Larks' Tongues in Aspic
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Larks' Tongues in Aspic is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock group King Crimson, originally released in 1973. This album is the debut of King Crimson's third incarnation, featuring original member and guitarist Robert Fripp and new members John Wetton (vocals, bass guitar), David Cross (violin, Mellotron), Jamie Muir (percussion), and Bill Bruford (drums), as well as lyricist Richard Palmer-James. Bruford had just left Yes before they embarked on their Close to the Edge tour. Bruford felt that he had done all he could with Yes at this point and thought the more jazz-oriented King Crimson would be a more expansive outlet. The album sees the band incorporate into its sound violin and also various exotic percussion instruments, including sheet metal and mbiras.
The album opens with a long experimental instrumental piece titled "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I)". After that there are three vocal pieces, "Book of Saturday", "Exiles" and "Easy Money". These are followed by two more instrumentals, "The Talking Drum" and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)". The instrumental pieces on this album have strong jazz fusion influences, and portions have an almost heavy metal feel.
The album spawned the concert staple "Exiles", whose Mellotron introduction had been adapted from an instrumental piece called "Mantra" the band's original line up performed throughout 1969. At that time, as well as in late 1972, the melody was played by Fripp on guitar.
It is the only studio album with this 5-man line up. Muir left the group while on tour promoting this album in 1973. Attrition took this incarnation of King Crimson through the next several albums until Fripp's "retirement" in 1975.
In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came number 22 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".[1]
The progressive metal band Dream Theater covered "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Pt. II" in 2009; the cover is featured on the special edition of their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings .
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[3] |
Allmusic's retrospective review was resoundingly positive, marking every aspect of the band's transition from a jazz-influenced vein to a more experimental one as a complete success. They deemed John Wetton "the group's strongest singer/bassist since Greg Lake's departure." They especially praised the remastered edition.[2] Robert Christgau's retrospective review gave an opposite view, saying of the band's instrumental work, "not only doesn't it cook, which figures, it doesn't quite jell either."[3]
Track listing
Side one
- "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I)" (Robert Fripp, John Wetton, David Cross, Bill Bruford, Jamie Muir) – 13:36
- "Book of Saturday" (Fripp, Wetton, Richard Palmer-James) – 2:49
- "Exiles" (Fripp, Cross, Palmer-James) – 7:40
Side two
- "Easy Money" (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James) – 7:54
- "The Talking Drum" (Fripp, Wetton, Cross, Bruford, Muir) – 7:26
- "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)" (Fripp) – 7:12
Personnel
- Robert Fripp – guitars, Mellotron, devices, electric piano
- John Wetton – bass, lead vocals, acoustic piano
- Bill Bruford – drums
- David Cross – violin, viola, Mellotron, flute, electric piano
- Jamie Muir – percussion
- Richard Palmer-James – lyrics
- Additional personnel
- Nick Ryan – engineering
References
- ^ Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, 2005.
- ^ a b Eder, Bruce (2011 [last update]). "Larks' Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - ^ a b Christgau, Robert (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: CG: King Crimson". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)
