Year: 1973
Country: United Kingdom
Running time: 13 mins. 39 secs.
YouTube link 1 (good sound quality, but ends abruptly at 7 mins. 43 secs.)
YouTube link 2 (poor sound quality, full track)
We are now taking a giant leap ahead. While I don't want to look down on the tracks that took places #11 through #20, it is the top 10 that really blows my mind. They are the greatest of the great, that make one wonder how mere humans can pull something like them off. All of the songs in the top 20 are outstanding, but the top 10 are the true pinnacles.
Let me put it this way. Tracks #11 to #20 are exemplary achievements that all of mankind should hear, to learn what marvellous results can be achieved through musical genius. On top of the same, tracks #1 to #10 should also be launched into space to astound the rest of the universe, and hopefully to be preserved for eternity, as mankind's unending legacy.
This somewhat modest introduction brings us, finally, to King Crimson. Between 1969 and 1972, this legendary progressive rock group led by Robert Fripp had released four studio albums and one live album. Their debut In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) had become an instant classic, and others also contained some greatness, although were more uneven.
At this point, in mid-1972, Fripp suddenly decided to start over again by letting go all the personnel except himself and hiring new people to take their place. This decision might have been influenced by the latest studio album Islands (1971) that had been noticeably weaker than the previous recordings, although even it had included at least one true masterwork, the instrumental Sailor's Tale.
The resulting new incarnation of King Crimson released three studio albums during 1973 and 1974. Larks' Tongues in Aspic was the first one of them. On these albums, the group sounded considerably different than before. John Wetton (also of U.K, see #14) was the new singer and bass guitarist. Bill Bruford (also of Yes, more about them a little later) was the new drummer. To begin with, there were other official members such as violinist David Cross and percussionist Jamie Muir, but by the time Red (1974) came out, even the album cover displayed only Fripp, Wetton and Bruford.
Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Part 1 is the opening track of the new album, and achieves its greatness via rather unorthodox means - for a rock group, anyway. The entire masterpiece is instrumental, and its dynamic range is really wide. It opens with a very, very quiet theme played by Muir, then gradually expands into a very loud heavy metal theme. There is no recognizable song structure, instead we move from one challenging theme to another. Occasionally, it is David Cross who plays a slow violin sequence by himself. Next moment, Fripp's guitar arrives to the front with explosive thunder. Changes are sometimes sudden.
It is difficult to compare Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 1 to virtually anything else in rock. This incarnation of King Crimson used a lot of improvisation as a means of creating music, and while Part 1 is not improvised, it has a similar spontaneous feel to it. The end result may owe a lot to the free music scene of the time. Within the field of progressive rock, it is an awe-inspiring masterwork that remains endlessly enigmatic every time you listen to it.
A couple of words about the subsequent parts of Larks' Tongues in Aspic. Part 2 concludes this same album, and is much closer to regular rock music. An interesting side note: a couple of years ago Dream Theater released a cover version of Part 2 that is in some ways better than the original. DT's playing is much more disciplined than KC's, with every single note in place at 100th part of a second's precision.
Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part III can be found on the album Three of a Perfect Pair (1984), and is completely forgettable.
Not so with Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part IV. It resides on The ConstruKction of Light (2000) and is arguably at least Part 1's equal. I would so much have loved to be able to include it on this list, but couldn't find a way to make it eligible. Again an instrumental, it is divided into three separate tracks on the CD, making inclusion slightly questionable already - it has indeed three movements that are a little different. This alone wouldn't have stopped me, but the next challenge is that its total running time is only 11 mins. 18 secs.
The deciding factor is that Part IV isn't really a complete track without its epilogue, Coda: I Have a Dream, which is the next track on the album. All three movements of Part IV and Coda form one single continuous track on the album, without any breaks. Also, this combination would be long enough to be eligible. But it has two different titles, so I decided not to include it in the top 20.
Anyway, be sure to check Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part IV / Coda: I Have a Dream out. It is a stunning musical achievement, although not an easy one.
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