KING CRIMSON — Beat (review)

KING CRIMSON — Beat album cover Album · 1982 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
Although there are some tracks on this album that are maybe better written and executed than on the previous Discipline album, I rate this album rather lower than the latter mentioned.

Certainly Sartori In Tangier and Requiem are good enough tracks to have fitted on Discipline, but the rest of the tracks are simply too poppy-prog. Don't get me wrong the music is anything but dumb pop , but it does have a lot of pop characteristics, mostly in the structure: Rather short tracks with plenty of Verse Chorus repetition and a very pop/new wavish look that makes the music dated and too 80's-typed that I will probably never like it. It also has that very cold technical pop feeling and its utter professional feel that stops me from liking it as an artist statement: it simply sounds to calculated and too business-like for my tastes. The opening track N,J&M, I suppose is based on Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy, notable beats (beatnicks or beat poets) , but the music always failed to arouse my interest enough!!

Now only was this noticeable musically (listen to any three record of the era), but this was also the case in the appearance and concert. Check out the Neal, Jack and Me DVD for a double concert and see the very artsy-fartsy looks, acts and of course that horrendous electronics pads percussions even reaching as far as duplicating gongs. Yuk!!

Only my respect for Crimson stops me from rating this album lower

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