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The ConstruKction of Light
 
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The ConstruKction of Light

King Crimson
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews) | More about this product

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (May 23, 2000)
  • Original Release Date: May 23, 2000
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Astralwerks
  • ASIN: B00004SX3H
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,332 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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1. ProzaKc blues
2. The ConstruKction of Light
3. The ConstruKction of Light
4. Into the Frying Pan
5. FraKctured
6. The World's My Oyster Soup/Kitchen Floor Wax Museum
7. Larks' Tongues in Aspic-Part IV
8. Larks' Tongues in Aspic-Part IV
9. Larks' Tongues in Aspic-Part IV
10. Coda: I Have a Dream
11. ProjeKct X/Heaven and Earth

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

King Crimson has never been so much a band as an adventuresome modern musical academy, a prog-rock institution presided over by headmaster/guitarist Robert Fripp with a playfulness that often belies his more scholarly goals. And though its alumni have gone on to contribute to a dizzying array of more commercial enterprises (including Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes, Bad Company, Foreigner, and Roxy Music), Fripp's dedication to experimentation has relegated him to influential cult status. Entering its fourth, unlikely decade with ConstruKction of Light, King Crimson's pared-down quartet (Fripp, 80's recruit/guitarist Adrian Belew, and '90s inductees Trey Gunn on touch guitar and Pat Mastelotto on drums) offers up a curiously lugubrious mockery of rootsy Delta despair ("Prozac Blues") before venturing into the familiar, hypnotically polyrhythmic soundscape of the title track, the challenging harmonics of "Into the Frying Pan," and the delicate, spacious constructions of "FraKctured." "The World Is My Oyster" is almost Floydian in feel and scope, though the Pink brigade haven't made music this oddly compelling since the '70s. There are monster chops throughout, as well as some heavy riffing that underscores Crimson's continued influence on bands like Tool, Marilyn Manson, and Nine Inch Nails. ConstruKction is as restless as it is modern--and progressive in all the right ways. --Jerry McCulley

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Customer Reviews

109 Reviews
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 (39)
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (109 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of King Crimson's Best, May 24, 2000
By A Customer
Long time fans of King Crimson will find a lot to like about this new, fresh release from King Crimson, version 2000. Without rehashing the past, the band builds on everything that has come before and the results are remarkable.

This is a very rich CD. There is so much there that it will take many many listens to fully appreciate the depth of the music. It is also one of the heaviest Crimson CDs and parts of "FraKctured" and "Lark's IV" give any heavy metal band a run for their money.

I don't think I've heard Robert Fripp play better. Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto keep up with panache and Adrian Belew adds color, beauty and commentary throughout. "Coda: I Have a Dream" bring chills up my spine - not felt since "Starless".

I'd say this is the best Crimson CD since Discipline, and a great improvement over a much tamer THRAK (if you can believe that)! Well done!

The bonus track "Heaven and Earth" is an indication that the sister release from "ProjeKct X", recorded at the same time as this release, is also a must have CD. That one is only available from DGM mail order though - at disciplineglobalmobile.com.

Get them both! And don't miss them on their tours this year!

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Crafty guitar-playing codger once again defies the fan boys., May 25, 2001
By Ed Brickell (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
The most consistent thing about King Crimson is the amusement of listening to its fans. I mean, really ... take the time to read the reviews of this CD. For people who claim to like adventurous, forward-thinking approaches to music, a large portion of Crim's fan base seem to keep their heads firmly planted in the dim and distant 1970's and 80's. Where is Bill Bruford? they moan. Where is Tony Levin? they whine. Where are Pete Sinfield, and Greg Lake, and all the rest of them? Why doesn't this King Crimson sound exactly 1ike the old King Crimson? Apparently to many "progressive" Crimson fans, challenging music is music that you are already comfortable with. Fripp & Co. probably get quite a cackle if they ever bother to read any of these.

But enough about some of musicdom's most comical fans -- on to the music; namely, King Crimson 2000. A new Crimson for a new century of noisy tricks and treats. And lo and behold, who would have thought that Adrian Belew would stomp out a heavy metal version of Tom Waits in the opening ditty, "ProzaKc Blues"? Once this one gets rolling, the guitars buzz and roar like electric whipsaws behind Belew's hilarious drunken growl. Then, on to "The ConstruKction of Light" -- any doubts about the non-Levin/Bruford rhythm section are put to rest here; the non-Levin guy is amazingly good, and ditto for that non-Bruford guy. Nice guitar interplay by Belew and Fripp as well. Very tasty stuff. Belew's lyrics, as always, are a goofy delight. Do I hear some Yes parodies in some of the vocal arrangements here? Oh well, maybe it's just me. Intentional or not, it's kind of funny.

