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Beat

 
Album Review: Beat
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Beat

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  • Artist: King Crimson
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1982
  • Total Time: 35:21
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Beat is not as good as its predecessor (1981's Discipline), but it's not too shabby, either. The '80s version of King Crimson (Robert Fripp, guitar; Adrian Belew, vocals/guitar; Tony Levin, bass; and Bill Bruford, drums) retains the then-modern new wave sound introduced on Discipline. The band's performances are still inspired, but the songwriting isn't as catchy or strong. The moody love song "Heartbeat" has become a concert favorite for the band, and contains a Jimi Hendrix-like backward guitar solo. Other worthwhile tracks include "Waiting Man," which features world music sounds (thanks to some stunning bass/percussion interplay), and "Neurotica" does an excellent job of painting an unwavering picture of a large U.S. city, with its jerky rhythms and tense vocals. With lots of different guitar textures, bass explorations, and uncommon drum rhythms present, King Crimson's Beat will automatically appeal to other musicians. But since they're fantastic songwriters as well, you don't have to be a virtuoso to feel the passion of their music. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Neal and Jack and Me (Lyrics) Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (4:22)
Heartbeat (Lyrics) Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (3:54)
Sartori in Tangier Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (3:34)
Waiting Man Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (4:27)
Neurotica (Lyrics) Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (4:48)
Two Hands Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Margaret Belew King Crimson (3:23)
The Howler Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (4:13)
Requiem Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin King Crimson (6:38)

Credits

Rhett Davies (Producer), Rob O'Connor (Cover Design), Tony Levin (Vocals (Background)), Robert Fripp (Remastering), William Coupon (Photography), Robert Fripp (Guitar), Robert Fripp (Keyboards), Tony Levin (Photography), Graham Davies (Equipment Technician), Robert Fripp (?), Simon Heyworth (Remastering), Adrian Belew (Vocals), Robert Fripp (Frippertronics), Robert Fripp (Organ), Hugh O'Donnell (Design), Tony Arnold (Remastering), Tony Levin (Stick), Tony Levin (Vocals), Bill Bruford (Drums), Adrian Belew (Guitar), Tony Levin (Bass), Tony Levin (Guitar (Bass))
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Wikipedia: Beat (King Crimson album)
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Beat
Studio album by King Crimson
Released June 18, 1982
Recorded 1982
Genre Progressive rock
Length 35:19
Label E.G. Records
Warner Bros./E.G.
Virgin Records
Producer Rhett Davies
Professional reviews
King Crimson chronology
Discipline
(1981)		 Beat
(1982)		 Three of a Perfect Pair
(1984)

Beat is an album by the British rock band King Crimson, released in 1982.

According to the Trouser Press Record Guide, the album focused on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Kerouac's On the Road.[1] The album makes several references to the writings of the beat generation:

  • "Neal and Jack and Me" is the track most obviously inspired by beat writers. The 'Jack' of the title is beat writer Jack Kerouac, and the 'Neal' of the title is Kerouac's friend Neal Cassady.
  • "Heartbeat" is also the name of the book written by Carolyn Cassady, Neal's wife, about her experiences with the Beats.
  • "Sartori [sic] in Tangier" also derives its title from beat influences including the Jack Kerouac novel Satori in Paris, and the city of Tangier in Morocco, where a number of beat writers resided and which they often used as a setting for their writing. Writer Paul Bowles was associated with the beats, and his novel The Sheltering Sky, which provided the title for a track on King Crimson's previous studio album, Discipline, is partly set in Tangier.
  • "Neurotica" shares its title with Neurotica, a Beat-era magazine.[2][3]
  • "The Howler" refers to the beat poem Howl by Allen Ginsberg, which Fripp suggested to Belew as inspiration for the lyrics.

The Chapman Stick introduction to "Sartori in Tangier" is featured in the first scene of the premiere of the MTV show The Maxx.

Of King Crimson's thirteen studio albums, this is the only album that does not have a title track, although its title is included in the name of the song "Heartbeat".

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Adrian Belew (lyrics and music) and Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp and Tony Levin (music) unless otherwise indicated.

Side one

  1. "Neal and Jack and Me" – 4:22
  2. "Heartbeat" – 3:54
  3. "Sartori in Tangier" – 3:54
  4. "Waiting Man" – 4:27

Side two

  1. "Neurotica" – 4:48
  2. "Two Hands" (lyrics by A. Belew and Margaret Belew; music by A. Belew, Bruford, Fripp, and Levin) – 3:23
  3. "The Howler" – 4:13
  4. "Requiem" – 6:48

Credits

References

  1. ^ "King Crimson". Trouser Press. http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=king_crimson. Retrieved July 5 2005. 
  2. ^ "Neurotica". Landesmania. http://www.landesmania.com/neurotica.html. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
  3. ^ "Chapter 10: Battling the Social Neurosis". The Culture of Spontaneity. University of Chicago Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ti0jsxHJzVMC&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=Neurotica+magazine&source=bl. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 

External links

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1982 Billboard Pop Albums 52

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1982 "Heartbeat" Billboard Mainstream Rock 57

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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