Published on Mar 18, 2003
There is no doubt that King Crimson is one of the most respected
progressive rock bands in history. The band made an immediate
impact in 1969 with their debut album,
In The Court Of The Crimson King, and while they have never
again matched that album’s commercial success, they have managed to
retain their unique approach to composition and unmistakable
signature sound on dozens of releases since then.
The only human constant since the founding of King Crimson has
been Robert Fripp, who has always been the leader and chief
visionary despite countless changes in personnel over the last 35
years. His diverse and endlessly experimental guitar playing has
always been the cornerstone of King Crimson, and that tradition
continues in fine form on their 2003 studio album,
The Power To Believe.
There are only 2 things that a listener can always expect from
this band: 1) a distinct sound that sets them apart from all other
bands, and 2) highly complex musicianship. At times on past albums,
the musical complexity overwhelmed the art of songcraft, and the
result was a listening experience that occasionally would be
intriguing, but not particularly engaging or memorable.
The Power To Believe manages to balance both of these
qualities very well, and thus it holds up exceptionally to repeated
listening instead of being a one shot curiosity.
Fellow avant-garde guitarist Adrian Belew once again is present
as the band’s lead vocalist, a position he has held since 1981.
Rounding out the line-up in addition to Belew and Fripp are Trey
Gunn (bass, stick), and Pat Mastelotto (drums, percussion).
From the opening a capella version of “The Power To Believe,”
which features a soft, sentimental vocal melody from Belew sung
through a synthesizer of some type, to the final track, a string
laden reprisal of the opening melody called “The Power To Believe
IV: Coda,” the album takes you on a turbulent journey showcasing
the vintage schizophrenic King Crimson sound coupled with modern,
cutting-edge production.
The perfect example of this schizophrenic sound that I speak of
is the instrumental track “Level Five,” a multi-part epic that
begins with slow, thunderous Black Sabbath-type guitar riffing and
then features clean, watery guitar noodling of typical
unconventional melody before morphing into a series of blisteringly
fast jazzy leads over an explosive line of harsh sounding bursts of
distorted electronic percussion and guitar.
The atmosphere on the album is awash in eeriness, as dark
melodies interweave with the often dreary and occasionally brutal
sounds. Even the songs that have pop influenced vocal hooks and a
minimum of experimental freak-outs, such as the catchy “Eyes Wide
Open” still have an uneasy undercurrent.
Going back to the wonderful balance that King Crimson has found
here, you will notice a clear divide between mellower, often
instrumental tracks and extremely heavy tracks loaded with
distorted riffs that would make Tony Iommi proud. Examples of the
mellower style are the exotic and eastern tinged “The Power To
Believe II,” and the predominantly keyboard-driven “Dangerous
Curves,” which is one of the few King Crimson songs that I can
think of that has a linear groove and a steady, danceable beat
running through it. It’s quite a musical departure for the band,
and very refreshing to see that they are capable of restraint when
they want to, and just let a simple, catchy groove propel a song.
In a very positive way, “Dangerous Curves” sounds like a reworked
version of the
Knight Rider theme.
While songwriting, musicianship, and performance are of uniform
superb quality throughout the album, the personal standouts for me
are the tracks “Facts Of Life” and “Happy With What You Have To Be
Happy With.” The former features a very powerful and angry vocal
melody amid the carnage of electronic noises, distorted atonal
riffs, and crashing industrial rhythms. The bridge in particular is
incredible, with extremely demanding and eclectic drumming in a
variety of strange time signatures by Mastelotto (can you believe
this guy used to be in Mr. Mister??), a searing solo on guitar (or
what I assume is a guitar) that sounds both like a ringing alarm
bell and the hum of some type of heavy machinery, and bass work
that at times brings to mind stomach growling.
As of right now I am so impressed by the sheer dynamism
contained within every second of
The Power To Believe that I’m willing to say that this could
very well be King Crimson’s finest moment, and for a band legendary
for their musical excellence and ability to think outside the box
for the past 35 years, this is truly a magnificent feat. There are
very few, if any, bands of King Crimson’s age that are still able
to create challenging, forward thinking, and relevant music with
such success.
Far from being washed up and playing the oldies circuit or
casinos like most of their contemporaries, King Crimson are
distinctly working at a high art level and evolving in fresh new
directions. In 2001 they toured extensively, opening up for the
massively popular band Tool, who themselves gather much inspiration
from King Crimson. Such exposure guarantees a brand new and younger
audience for these seasoned veterans, and I hope that they manage
to capitalize on their newfound “hipness” with this extremely
strong album. Anyone looking for experimental and diverse heavy
rock simply cannot go wrong with
The Power To Believe.