Customer Reviews

Red: 30th Anniversary Editions

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4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So much could be said for this album in spite of these reviews and the many liner notes accompanying King Crimson box sets. Not only is this an excellent album that represents all that is Crimson, it might also be the last word that slammed the door shut on what was once the most maligned but certainly most intriguing genre of rock music in its storied history - progressive rock. Even though the term made Robert Fripp cringe, King Crimson was (from their lofty beginnings with "In the Court of the Crimson King" to their harsh excursions through "Larks ..." and "Starless ..." ) a progressive band, because hardly a single song followed the verse/chorus/verse/chorus/guitar solo/chorus/fade-out formula pervasive throughout what passes as popular music today. Each Crimson excursion explored beyond the boundaries most bands feared to cross. While some fared not as well ("Formentera Lady"), most succeeded (esp. "Larks Tongues in Aspic, Part II").

Red, once thought to be the end of the band after the top of Robert Fripp's head blew off (read said liner notes!), revealed a troubled mind (Fripp) in conflict with the music business, his own muses and his ambitious bandmates John Wetton and Bill Bruford. Wetton's vocals developed with such conviction and delivery - his bass fretwork fast and heavy (second to only Chris Squire at the time); and lest anyone might still have been questioning Bruford's startling decision to leave Yes at their peak, Bruford, with drumming agile, intricate and heavy, emerged with such force and abandon (to make up for the departed Jamie Muir) that John Bonham and Keith Moon must have returned to the drawing board. This against slabs of thick metallic Frippian guitar helped define the "Power Trio," a term often applied to much more renowned bands like Rush, the Police, and Brand X (each Crimson understudies).

The album kicks off with the title track, a dirge of heavy metal that revolves around the tritone ("Diabolus in Musica" - once a forbidden interval in classical music - the devil in music - more fodder for King Crimson mythology) twisting and turning in various time signatures. "Fallen Angel" is a ballad with a beautifully lilting oboe counter-melody that falls into blistering, revolving guitar arpeggios backed by an irreverent, blasting trumpet. Wetton's most moving vocal performances in U.K. and Asia have this song to thank for his craft of melody and restraint. "One More Red Nightmare" sears with brutal, thundering percussion and a faster variation of the tritone that sends the piece into outer space behind Ian McDonald's (a worthy welcome back from the first album) alto saxophone. "Providence" is an unstructured jam that recalls King Crimson's four-piece lineup with David Cross on violin. While some jams on previous albums come off as random and lost, "Providence" builds and connects - until it disappears, probably due to tape error. "Starless" concludes the album, and within the 12 minutes of this aural masterpiece exist everything that is King Crimson - soft ballad mellotron with linear guitar that *really* gently weeps; jam session with all sorts of strange percussive blasts and crescendos of screaming guitar; fast, jazzy jam session featuring Mel Collins on soprano sax and even screamier guitar before every element falls into place at the end to repeat the opening theme and conclude just this close to absolute madness and despair. Only in silence at the album's end does one find relief while struggling to contemplate the meaning of what had just captivated his senses for the last forty minutes.

Rock historians have noted that the golden age of progressive rock came to an abrupt end with this album, for as King Crimson ceased to exist (at the time), Genesis, Yes, ELP, Focus and every other progressive band worth mentioning just never seemed quite the same. King Crimson's "Red," an aural assault and a musical journey into the depths of Fripp's mind, heart and soul, paints a picture we might seldom wish to see in ourselves. It is complicated, painful and incredible and what's more - it demands the listener's attention, intelligence and open mind. Simply put it is the best album I have ever heard.

In my opinion, this album, and the title track, are the ultimate introductions to King Crimson. I first got the album on vinyl back in 1975 or 1976, and wore out "Red" (the track) within a month--you can actually see light reflect differently from that section compared to the rest of it--the grooves are less than microscopic. The CD is worth twice the price just for the title cut.

The original back cover says everything about the record: a black and white photo of a gauge, with the needle pegged in the red. In "Red", "One More Red Nightmare", and "Starless", some of the most obscene violations of sound waves can be heard, and I mean that in a very positive way. Fripp has tortured a guitar on many other recordings as "beautifully" as he did on "Red", but never so consistently.

If you have no, or very little, King Crimson, this is a must. If you have any interest in challenging, guitar-fuelled music, likewise. I've also found that when the neighbors' kids are outside listening to the Backsync Boys or Britney Aguilera or whatever, at high volume, the title track does a good job of keeping them out of my yard. It probably kills rodents, too.

