King Crimson's previous album, Larks' Tongues inwards Aspic (on which they had moved decisively away from a to a greater extent than traditional progressive stone audio drawing on American jazz, in addition to towards the influence of European costless improvisation), had been recorded past times a quintet lineup of the band, including experimental percussionist Jamie Muir. Early inwards 1973, Muir abruptly left the band – ostensibly due to an onstage injury, but inwards fact due to an overwhelming spiritual quest to retreat from music in addition to pass fourth dimension inwards a monastery (something which was non communicated to his bandmates according to the liner notes for the Portsmouth Guildhall exhibit inwards the Complete Recordings box set). Muir's difference turned out to live permanent. The band's drummer, Bill Bruford, absorbed Muir's percussion role inwards improver to his ain kit drumming, in addition to the band continued to tour every bit a quartet.
These upheavals in addition to the push clit per unit of measurement area of touring left King Crimson brusk of novel written textile when it came to the fourth dimension to tape their adjacent album. Having increased their degree of onstage improvisation during recent tours, the band opted to cause got payoff of this to solve the problem. New compositions tried out inwards concert in addition to captured on several alive recordings were presented every bit role of the novel album material, alternating in addition to inwards some cases blending with studio recordings.
The only songs recorded solely inwards the studio were the showtime 2 tracks, "The Great Deceiver" in addition to "Lament". "We'll Let You Know" was an solely improvised slice recorded inwards Glasgow. "The Mincer" was some other improvised piece, originally recorded inwards concert inwards Zürich but overdubbed with Wetton's vocals inwards the studio. "Trio", "Starless in addition to Bible Black" in addition to "Fracture" (the finally of which Robert Fripp has cited every bit 1 of the most hard guitar pieces he has always played) were recorded alive at the Concertgebouw inwards Amsterdam. Also recorded at the Concertgebouw was the introduction to "The Night Watch" (the band's Mellotron broke downwardly at the start of the adjacent section, pregnant that the residuum of the vocal needed to live recorded inwards the studio in addition to dubbed inwards later). In all cases, alive applause was removed from the recordings wherever possible (although the remains of it tin live heard past times an attentive listener). The consummate Amsterdam Concertgebouw concert was eventually released past times the band inwards 1997 every bit The Night Watch.
"Trio" was notable for existence a quartet slice with only 3 active players – John Wetton on bass guitar, David Cross on viola in addition to Robert Fripp on "flute" Mellotron. Bruford spent the entire slice with his drumsticks crossed over his chest, waiting for the correct instant to bring together inwards but realising that the improvised slice was progressing ameliorate without him. His conclusion non to add together whatever percussion was seen past times the relaxation of the band every bit a crucial choice, in addition to he received co-writing credit for the piece. "Trio" was afterwards included on the 1975 compilation album Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Young Person's Guide to King Crimson, the surgical operation credits of which mention Bruford's contribution to the slice every bit having been "admirable restraint."
Only iv tracks on the album cause got lyrics. As had been the instance with Larks' Tongues inwards Aspic, these were written past times John Wetton's friend Richard Palmer-James (the erstwhile Supertramp guitarist who'd left the band after its first, self-titled album). "The Great Deceiver" refers to The Devil in addition to is an ironic commentary on commercialism (Fripp contributed the work "cigarettes, H2O ice cream, figurines of the Virgin Mary" after seeing souvenirs existence marketed inwards Vatican City). "Lament" is close fame. "The Night Watch" is a brusk essay on Rembrandt's icon of the same name, describing the icon every bit an observer sees it in addition to attempting to sympathise the subjects. "The Mincer" has to a greater extent than ambiguous lyrics, though lines such every bit "fingers reaching, linger shrieking," "you're all alone, baby's breathing," in addition to the song's championship could live references to a dwelling invader or killer.
The phrase "Starless in addition to Bible Black" is a quotation from the showtime 2 lines of poet Dylan Thomas's play, Under Milk Wood.[4] The band's adjacent album, Red, contains a vocal called "Starless", which contains the phrase "Starless in addition to bible black", whereas "Starless in addition to Bible Black" is an improvised instrumental. The championship rails on both the album in addition to the compact disk is an edit of the original Amsterdam improvisation every bit performed at the Concertgebouw, which presumably ran several minutes longer (as improvisations of this tour oftentimes did). (The sleeve notes included with the CDs betoken that it was cutting brusk for the 1973 album "due to the constraints of vinyl"). All currently-available original tapes incorporate the 9:11 version.