Then we leap "Into The Frying Pan," guitars humming like swarms of bees on caffeine, and more inspired bumping and grinding from the non-Levin/Bruford duo ... then, an unexpectedly quiet ending. This is the point when you realize: no one else sounds like this. It's Crimson!

The other tracks, especially the retoolings of "FraKctured" and "Aspic," also make for some engaging listening. There are moments where things don't seem to quite pan out, but they are fleeting -- and expected. There has never been a perfect King Crimson recording, and that is the good news. They're an experiment in progress. Long may the experiment continue ... with or without the support of its "fans."

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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not THE best, but a good place to start..., May 31, 2000
By Rob Damm (Brick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
With each CD, King Crimson becomes more difficult to categorize. After listening to the "ProJeckts" which, admittedly bored me as often as it thrilled me, I wasn't sure where the the next proper LP would take us. I was half expecting a full-out Metal Machine Music part.II sound collage. Fripp, et al. can be difficult to follow, as they range from really abstract and super experimental works, to almost-pop-metal songs. Turns out ConStrUktion is *very* accesible (as far as King Crimson goes). Everything here is really in song form and very digestable. Of course, repeated listens are rewarded with new discoveries, but it's also an album you don't need a Phd. is music theory to understand... simply put, it rocks hard... AND presents some interesting ideas about sound, time signatures, harmony and parallel melody lines. The rythym section is especially tight and just plain gargantuan-sounding... Fripp and Belew are easily two of the 8 or 10 finest guitar players in the history of popular music... Fripp's techical skill seems to grow with each new project, and his riffing here is probably some of the fastest and most complex lead guitar work ever comitted to tape.

One caveat: this may be unpopular to say, but I really think this band should stay with instrumentals. Belew's vocals are fine, and would probably sound great if they were just wordless cries... but, the odd and silly lyrics really detract from the intelligence of the music.

The recording is spacious and detailed as any electric rock recording you'll hear. Heavy metal for thinking fellers, and a great place to start your King Crimson collection.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Falls short of perfect, but a good offering from King Crimson
I've listened to this album several times now, and have developed some opinions. While I'm a King Crimson fan, I'd say that I cannot give this a perfect score. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Joseph C. Helton

4.0 out of 5 stars King Crimson - An Inconsistant Effort
The double trio disbanded, Robert Fripp and company carries on as a 4 piece for this the band's most recent studio album. Read more
Published on July 16, 2007 by Steven Sly

1.0 out of 5 stars The ConstruKction of Krap
Having been a King Crimson fan for a long, long time I was really disapponted in this disc. This is, without a doubt, the band's worst release. Read more
Published on November 18, 2006 by Dark Star-The Other One

4.0 out of 5 stars Prog granddaddies constuKct a rock monster
Guitarist/bandleader Robert Fripp and his shifting KC coterie have always forged their idiosyncratic, insanely technical music from an isolated universe; and, after the five years... Read more
Published on August 8, 2006 by Aaron Burgess

4.0 out of 5 stars Relax... and listen
If there is 1 group that embodies progressive Rock; it sure is King Crimson.
No changes from any previous album for the band, "The Construction of Light" stretches the... Read more
Published on April 1, 2006 by W. Noshie

5.0 out of 5 stars Those with no guts can just stay home
Okay, I understand to some degree the hesitation with which an album with recycled song titles might be viewed. But are the nay-sayers really listening to the album? Read more
Published on September 9, 2005 by David Myers

4.0 out of 5 stars my least favorite crimson cd, but still good
this is the only King Crimson cd that I dont absolutely love.
that doesnt mean its not good, because it is, its just not amazingly great like all their other stuff... Read more
Published on July 21, 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album from Crimson in the 90's
This album has three chefs d'oeuvres - the title track [The ConstruKction of Light]; FraKctured, which is sort of a mutation of the classic Crimson composition Fracture (in my... Read more
Published on March 29, 2005 by Al

4.0 out of 5 stars The benefit of hindsight
I'm not a King Crimson expert but to me this sounds like a straight, no-nonsense, no-holds-barred, progressive rock album. Read more
Published on January 25, 2005 by Mons

5.0 out of 5 stars Pay these playa hayters no mind...
ConstruKction of Light is great. I really don't claim to know why i really like certain Crim albums and kinda dislike others. Read more
Published on February 23, 2004 by Suzanne

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