01	The Great Deceiver						04:02
	02	Lament						04:05
	03	We 'll Let You Know						03:41
	04	The Night Watch						04:39
	05	Trio						05:39
	06	The Mincer						04:08
	07	Starless And Bible Black						09:10
	08	Fracture						11:12

King Crimson
Starless and Bible Black
EG Records (EGCD 12)
UK 1974

Robert Fripp, guitar, Mellotron, devices;
John Wetton, bass and voice;
Bill Bruford, drums and percussives;
David Cross, violin, viola, keyboards

The Great Deceiver (Wetton, Fripp, Palmer-James) - 4'02
Lament (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James) - 4'00
We'll Let You Know (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, 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
Starless and Bible Black (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) - 9'11
Fracture (Fripp) - 11'14


Bob Eichler:
I don't have much to add to the already existing reviews, except to say that this disc is my favorite from the Larks/Starless/Red era, and one of my overall favorite prog CDs. "Fracture" is one of the absolute classic tracks of prog, and gives the album a crushing finish (I always end up turning the volume up throughout the album until it's near bleeding-eardrum levels by the end of "Fracture"). "The Great Deceiver" opens the album with an irresistible hook, and "The Night Watch" is one of the better lyrical, symphonic prog songs that I've heard. The improvisational tracks don't hold my interest quite as much as the composed pieces, but they're still worth hearing. Overall, a great disc.

Dominique Leone:
With a bang, this album starts and doesn't let up for air until about mid-way through. Of all the KC mid-period, this one perhaps is there most consistently breathless -- let's see: we've got hyped-up blues-prog in "The Great Deceiver", the schizophrenic narrative "Lament", marvelously cohesive improv in "We'll Let You Know", "Trio" and the title track, the symphonic ballad "The Night Watch", the spooky, atmospheric "The Mincer", and arguably Fripp's finest masterpiece, "Fracture." If ever a prog band was lean, mean, and ready to fight, it was this one.
Fripp has stated that he always thought his drummer and bassist of this period were great players, but never sure if they were a great rhythm section. In any case, Bruford and Wetton set the tone for many of the pieces on this album. Tightly wound, precise punches and jabs; bladed, metallic bass figures rip through thin layers of mellotron and violin, while high-tuned toms and snare keep ahead of the beat and make no room for error, or even diversion. This is not to say the two men weren't sympathetic performers, but driven.
While the whole-tone adventures of "Fracture" and later pieces such as "Red" and "One More Red Nightmare" have captured the attention of many prog fans, the most distictive aspect of this band may have been its willingness to step out of its structured pieces into improvisation. The mid-period King Crimson were doubtlessly the *most* popular proponents of free-improv in the history of prog. "Trio" is simply that: Fripp, Cross, and Wetton delicately composing in the moment; "We'll Let You Know" is avant-funk without the burden of a dancefloor; "Starless And Bible Black" is exotic, dark, and well-timed - leading into the explosive "Fracture" in much the same way as "The Talking Drum" led into "Larks Toungue part II" on the previous album.
This album saw the band at the height of its powers, and should be a reference to all those defending prog as something other than bombastic flower-music. Great album.

Sean McFee:
Starless and Bible Black is the second of three albums recorded by the second incarnation of King Crimson, which included Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, John Wetton and David Cross. Generally given less attention than their other albums of this period, this is the least accessible of the three, but possibly the one that best captures what Crimson was all about.
The albums consists of composed and improvised pieces in about equal parts, with the improvised material performed live with the audience dubbed out. The composed material is all fairly strong, whether it's the wistful balladry of "The Night Watch", aggressive hard rock of "The Great Deceiver" or the intense aural attack of "Fracture". The improvised material seems to throw a lot of people off, but is just as strong, if not stronger, evaluated on its own merits.
"Trio" is a particular beautiful improv where Bill Bruford is credited with "restraint", as the story goes. He saw that the improv didn't need him, and stayed out of it. "The Mincer" and the title track are both dark, brooding affairs that occasionally burst into something more frenetic.
King Crimson is one of the classic ensembles in prog. Anyone interested in the genre should hear this album eventually.

