Starless and Bible Black
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| Starless and Bible Black | ||||
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| Studio album by King Crimson | ||||
| Released | March 29, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | January 1974 at AIR Studios in London (studio tracks); October 1973 at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (most live tracks) | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 46:41 | |||
| Label | Island Records Atlantic Records Polydor Records E.G. Records Virgin Records |
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| Producer | King Crimson | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
| King Crimson chronology | ||||
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Starless and Bible Black is an album released by the British progressive rock band King Crimson in 1974. Most of the vocal pieces on the album are satires and commentaries on the sleaziness and materialism of society, in particular the music industry, similar to the track "Easy Money" on their previous 1973 album Larks' Tongues in Aspic. A notable exception to this lyrical theme is "The Night Watch."
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The album begins with "The Great Deceiver," which marries a powerful, almost punishing riff to some of King Crimson's most acerbic lyrics, beginning with "Health food faggot," which may be a reference to gays but may also simply refer to a vegetarian "meatball;" this is difficult to ascertain given the many years since the album was written and recorded and the vastly different meanings of the word "faggot" or "fag," especially when comparing British and American English.
The most serene track is an instrumental piece for violin, bass guitar and mellotron flute entitled "Trio". Even though there are no drums on the piece, drummer Bill Bruford received a composition co-credit because the piece was improvised live in concert and Bruford's decision not to add any percussion was seen by the rest of the band as a crucial choice.
The album art is by painter Tom Phillips. The enigmatic phrase "this night wounds time", which appears on the back cover, is a quotation from Phillips's signature work, the "treated novel" A Humument (p. 222).
Several songs from the album were recorded live in concert, with applause edited out. The only songs recorded entirely in the studio were the first two tracks, "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament". "We'll Let You Know" was an improvisational piece recorded in Glasgow. "The Mincer" was another improv, recorded in Zürich and overdubbed with Wetton's vocals in the studio. "Trio", "Fracture", and "Starless and Bible Black" were recorded at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as was the introduction to "The Night Watch" (the remainder was recorded in the studio). The complete Amsterdam Concertgebouw concert was released by the band in 1997 as The Night Watch.
The lyrics were composed by Richard Palmer-James, byname of Supertramp guitarist Richard Palmer. Only four tracks on this album have lyrics. "The Great Deceiver" refers to The Devil and is an ironic commentary on commercialism and is the only lyric written with Fripp[1]. "Lament" is about fame. "The Night Watch" is a short essay on Rembrandt's painting of the same name, describing the painting as an observer sees it and attempting to understand the subjects.[1]
The phrase "Starless and Bible Black" is a quotation from the poet Dylan Thomas's play, Under Milk Wood. The band's next album, Red, contains a song called simply "Starless", though quite different from that in the eponymous album. Confusingly, the song "Starless" actually contains the phrase "Starless and Bible Black", whereas "Starless and Bible Black" is an improvised instrumental. The title track is actually an edit of the original Amsterdam improvisation, which apparently ran longer than the album's 9 minute version. The liner notes for The Night Watch Live in Amsterdam Compact Disk indicate that it was edited "due to the constraints of vinyl". One can surmise that the track contains an edit toward the end, but not AT the exact end, just prior to the entire band slamming the downbeat in a violin climax flourish. Audiences have noticed that the track could have been edited to accentuate the downbeat. Additionally, Cross switches from the Mellotron (flute setting) to electric violin in a too-short interval of time. One note of the Mellotron leads directly into the violin flourish, not enough time to switch instruments.
The album's final track, "Fracture", is a strictly composed instrumental, similar in both style and melodic phrasing to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Pt. 2". Robert Fripp has stated on several occasions that "Fracture" is the most difficult guitar piece he has ever played. The speed and complexity of the piece often gives the impression that several guitarists are playing, even though it is only Fripp.
The Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple recorded an album entitled Starless And Bible Black Sabbath in 2006 as a double homage to King Crimson and Black Sabbath.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Side one
- "The Great Deceiver" (John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Richard Palmer-James) – 4:02
- "Lament" (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James) – 4:00
- "We'll Let You Know" (David Cross, Fripp, Wetton, William Bruford) – 3:46
- "The Night Watch" (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James) – 4:37
- "Trio" (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) – 5:41
- "The Mincer" (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James) – 4:10
[edit] Side two
- "Starless and Bible Black" (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) – 9:11
- "Fracture" (Fripp) – 11:14
[edit] Personnel
- Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron, devices, electric piano
- John Wetton – bass, vocals
- Bill Bruford – drums, percussion
- David Cross – violin, viola, mellotron, electric piano
with
- Richard Palmer-James - lyrics
- George Chkiantz – engineer
- Peter Henderson – assistant engineer
- Tom Phillips – cover design
- "Equipment by Chris and Tex"
