Customer Reviews

Starless And Bible Black

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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'.

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...

Here's how good this album is: When someone comes up to me and asks me the age-old question "Hey man, like, what kinda music are you into?" my mind instinctively works back not merely to King Crimson, but to this album. Few bands are as distinctive as King Crimson, and no Crimson album as distinctive as this one. The psychedelic majesty of "In the Court" is powerful, and is unduplicated, but there are other albums ("Poseidon", of course, but also albums from other bands) that do approximate it. "Discipline" is a fantastic collection of songs, but if your copy is stolen, you've at least got "Beat" and "Perfect Pair" to fall back on, even if they're not quite as good. But where are you going to get another "Fracture"? Another "Trio"? Forget it. Crimson is a unique band, and "Bible Black" is a unique album within its collection, and the reason for that is that each song is so radically different in style and flavor, from the angry power of "Deceiver" and "Lament" to the the irresistible jazz groove of "we'll let you know", to the incredible beauty of "The Night Watch", to the heartbreaking delicacy and tenderness of "trio" (I still cannot believe that that song was a)recorded live and b) improvized on the spot) to the offhand strangeness and melody of "the mincer", to the the funky sinister (has there ever been another song that could be described as funky sinister?) "Bible black" to the virtuosity and remarkable structure of "Fracture", you will NEVER get an album that has more to offer than this one.
Snobby Rolling Stone critics of the time used to dismiss progressive music as pretentious. This is truly an embarassment to them; it ain't pretentious if you can back it up. King Crimson did in a way no other band has; critics can never even dare to aspire to such heights, and feel uncomfortable when they see others do- even if they succeed. And, as much as Neil Young has rightfully earned the title of "Godfather of grunge" so does Fripp rightfully wear the mantle of patriarch of progressive, which is really rock's highest form, and King Crimson is its premier band. The greatness of this band, and this album in particular, has caused me to search far and wide through new and used record stores, and through the cyberspace research facility of Amazon.com (God bless it, really- it's been a great resource for me) to search for gems like this one, both new and old. Spock's beard, Ozric tentacles, Dream theater, Faust, Gentle Giant, Van Der Graaf, it's all okay, but nothing comes close to this.
I do not listen to this record very often- maybe once a year, but when I do, I do nothing else- I don't clean the house, I don't talk on the phone, I just listen, and maybe thrash about, and air Bruford drum, and finally collapse from Terpsichorean ecstasy. This album matters.

Robert Fripp has mentioned that a good live performance is like a "hot date" and a good album is a "love letter". If so, then this album is both.

The majority of this album was recorded live (Amsterdam) with overdubs put on afterward. Half the material is improvisational and half more structured. This band was certainly "ON".

This was the first King Crimson album I ever owned and I remember my first listen vividly. I remember being enthralled with the musical changes within "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament". I especially remember, while lying on my bed wearing headphones, the absolute terror I felt at the end of "Starless and Bible Black" and the kicking in of the band after the short violin/guitar break on "Fracture".

Since then the more subtle aspects of the album came to light, especially the gorgeous "Trio".

I was hooked into the court of the crimson king ever since.

The astonishing thing about "Starless and Bible Black" (in common with much of Crimso's early output, is that it still sounds fresh over a quarter-century on. In fact it still almost sounds avant-garde - except that avant is normally unlistenable while most of this is actually enjoyable.

Most of all, however, "Starless" is impressive. The one constant factor in this band's long life (over 30 years and still counting) has been the obsessive perfectionism of virtuoso guitarist Robert Fripp. Other band members have come and gone, sometimes after a ludicrously brief tenure, but Fripp has rarely had any trouble surrounding himself with other musicians of appropriate calibre.

Moreover, Crimso's early days were marked by a relentless urge to experiment: instrument textures, playing techniques, chord progressions, loud/soft contrasts, majestic tunes duelling with ragged dissonance... these were all subjected to rigorous interrogation and sometimes torture. Not all the experiments were a success, but that's the price of progress.

That's not to say that Fripp invented his music out of whole cloth - that would be an insult to his breadth of reference. It may seem that way, but that's only because his roots extend so far beyond rock, blues or even fusion that most listeners never recognise them. The usual avant/prog-rock influences are certainly in there, but Fripp reached higher and further back: Initially to the chamber-music of the likes of Telemann (listen to 'Cadence and Cascade' or 'Song of the Gulls' from earlier KC albums), but latterly to the angular diatonics of Stravinsky (the 'Rites of Spring' man), and above all the lush but disturbing neo-classicism of Bartok (listen to Bartok's late string quartets to get the clearest comparison).

