Starless And Bible Black [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: B000003S0M
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,921 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Great Deceiver

2. Lament

3. We'll Let You Know

4. The Night Watch

5. Trio

6. The Mincer

7. Starless and Bible Black

8. Fracture

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The second Crimson album to feature the core lineup of guitarist Robert Fripp, bassist-singer John Wetton, and drummer Bill Bruford (plus violinist David Cross), 1974's Starless continues the complex structures and hard-edged grooves of Larks' Tongues in Aspic. It's a sound that's firmly departed from the mellotron-assisted psychedelic symphony approach of Lizard and In the Wake of Poseidon. The precursor to the landmark Red, Starless includes such Crimson classics as "The Great Deceiver," the eccentric ballad "Lament," the menacing 11-minute "Fracture," and the sprawling title track, an avant-rock "Bolero" that builds into a cacophony of abstract noise guitar, chattering percussion, fleshy funk bass lines and, yep, mellotron, this time in the service of dissonant harmonies and spooky sound bursts. A must for Crimson completists, and a great first bite for neophytes. --James Rotondi

Product Description

24 bit digitally remastered reissue of the legendary British prog group's 1974 album. Eight tracks. Standard Jewelcase.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thing of dark and compelling beauty.., February 3, 2003

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starless And Bible Black (Audio CD)

King Crimson in the early 1970s was a monster like no other. The previous Larks' Tongues in Aspic had broken open the doors of chaos, and now a quartet remained - mad percussionist Jamie Muir had left to join a monastery in Scotland after releasing that album (no, I'm not joking). This lineup was one of the band's most inventive and powerful, mixing outlandish composition with the wild and unpredictable improvisations they produced on stage every night. While I still consider Red the strongest of their three albums overall (and probably a better introduction for newcomers), Starless & Bible Black stands as just as important a KC release for two main reasons. First: only a third of it was created in a studio, the remainder of the tracks being recorded live with the audience noise wiped out and an overdub or two added. This Crimson's full power came out in their live performances, and this album captured it more than any other 'regular' release. And secondly: "Fracture."

Guitarist Robert Fripp has produced a number of stellar compositions, but the mind-wracking "Fracture" remains one of the most.. for lack of a better word.. evil. Not only was it a technical nightmare for the group to play (instrumental parts crossing and interweaving with the precision of a Swiss watch and a devilish cross-picking guitar interlude at 130 bpm), it has a maniacal edge that's both fiendishly bizarre and primally unnerving. The song builds plenty of tension over the course of its 11 minutes, even during the crazy-fast middle section, finding release in a loud crashing finale full of enough sturm und drang to give any of today's metal bands a run for their money. And yet the strange half-absurdity that tinges all KC music never really goes away; when the final crescendo begins to really build up steam, Bill Bruford reintroduces the main theme on a xylophone.

To balance that out, "Trio" is one of the sweetest, most calming improvs the band ever produced (the only other thing that comes close to my ears is the more recent "Deception of the Thrush"). "The Mincer" and the title track are two more outrageous live blows, reflecting the band's habit of trying any idea that came across. Their onstage jams never followed a simple groove-and-solo pattern, instead building from the ground up as a collective composition. Maybe this is why their fascinating appeal doesn't seem to wear off. "The Great Deceiver" shows something of a pop side (if 'pop' can be stretched enough to contain this twisted hyperkinetic blast of noise) while losing none of that fiendish quality that marks it as a Crimson tune. Those who like the more song-oriented side of the band should probably look elsewhere. Lyrics are present on only three tracks, although one of those ("Lament") is one of the most killer quiet/thrash/quiet/thrash ballads I've ever heard.

Flaws? I guess I could name a couple. "The Mincer" is cut off out of nowhere, the result of the tape at the concert suddenly running out. The sound mix has a tendency to reduce the more quiet passages down to a half-whisper: "Night Watch," "Trio" and the title track aren't really audible until around the two-minute mark. I don't quite understand the high degree of contrast between quiet and loud, but.. I still don't think it's enough reason to notch down a star. Look past the small snags and SaBB is a challenging musical adventure like few others you're likely to hear.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Severely underrated Crimson, February 25, 2000

By 

David Hogan "Iron Horse" (Edison, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starless And Bible Black (Audio CD)

Depending on what kind of Crimson music you like, this will either be your favorite or least favorite of the three albums from the 1973-4 incarnation of the band. Most of this album, after the first couple of songs, is hardcore improvisation. SABB would seem to be for the Crimson fan who likes Three of a Perfect Pair, The ProjeKcts, and Lizard.

"The Great Deceiver" boxed set fully displays the magnitude of this particular form of live Crimson, but SABB is a great single LP collection (the first two songs and the latter half of 'Night Watch' are recorded in the studio, everything else is taken from a live concert).

It should be noted that if you already have the 'Night Watch' double live album, the same EXACT versions of Trio, Fracture and the title track are on this LP...without the crowd noice, and slightly more 'mixed'.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experimentalism, virtuosism, psycho jam..., February 10, 2002

By 

James Bang "guabiraba" (Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starless And Bible Black (Audio CD)

The line-up Fripp/Wetton/Bruford/Cross really brought heaviness and improvisation to King Crimson. In LARKS' we have such amazing songs full of creativity and madness. Fripp started to explore much more his guitar habilities and the other guys created a ilimited atmosphere to develop the nem Crimson sonority. I think LARKS' is the best one of this era, thanks to Fripp's odd guitar tunes and Muir/Bruford's abstract percussives. It's a fantastic album.
In STARLESS, the band used some live recordings (cutting the audience sound) and some studio too. STARLESS is less interesting than LARKS' or RED (the next album), its structure is a little bit confuse, too improvised sometimes and there are not real strong songs. But it's a classic Crimson album anyway. I like it a lot, the guys are really playing very well and Fripp's guitar is the highlight of the album. "THE GREAT DECEIVER" is a powerfull rock, with a frenetic introduction (FRIPP/CROSS) and a groovy rhythm section (WETTON/BRUFORD). "LAMENT" is an odd ballad, that explode in an interesting rock section. "WE'LL LET YOU KNOW" is a GREAT track, lots of improvise, recorded live, that really makes you shake your head. "THE NIGHT WATCH" is one of the BEAUTIFULEST Crimson's ballads. Marvelous guitar work, assisted by a very intelligent band. "TRIO" is a violin dominated track, another live, where FRIPP/WETTON/CROSS construct a complex and delicate melody. "THE MINCER" is a weak track, that goes to nowhere, too much improvise.
The last too tracks, both live ones, are genuine Crimson's masterpieces ! "Starless and Bible Black" is a dark, introspective experiment, starting with an unusual guitar work, that only Fripp knows how to play and a disconected bass/percussive work that slowly grow into a heavy progressive rock track. CLASSIC. The last one, and the best, is "FRACTURE". Fripp's enigmatic guitar again, in a very complex structure, it's a mix of improvise and precise rhythm variation. The gentle guitar in the beginning, trying to catch your attention, the hard middle section, where Bruford and Wetton really break everything. It's a fantastic track, one of Crimson's best ever.
STARLESS is a good album, we fell that something is missing, but there are sufficient good tracks to be a Crimson classic album...