HiRez Poll King Crimson - Larks' Tongue in Aspic [DVD-A/BDA]

[beerking]

Never tried this dish!!

I presume it's a medieval delicacy.

Unlike this little collection of musings which is bang up to date..

The mix is sublime.

No sticking my tongue out here...It's a Kickaspic 9

 

[Werno]

This just appeared in my FB feed, the original Rolling Stone review of Lark's from back in.... 1973? I remember reading it back in the day, the whole Fripp as 'mad scientist' intro stayed with me. He's not loving it right off, and thinks John Wetton played the violin, but basically I recognize an honest response to the album.

ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW
Remember art rock? Well, it still lives. Every year or so Robert Fripp claws his way from a graveyard of past musical fads, emerging like something out of a Weird Tales Comic book, to snivel in an educated English accent that classicism in rock music lives on. He invariably brings with him a new band of recently interred English music veterans, a pretty new album cover, and a snide remark for the interviewer from Melody Maker. After a hastily conceived tour and small flurry of attention, he disappears for another year or so.
Larks' Tongues in Aspic is nothing if not a real live return to this still-cherished genre. You can't dance to it, can't keep a beat to it, and it doesn't even make good background music for washing the dishes. To fully appreciate the album, you have to sit right up there with your head wedged in between the speakers, approach it with a completely open mind, and then try to decide whether it's a legitimate, near brilliant musical experience or just another whole trainload of rotting codfish. I'm still not sure, although I suppose the truth lies about smack-dab in the middle.
Robert Fripp and King Crimson do not write or play songs—they perform compositions. The typical K.C. composition these days is a total study in contrasts, especially in moods and tempos—blazing and electric one moment, soft and intricate the next. Even the volume level is controlled for you. One moment you think your stereo is on the fritz because the Chinese wind chimes are tinkling so softly, the next the mellotron and guitar lurches half knock you out of your seat. Delicate interweavings pervade both sides of the album, with a tasteful John Wetton violin solo in the best classical tradition (sounding surprisingly competent to these admittedly untrained ears) juxtaposed against a screaming God-knows-what blast of white noise and staccato drumming.
Does such a near-patchwork quilt of noise and technology amount to anything? The answer is yes, although one might get an argument from a diehard fan of Top 40 radio. I find myself often returning to this album that I hated the first three times I played it, and now merely dislike intensely. But I know I'll play the damn thing again sometime tomorrow, if for no other reason than that I've always found albums that are hard to enjoy in the beginning sometimes offer the most rewards and lasting pleasure in the long run. (RS 142)
~ Alan Niester (August 30, 1973)

 

[5.1 4 Life]

This just appeared in my FB feed, the original Rolling Stone review of Lark's from back in.... 1973? I remember reading it back in the day, the whole Fripp as 'mad scientist' intro stayed with me. He's not loving it right off, and thinks John Wetton played the violin, but basically I recognize an honest response to the album.

ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW
Remember art rock? Well, it still lives. Every year or so Robert Fripp claws his way from a graveyard of past musical fads, emerging like something out of a Weird Tales Comic book, to snivel in an educated English accent that classicism in rock music lives on. He invariably brings with him a new band of recently interred English music veterans, a pretty new album cover, and a snide remark for the interviewer from Melody Maker. After a hastily conceived tour and small flurry of attention, he disappears for another year or so.
Larks' Tongues in Aspic is nothing if not a real live return to this still-cherished genre. You can't dance to it, can't keep a beat to it, and it doesn't even make good background music for washing the dishes. To fully appreciate the album, you have to sit right up there with your head wedged in between the speakers, approach it with a completely open mind, and then try to decide whether it's a legitimate, near brilliant musical experience or just another whole trainload of rotting codfish. I'm still not sure, although I suppose the truth lies about smack-dab in the middle.
Robert Fripp and King Crimson do not write or play songs—they perform compositions. The typical K.C. composition these days is a total study in contrasts, especially in moods and tempos—blazing and electric one moment, soft and intricate the next. Even the volume level is controlled for you. One moment you think your stereo is on the fritz because the Chinese wind chimes are tinkling so softly, the next the mellotron and guitar lurches half knock you out of your seat. Delicate interweavings pervade both sides of the album, with a tasteful John Wetton violin solo in the best classical tradition (sounding surprisingly competent to these admittedly untrained ears) juxtaposed against a screaming God-knows-what blast of white noise and staccato drumming.
Does such a near-patchwork quilt of noise and technology amount to anything? The answer is yes, although one might get an argument from a diehard fan of Top 40 radio. I find myself often returning to this album that I hated the first three times I played it, and now merely dislike intensely. But I know I'll play the damn thing again sometime tomorrow, if for no other reason than that I've always found albums that are hard to enjoy in the beginning sometimes offer the most rewards and lasting pleasure in the long run. (RS 142)
~ Alan Niester (August 30, 1973)

I remember seeing this review of LTIA in Rolling Stone Magazine back when it came out in '73. When I started listening to King Crimson a few years later, I found Larks' the hardest album to 'get into' (but the album eventually clicked with me after a few more plays). So to quote Mr. Niester's review "albums that are hard to enjoy in the beginning sometimes offer the most rewards and lasting pleasure in the long run".

