And closing off my review of the John Wetton trilogy is Red. Of all of these albums, Red is the most polished of the three. This is something of a double edged sword, as there isn’t any of the nervous energy of the last album. All of the tracks except for Providence are highly polished. This is not to say that they come across as being manufactured or even over rehearsed, at least not any more so than the composed tracks on the last record or Lark’s Tongues, but I think that by this stage they band had gotten to know each other well enough to know how to write with each other. There just isn’t the adrenaline here that Great Deceiver for example has.
The positive side is that overall the material is a lot stronger and is feels like this is the album the group were trying to make the last two times. There isn’t anything in the groups repertoire as strong as Starless, the would-be title track for the last album, and not much as strong as One More Red Nightmare or Fallen Angel. Providence is about as good as any of the instrumentals from the last two records, but it just isn’t as memorable as Fracture or Lark’s Tongues. The actual track Red is kind of boring. It’s a cool riff, and bookending it like Lark’s Tongues in Aspic wouldn’t have worked given it has the best closer possible as it is.
The production on this record is way better than the last one, and personally the production on Lark’s Tongues is kind of crap as it is. The latest remaster is probably the best way to experience the album, as it is with all the King Crimson albums so far.
Starless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amBqI4t6JE0&
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