STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK

They certainly took a different approach to this record with four of the tracks being improvised or having improvised sections, while half of the tracks were recorded live with the audience edited out. There is a "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" flavour to this album as well. Of their first six studio records I would rate this behind only "In The Court Of The Crimson King" and "Larks' Tongues In Aspic". Yes, I really like this one.

"The Great Deceiver" hits the ground running with violin and guitars, until it completely stops and the lyrics are spoken. Nice solo from Fripp during the last minute of the song. "Lament" opens with reserved vocals as mellotron and violin come in. The percussion is cool reminding me of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". Bruford also gives us some outstanding drumming and a good solo from Fripp 3 minutes in. "We'll Let You Know" is an instrumental that features different sounds peircing in and out throughout the song. There is some funky bass and drumming later in the song that create a melody.

"The Night Watch" has some faster paced vocals that remind me of GENESIS for some reason as well as mellotron and violin. Great tune ! "Trio" is an improv of bass,mellotron and violin. "The Mincer" features lots of mellotron and some amazing guitar melodies. "Starless And Bible Black" is another improv that works perfectly. This one is quite atmospheric to open and has some screaming guitar along with mellotron,percussion and various experimental noises. "Fracture" opens with guitar as heavy drums come in. There is a real frenzy 6 minutes in and at 8 minutes the sound is nice and heavy. This song builds beautifully to an explosive climax.

This is a must have for fans of progressive music. 4.5 stars. I'm bumping this up to 5 stars after getting the re-mixed and expanded version late in 2011 because it sounds amazing.