The second Crimson album to feature the core lineup of guitarist Robert Fripp, bassist-singer John Wetton, and drummer Bill Bruford (plus violinist David Cross), 1974's Starless continues the complex structures and hard-edged grooves of Larks' Tongues in Aspic. It's a sound that's firmly departed from the mellotron-assisted psychedelic symphony approach of Lizard and In the Wake of Poseidon. The precursor to the landmark Red, Starless includes such Crimson classics as "The Great Deceiver," the eccentric ballad "Lament," the menacing 11-minute "Fracture," and the sprawling title track, an avant-rock "Bolero" that builds into a cacophony of abstract noise guitar, chattering percussion, fleshy funk bass lines and, yep, mellotron, this time in the service of dissonant harmonies and spooky sound bursts. A must for Crimson completists, and a great first bite for neophytes. --James Rotondi
Product Description
24 bit digitally remastered reissue of the legendary British prog group's 1974 album. Eight tracks. Standard Jewelcase.
Starless And Bible Black,King Crimson,E.G. Records,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop
Starless And Bible Black [Original recording remastered]
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Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered
King Crimson Manufacturer: Discipline Us ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00064WSNM Release Date: 2006-01-16 |
Tracks:
- The Great Deceiver
- Lament
- We'll Let You Know
- The Night Watch
- Trio
- The Mincer
- Starless And Bible Black
- Fracture
Customer Reviews:
An essential representation of this KC lineup.......2007-07-02
Nice studio tracks and excellent live performances.......2007-05-29
The lineup on this album is considered to be the finest Crimson lineup assembled and I do not disagree. The players at this point included David Cross (violin, viola, mellotron); Robert Fripp (electric guitar; mellotron; and devices); John Wetton (electric bass guitar; lead vocals); and the incredible Bill Bruford (drums and percussion). The performances on the live tracks are out of this world and amply demonstrate the power of this group as an improvisational unit of considerable power and imagination. Robert Fripp turns in some excellent performances throughout (his complex, cross-picking technique really shines on the closing track) and seems to favor a heavily distorted tone played at bone-crushing volumes - he is however, capable of some delicate playing as well. John Wetton seems to favor taking the same approach on the bass guitar and his thunderous bass lines rumble throughout - like Fripp, John is also capable of some fairly delicate playing. I was also happy to hear David Cross and his delicate violin/viola parts emerge from the chaos - unfortunately, his playing really took a back seat on the follow-up album Red (1974).
The eight tracks on the album range in length from 3'46 to 11'14" and include a few studio tracks (The Great Deceiver and Lament) and the aforementioned live tracks. Although some of the live tracks generate enough raw electrical power to blow the earth up ten times over, Trio is a very tranquil piece that just features violin, bass guitar, mellotron, and flute. Apparently, Bill Buford felt that Trio was perfect as it was and decided not to add drums during the live performance - in fact, the band appreciated this gesture and gave him a co-credit. The Night Watch is another quiet and mellotron saturated piece that breaks things up nicely. Although the studio tracks are nice and present a wide range in dynamics, it is the crushing volume and avant-garde tendencies of the improvised tracks that really hold my attention.
All in all, this is a good album released during a very creative period for King Crimson along with Lark's Tongues in Aspic (1973) and Red. Although I can't say that I like this album as much as the other two from this period, this is still high quality progressive rock and is recommended along with In the Court of the Crimson King (1969); Lizard (1970); Lark's Tongues in Aspic; and Red.
Another overatted album by King Crimson.......2007-05-10
I consider myself as an open mind and I am always ready to discover new things, this album might have been "hot" thirty years ago, but it is very dated in the 21st century ! I gave mine to a friend, giving space in my cd collection for something else.
no one touches The King.......2007-02-26
if you are unfamiliar to king crimson's sound, than i'd recommend picking up the latter albums i previously stated. even to this day, king crimson still does not get the recognition they deserve, but in this day in age, maybe it was better that way. they still have countless fans the world around & are one of the most influential rock bands in past 40 years.
long live the crimson king
Improvs Improved.......2007-02-06
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Starless & Bible Black
Starless & Bible Black Manufacturer: Locust ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000I2IRVY Release Date: 2006-10-24 |
Tracks:
- Everyday And Everynight
- Time Is For Leaving
- Sirène
- Tredog
- The Birley Tree
- Hermione
- B.B.
