Starless and Bible Black
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| Starless and Bible Black | ||
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| Studio album by King Crimson | ||
| Released | March 29, 1974 | |
| Recorded | January, 1974 at AIR Studios in London | |
| Genre | Progressive rock | |
| Length | 46:41 | |
| Label | E.G. Records | |
| Producer(s) | King Crimson | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| King Crimson chronology | ||
| Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973) |
Starless and Bible Black (1974) |
Red (1974) |
Starless and Bible Black is an album released by the British progressive rock band King Crimson in 1974. Most of the vocal pieces on the album are satires on the sleaziness and materialism of society, similar to the track "Easy Money" on their previous 1973 album Larks' Tongues in Aspic.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The most serene track is an instrumental piece for violin, bass guitar and mellotron flute titled "Trio" (even though there are no drums on the piece, drummer Bill Bruford received a composition co-credit because the piece was improvised live in concert and Bruford's decision not to add any percussion was seen by the rest of the band as a crucial choice).
The last two tracks on the album, "Starless and Bible Black" and "Fracture", are jazz-rock fusion pieces similar to those on Larks' Tongues in Aspic.
The album art is by painter Tom Phillips. The enigmatic phrase "this night wounds time", which appears on the back cover, is a quotation from Phillips's signature work, the "treated novel" A Humument (p. 222).
Several songs from the album were recorded live in concert, with applause edited out. The only songs recorded entirely in the studio were the first two tracks, "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament". "We'll Let You Know" was an improvisational piece recorded in Glasgow. "The Mincer" was another improv, recorded in Zürich and overdubbed in the studio. "Trio", "Fracture", and "Starless and Bible Black" were recorded at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as was the introduction to "The Night Watch" (the remainder was recorded in the studio). The complete Amsterdam Concertgebouw concert was released by the band in 1998 as The Night Watch.
The lyrics were composed by Richard Palmer-James, byname of Supertramp guitarist Richard Palmer.
The phrase "Starless and Bible Black" is a quotation from the poet Dylan Thomas's play, Under Milk Wood. The following album, Red, contains a song called simply "Starless", though quite different from that in the eponymous album.
The Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple recorded an album entitled Starless And Bible Black Sabbath in 2006 as a double homage to King Crimson and Black Sabbath.
[edit] Track listing
- "The Great Deceiver" (John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Richard Palmer-James) – 4:02
- "Lament" (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James) – 4:00
- "We'll Let You Know" (David Cross, Fripp, Wetton, William Bruford) – 3:46
- "The Night Watch" (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James) – 4:37
- "Trio" (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) – 5:41
- "The Mincer" (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James) – 4:10
- "Starless and Bible Black" (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) – 9:11
- "Fracture" (Fripp) – 11:14
[edit] Personnel
- David Cross – Violin, Viola, Keyboards
- Robert Fripp – Guitar, Mellotron, Devices
- John Wetton – Bass and Vocals
- Bill Bruford – Drums
- George Chkiantz – acoustic coordinator
- Peter Henderson – assistant engineer
- Tom Phillips – cover design
- "Equipment by Chris and Tex"