Joe McGlinchey:
The previous album began with a cool whisper. This one begins with an unambiguous bang, as the roaring guitar and violin riffs of "The Great Deceiver" assault the listener in mid-fortissimo. The album continues in 'conventional' rock mode with the edgy, sardonic "Lament," but then abruptly shifts gears. And before the end, you will have been put through the wringer, as the band ventures into funk ("We'll Let You Know"), arhythmic classicism ("Trio"), and moody improvisation that sounds at once both abrasive and floating ("The Mincer"). The closer, "Fracture," is another masterpiece of Frippian construction, slowly building and releasing tension until it brings down the house in much the same way as "Larks' Tongues, pt. 2." Maybe not as fresh as Larks' Tongues in Aspic or as even-keeled as Red, but Starless and Bible Black is just as essential.

Brandon Wu:
Of the three King Crimson albums from 1973-74, this one is probably the weakest. It lacks the thematic continuity that both its predecessor, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, and its successor, Red, both possess; and it not as consistent as either of those releases. Robert Fripp really comes into his own here, with his fast runs in "The Great Deceiver" and his meticulous picking in his masterpiece, "Fracture". It's the improvisations that really make this disc worth it, though - the full-band jamming of "We'll Let You Know" is amazing, especially when Bruford and Wetton kick into a somewhat normal groove; and the sheer perfect beauty of "Trio" - which is hands down the single best improvisation King Crimson has on record, as far as I'm concerned - will have new listeners wondering if it really was actually composed beforehand. Overall, except for "Trio" and the ballad (?) "The Night Watch", this is a harder-edged release than anything King Crimson had yet done, with sharp, electric guitar playing and very aggressive, distorted bass. Not a good introduction to the band's work, but still an essential release for fans. I read somewhere something akin to this description, which is perfect: "If Starless and Bible Black does not quite succeed, it is one of the most spectacular failures I've ever heard."

heather

This is probably the review for a rock album that I most and least want to write. It's one of my favorites. Yet so much has been said, I don't know what I can add. I can just tabulate the reasons why I love it, I guess: 1) the improv "Trio", which flows so gracefully and makes me feel nostalgic, and for some reason see faded film showing sunny children's faces and green forests 2) the massive guitar composition "Fracture" which just keeps escalating in intensity from start to finish, and is one of the most divinely intense compositions ever written 3) the improv "We'll Let you Know" which starts out quiet, almost not there, and then tentative, and then breaks into a funky jam which continually builds in loudness 4) the beautiful song the "Nightwatch" which to me is the musical equivalent of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" 5) the improv "Starless and Bible Black", a nine minute devotion to Fripp's sinister heavily sustained guitar tones, with a truly shocking and frightening end 6) the faded Mellotron string and flute tapes throughout 7) Fripp's serpentine guitar throughout 8) Bruford's imaginative percussion, everything from loud rock drums to sleigh bells and triangles 9) Wetton's absolutely loud, muscular, clumsily funky bass 10) the fact I'll keep thinking of more new reasons why I love it

5-2-03







Starless and Bible Black
Date of Release Mar 1974

Starless and Bible Black is even more powerful and daring than its predecessor, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, with jarring tempo shifts, explosive guitar riffs, and soaring, elegant, and delicate violin and Mellotron parts scattered throughout its 41 minutes, often all in the same songs. The album was on the outer fringes of accessible progressive rock, with enough musical ideas explored to make Starless and Bible Black more than background for tripping the way Emerson, Lake & Palmer's albums were used. "The Night Watch," a song about a Rembrandt painting, was, incredibly, a single release, although it was much more representative of the sound that Crimson was abandoning than where it was going in 1973-1974. More to that point were the contents of side two of the original LP, a pair of instrumentals that threw the group's hardest sounds right in the face of the listener, and gained some converts in the process. This album was remastered again for CD in the summer of 2000, in significantly improved sound that brought out the details (and surprising lyricism) of much of the material in far greater detail. The booklet included with the remastered version is not as impressive as some of the rest of the series entries in terms of information, but has great photos. - Bruce Eder




