Beat - 1982
Personell:
Robert Fripp - Guitar, Organ, Frippertronics.
Adrian Belew - Lead Vocals, Guitar.
Tony Levin - Bass, Chapman Stick, Backing Vocals.
Bill Bruford - Drums.
After reuniting to make Discipline, King Crimson took their new more pop/new wave friendly sound from that album and pushed it a little furthur, previewing the even poppier sound of the album that would follow, Three of a Perfect Pair. Most songs here clock in around 3 or 4 minutes, unusual for King Crimson. Discipline was a great album, but this followup while having some great KC moments, nothing really stands out like with their best albums. This album not so subtely is King Crimsons attempt at being "hip", as the title implies there are several references throughout the album to Beat culture as well as lyrics inspired by Beat poetry. Belew has toned down the David Byrne-isms from Discipline a bit, but instrumentally it sounds like they're trying to be The Police now, not that thats a bad thing. It just seemed at this point that King Crimson along with Yes and Genesis were struggling to fit into a generation that grew tired of the genre they helped create. Still, dispite the shortcomings, theres still some good stuff to be heard.
Neal and Jack and Me: Riddled with complex cubist riffs that were a trademark of the 80s Crimson period. This is a fine song, but the lyrics are a bit much. "Neal and Jack and Me, absent lovers".
Heartbeat: You know how it is when a song is so bad that it almost holds the whole album back? Well this is it. Not to be confused with Don Johnsons Heartbeat, though listening to it you probably wouldn't notice the difference. Theres nothing wrong with King Crimson doing pop, usually when they do pop its smart pop, but this... this is like something Hall & Oates would do. And you gotta love those lyrics. "I need to land sometime
right next to you, feel your heartbeat heartbeat, right next to me". What in the hell were they thinking?
Awful awful song.
Sartori in Tangier: Now we're talking. Nice intro by Levin on the chapman. Levin and Bruford then kick it up with a nice poppy drum and bass groove, providing backbone to some atmospheric guitar playing. Overall a nice instrumental.
Waiting Man: A song with a bit of an African influence, with a colorful tribal beat and Belew chanting more than singing. Sounds like someone was listening to a little bit of Ladysmith Black Mambazo when they made this. I really like it, one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Neurotica: Now
this is King Crimson sounding like King Crimson. This is closer to the sound on Discipline than anything else on the album. Certainly a highpoint here.
Two Hands: A pretty ballad with some really nice guitar, but the lyrics are so saccharine its sickening, "Oh they're touching, They're touching each other, They're feeling, They push and move, And love each other, love each other, They fit together like two hands." But when you look past the lyrics its still a nice song.
The Howler: Now this is awesome, its one of the darker songs on the album, but it has a nice funky beat to it. And Belews vocals just fit the mood so perfect here. Gotta love that crazy solo near the end too. This is my favorite track on the album.
Requiem: This track reminds me of Fripps early work with Brian Eno. It starts out with an ambient atmosphere while Fripp does what he does best, complex yet abstract guitar workouts. The song does build up to your typical Crimson freakout moment at the end though. This is pretty much just a jam, gets kinda boring, not bad, but I wish they picked something better to close the album.
In summary, this album was the second of King Crimsons 80s trilogy, and like a middle book of a trilogy, this albums primary purpose was just to fill time between the more exciting first (Discipline) and final (Three of a Perfect Pair) half. Overall this is a pretty decent album. But this is certainly one of the Crimsons less than stellar efforts.