atop one another, which can challenge even the most cerebrally-inclined (Bill Bruford sounds like he's playing a different track altogether). Near the end, you hear abrasive percussion-bashing from Jamie Muir, which may sound like pure noise to many, but still manages to sound fresh and exciting.

It's pretty futile to pick favorites out of King Crimson's catalog, but _Larks' Tongues In Aspic_ (to me) is one of their strongest efforts. If hard rock combined with funk, elements of modern classical and jazz floats your boat, pick this album up.