The album fine art is past times painter Tom Phillips. The phrase "this nighttime wounds time", which appears on the dorsum cover, is a quotation from Phillips's signature work, the "treated Victorian novel" Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Humument (p. 222).
Starless in addition to Bible Black is fifty-fifty to a greater extent than powerful in addition to daring than its predecessor, Larks' Tongues inwards Aspic, with jarring tempo shifts, explosive guitar riffs, in addition to soaring, elegant, in addition to fragile violin in addition to Mellotron parts scattered throughout its 41 minutes, oftentimes all inwards the same songs. The album was on the outer fringes of accessible progressive rock, with plenty musical ideas explored to build Starless in addition to Bible Black to a greater extent than than background for tripping the agency Emerson, Lake & Palmer's albums were. "The Night Watch," a vocal close a Rembrandt painting, was, incredibly, a unmarried release, although it was much to a greater extent than representative of the audio that Crimson was abandoning than where it was going inwards 1973-1974. More to that dot were the contents of side 2 of the LP, a twosome of instrumentals that threw the group's hardest sounds correct inwards the confront of the listener, in addition to gained some converts inwards the process.
Possibly the only affair to a greater extent than challenging, unpredictable in addition to fifty-fifty befuddling than King Crimson’s otherworldly musical creations at the start of the '70s was their ever-shifting personnel. By the halt of the band's showtime half-decade of existence, leader Robert Fripp had already gone through several lineups of musicians.
Thankfully, for Crimson’s 6th album, Starless in addition to Bible Black, which was released on March 29, 1974, they had constitute some mensurate of stability unopen to Fripp, bassist/vocalist John Wetton, drummer Bill Bruford, multi-instrumentalist (violin, viola, keyboards) David Cross in addition to lyricist Richard Palmer-James, whose unorthodox wordplay capably filled the role vacated past times Fripp’s longtime foil, Peter Sinfield.
Musically, though, King Crimson’s restless experimenting continued thank yous to a renewed focus on improvisation that saw all but 2 of the novel album’s songs recorded alive inwards concert, thus overdubbed in addition to cleansed of crowd dissonance inwards the studio. Both of those studio-only creations kicked off Starless in addition to Bible Black, whose championship was an allusion to Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood." The showtime melded skittish tempos in addition to drastic soft/hard dynamics with a beautifully ethereal interlude lasting mere seconds, piece the second, past times comparison, opened gently in addition to plainly, sweetened past times Cross’ violin, but presently embarked towards darker realms on an ominous Wetton bass line.
Wetton’s musical instrument too starred amongst subversive guitar interjections across the understated "We’ll Let You Know," which thus gave agency to lusher, almost Spanish-flavored chords on "The Night Watch," a minimalist, virtually percussion-free instrumental (one of many) inwards "Trio" in addition to finally static-encrusted lounge jazz for "The Mincer." And that was but Side One.
The 2d one-half of Starless in addition to Bible Black bowed nether the daunting weight of 2 epic instrumentals averaging x minutes -- edited downwardly from their concert originals -- of wanton improvisation. The championship rails slow gained intensity unopen to Fripp’s distorted, dive-bombing guitar-strangling until finally locking into a steady groove v minutes in, in addition to thus gradually decomposing again. By Fripp’s ain admission, "Fracture" challenged fifty-fifty his abilities with its complexity, in addition to yet, the tight interplay betwixt all involved throughout the song’s protracted ebb in addition to menstruation is on display.
And to scream back that this quasi-telepathic musical synchronization was already existence undermined past times a novel occurrence of lineup incertitude — namely involving Cross, whose violin was losing the battle for aspect in addition to sheer book vs. his to a greater extent than assertive bandmates. This, inwards the kill-or-be-killed globe of King Crimson, meant his inevitable ousting (by unanimous vote, no less) prior to the next year’s excellent, Red, which signaled some other consummate band collapse in addition to a five-year hiatus.
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Tracks Listing:
1. The Great Deceiver (4:02)
2. Lament (4:00)
3. We'll Let You Know (improv recorded inwards Glasgow) (3:46)
4. The Night Watch (4:37) *
5. Trio (5:41) *
6. The Mincer (improv recorded inwards Zurich) (4:10)
7. Starless And Bible Black (9:11) *
8. Fracture (11:14) *
* Recorded Live at the Concertgebouw inwards Amsterdam
Personnel:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, Mellotron, effects
- David Cross / violin, viola, Mellotron, electrical piano
- John Wetton / bass, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion
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