Larks' Tongues In Aspic

I really hate prog rock. I get the impression they think they're way more clever than they actually are. They're just farting about and making random noises. It's utterly tedious. There's a bit of nice violin in there which always gets my attention, and some nice piano and musical bits AT TIMES. That's where my 1 star is going. But it's like a feeble ray of light shining on a giant cloud of guff, which can't quite penetrate it and break free.

Aspic Rodeo anyone? Headphones are the way to go with this one. First, the headphones are critical to avoid the verbal and visual insubordination of family members who are within earshot. On my first attempt to listen without headphones, before the first song was done my son came home and bribed me by saying he would cook us dinner as long as I turned the damn thing off.  I was kinda hungry so . . . . Also, I was not getting into it since it's terrible background music. With headphones though it's a completely different story. The drums / timbales and strings on The Talking Drum are excellent. It has a middle eastern feel to it - even though the album is apparently Eastern Europe influenced.  Fripp is a master at getting his guitar to make sounds that other guitar players only hear in their dreams. He is also very good at making his guitar make normal guitar sounds as he shows on Book of Saturday.   I invented a game called  Aspic Rodeo to play when company comes over. I'll play this album and whoever lasts the longest  before asking me to turn it off wins. 

I’ve been pretty high, but never King Crimson high

Ohhh, finally! An album that I already listened complete before I started this challenge! Ok, so let's start by saying that King Crimson is my favourite band. Like, not just my favourite prog rock band, my favourite band of ALL times alongside The Beatles, Queen and Black Sabbath. Each of its albums, except for In The Wake of Poseidon, are extremely different from each other and almost feel like they were made by different bands, and they technically are, since the lineup of the project has changed thousands of times, the only constant member being Robert Fripp. And from all of their studio albums, LTIA is definitely one of the weirdest ones, but it has some of the most talented musicians working on it, namely Jamie Muir and Bill Bruford, and many others. Even though this is not my favourite album of King Crimson (I would put it in fifth or sixth place in a ranking) it is still a great and hugely influential album, mixing classic prog rock with world music, neo-classical sounds, heavy metal and possibly one of the earliest prog metal and avant-garde metal songs in history: the Larks' Tongues in Aspics suite, which has five parts, that span four albums and 30 years in the making. It is possible that bands like TOOL or Dream Theater would have never existed without this album so I guess that deserves at least four stars. Screw it, the album cover is my profile photo of Discord, I'll give it five stars

I found myself constantly feeling like I was caught off-guard. This was despite going into this album with 0 expectations or knowledge of what it would be like. So much of it was unexpected. Take the first song Lark's Tongue in Aspic for example. It starts with a simple tune using what sounds like a glockenspiel or xylophone. Am I in kindergarten? What is this trash? Next thing I know I'm being blown away by a disgusting guitar solo. Then a cacophony of string and drum instruments. This is all just the first song. And I think oh so this is just a crazy experimental instrumental album or something? Next song, Book of Saturday, features mostly vocals and sounds a lot like Tool. There's animal sounds, the unmistakable sound of feet sloshing through the mud, and just a vast array of instruments you don't normally hear. You can feel a Pink Floyd influence reminiscent of Time. My first listen to this album was a trip to say the least.

Not bad but just a bit too much progressive and not enough rock to keep me entertained and intrigued

prog noodling outweighs good tunes

not shot these mf actually made this in 1973

Garbage! Why is this on the list?