Track-by-track descriptions are invariably subjective and boring, but listen to Fripp's fluid, serpentine guitar solo on "The Night Watch", an astonishingly beautiful ballad, inspired by an old Dutch painting. Listen with bated breath as Trio (one of the most Stravinsky-esque tracks ever attempted outside a full orchestra) builds to its shattering climax. Marvel at Fripp's restraint as he uses the guitar to provide a simple rhythmic accompaniment for Wetton's melodic but violent bass outbursts (incredibly, he used to break bass-strings on stage). Nod with appreciation at Bruford's subtle and sympathetic support as he investigates the barriers of popular percussion in his understated and uniquely British way. And gasp at their collective vision as they lay the sonic foundations of industrial rock right there before your eyes in 1974.

"Starless" is not even Crimso's greatest album, and I was tempted to only give 4 stars for that reason. However, it convincingly blitzes everything else thrown up by the prog-rock wave of the early seventies and is still an invigorating listen today, so why be mean?

Sh#t! The music of King Crimson has stood the test of time incredibly well. Whereas early 70s Yes now sounds twee and pre-Gabriel-split Genesis sounds somewhat sneering, Crimson continues to sound radical and cutting-edge. It is extraordinary what was achieved in rock music in the period 1965-75, largely through the progressive bands endeavouring to outdo each other in terms of musical ambition -- rather than trying to target the lowest common denominator in audience appeal.

By the time this LP was made, percussionist wildman Jamie Muir had joined a monastery, so the band was down to a four-piece. Drummer Bill Bruford incorporated Muir's free style into his own playing, as the band entered te most stable phase in its history. The band established a reputation in Europe and America as an awesome live act, but sadly I never got to see this line-up. STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK continued to break new ground. One vital aspect of being an experimental band is that you're bound to fail occasionally. This is my brother's favourite Crimson album, though I prefer RED.

As another reviewer has mentioned, there is a very strong relationship between this album and THE NIGHT WATCH. If you buy both, be careful not to be disappointed at getting virtually the identical versions.

For folks who were not around in 1974, it is rather difficult to convey the sense of power and convergence that this lp represented. At a time when pioneers like Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa were retreating because of record company pressure, this lp (allong with the very early work of Henry Cow and Hatfield and the North) the ONLY experimental music available at the time. I was a free jazz (Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, etc.) fan as well, and this was one of the few groups that captured that sense of adventure and daring in rock. I also saw the group live twice, and this was the best representation of the intensity of a live Crimson show at that period in time. Do yourself a favor...go straight to the source. This music is far from evil. It has energy, spirit, vitality and risk, things which are as sadly lacking in today's music as they were then. Gary Gomes

Simply stunning. SABB was the most totally satisfying Crimson album to date and one of the best progressive rock albums ever made. For this album Fripp and company decided to play to their strengths and recorded two thirds of SABB live, albeit with the audience edited out. Four of the songs were completely improvised instrumental pieces recorded at the Amsterdam Concertgebou and Glasgow: The Mincer (vocals added in the studio), We'll Let You Know, Trio (bass, violin, and mellotron inprov), and the title track Starless and Bible Black. This iteration of King Crimson were monsters live and capable of roaming into uncharted territory with precognitive ease. The composed math metal instrumental Fracture was also recorded live as were parts of The Night Watch, which has one of the most beautiful soaring Fripp solos on record. The music is sometimes stark, mathematically complex, abrasive, melodic and delicately moving. Its also their hardest rocking effort of the 70's with the possible exception of Red. Along with Red and the first album In The Court Of The Crimson King, SABB is an essential 70's Crimson release. So buy this album and take a wild ride with messrs Bruford, Cross, Fripp and Wetton, you won't be disappointed.

It's hard for me to be objective about my favourite Crimson line-up (although they're missing Jamie Muir), but I think this album is not up to par with Larks' or Red. Larks' had them grooving over absolutely impossible odd time-signatures, awash in percussion, violin, fuzz bass and Fripp's powerful near-metal guitars. Red came off as sort of a minimalist version of Fripp's vision; concise and powerful, sort of a prog-rock Bartok.

Starless falls somewhere in between. Though it boasts awesome tracks like Fracture or Great Deceiver, it sounds... well it sounds just like an album which was recorded half live and half in studio. Though the playing is THERE (the improvisation is absolutely unbelievable), the continuity is sort of missing, which makes it harder to listen to this album than to the other two.

Nevertheless, Crimso hardly misses, and this album is no exception. While other albums are indeed better, Starless is a mind-blowing experience all of it's own, and if you can just get past the rocky points, you'll find yourself amazed at how one schizoid guitarist, a drummer with intent to murder his kit, a classically trained violinist and a growly voiced, groovy bassist can not only evoke but IMPROVISE the sounds of the world coming to and end... beautifully disturbing.