And I have to choose"
Larks' Tongues in Aspic is the fifth studio album by English Progressive Rock band King Crimson, released on 23 March 1973 through Island Records in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in the United States. After splitting up the band at the conclusion of the Islands tour, Robert Fripp enlisted a new group of musicians, which included violinist David Cross, percussionist Jamie Muir, former Family bassist John Wetton and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford. Bruford himself had just departed Yes just before they toured for Close to the Edge, burned out by the recording process and feeling that he had done all he could for the band, and having long admired King Crimson felt that he could use an outlet for further experimentation.
The resulting album is a radical departure from the band's previous albums, ditching the traditional Progressive Rock sound that they helped birth on their debut album in favor of merging their Jazz Fusion stylings with World Music, Heavy Metal, and European free improvisation. Gone were the saxophone and flute that were crucial to the band's early sound, instead shifting focus towards percussion and strings. The band would continue to explore the sound created on this album until their first breakup in 1974, and it would still leave a lasting influence on their material during subsequent reunions, eventually culminating in the Progressive Metal direction of their latter-day output.
The album's Title Track would become a particular point of focus for King Crimson in subsequent decades. While it was initially presented as a two-part suite on this album, the band would revisit it several more times over the years, first including a belated Part III as the closing track to Three of a Perfect Pair ten years later, then a fourth installment on the construKction of light in 2000, before finally putting out "Level Five", a stealth fifth entry, on The Power to Believe in 2003, thirty years after this album's release.
Tracklist
Side A- "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One" (13:36)
- "Book of Saturday" (2:53)
- "Exiles" (7:40)
Side B
- "Easy Money" (7:54)
- "The Talking Drum" (7:26)
- "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two" (7:07)
Principal members:
- Bill Bruford: drums, timbales, cowbell, wood block
- David Cross: violin, viola, Mellotron, Hohner pianet, flute ("Exiles")
- Robert Fripp: guitars, Mellotron, Hohner pianet, devices
- Jamie Muir: percussion, drums, "allsorts"
- John Wetton: bass, vocals, piano ("Exiles")
My tropes was a place by the sand:
- Book Ends: The album opens with part one of the Title Track and closes with part two.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The intro to "Easy Money" features some... rather squishy percussion from Jamie Muir, which is likely boots worn on his hands plunging into mud or a similar substance. As the song is already about sex, this may have been the intention; that's at least what the perverted mind wants to think.
- Epic Rocking: There was only one of six tracks that was less than seven minutes: the three-minute "Book of Saturday". "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One" is thirteen minutes long.
- Evil Laugh: "Easy Money" ended in a sinister laugh that played out to the end of the track, presumably from one of the children's toys Jamie Muir utilized.
- Everything Is an Instrument: Jamie Muir, an experimental percussionist, had a knack for this. A far-reaching selection of items from bells, wooden blocks, scrap metal, children's toys, and a thumb piano
were used to record "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". - Instrumentals: "The Talking Drum" and both parts of the title track are instrumentals. This, combined with the instrumental sections on the remaining songs, make the majority of the album instrumental.
- Intercourse with You: "Easy Money" is a song about taking an interest in a prostitute who would slay and generate a huge income based on looks alone.
- Last Note Nightmare: The screechy bike horns at the climax of "The Talking Drum" can easily scare someone. That they come right before the very hard-rocking "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II" doesn't help things—and they also fall off the beat which makes it even easier to catch the listener off guard.
- Longest Song Goes First: "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One" started off the new era of King Crimson with a thirteen-and-a-half minute instrumental.
- New Sound Album: The album where Robert Fripp took the band to a heavier, even more experimental direction, which is felt in their subsequent albums up to Red. Even the experienced Jazz drummer Bill Bruford adapted his own drumming style after performing alongside Muir.
- Textless Album Cover: In virtually all releases of the album, the cover remains simply the picture of the sun and moon together.
- Title-Only Chorus: The chorus to "Easy Money" consisted of the title leading up to the last refrain, where it is simply changed to "Just making easy money".
