Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: King Crimson
Label: Discipline Global Mobile
Release: 1973
Rating: 5/5
King Crimson came back with “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic” completely reborn. And in a good way. Robert Fripp, the band’s undisputed leader from this album on, lost his patience after the end of the previous tour, for the album “Islands” (1971), and kicked the other three members out of the band. After that he brought in some of the best and most respected musicians of the day. John Wetton (ex-Mogul Thrash, ex-Family), whom Fripp had wanted already in the previous version of the band, became the new singer and bassist. Wetton was now the band’s best vocalist since Greg Lake left three years earlier. Interestingly, at certain moments his voice sounds a lot like Lake’s. As a bassist, too, Wetton was among the best and most respected of his time. The killer rhythm section was rounded out by drumming genius Bill Bruford, who left Yes at the peak of their commercial success so he could join the reborn King Crimson. Only a top-class musician for whom music truly means everything would swap commercial success for an unstable, unpredictable band. But Bruford was more interested in artistic exploration of rock’s boundaries; besides, he was a jazz drummer at heart, and King Crimson already had a long tradition of jazz drummers. On top of that, he’d been completely blown away by King Crimson from the very first moment they showed up on the music scene. The other two new members, whom Fripp found on the British “underground” scene, were no slouches either. Violinist and occasional keyboardist David Cross brought his classical music ideas to the band and proved that the violin can be a successful part of rock too. Meanwhile, the eccentric yet brilliant percussionist Jamie Muir deepened the killer rhythm section even further with his wildly inventive percussion ideas.
The reborn King Crimson were stronger than ever, original lineup aside, and after three years they finally managed to put together a stable lineup again. With one of the best rhythm sections of the era, they were truly unstoppable. “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic” was by far the band’s most experimental creation up to that point. The first two new musical elements that really define this album are Cross’s violin and viola and Muir’s exotic percussion, including sheet metal, hazelnuts and the mbira (a special African percussion instrument). His percussion arsenal was truly colorful. What’s most remarkable and wonderful about this lineup, though, is that on this album they no longer focus so much on jazz elements, as the band did on its earlier albums, but pull all kinds of musical elements into their music, pushing them to the very edges of what music can be. It’s a total musical fusion of avant-garde, classical music, metal and jazz, delivered by the combination of Cross’s demonic violin, Bruford’s breathtaking drumming skill, Muir’s melodic, multilayered percussion, Wetton’s punchy yet melodic bass and Fripp’s guitar, which on this album ranges from soft pop-jazz passages to goosebump-raising electric expanses. On this album it also got far more room than it ever had before. Alongside the classical refinement and the still noticeable influence of jazz fusion and avant-garde, this incarnation of the band occasionally worked elements of early heavy metal into its music too, as shown by Fripp’s more aggressive guitar, Bruford’s drum fills and Wetton’s punchy bass. The lyrics by Wetton’s friend Richard Palmer-James (who, unlike his predecessor Peter Sinfield, did not become an official member of the band) focus more on the social problems of modern society than the metaphysical lyrics of his predecessor, and so they’re easier for most listeners to relate to. Of course, the band’s trademark apocalyptic sound and vision are always there. The album’s odd title was dreamed up by percussionist Muir, supposedly inspired by what he felt listening to the music on the record: something fragile, yet set in something corrosive.
The long, experimental opening instrumental “Larks Tongues In Aspic-Part I” is a great example of how each of the musicians shows off their genius, with their skills following one another in sequence. The intro section of the piece opens with Muir’s melodic, oriental finger cymbals, soon joined by Cross’s violin. Then a hellish, heavy-as-metal Fripp riff hits, joined by the fiery rhythm section of Bruford’s drum fills and Wetton’s punchy bass. King Crimson had never sounded as white-hot heavy as they do in parts of this piece, which is still far from the heaviest track on the album. Cross’s violin and the mellotron keep adding that apocalyptic mystery so typical of this band, while also calming the overall tension a bit. Toward the end of the piece, when the track reaches its dramatic peak, you can hear recorded, feverish chatter of people, which fits the title of the piece. “Larks’ tongues in aspic” is a great metaphor for the stress and confusion of modern society, helplessly drowning in a flood of all sorts of mostly useless information.
“Book Of Saturday” is a big contrast and a gorgeous, melancholic ballad, which is also John Wetton’s vocal debut in the true sense of the word (not counting his contribution to Mogul Thrash, where he was just a backing vocalist on all but one track). Until then he was mostly known simply as an excellent bassist. Wetton is a superb singer who at the time wasn’t even aware of his vocal potential yet and focused more on his remarkable bass guitar technique. The mellotron, Fripp’s acoustic guitar and Cross’s violin create a wonderful classical backdrop that fits Wetton’s melodic and deeply melancholic vocals perfectly. Lyrically, it’s the most personal piece the band had made up to that point. At the same time it calms the mood after the cataclysm of the opening instrumental and takes us back to those wonderful romantic moments that only this band can conjure up.
“Exiles” is a wonderful symphonic epic and one of the most beautiful pieces this version of the band created. After an experimental and energetic percussion intro comes a gorgeous melody built on Cross’s violin and Fripp’s mellotron. The excellent Bruford on drums shows why he was so important to Yes. He’s joined by Wetton’s melancholic and dramatic vocals and Fripp’s guitar. “Exiles” is a fine example of the band’s classical side and once again shows King Crismon as founders of symphonic progressive rock, which is just one of this band’s many musical aspects.
“Easy Money” is a pure classic and one of the most brilliant creations on the album. It’s built on a brilliant rhythm and Wetton’s excellent, sarcastic vocals. This is the track where Wetton really shines as a singer, and where you can’t imagine the song without his voice. Not to mention his brilliant and unique bass lines, which overshadow every one of his predecessors. Bruford’s phenomenal drums and Muir’s percussion, where you can hear all sorts of things, carry us through this wildly varied piece. Meanwhile Cross wipes away any doubts in an instant and proves that the violin can sit in the louder, sharper passages of rock music too. And of course, let’s not forget Fripp’s brilliant solo in the middle section. “Easy Money” ends with the unhinged laughter of someone who has obviously stumbled onto a pile of money and is dying of happiness. Black English humor…
The instrumental “The Talking Drum” is a true drumming ecstasy, where Bruford shows off all his skills and why he was one of the best drummers of his time. Meanwhile, Muir delivers some of his best moments on percussion. The piece builds from a quiet intro all the way to a racket at its end. The jazzy rhythm, centered on the bass line, is constantly joined, in a real head-to-head clash, by Cross’s violin, which also leads the improvisation toward the end, and Fripp’s avant-garde guitar lines. Their duel ends in a real eruption of instruments. The drum barrage keeps going until a fateful climax, which ends with the proper shrieking of the “larks” and announces the direct segue into the next piece.
“Larks Tongues In Aspic-Part II” is a closing classic and one of the band’s best and most complex instrumental works, crackling with phenomenal supersonic energy. It’s incredible how it manages to combine both complexity and accessibility. At the same time, it hints at where the band would head on the following albums. The central role goes to Fripp’s metalized guitar, firing off killer metal riffs. He’s accompanied all the way by a phenomenal rhythm section. Fast and slow parts keep trading places and build an amazing atmosphere. Over the years, this “larks’ tongues” sequel was followed by two more that tie in perfectly with this instrumental concept of the band. With its incredible heaviness and (intelligent) aggression, “Larks Tongues In Aspic-Part II” is a piece far ahead of its time.
“Larks’ Tongues In Aspic” is the first and most experimental part of the trilogy of albums released by this legendary version of the band. It’s hard to find fitting compliments for such an excellent album. Every track on it is a classic in its own right. This album is one of the most magnificent works not only of King Crimson but of progressive rock in general, and it gave the band a brand new start and a return to the spot of leading representatives of their genre, which they had almost lost after the general neglect of the otherwise excellent “Islands” (1971). It’s also one of the band’s most important works and was a breakthrough for many of the excellent musicians on this album, with Wetton at the forefront. Nevertheless, the slow and inevitable breakup of this remarkable version of King Crimson began soon after the album came out. Percussionist Jamie Muir left the band before the end of the tour because of a hand injury and then became a monk in a Scottish monastery (many years later he did return to music after all). The remaining four carried on and in a short time created some of the most original, experimental and innovative music of the 20th century, music that stretched well beyond the borders of rock itself.
Lineup
John Wetton – vocals, bass guitar
Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron, devices
Bill Bruford – drums
David Cross – violin, viola, mellotron
Jamie Muir – percussion
Production
King Crimson
Track List
1. Larks’ tongues in aspic part one (13:36)
2. Book of Saturday (2:49)
3. Exiles (7:40)
4. Easy money (7:54)
5. The talking drum (7:26)
6. Larks’ tongues in aspic part two (7:12)
Album length: 46:37
