Search - King Crimson :: Beat

Not as good as "Discipline," but still an amazing album.

Ilker Yucel | Annapolis, MD United States | 01/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here was a rarity for King Crimson fans, and for more reasons than one. First, it was the first King Crimson album ever to feature the same lineup as the previous album, that lineup being the always present Robert Fripp on guitar (as well as organ and "Frippertronics"), Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Tony Levin on bass and stick (and throwing in some support vocals), and Bill Bruford on drums and percussion. This lineup was set to change the way progressive music would be perceived, with their excellent mix of pop melodicism and experimental avant garde. There was the second surprise was that if people thought "Discipline" was poppy or new-wave, they weren't ready for "Beat." The songs may be radio-friendly, but they are not without a high degree of complexity.These are not simple songs, the blistering fretwork of Fripp, Belew, and Levin just intertwine to form a tapestry of amazing musicianship. The melodies and guitar harmonies are all just an incredible mixture of melodic structure and flying off the handle. Fripp's solos are as off-kilter as ever, showing a great need to get as much out of both his own abilities and the technology (the three '80's King Crimson albums are pinnacles of synth-guitar technology). Between the soaring solos of "Sartori in Tangiers" and the neo-jazz-improvizations of "Requiem," Fripp proves that King Crimson have not abandoned their progressive roots, even if they've embellished it with a bit of '80's new-wave pop. Bruford's drumming keeps time very well, but people underestimate the nuances of his playing. He's not just playing straight to keep time...he's keeping the "beat" of the songs, mixing in his own subtle sense of quirky rhythmic flourish. It's there, you just have to listen for it, but he really is showing off a little occasionally. Belew also gives some of the best vocal deliveries of any vocalist's life, singing with enough bravado that he actually outdoes himself ("Indiscipline" was funny... but listen to "Neurotica" or "Neal and Jack and Me"). The album's best moment is "Waiting Man." Sure it's a pop song, but it's such a sweet exercise in musical craftsmanship."Beat" is definitely the more accessible of King Crimson's three albums of the '80's, but this is not a bad thing. It may have been poppier, but they never sacrificed their musicianship or their sense of progressive abandon for the sake of a hit. Even the simpler songs are full of moments of intense energy and complexity that you have to wonder where the line is drawn between pop and progressive. It was as if King Crimson were trying to prove that there need not be any division, as long as it's good music. Good point, and good music it is. Many people don't like "Beat," that's their choice, and I'll agree it's not as good as "Discipline," but it's still an amazing album."

I can't feel that beat

Mike Chadwick | Gdynia,Poland | 09/20/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"this is a second part from Crimson's eigthies new-waved influenced trilogy ("Discipline","Beat","3 of a perfect pair").and it's the least impressing one.
The best songs from here are the pop ones ("Heartbeat","Two hands","Neill and jack and me",).it is funny because Fripp's band is famous for long epic suits and complex compositions and not for pop songs.the longer tracks and more Progresive-rock oriented ("Requiem","sartosi in tangiers","the howler") are quite boring and are lacking originality that almost all of King Crimson tracks has."Requiem" sounds like a parody of groups mid-seventies noise experiments - without melody or any synchronicity.
in general - if you love King Crimson's music you will surely love it too (or at least like it) but for everyone who don't know their music so good i recomend "Discipline" instead of this.it is much more catchier,interesting and intriguue than "Beat""

Talking Heads or Adrian Belew?

wm | ...onward....thru the fog! | 08/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album came out several years after Adrian Belew recorded, then toured with, Talking Heads. In several of the tracks, Belew sounds eerily like David Byrne. Add Robert Fripp into the mix, who also had recorded with Talking Heads ("I Zimbra" in 1979 and on other occasions), and it makes you wonder who influenced who. Maybe it was Eno who influenced Belew and Byrne. Regardless, this album fits neatly in with "My life in the bush of ghosts" and "Remain in light". On the tracks which don't sound like Talking Heads, the band degenerate into a free form jazz sound, which is appropriate, given the title of the album, an ode to the Beat generation. I'm not a Crimson completist, but to me, "Beat" (blue), "Discipline" (red), and "Three of a perfect pair" (yellow), like the colors they represent, are the primary colors, and therefore the very essence of the band."