King Crimson: Starless and Bible Black

I'm still floored that most of this was recorded live. I absolutely love this album.

Edited by SteveG - November 15 2018 at 07:53

I just recently started checking this one out (mostly You Tube clips). I haven't heard the whole album yet but I like a lot of what I have heard especially The Night Watch and Fracture. I think I need to put it on my Christmas wish list!

I love the whole trip/listening experience. The A-side is a little underrated imo - and for a long time by myself included. Starless/Fracture is cathartic, but they wouldn't have had the same effect had the rest of the album contained more of the same. 

I'm a bit on the fence with this album. I do like the live feel. Nightwatch is sublime and I love Fracture, but most of it is bettered by most tracks on the albums either side of it IMO.

My 1st Crimson album and still my favorite studio album of the Wetton/Bruford era.

I love this album and it's such a close runner up for me next to Lark's Tongues that whenever I rave about Lark's I feel like I'm possibly giving this one short shrift. I'll go one step further and say that this album is really the quintessential King Crimson album. It is the only one that, at least in part, captures the brilliance of their live improvs. Most of the material from ITCOCK and Lark's Tongues was the product of free improvisation. The material was written on stage before the albums came out. However, when it came to codifying it for the albums, the improvisational quality leaked out of the bucket. Starless and Bible Black was able to preserve some of that, even if it was simply a matter of incorporating a few live recordings.




Edited by HackettFan - November 15 2018 at 12:47

It runs Lark's Tongue in Aspic very close in places, for me. The Night Watch is one of my favourite King Crimson tracks, with Fracture and Starless and Bible Black very good too.

I have never gotten around to buying this one. Since it's suposed to be mostly recorded live anyway, in great part from the same performance from the live album "The Nightwatch" (which I already got), and between that album and "The Great Deceiver" set of concerts are already covered most of the songs (if not all of them) from Starless, well, I haven't gotten the urge to buy the studio one (besides, apart from Fracture, I don't really like those songs that ended up being used on the album.

SABB is number 5 in my list of top KC albums (behind Red / Larks / ITCOTKC / Discipline)

Fantastic album. The opener Great Deceiver is incredible and Lament is one of my all time favourite tracks.

Love The Night Watch and Fracture is a classic KC track.

The other improv tracks are all good, but can take a bit of time to gel.

Superb album.