LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC

Robert Fripp re-invents KC yet again, this time in the embryonic and innovative violin trio format. Mel Collins is gone and Peter Sinfield's lyrics have been replaced by those of a certain Richard Palmer-James. The mellow jazz of "Islands" is pummeled by heavy fusion and even early metal minimalism. This is groundbreaking stuff for sure, having influenced many a RIO band to this day. It is also loosely adhered to for the next couple of albums, making "Larks" the beginning of a relatively stable, albeit typically short lived, phase of the group.

Finally, it marks the beginning of the end for me as a quasi fan of KING CRIMSON. Apart from 2 fine tracks in the spare "Book of Saturday" and the effusive "Exiles" (which owes more to ITCOCK than to the new KC), this disk is an atonal unstructured schlemazzle, which is fine for those who like it, but anathema to a sizable number of listeners here. The two title tracks are both in this category, with the first flitting from one incomplete theme to another and the latter doggedly sticking with its only idea, and "Talking Drum" just never develops at all. "Easy Money" is like an unpredictable precursor to PINK FLOYD's predictable hit "Money", but I can't find much value in either.

If any of the less accessible cuts had been decent, I would have been able to round up to a good grade, but have to settle on two stars for the first time in the KC discography, no lark.