Not my favorite, but in all likelyhood, the very best. At the very least, it is definitely the tightest and most technically proficient of the albums turned out by the 69-74 incarnation of the great KC--even the most die-hard fans of LTIA and SABB must admit to that. It's perfect, much like the later song 'Discipline' is perfect in that it always makes sense where it ends up, but the means to those ends are not in the least ways boring or predictable.

Along with ITCOTCK, Red is also the most accessible of the early KC albums. Apart from the incredible performances of the players (especially Mr. Bruford's precussion), songs like Fallen Angel and One More Red Nightmare sound more like straightforward rock songs than anything on the two previous albums (though Easy Money fits that bill too). Of course, they sound like dark and ominous rock songs; this album is much darker than its predecessors, but has such a rich and full sound as well that is likewise absent on previous efforts.

Then there's the title track, Fripp's third guitar masterpiece in as many albums, and though it does not match 'Fracture' in bouts of sheer intensity, it tops it in terms of structure and consistency.

The two gems here, however, are on the second side of the album. Providence is the most perfectly structured improv KC has ever done, and so does not sound too much like it somehow escaped from SABB to be on a more reputable album. And then we come to Starless, thought by many to be the greatest progressive rock song of all time. Well, that's a tall order, even for this terrific song...the first 4 1/2 minutes are what Mr. Fripp usually puts on KC compilations and consist of some great lyrics sung over the saddest chords imaginable and some wailing Fripp guitar--pretty moving stuff so far. Then (and this description does not nearly succeed in covering the vast range of emotions here), Mr. Fripp begins a guitar solo which spends many minutes building and building until finally the band just explode into a fantastic jam...the best part, as other reviews have stated, is the end where Fripp's guitar plays over the resurrected main theme. The guitar solo in the middle might last a bit too long, but this only serves to make the ending all the more enjoyable.

Perfect. It's really a must have, and a great first Crimson album to buy. For those who own it and consider Providence to be one of the best tracks (as I do), buy Starless and Bible Black as well...assuming you already have Lark's Tongues in Aspic.

After the experimental and absurd "Starless and Bible Back". Crimson had already created a new way to play progressive rock. Heavy guitar riffs, jazz-like drums and bass, all sort of percussions and the magnificent Mellotron and violin sound. The 72-74 line-up is fantastic ! In 74, they were about to end their works, but they just entered the studio and everything changed. Fripp and the band came with fresh new songs, of high quality rock ! "Red" is a great and typical progressive rock album of the 70's. David Cross appears as a guest this time, Mel Collins and Ian Mcdonald too. As a power trio, Crimson simply made one of the most intense rock records of all times ! The song "Red" opens the album with a powerful guitar riff, a loud bass and excelent drums. We can hear a Cello too. Excelent track, Crimson with all heaviness (as in Larks'part 2). "Fallen Angel" is a delightful song, very beautiful vocals by Wetton, plus a great guitar work. The second part of the song is a hard sax improvise. BEAUTIFUL. "One More Red Nightmare", as "Red" has a heavy guitar, but there is a jazz-like part in the middle that is just brilliant ! "Providence" is like any other track from "Starless and Bible Back", pure improvise. Starts with a nice and dark violin by Cross, and the members starts to enter as the song go on. At the end we have a powerful jazz trio just breaking all progressive rules ! YEAH ! "Starless" is the most beautiful track that Crimson made (probably). Really beautiful vocals, marvelous sax and guitars. Fripp's guitar solo is a little bit bizarre, but the track is really intense ! Wetton best vocals on Crimson. Bruford's drums is soft, gentle, but what a precision. At the end he explode in heavy rhythms ! "Red" is an essential album for progressive fans, much more accessible than the last one and a really nice record !

From the sharp military like precision of Red to the dirge like drone of Starless, it's clear that Fripp wanted the band to go out with a bang. Although the band never formally broke up after this album (according to Fripp they just "ceased to exist", the sonic textures and songs suggest that this version of Crimson had reached their apex.

The structure and songs of Red echo the general mood of In The Court of the Crimson King. In fact Red can be seen as Crimson King's mirror image. Red is every bit the equal of 20th Century Schzoid Man. Providence although not quite as compelling as I Talk to the Wind, breaks through the glacial surface that surrounds the rest of the album. The manic One Red Nightmare and the dirge like Starless both recall ITCOCK's two closing tracks. As if that wasn't enough former Crimson member Ian McDonald returns (and in fact was going to rejoin as a permanent member) as a guest performer on a couple of tracks (as does former Crimson sax player Mel Collins).