A highly inaccessible King Crimson that grows with every listen. Employing a lot of space, these tracks take their time and involve a lot of carefully planned improvisation that's very entrancing to focus on. No bad tracks, every one stood out and felt necessary, which has a leg over In the Court which has "Moonchild." Overall though, it's not as powerful as In the Court's tracks, but about as memorable. "Larks Tongue Part I" is characterized by a juxtaposition between pleasant but sometimes concerning violin textures, and a high-tone metallic guitar that goes hard. It's simple but has so much to offer, taking so many turns along the way, changing the mood and vibe multiple times by the time it reaches the end. "Book of Saturday" is our short pop song, very pleasant, groovy, and folk-like, as if telling a medieval tale. Just three strings (the guitar, violin, and bass), and they're all unpredictable, going wherever they like, but also clear. "Exiles" has a calming cool jazz structure. Very smooth and colorful with a satisfying conclusion. The second side takes a turn as the mood tenses and starts to rock. "Easy Money" immediately gets into it, with a chilling introduction followed by a confusing complicated middle section that introduces all sorts of strange sounds and effects. Ironically enough, despite having the strangest sounds, it has the most consistent groove (between the beat and bassline) and is thus the most accessible track (after "Book of Saturday" of course), dominated by an easy-to-follow cool guitar. "The Talking Drum" is a personal favorite. It's a couple minutes of quiet sparse noise until instruments come in, forming some krautrock-like sound, gradually and gradually building up in anticipation until it explodes into greatness. It's the most frightening track, with the violin and guitar fighting as they get louder and more dissonant. This segues to our final track, the epic "Larks Tongue Part II." It's our hardest rock, very fast-paced and in-your-face but still has its quiet moments. It explodes one more time before ending the whole record.

Some cool moments, plus a bunch of proggy nonsense

What an absolutely fascinating band. Ever-changing, ever-evolving, and always original and creative. Robert Fripp to this day seems to me to possess such an interesting and curious mind. And, of course, what a guitarist. I love the way he uses the instrument; very much on his own path. So refreshing. Great album art, too, by the way. I need to explore more of King Crimson's and Robert Fripp's work. I've listened to some of Robert Fripp's ambient music albums this year, and they are excellent. I know a few people who have seen King Crimson play live, even quite recently, and they raved about the experience. I hope to get out to see them one of these days -- would be such a treat!

This one was absolutely sick. I had only known King Crimson from their debut record, which is also great. They definitely switched up their sound on this one, as they basically had an entirely new lineup except Fripp. I think they leaned more heavily into the psych sound with this one. All the theatrical high points of their debut are now replaced with noisy psych freakouts. The musicianship is out of this world. No seriously, you'll be transported to another world while listening to this.

gloriously weird. 5 stars.

PROG FUCKING PROG!

Thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Hadn't listened to the one at all, I only know the screaming man album. Really enjoyed it, it sounds like the birth of math rock!

yuck sound

I've never listened to this album before and i only know King Crimson for their most well known album. Lucky for me to find this one! It's very enjoyable and interesting, always progressing and ploting and metamorphosing. A very satisfying journey, I think I can sit here all afternoon listening to this on the loop. Definitely above 4, like, a solid 4.5 and above.

The best of the Fripp/Wetton/Bruford era. A pure smorgasbord of sound, I just can't get enough. Exiles being the only real downside, but the guitar/bass interplay is intricate, beautiful. Crimson, and Fripp especially, had a way of giving soul and feeling (whatever that is) to their odd-time, meanderings. And this doesn't work at ALL without the musical confidence each of the members brings to the party. Very communal. Nothing else like it. Obviously not for everyone but gods among prog fans such as myself.

aika perkuleesti on juttua kuultu crimson pojasta..odotukset ylhäällä kuin hepokatti laitumella. ensimmäinen vartti instrumentalllia...sitten tulee roguh wadursmaista vokaalinlyräytystä... ei voi muuta kun antaa aplodit, koko albumi laatu kamaa... exiles

Beautiful prog rock album by King Crimson. Instrumentation is more violin and "stranger" percussion than in earlier King Crimson. The slower songs are jazzy, but the up-tempo ones tend to metal.

#521. After listening to The Court of the Crimson King, I was expecting big things from this, but no, this was boring as shit. 2/5: meh

This was 47 minutes of early 70s Prog Rock nonsense. A little too experimental for my liking.

Booooooring

fuck me what drugs were they taking. Its interesting I guess but I don't find it that enjoyable rn, probably deserves another listen.

