LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

Lark's Tongues in Aspic marks the beginning of King Crimson's experimental 73-74 period. It's quite different from the later two albums- less abstract than Starless and Bible Black, and less metal influenced than Red. What it is, however, is a very surprising, unique record that manages to cover many bases in its 46 minutes.

The first song is, in my opinion, the best; the way delicately chiming percussion turns into explosive, dirty guitar crunches is simply beyond human- some of the best moments in the world of prog. That then turns into an idiosyncratic, quintessentially Crimson mass of instruments- frolicking guitar, strange percussion, and bass in the background. Then comes a quiet part made only of Cross's violin- I don't like this part all that much, but then again, I'm not usually a fan of "quiet parts" in general. Near the end, the old instruments join the violin in an unintelligible argument, and the song dies.

Book of Saturday isn't more than a moody, melancholic pop song- though it's not by any means generic. It is very well-made, and pretty catchy, its simplicity a counterpoint to the massive, sprawling complexity of the previous epic.

Exiles begins with a murky fog of noises, before turning into a somewhat sad song with great vocals from Wetton. However, it is not really one of my favorites, as it feels a bit long to me.

Easy Money turns the mourning feeling of Exiles around and assumes a more jolly, but not necessarily joyful feeling- I cannot think of any words to describe the feel exactly, but the best I can some up with is pompous and rich. However, like Exiles, this song seems longer than it needs to be to me, and is not one of my favorite songs on the album.

After Easy Money comes The Talking Drum, which returns to the percussion-centered experimentation of LTIA pt. 1. This is probably the second best on the album, as it slowly builds up from gentle drumming into a heavy, powerful instrumental frenzy that leads directly into...

Lark's Tongues in Aspic, which tames the chaotic madness of The Talking Drum and turns it into another heavy song. This may actually be my least favorite here, not that it's bad, but it just doesn't appeal to me as much as the others.

Lark's Tongues in Aspic is a very interesting, unique album that has earned much praise from the progressive rock community- King Crimson is definitely one of the weirdest, most eclectic prog bands out there, and this album is a great example of that. Though it on;y gets three stars for me personally, I shall give it four because it is one of the most shockingly experimental albums out there- I wouldn't hesitate to call it an excellent addition to anyone's prog collection.