While this isn't the best album put out by this version of Crimson (Starless and Bible Black has more highlights), it was the most complete. Red has a sense of closure and is an effective bookend to phase one of King Crimson. The trio of Fripp-Wetton and Brufford close this chapter of Crimson with style and power.

Red along with In the Court and Starless stand among the best of the 60's-70's edition of KC and wouldn't be equaled until Fripp reformed the band with new members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin in the early 80's. The only thing missing from Red is what had been missing from most of KC's output--humor. Belew would bring a sharp, witty edge to the band expanding on its original sound with Discipline and Beat.

The first King Crimson era is considered by a lot of fans as the beginning of progressive rock as we know (or knew) today. The mind behind it was Robert Fripp, guitar player, occasional keyboard player, song writer and arranger. He was always ahead of his time. The second so-called King Crimson era gathered some of the most briliant musicians in this genre. The main line up consists of Bill Bruford (Yes, UK, etc) on drums, John Wetton (UK, Uriah HeepAsia, etc) on bass and voice and Robert Fripp on guitars and mellotron. Unlike thefirst era, this second era (which started with "Larks Tongs On Aspic") was more focused in less formal structure, allowing improvisations and experimentations. "Red" was released in 1974, and it's an essential album to understand the progressive rock genre. The first song "Red" is an instrumental piece. Fripp was experimenting some dodecaphonic (12 note scales) ideas. It's unusual because Wetton plays part of the harmony on bass, while Fripp dictates the main melody. And the use of distorted guitars was a new thing for Prog Rock. This song breaks in its half, and turns into a modern piece of classical music. Bill Bruford had recently left Yes because he wanted to have more fun (when he was a Yes member he was annoyed by the serious attitude most Yes members had about their music), and here seems very content and happy. He's a master of making complex drum lines, breaking rhythms in odd signatures. His high drum tone is another classic aspect. The following song "Fallen Angel" has the amazing voice of John Wetton, maybe the best singer in this genre. That's a vocal oriented song, but it has violins, cellos, saxes (Mel Collins the great) and profusion of mellotron. Distortion comes on the chorus. Some sort of twisted ballad. With lots of counterpointed melodies. The 3rd piece "One More red Nightmare" starts with some experimentations with distortion and goes in a very pleasant moody alternating some grooving complex parts with heavier sections. It's not an easy task to describe the beauty and complexity of this. "Providence" isn't what we call typical for rock. I'm not really sure but maybe that was an improvised piece. Imagine if you had a strings session, plus some saxes and a electric band (guitars, bass and percussion) and was hugely inspired by Stravinsky. Some people say, enjoying it, is an acquired taste and maybe it is. The piece has some intimate mood, and it seems to progress while the musicians are changing their minds. Initially sounds as noise, but then, it becomes a nice melody. And then it rocks. The last track is a super classic "Starless" and has some mellotron base and goes very calm and nice until Wetton opens his mouth and rocks it even more. Pure beauty. Mel Collins provides some amazing improvised saxes solos and Wetton goes singing. He's very emotional, but strong. At some point they cut the song and start some sort of minimalist part, and then violins, come to surface, and Bruford goes kicking ass with some brilliant percussions and complex drumming. Everything sounds as going to a climax (heheheheheh) and so Collins comes and brings us an amazing sax solo (Collins also kicked as on another 70s classic, Chris Squire "Fish Out of Water"). What kind of music is this? Rock, Jazz, classical? Maybe the 3 at the same time. This piece involves the listener into some sort of catharsis until its end. "Red" might not be the most complex King Crimson album, but it's maybe their most important album. For all new it brought and for the power it has.