I've been super disappointed in this album. I love the band and adore some of their other albums, but I find very little to get excited about with this.

The rate went down as the album went on, I mean, it’s a try hard effort. Has its (few) moments tho

Disturbing

Plus qu'un mois de dur labeur, on peut le faire rob

I don't want to say that one shouldn't record jam sessions, but to me, most of this album sounded like unrefined or unapplied musical exploration – the kind of playing that might be helpful in creating songs or warming up for gigs. This overall impression was overcome neither by the one song I enjoyed in its entirety nor the poetic intro and outro ordering of Parts I and II.

There's good prog, bad prog, then there's this: cacophonous, guaranteed to cure constipation prog.

Yet another album proving why I despise most prog-rock. Senseless noise.

Self Indulgent never ending noise. I prayed and prayed for this to finally end

Had no idea what this was going in, and now I am halfway through I still have no idea. It's as if Jazz, fell into medieval music, held hands, ran through a wind chime. Then, they grabbed some extra instruments and did 'things'. It's a semi-cohesive experimental upset. And yes, everyone should listen once cause wtf did I just go through?

Starting the album with a 13 minutes instrumental track should be illegal, the rest of the album is also unlistenable.

Not for me, or anyone for the matter

Needs weed

Amazing idea, bad realisation. Did not enjoy it.

Sweet Jesus

Nope. Not my tempo.

Indulgent rubbish.

Couldn't hear half the album only last 2 songs, horrible

Tried two times to listen to it but it didn't hit the button for me, didn't finished 🥲

Awful. King Crimson did great stuff. None of that is on this messy unlistenable album.

It turns out that through this list I've learned that I love prog rock and have done a deep dive into the genre only wanting to go deeper. While In the Court of the Crimson King is an easy five-star album for creating the genre, Larks' Tongues In Aspic is another that goes in a completely different direction and nails it again. 5/5

the origin of the world!!!

Yep, shocker, like every other King Crimson record we’ve heard this was also very cool and very interesting throughout. I am just a big fan of this band. Not sure I can pick apart the different levels of quality yet but this is amazing.

This feels similar to emperor tomato ketchup in a way that I’m surprised that this one is on here and not others. Red and discipline aren’t. This feels like a melting pot in between the court of the crimson king and red. It does have the jazz influences, and the early metal kind of guitar tones. I think this one pulls from eastern and classical and organic sounding instruments much better than the wake of Poseidon, lizard and islands ones. I think they nailed the very specific style. I also live longer songs, and they sure know how to keep it from being too boring, by constantly changing/adding stuff. I also love the distorted wah pedal use one some songs. The non-vocal centric songs are very unique Only downsides are quite minor, I think the book of Saturday song could have done so much more, and I hate the squelching snare drum type think at the start of easy money (glad it’s only for the start though). Favourite songs: all but book of Saturday. I think I like this pretty much the same as court of the crimson king, red and discipline, because they are all so good for different reasons. Overall around 9/10

What Pink Floyd should sound like.

Never listened to King Crimson so this was a pretty eye opening experience for me

Yea! Some good music for a change!

Pretty amazing, I hadn't listened to this whole thing before but I recognized something from it being KC fan. I loved the weirdness of this, plus the album cover is so interesting! easy 5 star.

