Larks' Tongues in Aspic (instrumental)

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Raine-07 (talk | contribs) at 18:16, 19 June 2017 (→‎Level Five). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Larks' Tongues in Aspic"
Song

"Larks' Tongues in Aspic" is a set of progressive rock songs by the British band King Crimson.

The pieces were released over the course of four albums and 30 years: Two in Larks' Tongues in Aspic in 1973, one in Three of a Perfect Pair in 1984, one in the construKction of light in 2000, and one in The Power to Believe in 2003. The entire work consists of five segments. According to some notes about the 2017 edition of the Elements of King Crimson tour box set, the piece "Level Five" from The Power to Believe is also considered part of the "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" set.[2]

Live recordings also include "Coda: I Have a Dream", the tenth track from the construKction of light, which segues from Part IV.

Title and early version

Jamie Muir, percussionist of the band in 1972-1973, invented the title, meant to signify what he heard in the album containing the first two pieces of the set: something fragile and delicate (larks' tongues) encased in something corrosive and acidic (aspic).

The guitar figures that appear on the set's first piece were first conceived by Robert Fripp c. 1971, and performed live in an embryonic form by the Islands-era lineup. One version, named "A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls" appeared as a bonus track on the 40th anniversary edition of the Islands album.

Part I

Part I is the longest section of the set and was first released in 1973 on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic album. It begins with a long percussion introduction, provided by Jamie Muir before entering a driving, hard rock section fueled by Robert Fripp's electric guitar and introduced by a slowly building violin. Around the 7:40 mark, the band stops and David Cross performs a violin solo, first backed up by Robert Fripp, then all alone, then dueting with Jamie Muir on mbira. To end the piece, the band re-enter.

Live versions

The piece was originally performed live during 1972-1973. One version is available on the King Crimson Collectors' Club release The Beat Club, Bremen, from 1972 and its the only registered live recording featuring Jamie Muir. The same version was released on The Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club. The version on these two albums is only about seven minutes long, as it leaves out most of the violin solo and the ending. Two versions are included on the boxed set The Great Deceiver, a live set chronicling the 1972–1974 lineup of the band. It didn't return to the band's setlists until their 2014 tour, with a new arrangement where the violin parts are played on guitar, while the solo in the middle section is played by Mel Collins on flute. A recording from Los Angeles in 2014 is included on the 2016 edition of the Elements of King Crimson set, and another from Japan in 2015 is featured on the album Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind.

Personnel

Part II

Part II is driven throughout by guitars and recalls a few segments of Part I. The beginning developed into the familiar rhythm found in Parts III and IV. This is the second shortest part of the epic. It was also released on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic album, where it segues out of "The Talking Drum". Fripp said that the guitar starting rhythm is inspired by the "Dance of the Young Girls" part in Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" ballet. The piece features another violin solo by David Cross, this time accompanied by the rest of the band.

Part of the score for the 1974 French erotic film Emmanuelle was based heavily on Part II. After taking legal action against the film's producers, composer Robert Fripp eventually settled out of court.[3][4]

Part II was done as a cover song by Dream Theater on the special edition of their 10th album, Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

Live versions

The piece was a mainstay of the band's live repertoire during 1973-1974, 1981-1984 and 1994-1996, then again in 2008 and on their tours from 2014 onwards. From 1981-1996 and 2008, the violin solo was replaced with a guitar solo by Adrian Belew, and from 2014 onwards with a saxophone solo by Mel Collins.

Versions can be found on USA and The Great Deceiver (from 1974), Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal (from 1984), the déjà VROOOM DVD (from 1995) and on Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind (from 2015). The version on USA features violin overdubs by Eddie Jobson.

Personnel

Part III

Part III appeared on 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair album, positioned at the end of the LP, on side 2, which consisted of more experimental tracks. It starts off with a guitar melody inspired by the one around the 4:50 mark on Part I, and features similar rhythms to the first two sections, but with a more electronic sound, in part due to the guitar effects and by Bill Bruford's drums. This is the shortest part of the set.

Live versions

This section was only played live in 1984 and always directly followed "No Warning" and was followed by "Thela Hun Ginjeet." Because it was only performed on the Three of a Perfect Pair tour, not many live versions have been released. A version can be found on Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal and another on the DVD Neal and Jack and Me.

Personnel

Part IV

Part IV was first released on 2000's the construKction of light. It is the second-longest part of the epic at just over nine minutes. It is similar, in many ways, to Part II. Like most works on the construKction of light, it is heavily guitar driven with a variety of effects applied to the sound. Unlike the other parts of the series, presented as sole tracks, Part IV is separated as three "edits", plus it segues into "Coda: I Have a Dream", the tenth song on the construKction of light. If the coda is included, it makes it the only piece containing vocals. The vocals are processed to make Adrian Belew's voice sound heavily mechanical as he makes note of several of the most world-shatteringly important events of the 20th century, focusing heavily on loss and sadness. The vocals were later dropped from the live performance.

Live versions

The piece was performed in 2000 and 2003, on the tours to support the construKction of light and The Power to Believe. Several live versions are available. For example, one version can be found on the Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With EP. Another can be found on Heavy ConstruKction. And two are featured on the DVD Eyes Wide Open, one from England 2000 and the other from Japan 2003.

Personnel

Level Five

Despite its title doesn't show much relation, it is considered to be part of the "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" canon. Originally released on 2003's The Power to Believe, it is the third longest composition in the series at 7:17. It is the second track on The Power to Believe, and makes use of similar motifs like the ones found in Part IV.

Live Versions

Level Five has been performed live on the band's tours since 2003, starting with the tour supporting The Power to Believe. In 2008, the middle section in 7/8 time (which starts around 2:55 in the original recording) was re-arranged for the drums, highlighting the presence of two drummers in the band, and in 2014 the final guitar solo was replaced by a saxophone solo. Live version are available on EleKtrik: Live in Japan (from 2003), on a Chicago recording from the 2008 tour released online on DGM Live, and two from 2015 on Live in Toronto and Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind.

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Murphy, Sean (22 May 2011). "The 25 Best Progressive Rock Songs of All Time". PopMatters. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  2. ^ The Elements of King Crimson 2017... Tour Box pre-order
  3. ^ IMDB Trivia page for "Emmanuelle"
  4. ^ The diary of Robert Fripp
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larks%27_Tongues_in_Aspic_(instrumental)&oldid=786475015"