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Construcktion of Light
King Crimson
Construcktion of Light
Genres: Pop, Rock, Classic Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (11) - Disc #1

King Crimson has never been so much a band as an adventuresome modern musical academy, a prog-rock institution presided over by headmaster/guitarist Robert Fripp with a playfulness that often belies his more scholarly goal...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: King Crimson
Title: Construcktion of Light
Members Wishing: 5
Total Copies: 0
Label: Astralwerks
Original Release Date: 5/23/2000
Release Date: 5/23/2000
Genres: Pop, Rock, Classic Rock
Styles: Progressive, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 724384926120

Synopsis

Amazon.com
King Crimson has never been so much a band as an adventuresome modern musical academy, a prog-rock institution presided over by headmaster/guitarist Robert Fripp with a playfulness that often belies his more scholarly goals. And though its alumni have gone on to contribute to a dizzying array of more commercial enterprises (including Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes, Bad Company, Foreigner, and Roxy Music), Fripp's dedication to experimentation has relegated him to influential cult status. Entering its fourth, unlikely decade with ConstruKction of Light, King Crimson's pared-down quartet (Fripp, 80's recruit/guitarist Adrian Belew, and '90s inductees Trey Gunn on touch guitar and Pat Mastelotto on drums) offers up a curiously lugubrious mockery of rootsy Delta despair ("Prozac Blues") before venturing into the familiar, hypnotically polyrhythmic soundscape of the title track, the challenging harmonics of "Into the Frying Pan," and the delicate, spacious constructions of "FraKctured." "The World Is My Oyster" is almost Floydian in feel and scope, though the Pink brigade haven't made music this oddly compelling since the '70s. There are monster chops throughout, as well as some heavy riffing that underscores Crimson's continued influence on bands like Tool, Marilyn Manson, and Nine Inch Nails. ConstruKction is as restless as it is modern--and progressive in all the right ways. --Jerry McCulley

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CD Reviews

A solid progressive rock album
A. Stewart | Chicago, IL | 01/18/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are looking for a soothing and peaceful album with mellow passages then look elsewhere. What you will find is intense, in your face guitar riffing.



The stand out songs on this album are the "Construktion of Light", "Frakctured", and "Larks Tongues in Aspic". CoL starts off with Trey Gunn laying down a nasty bass riff on his Warr guitar. Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew then start exchanging note over this riff creating an eerie atmosphere when combined together. Part 1 of this song is strictly instrumental, whereas part 2 is where Adrian begins to sing. Both parts are great.



Fraktured on the other hand is all Robert Fripp. He plays an impossibly fast and complicated riff all throughout the song. While a technically impressive song, there is nothing smooth in its melodies. Musicians will appreciate this song, but maybe not others.



Larks is probably more like fraktured, in that it is a technical piece more than harmonious opus. There seem to be places where Adrian and Robert see to be doing some polyrhythmic (different time signatures played by each musician simultaneously) interplay that make for an interesting effect.



If you can appreciate good musicians playing technical music at the sake of smooth melodies, this album is for you."
DarKc Horse of the Crimson King
David A. Wright | 03/21/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is, if I were forced to decide, my favorite King Crimson album. I know some lamented the exit of Levin and Bruford and the inclusion of the ProjeKct material, but I don't have principles when it comes to music. To me, all music is worth precisely how much it entertains, and this music sends my musical spirits soaring. Well, after Prozakc Blues is over. Not that I don't like it - honestly, I don't even skip it when I'm listening, and it would be easy to do, being the first song. It's just a really good song competing with a bunch of other truly excellent ones. The two-part title song is probably only second to my favorite Crimson song "Elektrik." It sweeps and meanders and has you counting to 7 and 13 and 21, trying to figure out the tempo. I dare you; "Frying Pan" is a fun way to do scales; "FraKctured is an excellent exercise in virtuosity which has proven very difficult, if not impossible for the boys to do live; "Oyster Soup" is a good, clean, fun Crimsonesque tongue-twisting hyper-rhythmic tune with some throw-backs thrown in; LTIAIV, another impressive guitar fest, long overdue at this point; "Dream," a tip of the hat to MCM (20th century), and a segue way into; "Heaven and Earth," an instrumental outro suitable for chilling. A great, well-rounded listening experience for any true experimental music fan. Enjoy at safe decibel levels. YYYeah..."