One of my favorite King Crimson albums across all their various lineups. Both parts of the title track presage Prog Metal. When the band first bursts in, the riff is reminiscent of Black Sabbath, but it gives way to Robert Fripp's signature angular cross-picking moto perpetuo. This is an early incarnation of it, later perfected and further honed for the next 50(!) years. Bill Bruford is fresh off leaving Yes after recording Close To The Edge. He was already one of the best drummers in the rock world (progressive or otherwise), and King Crimson afforded him the space and the push to somehow improve. His drumming throughout this album is unmatched. John Wetton is a perfect vocalist and bassist for this KC era. There are similarities to Greg Lake's voice, so he bridges a bit of the past with the future of the band. His voice is strong with good depth. His bass playing is a wonderful complement to both Fripp's guitar work and Bruford's drumming. David Cross adds interesting layers of violin, viola, and flute. His contributions really set this and the follow-up (Starless and Bible Black) apart from the rest of the King Crimson catalog. Jamie Muir adds percussion chaos. Book of Saturday and Exiles are beautiful, if dark, songs. Easy Money is playful (and dark). The Talking Drum is one long crescendo whose payoff is the crushing pt.2 of the title track. For 1973, this album is insane. Some of the best progressive metal since could not exist without this album. This album won't be for everyone. And I don't mean that in a snotty/snobby way. There's a good deal of improvisation, but not in the usual structured manner that most rock and jazz fans may be accustomed to, and that can turn some listeners off. Like most progressive rock from that era, solid arguments could be made for tightening up the arrangements and cutting run times, particularly if the improvisations aren't your thing, or the general repetition of riffs/vamps is tedious for you. Me? I love every bit of it. 5 stars. 5 stars.

Really good beats! Loved the random improvisations

Oh fuck yeah! I actually went and grabbed my better set of headphones about a minute into the first song because I knew I needed to experience this in HD surround sound. Musically this was such an amazing experience. Every song was so different but also flowed together perfectly? The title tracks are such a unique listening experience and are so obviously influential but in almost completely different ways. There's experimental prog and hard rock and beautiful instrumentals. I could have done without the screaming at the end of the penultimate track, but everything else was damn near flawless.

This is not my favourite King Crimson album, not even in my top three. However, it's still an easy five stars. There's moments of brilliance from everyone involved, and it's exciting to know that this line up would go on to create even greater music. I have to give a particular mention to Bill Bruford, fresh out of Yes, and inserting some incredible drumming here. Also, I didn't know this album as well as I thought. I didn't enjoy listening to it on Spotify, so I went and listened to my offline copy four times on the trot, noting how much more dynamic it sounded. Particularly the percussion, which is exemplary here, not that the guitar, bass, and vocals are lacking in any way whatsoever. I always thought of this album as a practice run for Red, but having spent a day with it, I've vastly elevated my opinion, and it really does stand up on its own right. Each replay has yielded more than the one before, the sign of a truly great album.

Finally something interesting!

We’ve had our one king crimson. This is good but the other one was better. And quite ironic given the album before this one was never mind the bollocks. It’s good though inessential. 3.5. Wetton and bruford though. Maybe 4.

Fantastic album. These guys were experimenting with quite a bit in their time, and they were much of the inspiration for my all time favorite band who came after them.

Probably my third favourite King Crimson album, maybe even my second (it's always between this one and *Red* for me -- and of course, debut *In The Court Of The Crimson King* is impregnable), *Lark's Tongues In Aspic* is not mere prog-rock, it's prog-rock with a bite. King Crimson mark III were verging close to nascent metal at the time, and it's what made this record age with grace. Some parts of it even unwittingly foretell post-rock, like that hectic, abrasive and obsessive violin and/or viola performance by David Cross in the opening cut giving its name to the album. Given that post-rock is *never* represented in this list (barring one exception), I'm glad that one of its ancestors is here at least. The eastern European and classical influences sure explain the originality of the sound, as wikipedia recalls us, but the most striking thing for me is the way that all the different influences mesh together. Sounding hard one time, pretty trippy in another, cerebral and yet moving in one moment (the wonderful "Exiles"), fun, groovy and playful in another ("Easy Money"), this LP has a very nice sense of balance to make its admittedly excessive aesthetics sound more accessible. Fun fact for those who know close to nothing about King Crimson. The two parts of the composition "Lark's Tongues In Aspic", opening and closing the proceedings, are just a start here. In the two decades to come, bandleader Robert Fripp would continue to release new parts in the same compositional vein to that instrumental, and include them in other King Crimson's albums. What's mind-boggling about that, is that the renewed line-ups of musicians and music styles used in subsequent eras of King Crimson are very different from the ones the band had during the early seventies. And yet those new parts to "Lark's Tongues In Aspic" never felt out of place in their new surroundings. If this isn't evidence enough that the music on this album is prophetic, I don't know what is. Number of albums left to review: around a hundred, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 435 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 258 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 319

As usual from King Crimson’s early albums, a perfect blend of interesting instrumental jams and accessible rock songs with a twist. The GOATs

Right up my alley

Utter genius - Robert Fripp is god!!! This album is absolute genius

Mind blower, one word, mind blower

A masterpiece of prog. Solid 5 Stars.

