After gorging myself on Lizard and Larks' Tongues in Aspic recently, King Crimson's Starless and Bible Black is a teeny bit of a letdown. Sure, this album is still an essential for fans of the band, but it lacks a bit of the same energy and originality of the preceding albums.
There's still plenty to love: "The Great Deceiver" is as good an album opener as you'll find, and "The Night Watch" is an incredibly beautiful song and is in fact my favorite John Wetton vocal performance. (Call me crazy, but I'm not a big fan of his vocals in general. I don't know what it is, but there's something slightly off-putting about the tone of his voice...) Side 2 features two lengthy songs that, to be blunt, just aren't as good as the instrumentals/longer numbers on Lizard, Red or Larks'.
Overall, I'd say this is the weakest King Crimson album of the '70s. It's still a pleasure to hear, but it falls shy of the mark set by Larks' Tongues the previous year.
King Crimson personnel:
Bill Bruford - drums
David Cross - violin, viola, keys
Robert Fripp - guitars
John Wetton - bass, vocals
Track - Time (Composers)
Side 1
1. The Great Deceiver - 4:02 (Wetton, Fripp, Palmer-James)
2. Lament - 4:00 (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
3. We'll Let You Know - 3:46 (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
4. The Night Watch - 4:37 (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
5. Trio - 5:41 (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
6. The Mincer - 4:10 (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James)
Side 2
1. Starless and Bible Black - 9:11 (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
2. Frature - 11:14 (Fripp)
Purchased at Schoolkids Records in Athens, GA
Condition: G
Back cover:
Inside:
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