My Reviews!

[smartpatrol]

I've been doing reviews sence May. I'm not very good, but i'm learning. When I write another i'll post it here, but in the mean time, check the ones I've already done here: abloginwhichireviewthings.blogspot.com/

[smartpatrol]

--King Crimson: Live, 1972, Bremen Beat Club--

Wanna know something funny? I've been listening to King Crimson for two years, and over those two years they've become on one of my favorite bands, but somehow I've never actually bought an album by them! I know, silly, right? Anyway, on to the album.
This is an excellant live recording of the then newly formed King Crimson, and is one of the few live recordings released with inporvised precussionist Jamie Muir, who left the band the next year, in 1973, to become a monk in a monestary in Scottland. The album opens with a long, 30 minute improvised piece, retrospectively named "The Ritch Tapestry of Life". The piece is very interesting, adventurous, and exciting, showing off the skills of all five musicians. Rising from the dust of the improv is an excellant version of "Exiles", which, untill now, I completly underapriciated. The album closes with an excellant rendition of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part I". This version ends about seven
minutes in, right before the violin solo starts.
The album sounds great, and the recording is of a very high quality compared to other ecordings from this era, with very little muffling and recording distortion. The CD comes with a great booklet, featuring photos of the band, notes, and two months worth of Robert Fripps diary (Nov and Dec 1998).
I'd suggest this to any 70s Crimson fan, especialy if you're looking for some great improv and some recordings with Jamie Muir. 4/5

[smartpatrol]

--King Crimson: Islands--

In 1971, King Crimson reformed for a second time, adding
Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace to replace Gordon Haskell and
Andy McCulloch, respectively. Islands would be the only album
this lineup would release.
Like all other King Crimson albums, Islands is very experimental
and unique. The album beings with Formenta Lady, which starts off
with a slow, kind of mystifying tune, played out by double
bassist Harry Miller and Mel Collins on his flute. Boz then joins
in with his hautingly beautiful voice. After a verse, the song
transforms into a folksy ballad for the chorus, but then goes
back to the Bass-Flute section for another verse. After another
chorus the song ends with the band jamming on the folksy chorus,
joined by Paulina Lucas, singing a melody over the band.
Next is Sailor's Tale, a great, jazzy instrumental, and then The
Letters, which starts out soft, and ballad-like, but then we get
a jazzy, explorative instrumental break. Then another emotionaly
charged verse.
Next is Ladies of the Road. Very jazzy, pretty hard, except for
the chorus, which is signifgantly soft compared to the rest of
the song. This is followed by Song of the Gulls, a lovely piece
played by a string ensemble.
The album is finished with the amazing title track, which is one
of my favorite songs of all time. It is amazingly beautiful,
beyond expression. I love it. It's hard to explain how great this
song is.
As always, Peter Sinfield's lyrics are very well written, but out
of the four King Crimson albums he's written for, Islands is
definetly the least exceptional. Especially Ladies of the Road,
which is boarderline misogonist.
So, yeah. This album has it's fair share of ups and downs. But I
like it. If anything, it's extremly insteresting. 3/5

[ZombyWoof]

My favorite King Crimson album. I even love Ladies of the Road despite what some claim to be its misogynist lyrics. People need to relax. I've always found it to be quite fun.

Here's another song with a similar lyric:

[smartpatrol]

Don't get me wrong, it's an okay song, but the lyrics just annoy me.

[smartpatrol]

I'm starting reviewing again, after a long time of not. Changing my format though. Little more Robert-Christgau-esk. A weekly blog post with a list of some blurbs.

[smartpatrol]

Trioscapes – “Separate Realities” (2011): Fantastic heavy fusion. Great songs, love 'em all. Insane amount of musicianship. Perfect for any jazz lover or metal head.

Charts and Maps – “Dead Horse” (2009): Really great Jazzy Math rock with Post rock overtones. Every song is a masterpiece. Shame they broke up.

I am Three People – “Explore the Vertical” (2012): Some pretty damned good Progressive metal.

The Cozmik Orketsrah – “Spontaneous Fingerfood” and “Blackhawk” (2010): Very unique rock. It’s all improvised by three guys. It’s sometimes wacky, sometimes explorative and experimental, and sometimes funky.

“No New York” (1978): Classic avant-garde punk compilation, produced by Brian Eno. Features songs by The Contortions, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, mars, and DNA, one of my favorite bands of all time. Amazing.

Laurena Segura – “Permafrost” (2011): Really beautiful and really good indie folk.

Queen - “Greatest Hits” (1992): Pretty much the only essential Queen album, in my opinion.

Vompatti – “Reverberations of a Disquieting Wall” (2011): Fantastic ambient soundscape. A little repetitive after a while, but good.

Rush – “2112” (1976): Really great heavy prog album. But overrated. Rush did much better. Still really good, though. Especially the second side.

Lucas Bielejewski – “2 Fast 2 Swizzle” (2012): Amazing, complex math rock with incredibly fast guitar playing. AND SO MANY TIME SIGNATURE CHANGES! Mind-blowingly amazing. The lyrics are fantastically goofy. Some of it also reminds me of some of Lemon Demon’s early output. BEST. MATH ROCK. EVER.