I just had the most wonderful time listening to this on vinyl with my new headphones. The album sounded better than I've ever heard it before, what a sublime experience :) This album is a monumental achievement, towering amongst the great creative works of the 20th century. Truly a work of artistic genius and technical mastery. One of the best aspects of the album is its masterful use of dynamics. The instrumental sections are thrilling and diverse, and the musical build-ups are electrifying. The band starts with a "basic" framework, but slowly and seamlessly raises the intensity to a frenzy. The way the musicians vary their playing to increase the impact of the music is just incredible. The Talking Drum is one of the greatest examples of musical build-up I've ever heard: it starts with a soft beginning, but reaches a state of exhiliration before the end. The guitar solo on Easy Money is similar, as are parts of the title tracks. Every track on this album is so well-crafted, and I just love the work by all the instrumentalists. If I had to pick a favorite track it might have to be Larks Tongues' Pt 2; it sums up everything that is great about this era of the band. King Crimson operated in a higher realm of musical possibility than most artists could even fathom. They paved a path into unknown dimensions, going where few musicans could ever dare. Robert Fripp is unequivocally the mad genius and occultist wizard of rock music. If any band could be said to deserve being revered in the style of a cult, it is King Crimson.

So far, this is one of my favorite King Crimson albums. Unlike some of their earlier work, this one doesn’t lean heavily on keyboards. Instead, it takes a more free-form jazz direction with an experimental, avant-garde twist. The heavier guitar riffs scattered throughout the album also stand out, bringing in a touch of early metal influences that give the music an added edge.

4.5

I'll be damned that was so goddamn good

Love King Crimson, easy 5!

If you love noises, this is an album for you. I've once again exposed my love for borderline unlistenable music, and this one is no exception. I loved the Dolmar at the beginning and then when they went back to it. There was only one song or I had to turn my headphones down, and I only had them turned up so much because I was listening while mowing the yard anyway.

Absolutely brilliant: seamless blend of rock, jazz, contemporary classical and more. Standouts were the opening track and “Easy Money.”

Excelente album, King Crimson abre una nueva etapa que marco la historia!

I love me my King Crimson. To be listened to on the best quality system available to you, while doing nothing but letting the album play out in it's own manner. Don't multitask. Don't fight it. Resistance is useless.

- Obwohl ich irgendwann mal versucht habe, mir ein bisschen King Crimson als Prog-Lektion und Bildungsauftrag reinzupfeifen, habe ich dieses Album bis auf den Song Book of Saturday noch nie gehört - AND BOY WHAT I MISSED - Wie geil kreativ und ungezähmt. Absolut gewöhnungsbedürftig und bei weitem nicht jede Idee ein Treffer aber da sind sooo geile Momente bei, allein schon beim Titel-Track (Pt. 1). - Ich hab das Gefühl, dass diese Band genau das Maß and avantgardistischen Input trifft, das ich super finde. - Je mehr ich von denen höre desto mehr werden King Crimson für mich Band-gewordene Zeitlosigkeit. -Werde das Album auf jeden Fall noch häufiger hören und hab mir ein paar Songs davon gespeichert. 4,5/5

Of the 3 King Crimson albums I've heard from the original run, this is definitely the most welcoming. Where Court feels cold and Red feels straight up evil, Larks feels warm and inviting. This is the first time I feel like King Crimson are making music because they want to make it and enjoy doing so. Court and Red feel ordered by God, and Discipline, as much as I love it, feels like it was asked for by an exec to an extent. Larks though? It was made by the humans of King Crimson. It still feels like a King Crimson album, and many elements of Court will show up, but it's framed more positively, and it benefits greatly. I really enjoyed this. I looked over it too often, since it stands next to such monoliths, but even in their shadows it shines.