- Allsight
- Untitled Cantiga
- The Bitter Cup
- 016-013
Amazon.com
Folk strains, art songs, and electronic atmospherics combine for a beguiling blend in the debut by this Manchester trio. The British folk comes mainly from guitarist Pete Philipson, whose playing recalls the era of Pentangle's Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. The art comes from French transplant Helene Gautier, Philipson's songwriting partner, whose upper register sounds ethereal on "Time Is for Leaving" and "Tredog," but reminds of darker chanteuses such as Nico or Marianne Faithfull on "Allsight." The atmospherics are provided by Raz Ullah, whose keyboards and other electronics suggest the "treatments" that Brian Eno once brought to Roxy Music. With a rhythm section on some cuts and chamber horns on the jazzy "B.B.," the music covers a lot of territory and offers continual surprises, without straying from the folk underpinnings of Philipson's guitar. There's an Irish lilt to the instrumental "Untitled Cantiga," while the following "The Bitter Cup" opens with a drone of an Indian rage. The propulsive "Hermoine" could pass as a Velvet Underground outtake. --Don McLeeseAlbum Description
This group makes spirited and catchy songs in the grand tradition of classic British folk rockers Pentangle and John and Beverly Martyn straight on up through the halcyon days of early 4AD Records. On their debut, the diverse Manchester three-piece brings to bear much of the lively attitude, passion, and rain of the old textile city they've come to call home for the last several years. The result is a collection of eleven songs, at once earthen and elevated, that are given added mood and flavor by the charcoal vocals of French chanteuse Helene Gautier.Customer Reviews:
Starless are More than A King Crimson Album.......2006-12-03
All I can say is that this album is quite worth the effort.
It's old-school folk at it's best: unassuming, quiet, and affecting. To me it's somewhere in between Led Zeppelin's quiter moments and Portishead, at times.
But that doesn't mean the album isn't playful. The first track has videogame and cartoon incidental noise, so that Yogi Bear is running for his picanic basket all over the song.
In sum, there isn't that much I can say except that this album is perfect for a rainy day in November or a sunny day in April. It's got jazz, electronic experiments, old school folk, and it still manages to cohere into a laid back and original sound.
Wonderful. One of my top for 2006.
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Starless and Bible Black Sabbath
Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno Manufacturer: Alien8 Recording ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000CRR2MU Release Date: 2006-02-21 |
Tracks:
- Starless And Bible Black Sabbath
- Woman From A Hell
Album Description
Japan's Acid Mothers Temple manage to pay tribute to legendary heavy metal band Black Sabbath and prog heavyweights King Crimson on the same release. Beautifully packaged; parodies the artwork of Black Sabbath's debut.Customer Reviews:
ANOTHER KILLER RELEASE FROM THE COSMIC INFERNO.......2007-03-23
DEFINITELY A HEADPHONE RELEASE (AS WITH ALL ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE SOUL COLLECTIVE RELEASES),
"WOMAN FROM A HELL" IS A SCORCHER, THE MELDING OF KAWABATA, HIGASHI, TABATA, SHIMURA AND OKANO ON THIS TRACK IS KILLER,
THEY WORK SEPARATELY TOGETHER AS ONE.
THE COSMIC INFERNO BURNS LOUD, ARE YOU LISTENING ?? .... YOU SHOULD BE
Acid Mothers Temple& The Cosmic Inferno-'Starless And Bible Black Sabbath' (Alien8).......2006-10-26
Lead meets helium in battle of the band.......2006-03-28
AMT adds enough space in the densely mixed--my only drawback, a minor one, here: it's too sludgy a mix even considering this genre--grooves to prevent this from becoming airless. King Crimson? Well, that's where this added element of airiness mixed with the heaviness of the Black Sabbath influence comes in. At first this may sound monolithic, but repeated listenings reveal the variety that any AMT project revels in, thank the gods. The added six minute song is a bit more artier, and grating, but does not wear out its briefer stay.
atomic blasts licked by the flames of hell.......2006-03-25
all cliche and pretension aside, i am a heavy listener when it comes to AMT(in any form)and i've heard some people complain about the amount of releases. the music is great, so it does make sense for them to keep putting it out there for us. but i do certainly understand that as much as we enjoy it, we can't always afford everything. so let me say this about "starless and bible black sabbath" if youre an AMT fan you want this, and if you've got the money burning a whole in your pocket..why not let these cats burn a whole in your brain.