PS: LTIA in 5.1 is a real blast!

 

[4_everyman]

My sister-n-law was crazy about that album when she was a kid...pretty sophisticated taste in music for a 12-year-old.

 

[madship]

I remember seeing this review of LTIA in Rolling Stone Magazine back when it came out in '73. When I started listening to King Crimson a few years later, I found Larks' the hardest album to 'get into' (but the album eventually clicked with me after a few more plays). So to quote Mr. Niester's review "albums that are hard to enjoy in the beginning sometimes offer the most rewards and lasting pleasure in the long run".

PS: LTIA in 5.1 is a real blast!

I've always enjoyed LTIA more than Islands & Lizard.

 

[NYMo]

I have been listening to LTIA since it first came out in the 73.
IMO opinion it's the Best Rock album ever made ( and I've listened to thousands over the last 60 years)
I'd been putting off listening to this for the last few weeks until I felt the time was right to play it, as I find it a very powerful and emotional record ( for me).
LTIA started and I knew things were different and the distortion in the build up parts ( which were on the vinyl pressing and CD) weren't there anymore !
The power was still there but in a much cleaner discrete sounding way.
When I heard the backing vocals come in from the rears on Book of Saturdays, I just burst into tears at the overwhelming emotion of the beauty of them.....this is what long emotional ties to a piece of aural memory can become when faced with the change to surround versions. Of course it's a 10 from me.
( I am, at 64, so much enjoying this new Quad life !)

 

[godathunder]

My sister-n-law was crazy about that album when she was a kid...pretty sophisticated taste in music for a 12-year-old.

It was 5 year old me's favourite album c1977. My uncle owned a copy and used to play it at high volume for me and my friends to "dance" to.

Its always been an important album to me and the 5.1 mix was bought with much trepidation.

Thankfully my concerns were unwarranted and this is about as glorious as I could have hoped for, I have no hesitation in scoring it a 10. The entrance of John Wettons wahed bass in part 1 pretty much guaranteed that score on its own. The rest has me adding in the score from my toes too - so that'll be a 20 then

 

[5.1 4 Life]

I've always enjoyed LTIA more than Islands & Lizard.

Same Here! Although the albums that King Crimson did between 1970 & 71 have their moments, LTIA is the most focused & consistent one since their Classic Debut from 1969 (it's also the first one since that Debut to be a true band effort). While it doesn't capture exactly the energy & excitement (and the free form improvs) of KC's concerts from that period, the music from LTIA continues to resonate in Crimson's work to this day.

 

[Matt Wilson]

OMG, a 10, A TEN!! I think this might be my fave Wilson mix of the Crimson boxes that I own. The album has always been a difficult proposition, not as listener-friendly as In The Court of... or even Red. But it rewards repeated listening perhaps like no other Crimso LP I can think of. And the soundscape is to die for. There's always the dynamics to appreciate if nothing else. I was playing "Larks' Tongues 1" last night at the volume I thought appropriate when it got so loud I had to rush to turn it down for fear of offending the neighbors. I'd love nothing more than to be able to sit and blast this sucker in an empty house in a meditative state without fear of upsetting anybody. I'll get the Starless box next and then I'll have them all from '69 - '74.

 

[jefe1]

Imagine being a teenager high as a kite...and listening to The Talking Drum from LTIA. Theres something special about discovering Crimson in those years.

 

[gtastar]

Well I just got it
Music 9
Surround mix 9.5
Cover 10

 

[anibal]

10.

Oh, sorry: this still holds as one of the greatest rock albums and this version is one of the greatest surround mixes of a classic album.

I would say my only complaint is that it is too short, but actually, that makes it better, it leaves you craving for more! I usually play twice in a row.

For the uninitiated:
This album requires both a quiet environment and liberty to crank it!

 

[humprof]

We interrupt this poll thread...some truly astounding stuff emerging from the Midnight Special vaults these past few months: