THE POWER TO BELIEVE

This album seriously suprised me. THE POWER TO BELIEVE is an absolutely wonderful album. This album is typical Crimson (or Fripp rather), yet also not so typical. Here we witness Crimson experimenting on a more electronic level, with many different electronic elements drifting through the wall of soudscapes the new line up has created. the line up consists of Fripp on guitars as always (playing amazingly as always...), Adrian Belew starring on vocals and soem guitars...along with the occasional electronic noise or piece of percussion. While I like Adrian's voice...I will admit it is kinda filtered and over-produced on this album...not to say it ruins anything because of course it doesn't. Trey Gunn, an artist in himself I was currently turned on to...demonstrates his skills on the Warr Guitar and Fretless Warr guitar (rubber bass) providing us with a solid backdrop that supports the huge amount of noise that comes through in this album. Then we have Pat Mastelotto who adds his voice on the "traps and buttons". Overall I like the line-up, and if they continue to produce albums I think I could grow to like them as much as the former classic but shortlived line-ups. Now, to the album:

Teh album begins with that wonderfully distorted voice piercing through silence and setting a rather mysterious mood that is perfect for what's about to come. All of the sudden LEVEL FIVE takes off and we're losy in a 7+ minute frenzy of guitars and overdubs. the noise is loud but in that typical Crimson form and therefore is very enjoyable if you enjoy that 'sound'. Then we move on to a rather linear song that I don't like much. EYES WIDE OPEN feels like a song they put on there to get some radio play...there's nothing really special about it...and Adrian's vocals remind me of some mainstream crap that I'll be forced to hear when taking road trips...I'm not a fan of this song, but that's not to say it's bad...teh song consistently holds out and isn't a bad song (what I mean is it doesn't impair full-album sessions) but it is a dud compared to the rest of the album. Next up is the first real sense of how electronic Crimson have come with ELEKTRIK...sounds like a bad rappers name, but the song comes off satisfying enough. There's nothing super special about it but it is still an enjoyable listen. Then comes FACTS OF LIFE, the first really great song on the album...this song manages to remind me of Old Crimson more than any other on the album...the most evident influence for this song was the former ELEPHANT TALK...this is a nice track with plenty of quirks and enough vocals to make up for the lack of them before this point. Then come the next segment in THE POWER TO BELIEVE...this is basically the same as teh first, same exact vocals, just a lot more music--if you can call it that. This song showcases the classic "noodling" Crimson was able to create...but trust me it's not overdone. Next up we have the quirky DANGEROUS CURVES which is a nice song that fits well with the album musically, but in theme kinda drifts apart from the whole "Power to Believe" idea...still a very decent track. Next up is my personal favorite from the album, HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY WITH...the chorus is so catchy due to the repeated clause shown in the title...and the music throughout is just...catchy. It showcases everything this album is about. Then we have the last two tracks, which are the conclusion to THE POWER TO BELIEVE...once again we have the repeated vocals but with much stronger music throughout...all in all it is an excellent concluesion to a great album.

I will say that this album is not for everyone...it is strange and rather difficult to get into at times...plus there are those that are anti-electronic appeal...which is fine, but I'd recommend staying away unless you are either a fan of Crimson/completionist or unless you don't mind a few quirky electronic effects throughout the album. This is one of those albums that, when taken apart song by song isn't anything remotely special, but when taken as a whole album is amazing. The best comparrison i can think of is The Dark Side of the Moon...while the songs aren't amazing or near Floyd's best the album as a whole is ultimately very satisfying. The same goes for this one.

THE POWER TO BELIEVE is an album that all should probably at least give a shot...it covers many emotional soundscapes throughout, having the uncanny ability to make the listener feel happy/excited, depressed/angered, frightened/curious, mystefied...it is a very emotionally satisfying album and an excellent addition to any prog music collection.