Excellent

EPIC.

Powerful, extraordinary, cerebral, experimental, disturbing - but not fun. That said, I'm not a very fun person at all so I loved this knotty collection of twisted metal. Alright, the bit in 'Easy Money' that goes a little funk rock was kinda fun.

You just wouldnt get it

WOW. This is pretty much peak prog, and I was along for the ride. so engaging!! I don't know how it manages to be both massive, inventive, but also doesn't ever feel too indulgent. I feel like we've heard a lot of prog that gets this formula wrong... just because you can have a 13 minute song in six parts, doesn't mean you should, every time. This really does feel like a book-length album. Tons of scenes, development, and big surprises, and the guitar work! It's one of a kind. I think I liked this even more than In The Court Of The Crimson King? Very, very mature. 5/5

I like King Crimson very much. This album is perfect! Sound is very close to cacophony, but not, it is melodious and strong! Masterpiece! I did not listen it for years. Thanks for choosing it now!

King Crimson — do I need to say more?

beautiful musical experience, альбом слушается как цельное произведение, запись очень чистая - "хрусталик"

Part 1 - So Original, so provocative, so progressive 😎👍 Book of Saturday - So so 😐 Exiles - Pure Brilliance. Loved it ⭐ Easy Money - Unreal. Brilliant musicianship. Love the beat ⭐ The Talking Drum - A bit too experimental, but nice touches Part II - Fantastic ⭐ This is definitely a 5 star album ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Probably my favorite King Crimson album so far

King Crimson is one of my favorite bands of all time and in my opinion the best prog rock band ever. This album, like almost all of theirs, is simply incredible. A textbook example of what prog should be.

perfection, like the sound of drums, violin (violin?), guitars, bass, and the overall feel. this seems almost timeless, apart from a a few parts that betray that it's the seventies

Impressionante a capacidade criativa para elevar o progressivo ao um estado de envolvimento completo no ambiente da audição.

It was way better than I thought it was at the start just stick with it

These are some wild lads. Some really good bits in here. Only part I don't like is some of the intros/transitions drag on for a while. Will I listen to again: 100%

Part I of Larks' Tongues In Aspic is an epic album opener, and part II is an epic closer. I really dug the thick instrumentation of this album, and the violin lines are a unique touch that I felt added a lot. The only part of this that I didn't really enjoy was the vocal performance on Exiles - regardless, I could see this being my favorite King Crimson album once I've given the others their due, and I'll definitely be coming back to it. 9/10. Favorite Songs: Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part I, Easy Money, The Talking Drum, Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II Least Favorite Song: Exiles

One of my favourites of all time. I bought this on the back of 'In the Court of the Crimson King' and was horrified. It's dark experimental mash of styles and sound. Over time I relistened and now love it dearly. This takes time and patience.

Fantastic! Creative blend of Rock Jazz and new Age.

Majestic af

I am a huge Crim-head and this is a great record. I will admit that some of these tunes become truly special when played live. The studio environment results in some odd non-musicality probably just because it's more possible to have that result in studio than it is to have playing live.

Very wah wah

There are more insane musical ideas in this album than you will find in the entire career of most progressive rock bands. Larks' Tongues is unique, creative and abrasive. Only King Crimson can manipulate and control the chaos like that!

I would have personally gone for "Red" instead, but it's fine - both albums are a 5/5. This is very much music that would make a Victorian child explode into red mist on the spot. A very challenging album. It took me 3 whole listens to hear anything in this other than noise, but once it clicked, it clicked hard. Yaddy yadda, insert a paragraph of nerd shit about time signatures or something. Nobody cares, here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lij_Uu1ucAk