(buy independent!)
WOW MAN..........2006-03-10
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Starless And Bible Black
King Crimson Manufacturer: E.G. Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000003S0M Release Date: 2000-10-17 |
Tracks:
- The Great Deceiver
- Lament
- We'll Let You Know
- The Night Watch
- Trio
- The Mincer
- Starless And Bible Black
- Fracture
Amazon.com
The second Crimson album to feature the core lineup of guitarist Robert Fripp, bassist-singer John Wetton, and drummer Bill Bruford (plus violinist David Cross), 1974's Starless continues the complex structures and hard-edged grooves of Larks' Tongues in Aspic. It's a sound that's firmly departed from the mellotron-assisted psychedelic symphony approach of Lizard and In the Wake of Poseidon. The precursor to the landmark Red, Starless includes such Crimson classics as "The Great Deceiver," the eccentric ballad "Lament," the menacing 11-minute "Fracture," and the sprawling title track, an avant-rock "Bolero" that builds into a cacophony of abstract noise guitar, chattering percussion, fleshy funk bass lines and, yep, mellotron, this time in the service of dissonant harmonies and spooky sound bursts. A must for Crimson completists, and a great first bite for neophytes. --James RotondiAlbum Description
24 bit digitally remastered reissue of the legendary British prog group's 1974 album. Eight tracks. Standard Jewelcase.Customer Reviews:
Another excellent album from KC.......2006-05-18
ONE of BEST KC's ALBUMS ( AS WELL AS IN COURT OF CK,RED).......2006-01-19
So I love it more than other KC ones,and more specially.
1. The Great Deceiver
2. Lament
3. We'll Let You Know
4. The Night Watch
5. Trio
6. The Mincer
7. Starless And Bible Black
8. Fracture
Prog Classic ! Recommended as well as Red,Islands,Lizard,Lark's .and surely their first one!
KING CRIMSON is one of the few bands that will amaze and amuse you so much!
Almost There...........2006-01-13
This album, along with the previous LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC, is Crimson's run-up to RED, which is the only truly great Crimson album prior to their 80s masterpieces.
With Bruford added to the lineup, TONGUES sets the stage for the transformation, and STARLESS nudges it to the doorstep. Listen to "The Great Deceiver" and "Fracture" and you will see the door nudge open just a bit, allowing a tantalizing peek into RED.
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A great comming together of various elements, IMO.......2005-05-20
I wonder what other people think of the vocals? I feel as though they should be louder in the mix. The title track has no lyrics but is obviously some dig at the bible or religion or something. I don't like that, and it seems everyone did that in the 70's, perhaps at the influence of 'John Lennon'? Anyway, the music is cool.
For an idea of what the album sounds like, it's like garage band rock jams but with a few ballads and folk songs thrown in for diversity and good measure. Trio is a lovely classical music venture, Night Watch is a folk song and Lament also has a hint of balladry, but is raging rock towards the end of the song. The tone is not as loud or distorted on this album as it was on Lark's tongues and the bass is very prominent in the mix. The mellotron plays the part of an organ rather than a pseudo-symphony, except that it occasionally tries to sound (quite successfully) like a heavily distorted 6th string of a guitar (Notably on the afforementioned 'Mincer'). Also, this album was lifted from the same creativity well as 'Moonchild'. Oh by the way, Love the lyrics to 'Great deceiver' and 'Night watch' and 'lament'.
Rushed album with some brilliant moments........2005-03-29
Opening with blazing rock number, "The Great Deceiver", a great vocal piece which churns and spins in a circular figure before melting into the verses and coming back again. Really, its one of the more unique Crimson pieces, features some great playing, in paticular from Fripp and Bruford. This cuts off after a Fripp guitar figure and "Lament" begins, soft, melodic, then explosive, although somewhat flawed in my ears-- Wetton's vocal, while passionate during the slower sections, feels a bit rushed during the faster ones. Still, during the slower portions, there's a delicate beauty, interplya between Cross and Fripp with some really great bass figures below it. Its interesting to note that this one got its start as part of improvs by Fripp in '71/'72 touring with the previous Crimson band. While discussing vocal tracks, I'll also now bring up "The Night Watch", a really amazing ballad, in many ways the "Exiles" of this album, although it stands on its own. A piece of delicate beauty, again I feel Wetton's vocals are a bit rushed at times, but its a really beautiful song featuring one of the most mangificant and beautiful solos of Fripp's career. The final vocal piece, "The Mincer", is one I've never gotten into-- it starts off decent enough, a churning instrumental with a driving beat, but like "We'll Let You Know", it just seems to end too abruptly.
