Track Listing

1. Great Deceiver
2. Lament
3. We'll Let You Know
4. Night Watch
5. Trio
6. Mincer
7. Starless And Bible Black
8. Fracture

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5137 in Music
• Released on: 2006-01-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
After the transitional ISLANDS, LARK'S TONGUES began the third Crimson phase that continued with STARLESS and ended with RED. The quartet of David Cross, John Wetton, Robert Frippand Bill Bruford (augmented on LARK'S TONGUES by madman percussionist Jamie Muir) is regarded as the most innovative ofCrimson's many lineups, offering hard-edged improvisations on an unprecedented level. With founding member/lyricist Pete Sinfield departed, Robert Palmer-James stepped in with a more cutting, concise lyrical approach that matched the group's uncompromising instrumental precision.
STARLESS takes the furious improvisational style inaugurated by it's predecessor and takes it to new heights. Tunes like "We'll Let YouKnow" and "Fracture", while based around typically devilishFripp guitar figures and complicated time signatures, lean heavily on the spontaneity of the band's no-holds-barred interaction for their fireworks. The drumless "Trio" is 100 percent improvisation and inspiration. "The Great Deceiver" is about as close to a standard "rock" tune as STARLESS gets, Wetton's throaty vocals leading the charge. Even on this, oneof Crimson's pointiest, nastiest efforts, there's room for a poignant ballad, "The Night Watch", which ranks among the band's best.

Customer Reviews

Wetton Himself
This has some of the greatest King Crimson songs with words, sung by the genius John Wetton. The Great Deceiver is a fast power driven song, with the great voice at the front racing with the beat. Lament is beautiful at the slow beginning and then this goes at lightspeed, good, but it was better when it was slow and moving though. The Night Watch has to be in my top 20 all time favourite songs by anyone living or dead. What a brilliant moving intro, if art was a song? It would be this.

Playful
I just bought this exellent CD with "Red", and I enjoyed them both immensly. I have to say that "Starless..." was the one that really hit the "Crimson Spot" for me. I had not heard any of the albums for about 20 years, and the reunion created great smiles in my ears and on my face.

"Starless..." is very fresh and airy, very inventive, and so playful and melodic that I came to think of the band as a gang of children that suddenly discoveres some magic joy of... well, something.

King Crimson makes music that can make you make soft tears, but most of all they make your muscles pump in rage, rythms, crazyness and pure joy. And they make you beautifully confused at the same time!

If you are not sure about King Crimson, listen to "Starless.." and wonder about how it is possible... You might think: "Too crazy for me", but then again: We're talking about a band that has it's own genre: Heavy Mental... Be good, beautiful beasts .)

A fine album....
A fine album, one that falls between Larks Tongues in Aspic and Red in Crimsons history, and is perhaps a little over-shadowed by them both. It's the only studio album to feature the foursome of Fripp, David Cross (violin), Bill Bruford (drums) and John Wetton (bass, vocals); Jamie Muir had left, and Cross would depart before Red was recorded, although he did appear on one track.

My fellow reviewer (below) has given a fair summary of the music, which I won't repeat. For me, the album doesn't gel quite as well either "Larks Tongues" or "Red", and I think the reason for this is the use of live material plus overdubs. One tip - if you buy the double live CD "The Night Watch" you will discover much of the concert in Amsterdam from which several tracks on this album, including "Fracture" and the excellent improvisation "Trio" were performed. I think they work much better on the real "live" album , plus the Night Watch CD is a lot easier to track down - and cheaper! than The Great Deceiver...though if you are a Crimson fan you will want them all!!!