Review Summary: Crimson finally give in to the sound of a new decade... but not completely.
If
Discipline proved anything, it was that King Crimson may have adapted themselves to the infamous 80’s, but not given in to the decade. It was an album with a new vibe, and yet distinctly Crimson. And with the group being busy, busy, busy and therefore very productive as usual, follow-up
Beat was released less than a year later. This time around, however, we get to hear that 80’s influence more and more as the Fripp-Belew-Levin-Bruford foursome shifts to a slightly more accessible territory. The main musical theme
Discipline set is still intact, however, although
Beat contains significantly less compelling material than its predecessor. Also notable is the fact that the record is Crimson’s sole concept album, dealing with various icons of the Beatnik generation, or perhaps even more so, the fact that this is the first ever consecutive album by the group with an unchanged line-up (!).
Those who loved
Discipline will still find a great deal to enjoy in this record. Even the two real 80’s moments,
Heartbeat and
Two Hands, aren’t necessarily bad tunes. While the latter isn’t anything particularly worth mentioning, the former is actually quite catchy, and a successful love song despite being horribly cheesy. The moody backwards solo is a great touch, and the lyrics, well, they fit the song.
'I need to feel your heartbeat, heartbeat
so close, feels like mine/all mine
I need to feel your heartbeat, heartbeat
so close, it feels like mine/all mine...
I remember the feeling/my hands in your hair/hands in your hair
I remember the feeling/of the rhythm we made/the rhythm we made
I need to land sometime/right next to you/feel your heartbeat, heartbeat/right next to me.....'
Diehard Crimso fans, despair not, for that is where the real poppy part of
Beat ends. Real highlights here are
Waiting Man and
Neurotica. The former successfully incorporates world music influences, and the interplay between bass and percussion is fantastic, particularly in the middle part of the track. The latter perhaps is most influence by the chaotic sound of some of the
Discipline material, but takes it even a step further. Instrumentally, it’s even more chaotic, and vocally, you can’t even follow what Belew is muttering. The song weaves a perfect picture of busy city life:
'Good morning, it's 3am in this great roaring
city full of garbage eaters ravaging parking
spots beneath my plaza window I see cheetah in their
tight skins and tired heels all-night hippo in
the diner crossing the street swarthy heards of young
impala flambastic gibbon even a struggling monza
and over there that brilliant head ornament on that
Japanese macaque but look closely at the hammerhead hand
in hand with the mandrill, it's a sight you're
unlikely to see anywhere else on the planet...
the stench and noise, yes, yes, the howler's
resonating repertoire is not too bad when mixed with
the more musical twern of the tropical warbler but the
impatient taxi blare the squawking elderly ibis and
the glass-eye snapper hawking papers I can certainly
live without also be cautious of the poisonous
boomslang laughter social droppings of the fruit bat
and purple queen fish and who's that babbler conversing
with a magazine stand? evidently he's getting a good
reply...'
Another noteworthy moment is opener
Neal and Jack and Me, which sounds quite similar to
Frame by Frame. Belew is at his paranoid-sounding best; confused, angry and calm in the same four minutes. The instrumental
Santori in Tangier is a pleasant interlude, recalling more of the quirky parts of
Discipline. A second instrumental, closer
Requiem, is an attempt to revive the dark tunes of
Larks-era Crimson, but unfortunately turns out to be nothing more than what is basically 6 minutes of noise. It proves to be both an unsatisfying end to, and the weakest part of the record.
Beat inevitably stands in the shade of the fantastic
Discipline. Overall, it is less inspired and while it contains a few excellent tunes, none of them are as great as the best material found on the album’s predecessor. Despite all that, the ninth King Crimson album doesn’t fall into very deep holes either.
Beat is fairly consistent, and while nowhere near the first King Crimson album one should acquire, fans of
Discipline will be still eager to get it.
Beat’s King Crimson was:
- Robert Fripp ~ Lead Guitar, Organ, Frippertronics
- Robert Steven ‘Adrian’ Belew ~ Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
- Tony Levin ~ Chapman Stick, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
- William Scott Bruford ~ Drums, Percussion
TO BE CONTINUED...
. One of those was the Absent Lovers tour, wasn't it? I'm guessing for Beat. I saw them in the 90's in Vancouver for the Thrak tour, soft-seater, 3rd row center, my favourite concert of all time. Sorry to hijack the thread, Nag. 
