LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

On this album, Robert Fripp has assembled yet another lineup. John Wetton takes the mike as well as the bass chair, drummer Bill Bruford jumps from one legendary band to another, David Cross (not the comedian) adds his violin to the mix, and Jamie Muir brings with him an amazing mustache. With some minor tweaking, this lineup will last them until KC disbands in 1974.

The album begins with "Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part I" and is closed with the "sequel" Part II, which along with "The Talking Drum" best showcase to date (1973) what would become a Crimson signature of making improvisation a large part of their live performances. Part II seems to be the most structured of the instrumentals and is most certainly one of their most performed songs to date (Translation: There may even be a better version out there, so have fun looking). Each of these instrumentals allow all band members to shine and won't have you looking at your watch waiting for vocals to come in.

The tracks with vocals, "Book of Saturday", "Exiles", and "Easy Money", have just as many interesting musical ideas as the instrumental tracks. Wetton's vocal performances are top notch. "Book Of Saturday" stands out for it's simplicity (just under 3 minutes) in an album where all other tracks stretch past 7 minutes. If I'm not mistaken, I hear the refreshing sounds of acoustic guitar on "Exiles", which despite the fact it shows up a few other times in the Crimson discography, it is a nice change of pace from the metallic clanging normally being produced by Fripp (though I wouldn't change that for the world). "Easy Money" has a very jammy (for lack of a better word) vibe, and while I don't listen to the radio, this is the song I'd imagine would fit best on any classic rock radio station.

This is one of only a few KC albums that I would consider giving five stars to, which says quite a lot considering they are one of my favorite bands. I'd probably have more to say if I hated this album, and if you're a frequent visitor to Prog Archives, you know that's damn near impossible. :)