In 1974, sensing "Red" would be the last album King Crimson would record together, Robert Fripp, John Wetton & Bill Bruford decided to go out with a metallic bang. Such is the case on the opening title track, which leaves the listener both amazed and awe-struck the entire 6:12. As the record moves into the second track, "Fallen Angel", the listener is treated to even more of these "semi-heavy metal" abrasions, including Wetton's vocals sung in between these muscular metallic arpeggiations. The parallel guitar riffs present in "One More Red Nightmare" by Fripp, are masterful and hook-laden, which demonstrates the mastery of his guitar playing intricacies brilliantly. Wetton's bass work and Bruford's percussion rhythms (especially on "OMRN") are audio poetry in motion as well. The latter two cuts, "Providence" and "Starless", display David Cross' mastery of the violin and Mel Collins dexterity in his saxophone playing respectively, both exquisitely done to a tee. Sadly, "Red" would be the last album to feature the core trio of Fripp, Bruford and Wetton. Fripp would retire King Crimson for six years, before gathering together a new lineup in 1981, featuring the likes of Adrian Belew on lead vocals and Tony Levin on bass, among others. With so much "heavy-metal", classical & jazzy get-up-and-go, not to mention three highly talented and competent musicians to bring it all home in splendid fashion, "Red" is definitely a must-have KC masterwork you'll definitely want to have in your progressive-rock CD library!

Describing why one likes certain music is a lot like describing color to a man blind from birth. Words fail. Largely because music affects us each in a different way. What appeals to me may be trash to you.

That said, I have to tell you that Red is the standard by which all King Crimson is measured in my book. It's heavy, melodic, melancholy and bears up to repeated listenings, which is the gauge I use for all music I consider priceless and timeless.

The '73 to '74 line-up featuring Jamie Muir (on Larks' Tongues in Aspic only), John Wetton, Robert Fripp, David Cross (on Lark's Tongues and Starless and Bible Black) and Bill Bruford is -- to my ears -- the best combination of Crimson musicians this side of the original line-up in 1969.

Wetton's plaintive, soulful, yet powerful voice meshed perfectly with the odd-metered, often dissonant music produced by Fripp et al.

Bruford's drumming is extraordinary. Fripp's guitar never sounded better. There isn't a dud on the album.

My favorite tracks are "Red" (the opening track), "One More Red Nightmare" and the epic album-closer "Starless."

The 24-bit remastered version truly makes this album come to life like never before. The lows are crisper and more prominent. And the mid-range is much less muddy than on previous editions.

If you're a fan of King Crimson, you probably already have this CD. (If you don't, you should be ashamed of yourself.) If you're not familiar with King Crimson, but you like your music intricate, challenging but always rewarding (not to mention heavy on the guitar), give Red a try.

Once you hear Red, though, be prepared to buy the other two CDs by this classic line-up from the world's most consistently fascinating band!

There is much that is excellent about this album: the soaring mellotron that introduces the final track, great singing by Wetton, one of Mel Collins's better sax solos -- the best is on 'Lucky Seven' on Chris Squire's 'Fish out of Water' -- and of course, Bruford's outstanding drumming. (If you like this, then I warmly recommend Bill's solo CDs 'One of a Kind' and 'Feels Good to Me'.) The track which showcases David Cross's violin is more of an acquired taste. Elsewhere the songs are tight and well-structured. Fripp's guitar and mellotron, of course, set the tone for this, which I would summarise as THE classic progressive, British heavy rock album.

Sinister, swirling, stormy, _Red_ is the final album in the King Crimson lineup featuring Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, and John Wetton. The band would break up after this release and not reappear for many years (see _Discipline_). While many 70s progressive rock releases sound dated today, _Red_'s brilliance is absolutely perdurable and still sounds vital and fresh. The same remains true with almost everything the band has done.

The instrumental title track is ominous and knotty, a prismatic miasma of jagged guitar and oceanic stringed instruments. "Fallen Angel" is Rock a la Crimson, one of their most 'ordinary' songs , but it is still edgy, moody, and a bit sad. Angular guitar lines screech along the tasty rhythmic grooves on "One More Red Nightmare", and by the end you are floating in spasmodic jazzy dissonance (saxophone!!! Rrroaw!). The awesome improv "Providence" begins like evil chamber music, and grows into nothing less than delirious sonic poetry. "Starless" is the album's masterpiece, opening on a mellotron's euphonious sussuration. This builds with foreboding texture on Fripp's pus-dripping guitar figure, then finally mutating into a ferocious mega-jam. When it all dies down, the finale deliquesces so precariously, so desperately. (If you don't like the one-note solo, you are unmetal.) This is a landmark progressive rock song, where composition and musicianship are all amazing. The remastered version sounds really good too.

Two bands basically define "progressive" for me. One of them is King Crimson. _Red_ remains (to me) one of their most essential and perfect albums, and if you don't own it you belong in the ghetto.