Give it a couple or more spins mate, it is indeed a "grower" it probably took me 6 months to fully appreciate this album.
I think some posters condemn things too early. Its only been posted today and there wont be another for a week !!
You cant really "get" this music in a day. (well maybe some can LoL)
Time surely to have a few listens to see if it grabs you, if it does I can assure you it will give you pleasure for years to come, it IS quality music. But give it the week out. There is a reason why it is voted so highly by critics and fans.
Ok. I had an afternoon on my own to blast it out again.
Like I said it’s not a completely new album to me anyway, I’ve heard it in bits and pieces before.
I’ll try to do it justice by giving it proper analysis but to be honest any criticisms I have of it have been covered probably more eloquently by OB1 Foggy and Rob, than what I may repeat here.
Do I like it?
Nearly! Probably, almost, well parts.
Do I like them?
Yes, but I think that COTCK and perhaps Lizard and most definitely Larks Tongue for the same lineup are far more pleasant, cohesive, enjoyable albums.
I’m listening to Lark’s Tongue now as I type and to me it is a far superior album. Everything about it.
Wetton is no Greg Lake when it comes to lead vocals but the comparison of emotion between the two albums is stark. You don’t have to be an excellent singer to be a good vocalist and on Lark’s Tongue his strained and angst ridden vocals suit the album down to a tee.
With Red, it doesn’t strike me as an album with a cohesive theme holding it together and without that theme, Wetton sounds bland.
The first three tunes are good grooves but ultimately never take off like they promise to, and to my ear those three and Starless sound like they are cobbled together from tracks that never made it onto Lark’s Tongue, and Starless and Bible Black.
As for Providence. It just doesn’t belong here. It sounds better than first listen but someone described it as noodling and I must confess that’s the word that first came to mind on my first listen. Fripp aficionados can justify it anyway they like, but it’s just self indulgence of experimental jazz type proportions, that doesn’t fit into any framework of an album at all.
Starless is a lovely melody and starts to go somewhere but even with the nice sax piece by the end I felt cheated again.
Listen Bill, I love the band but it all comes down to taste again and for me I would have ‘In The Wake of Poseidon’ any day over it.
I’ll give it a 6/10 in recognition of the individual bits of genius and the technical excellence but in my book it comes nowhere near Lark’s Tongue in Aspic. Now that is a truly brilliant album.
