The Construkction of Light
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The Construkction of Light (stylised as the construKction of light) is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by record label Virgin.
Background
the construKction of light has the distinction of being the first studio album to be released by King Crimson without two longtime members (the first without drummer Bill Bruford, who debuted with the band for 1973's Larks' Tongues in Aspic, and without bassist Tony Levin, who joined in 1981). The departure of these stalwarts brought an end to the "double trio" era of the band and their return to a quartet: Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. Fripp was now not only the last remaining member from any lineup prior to 1981, but the only Englishman left as well.
Musically, the album bears a sound similar the 1980s lineup, with Mastelotto primarily playing e-drums and Belew, Gunn and Fripp often playing sophisticated, interlocking parts, with Belew and Fripp often utilizing overdriven guitar tones. However, the pace of these interlocking parts is often slower than in the '80s, with Belew and Fripp often trading just single notes back and forth in hocket. As such, it presents a different twist on the gamelan approach of the '80s era.
The album also harks back to previous eras, presenting sequels to old pieces. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" continues a series of instrumental pieces forming a cross-album suite, primarily recalling motifs from part II. "FraKctured" began as a fifth entry in the "Larks" suite, but was later in the process considered closer "in lineage" to "Fracture", the final track from 1974's Starless and Bible Black, and thus renamed.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| PopMatters |   [3] |
AllMusic wrote that the band "fall flat with The ConstruKction of Light [...] Unable to shed the weight of their oft-brilliant history, the most promising moments of ConstruKction are crushed underneath the bulk. What makes ConstruKction such a disappointment is, despite how 'progressive' the band-fragmenting ProjeKct approach appeared on paper, upon execution, it produced an utterly backward-looking album."[2]
Track listing
All writing by Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "ProzaKc Blues" | 5:28 |
| 2. | "The ConstruKction of Light" | 5:49 |
| 3. | "The ConstruKction of Light" | 2:50 |
| 4. | "Into the Frying Pan" | 6:54 |
| 5. | "FraKctured" | 9:06 |
| 6. | "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" | 6:24 |
| 7. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" | 2:50 |
| 9. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" | 2:36 |
| 10. | "Coda: I Have a Dream" | 4:51 |
| 11. | "Heaven and Earth" (ProjeKct X) | 7:46 |
iTunes Version
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "ProzaKc Blues" | 5:28 |
| 2. | "The ConstruKction of Light" | 8:40 |
| 3. | "Into the Frying Pan" | 6:54 |
| 4. | "FraKctured" | 9:06 |
| 5. | "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" | 6:24 |
| 6. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 4" | 13:03 |
| 7. | "Heaven and Earth" | 7:46 |
| 8. | "Rome Improv: Mastelotticus SS Blasticus" (Edit; full performance available on Eyes Wide Open) | 10:38 |
| 9. | "The ConstruKction of Light (Live)" (Taken from the Level Five EP) | 8:24 |
Personnel
- Robert Fripp – guitar, keyboards
- Adrian Belew – guitar, vocals
- Trey Gunn – Ashbory bass, Warr guitar
- Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion
References
- ^ "The ConstruKction of FraKctured - from the diaries of Robert Fripp". Spaceward Records. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ a b Nickey, Jason. The ConstruKction of Light review AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-02-27.
- ^ Moos, Dan. "King Crimson: The ConstruKction of Light". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
External links
- The Construkction of Light at Discogs (list of releases)
- Lyrics