Great Deceiver


AMG REVIEW: This driving rocker auspiciously commences King Crimson's sixth LP, Starless and Bible Black, with a raucous and syncopated sonic torpedo. It also firmly establishes the quartet's unparalleled musicianship - showing off their immense gifts as contributors to the ensemble as well as consummate soloists. According to Sid Smith's 2002 band bio In The Court Of King Crimson, Robert Fripp (guitar/mellotron) made a rare, yet memorable, addition to Richard Palmer-James' dadaist lyrics. The chorus of "cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the virgin Mary :" was derived from hearing the phrase from vendors at the Vatican when the band had visited Rome. The book also cleared the misnomer that the song's opening line, which begins "A health food faggot :" was a sexual reference. It is, in fact a British slang term for a veggie meatball.
Musically, the tune is a concise powerhouse that at times, during the verses, sounds as if all four musicians may be playing different songs - only to regroup for the choral assault. Even John Wetton's vocal bravado is presented with a quirky syncopation contrasted by the instrumental onslaught - featuring his own double-tracked bass line that adds a noticeably fuller bottom end when juxtaposed with the scorching strings from Fripp's guitar and David Cross' violin.

The "Great Deceiver" became an ideal opening number for the band in their live performances during their 1974 tour. An inspired version is available on the four-disc live box set from the ('73/'74) band, which is likewise titled The Great Deceiver (1992). - Lindsay Planer






King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black

Member: Prog Owl

If I was going to convert an uninitiated person to King Crimson's' music, this would certainly be one of my top choices (along w/ ITCOTCK and Discipline). No one release can give the complete picture, but this one certainly contains so many elements of what made KC so special!

Tracks like "Great Deceiver" and "Lament" certainly show their rocking yet tuneful side! It's kind of funny to consider that while Fripp looked so intense and studious onstage, his playing on these tracks conveys a lot of fun, reckless abandon and wit! Certainly Wetton, Bruford and Cross must have had a good ol' time on these tracks too, in spite of playing odd meters.

"We'll Let You Know" is a concise introduction to their improvisational side, and showed a rare quality, of being able to make a collective improvisation still have a shape and form. Wetton's funky, overdriven bass and that ever wonderful drumming by Bruford. After leaving Yes, he truly blossomed!

"The Night Watch" (one of my all-time fave KC tracks) shows how they were able to conjure up amazingly vivid images through both words and music. Extra bonus points for the lyrics being inspired by the Rembrandt painting of the same name. After seeing the painting myself and hearing the song, I can't help but say "PERFECT MATCH!!!!" John Wetton sure had his throat full on this one, those are not easy lyrics to sing and play bass over at the same time. Musically it somewhat harkens back to ITCOTCK epic tracks like the title track or "Epitaph", although with a few new twists.

"The Mincer" however was one of those "weak moments" sounding more like a rather creepy incomplete thought than a full-blown musical idea.

"Trio" was amazing in that it showed KC capable of great subtlety and beauty, and getting right to the point while improvising. In the wrong hands, this could've been a rambling mess, thankfully, it wasn't.

"Starless and Bible Black" showed KC's improvisational side at its absolute finest, colorful, disturbing at times, yet engaging and compelling. I also love the part with the 'tron flutes just before the explosive ending! Fripp also gets some of the most torturous, anguished and ferocious sounds I've ever heard from him! This is one of those rare times that a collective improv really takes a definite shape and form, darn near sounding written out at times. Definitely one of my favorite KC moments!!

"Fracture" stands as one of Fripp's most ingenious compositions! The whole tone theme at the beginning builds tension and drama in a manner similar to watching a tightrope walker between two tall buildings without a net! Will he make it? Will he fall? It's amazing how Fripp got so much mileage and color out of not much more than using a whole tone motif and an A pentatonic scheme throughout the piece, in addition to the amazing contrasts of dynamics! The beauty of this cut and "Starless---" is that it was recorded completely live (audience noise was edited out), as were "We'll Let You Know", "Trio" and parts of "The Nightwatch".

All told, this epitomizes what made this band so special! Grab it!!!