Of the instrumental tracks, all but "Fracture" are improvs, although only "We'll Let You Know" feels like it-- featuring a more fusiony feel-- Fripp pulls in sounds and directions that his contemporaries working with Miles Davis were moving-- his playing is also totally liberating from virtually any expectation of guitar playing, its really stunning, but there's a general feeling of disunity in the song that keeps it from holding together-- Fripp and Wetton never seem to actually sync up to my ears until the piece basically ends abruptly.. "Trio" is the exact opposite, however-- an improv with Bruford choosing to sit out, the three remaining Crims turn out a delicate, soft little piece-- Wetton sticks in the upper register of his instrument, Fripp and Cross keep things sweet, its really an amazing piece. "Starless and Bible Black" (NOT to be confused with the song "Starless" that features that phrase in its lyrics) is overlong and slow to develop-- as improvs go, its good enough, but on record, it drags a bit.
Finally, there's the closing instrumental, "Fracture". A guitar player's nightmare, this one features the most complicated and stunning guitar playing from Fripp-- its roughly as it was played live, with no noticable overdubs, yet it sounds at times as though there's three guitar lines moving at once. Its certainly one of the high points in Fripp's catalog in terms of guitar work.
"Starless and Bible Black" is a good album, but it was made in a hurry and it shows.
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Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson Manufacturer: Universal Japan ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B00013YRNW Release Date: 2004-05-25 |
Tracks:
- Great Deceiver
- Lament
- We'll Let You Know
- Night Watch
- Trio
- Mincer
- Starless and Bible Black
- Fracture
Album Description
Japanese 24-bit remastered reissue of 1974 album packaged in a miniature LP gatefold sleeve, features eight tracks. Universal. 2004.Album Details
24bit Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.
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Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson Manufacturer: Jvc Japan ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000E1KN7K Release Date: 2006-03-06 |
Tracks:
- Great Deceiver
- Lament
- We'll Let You Know
- Night Watch
- Trio
- Mincer
- Starless and Bible Black
- Fracture
Album Description
2006 Japanese reissue of the 1974 album, presented in miniature LP sleeve with obi-strip. WHD.Album Details
Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.
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Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson Manufacturer: Dicip ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000050AMC Release Date: 2000-09-20 |
Tracks:
- Great Deceiver
- Lament
- We'll Let You Know
- Night Watch
- Trio
- Mincer
- Starless and Bible Black
- Fracture
Album Description
24 bit digitally remastered Japanese reissue of 1974 album by the legendary British prog group packaged in a miniaturized LP sleeve limited to the initial pressing only. Eight tracks, including 'Starless'. 2000 release.Album Details
Japanese Version featuring a Limited LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing. 24 Bit Digitally Remastered.Customer Reviews:
The Song That Came From Nowhere.......2004-05-05
In a sentence, `Trio' is: a hypnotic instrumental that makes the listener's heart ache with melancholy, but somehow keeps their brain attentive with a hint of carefree serenity. Violin and mellotron-induced flute sounds wander hand-in-hand about the concert hall. In the liner notes to the live King Crimson release "The Night Watch" (which documents the group's November 1973 performance at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam), violinist David Cross offers some comments which may be the most important and relevant as to the origin of `Trio;' "The morale of the band was low and we went on stage that night as four tired and separate individuals." Cross goes on to explain that, when the musicians' spirits had reached the doldrums, they began to play a "happy/sad" tune that became known as `Trio' (overdubs from this concert were used for the "Starless and Bible Black" album). Knowing this makes listening to the song a better experience for the listener, because they won't become quite as lost in wondering where such beauty could come from. `Trio' is a genuine, spontaneous personal expression by a group of cheerless men that perfectly described their personal state through instrumental music because, as is the case all too often, words and lyrics cannot give that feeling justice. One can imagine drummer Bill Bruford sitting behind his drum kit, sticks folded across his chest, a serene but sad stare on his face as `Trio' filled the air that night in Concertgebouw.
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Starless And Bible Black [Reissue]
King Crimson Manufacturer: EMI ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000LX4PIY |
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