King Crimson - Beat

Beat-en with a Stick

King Crimson's reinvented return after several years of abdication includes mad-man Adrian Belew and the incomparable Tony Levin bringing his incomparable Chapman Stick skills fresh from proof-of-concept playing for Peter Gabriel, which was just as stunning...must be heard to be believed! July 19, 2008

not their best

IF you're rounding out your King Crimson collection, you have to buy this. But it simply is not their best work, especially following Discipline December 7, 2007

A need to feel your heartbeat

The second album from the 80's version of King Crimson doesn't have the immediate, visceral force that "Discipline" delivered, but "Beat" has lost none of its impact since its 1982 release. Envisioned as an album that would thematically and spiritually embody the scope of the great American Beat Poets, the album starts of with the spectre of "Neal and Jack and Me," told from the perspective of "a 1952 Starline Coupe."

But "Beat" also means rhythm, and the album has its share of that. "Neurotica" is a distant second to "Discipline's" "Elephant Talk," but the pulse underneath it is irresistible. The instrumental "Satori In Tangier" is made of the sort of polyrythyms that put the Talking Heads into overdrive. And if matching the spirit of the freewheeling and free-associating Beats was one of King Crimson's goals, then the aptly titled "The Howler" and angry clashing finale "Requiem" to just that.

The main difference between "Beat" and the bookending albums in Crimson's 80's block is that Adrian Belew's melodic and romantic streaks barrel to the head of the stage twice here. "Heartbeat" is the closest thing to a popsong the band recorded, with Belew liking it so much that he still pulls it out on his solo performances. His wife Margaret Belew penned the romantic "Two Hands." They are so much softer in tone than anything on "Discipline" that many fans of that album cried sell-out. But they miss the point. The "Beat" movement was all about sharing wisdom and commonality, discovering the brilliance in the everyday and gaining the freedom to be exactly the person you wanted to be. Should that goal be euphoria, then appreciating the beauty of art ("Two Hands") or the ecstasy of love ("Heartbeat") would be a part of that.

If not, well, the live review of random animal parts in "Neurotica" might be for you. Either way, "Beat" is not to be missed.

I also got a major kick out of seeing a picture of the ticket for the July 1982 concert ticket at the Mann Theater. I happened to be at that very show, the summer after graduating college. A spectacular show, and made me appreciate this album even more. July 22, 2007

Not as good as Discipline

The album starts strong with the first three songs, but it soon turns into a strange mixture of sounds goin' nowhere. Very far behing "Discipline" in my mind May 12, 2007

Beats Me?

This record sounds better to me now than it did when it came out. In some ways I like it more than Discipline. Here, Crimson goes from 2 extremes pop (heartbeat) to avant-garde Frippertronics (requiem), the rest is everything in between, their most diverse release, still it beat's me why that is because I used to dislike this release February 6, 2007

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