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King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic CD (album) cover

LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

King Crimson

 

Eclectic Prog

4.42 | 3247 ratings

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Easy Money
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
5 stars As early as 1973 the future of Progressive Rock was not looking good. Mellotron dirges, fake jazz excursions, pseudo mythological lyrics and pointless pastiches of incongruous styles had just about run it's course. Somebody needed to do something! Somebody did. Thankfully Larks Tongue in Aspic opened the door to all manner of directions and styles that 'prog rock' could head towards in an effort to keep evolving and moving with the times. Each song almost represents several future genres that Progressive Rock would eventually fracture into.

Although Progressive Rock started out as a mostly British pastoral music, Larks Tongue was about to take us to many different lands including Asia, North Africa and urban USA, while substituting sprawling excess with tightly focused compositions that finally put a rock beat to true concert hall sensibilities. Although each song on this album is a powerhouse that could inspire entire genres, four songs in particular really sum up what this album is about.

Larks Tongue in Aspic Part I is a beautiful wandering Asian fantasy that recalls Rimsky- Korsakav as well as classic tense film noir soundtracks. Easy Money is probably one of the first rock songs that successfully fused gritty US funk with progressive tendencies without sounding like a weak British copycat of James Brown. Talking Drum takes us to Africa and the Middle East and is a precursor to the huge world beat explosion of the 80s. Larks Tongue Part II finally realizes Robert Fripp's dream of melding Bartok styled compositions with rock like energy and drive. This is the true melding of rock-n-roll and modern chamber composition that many others had tried but fallen short on.

Unlike many other progressive rock albums from this era, Larks Tongue still sounds modern and still points the way for young rock bands who want to do something more with their music. Possibly the finest Pogressive Rock album ever.

Easy Money | 5/5 |

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