Lark's Tongues in Aspic [Original recording remastered]

King Crimson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: E.G. Records
• ASIN: B000003S0I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,815 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part One

2. Book Of Saturday

3. Exiles

4. Easy Money

5. The Talking Drum

6. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two

Editorial Reviews

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning. Perhaps the best by an amazing band. November 4, 2005

By Michael Stack VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Once again, King Crimson shifted lineups, only this time it was far more dramatic-- after having toured without lyricist Peter Sinfield, the entire band left, leaving Fripp on his own. A blessing in disguise, the band that assembled for this recording was full of such musical muscle and subtlety that they were able to turn out what may be the best of the King Crimson material (its a tough call, there's a number of stunning albums by them). This is also the first Crimson formation not to feature a saxaphone. Joining Robert Fripp (guitar, mellotron) are David Cross (violin, viola, mellotron), John Wetton (bass, vocals), Bill Bruford (drum kit), and Jamie Muir (percussion). Lyrics this time were handled by Richard Palmer-James-- getting away from the imagery of Peter Sinfield allowed the band's songs to flourish in different fashions.

But also allowing the band to flourish is the delicate balance they created-- Muir as a percussionist would play everything from mouth harps, thumb pianos, and chains slamming against gongs created his own dynamics without the influence of everyone else, likewise Bill Bruford at the kit could manage both power and subtlety, whereas Cross' violin and Wetton's bass were in opposition, both in register and in expressiveness-- Wetton is a brutally aggressive bass player. Fripp somehow counterbalanced all of this.

In many ways, this is also the band shedding their progressive rock leanings in terms of the traditional "prog" sound-- there's not the emphasis on harmonied instruments, mellotrons, etc. The approach is a lot cleaner and in many ways far less limiting....

A couple of the tracks here have their origins in the past-- the album opener, "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One" (themes of which showed up in Crimson improvs from Fripp's guitar in '71/'72), is a signal of the future, from its delicate intro percussion, aggressive violin lines, and explosive guitar riffing, this clearly illustrates something else is happening here. Dynamically challenging, musically complex, and capable of both directness and subtlety, the piece is a sign of brilliance to unfold, both on this and throughout the album. Structurally, its looser than any of the previous instrumental Crimson material, when you want a musician to explode, he does. Also developed from older material is "Exiles"-- the opening theme was originally performed by the '69 band live as "Mantra". Both this and "Book of Saturday" are the ballads on the record-- "Book of Saturday" illustrates the softer side of the band, pretty violin figures and delicate guitar are the highlights of this piece. "Exiles", having its old origins, has a slightly older feel to it, almost similar in content to "Epitaph" or "The Court of the Crimson King", the piece has a more timeless quality to it brought about by the use of the mellotron as a highlight rather than a driving force. Wetton's voice is full of passion that was too often missing in the earlier band.

The second half of the album, as though to underplay the dynamic complexity and delicacy of the first half, is aggressive-- the band assumes a muscular stance right away with the obnoxious and stunning riff on "Easy Money"-- Wetton sings largely unaccompanied but the band falls upon themselves with a furious nature. A laughing box fades and "The Talking Drum" begins-- quiet a first, then building a repeated bass figure under which percussion work thrives, a soaring, aggressive, almost insistent violin lead bleeds into sustained guitar phrases from Fripp until almost like the train hitting the breaks-- the squeal arrives, and the piece transforms into the mighty "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two". Probably the highlight of the album, Larks 2 is a driving and insistent guitar riff in 9, phrases that turn each other around, and an explosive bridge, the piece boils over and is pure magic.

For fans of unique and powerful music, look no further, this album is genius. Probably difficult to get into if you're not ready for it, but without a doubt some of the most stunning rock music ever recorded. Read more ›

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars King Crimsons Aural masterpiece, July 4, 2006

By Roger Page Lennon

Format:Audio CD

Along with Islands and Starless and Bible Black(see my review) this is the absolute peak of King Crimson. In 1972 King Crimson (the Peter Sinfield era) completely dissintegrated after a disasterous tour that produced the subpar live album Earthbound. Many believed this to be the end of King Crimson. However this was not the case a year later Larks Tongues in Aspic was released to the world and what an album it is. Completely departing from Crimsons former somber symphonic style, Lark's is an avant garde masterpiece that is absolutely drenched in darkness as well as beauty. Kicking off with the blueprint to every extended instrumental King Crimson has done since is LTIA part 1. This song show Fripps new found approach to songwriting, slowly building tension that ends with an explosive climax. The entire song is a roller coaster of sounds ranging from David Cross's beautiful(and more than a little sinister) violin soloes to Fripps Sabbathesque guitar passages, this song is more than a little strange. Even stranger is the fact that the song is followed up by a short ballad(Book Of Saturdays) that is the complete musical oppisite of the opening song. Exiles follows and is the second best song off the album. This song like the last song is a wonderful ballad driven by violin, mellotron, and Fripps acoustic guitar. John Wetton does a great job with the vocals. Easy Money is a fantastic rocker loaded with distortion and a great solo from Fripp. The Talking Drum is pretty much just an extended intro for the final song on the album but its a great build up. The closing song is LTIA part 2 which in my humble opinion is King Crimsons best instrumental. Alternating between heavy distorted passages and an absolutely awe inspiring interlude, this song is the reason i bought the album....

The musicianship on this album is top notch with all the players being virtuoso's at their instruments you would not expect the playing to be as tight as it is as tight as it is but in fact for an album that was part improvised this is some of the tightest group interplay I have ever heard. Wetton also does a great job at singing in the very few spots on this album that have vocals. Overall this is one of the greatest albums ever made and deserves to be in any serious music collection. This album is the very definition of Progressive. Read more ›

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful

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

By Bill Your 'Free Form FM Print DJ TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format: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.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

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

By A. Wakefield

Format: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.