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King Crimson - Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With CD (album) cover

HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY WITH

King Crimson

 

Eclectic Prog

3.42 | 110 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Andy Long
3 stars King Crimson has traditionally been a band that reinvents itself periodically. These phoenix-like resurrections serve both to suit the current projects of the individual members and to inject fresh challenges into a musical structure that could otherwise be in danger of stagnating. The most recent incarnation saw the departure (for now) of long-standing members Bill Bruford and Tony Levin and the consequent reduction in number from six to four. This line-up settled any disputes as to it's validity with the stunning album 'The ConstruKction Of Light' and a tour opening for Tool, which served to expose them to a whole new audience. This new e.p. is a taster for an album due to be released in early 2003. The title track couples a typically tense riff with one of Adrian Belew's satirically humorous lyrics. 'Eyes Wide Open' is a beautiful, acoustic song which showcases the versatility of Gunn and Mastelotto, meanwhile 'Potato Pie' has a bluesy edge that is not often found in Crimson's repertoire and more of those quotable Belew lyrics : 'it makes you feel just like a horseshoe in a swimming pool, 'cos you know you don't belong'. The Ongoing instrumental saga of 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic' is continued here with an dynamic take on 'Part IV'. 'Mie Gakure' is an example of Robert Fripp's guitar soundscapes which are found on some of his solo albums and 'Shoganai' is a short, percussive piece with a hypnotic, oriental flavour. These pieces are separated by what have been described as 'musical haikus', short snatches of Belew singing through a harmoniser. There is a hidden bonus track too - 'Einstein's Relatives'. The forthcoming album is to be called 'The Power To Believe' and, as an aperitif, this e.p. has certainly whet my appetite.
Andy Long | 3/5 |

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