Search - King Crimson :: Three of Perfect Pair

Less than perfection still has 3+ of a perfect pair of songs

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 05/22/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Humor. It's in short supply in the world. One thing that King Crimson has been accused of in the past was a lack of humor. They were called "doom and gloom" prog rock. In some cases that was appropriate. Then Adrian Belew joined the band. He was just the catalyst. Fripp has always had a sense of humor he just hid it well. The last in a trio of albums from the 80's line up, Three of A Perfect Pair could almost be called commerical. Almost. Sleepless became an alternative hit (before the term was coined)and the songs portion of Three are among the most straight forward of any KC songs. Is this a bad thing? No as it just allowed KC to continue to broaden their mastery of a number of different styles and turn them inside out. Prog pop perhaps would be a better term.Although David Bryne is always pointed to as the main influence on Adrian Belew's vocal style most folks have missed the boat. More accurately it's John Lennon (particularly around Revolver) and David Bowie. Belew certainly bears a passing resemblence to Byrne's stylized vocal delivery but, then again, Byrne was influenced by Lennon, Bowie and others as well. He didn't spring fully formed from Zeus' forhead. Here Belew comes into his own as a singer. Always technically more gifted than Byrne, his soaring vocals recall his former mentor as much as it does Roy Orbison expansive, cinemascope singing style.All of the songs manage to incorporate the lessons learned and demonstrated on the first two albums and also manage to break new ground for the band. The songwriting is crisp, concise and melodic. The best songs hold their own against anything in the KC canon. Fripp and Belew are perfect guitar foils for each other; both are atmospheric guitarist and they bring different colors to the music. Fripp's playing is the more structured of the two. Belew's playing is the wild card incorporating an amazing array of sounds. Levin plays stick like few other players at the time did; his aggressive and melodic style both fleshes out the band's four piece sound and gives added punch to the rhythm section. Bill Brufford (accompanied on tour with Belew on drums as well as guitar)has always been an imaginative and innovative drummer. The two of them are KC's secret weapon. The sound quality on this reissue has considerably more depth and detail than the previously issued versions. I have to caution that it's not a huge difference on an average stereo. The big attraction are the six bonus tracks. Two instrumental outtakes from Industry are included. Both are interesting and would have made nice additions to the album. The three remixes of Sleepless are interesting but hardly essential.Kervokian's has the most life to it and reimagines the song in dancable, thought provoking ways. Contradictory isn't it? The real gem, though, is the funny as heck King Crimson Barber Shop. This isn't anything you'd find the previous versions of KC doing. They humorously poke fun at KC's back catalog, their reputation and promote their album all in less than 2 minutes. The vocals are stunning (and unexpected) to say the least. It really tickled my funny bone and was fun to listen to. Originally recorded as a promo only for radio stations and instore samplers, it's a blast to finally have this on this fine album.The artwork (like the previous reissues) duplicates the original vinyl versions (although all three are gatefold sleeves vs. single sleeves) and includes a booklet with clippings, set lists, tour dates and other bits and pieces of info. The enclosed reviews, again, demonstrates that Fripp and company don't take themselves too seriously. There are some nice and nasty reviews included here. It's interesting to view in hindsight what expectations the critics had for 80's KC's third album. Hindsight also allows us to appreciate the fine qualities of this underrated album. I'd actually give this edition of Three 31/2 stars. That which passes on this disc passes with a chuckle or two."

The Last King Crimson Album with Sides

Snow Leopard | Urbana, IL | 11/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The culmination, or perhaps the final death throe, of the revitalized King Crimson, reassembled by Robert Fripp in the early 80s, Three of a Perfect Pair also harks back to the earliest days of King Crimson--back when Robert Fripp conceived of a record album as consisting of two contrasting sides. In fact, with a little stretch of the imagination, one could say that this is a totally electronified "In the Wake of Poseidon". The distinction of sides is emphasized by the fact that (on the original album) the sides were designated as 'right' and 'left', not one and two.In terms of sound, this means that one side is full of 'normal' songs, in the Fripp-Belew-Levin-Bruford vein familiar from the previous two albums, while the other side, by contrast, is a glorious maelstrom of seemingly improvised stuff, culminating in "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part III".More specifically:1. The album opens with "Three of a Perfect Pair", one of the most compelling songs Adrian has ever sung. Immediately, the parallel guitar lines of Fripp-Belew hook you, Adrian's voice soars gloriously above, and the exquisite Levin-Bruford rhythm section kicks in. Adrian's guitar solo is a particular standout here as well, as it sounds like he is literally tapdancing on all kinds of footpedals more than playing his guitar. And PS, to everyone who likens Adrian's voice to David Byrne, Byrneisms are rare for Adrian. And here he shows that it is Roy Orbison that is the best analog to his voice. ("Frame by Frame" from Discipline is another apt example.)2. "Model Man" and "Man with an Open Heart" (as the man in both titles suggests) are fairly similar, and very straightforward songs. Both are, for want of a better word, sweet; neither quite rise to the level of the opener. But, one really must pay attention to the musicianship here. The entire band is playing with a virtuoso restraint that rewards attentive listening--especially Bruford's drumming. It is simply a joy of subtle variations to listen to.3. "Sleepless", a Tony Levin show piece, is an infectious things with a very neat sounding bass line. Unfortunately, its novelty eventually tapers off, and the song seems rather long. A very solid effort all the same.4. Side "One" originally ended with "Nuages (That Which Passes Like Clouds)". Even now, some 17 years after the debut, this songs remains a marvel of electronic instrumentation--drums, stick, guitar synths...at times, it is impossible to tell which instrument is responsible for which sound. And the piece itself is intensely gorgeous, with one of the most beautiful, almost acoustic guitar solos Adrian has ever committed to tape. It still impresses me that the song could never have been played on traditional rock instruments--inventions like the stick and electronic drums were necessary.The grandeur of the opening and closing songs of this side more than make up for the comparative "shallowness" of the other songs on the side.But then we come to the other side.1. "Industry" begins with a bass thump that turns out to repeat itself for the entire 7 minutes of the song. Frippertronic washes then enter, a rather sorrowful guitar line, then Tony's bass (sounding like he's trying to snap a string), and Bruford with his usual unusual and scrumptious accompaniment. The whole thing increases, with Fripp building up a splendidly dissonant wall of parallel guitar notes, and then fades away to where it began again, slipping without pause into...2. "Dig Me", the only improvisation with lyrics on side two--a classic example of Adrian's sympathy for machines (recall his "Rail Song" from Twang Bar King). This song tries my patience--the opening lick, actually. The whole song seems treated to sound completely metallic, even Adrian's voice in places. The chorus, however, sounds like it was kidnapped from the other side.3. "No Warning" is aptly titled, and seems to be a brutally atmospheric free-form improvisation that succeeds brilliantly, owing largely to the intensity of playing by Bruford. A timid guitar line, like a foghorn in the fog, beeps briefly, as Frippertronics and drum waashes build ominously around another high-pitched guitar. Then the fun begins--Bruford kicks loose with what is virtually a drum solo, accompanied by Frippertronic backgrounds and minimalist soloing. Levin's bass, meanwhile, is skulking around underneath adding darkness to the atmospherics. Really, you just have to hear it--best at loud volume.4. The album closes with "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part III", the third installment of the eponymous title track of King Crimson's second most important album. (There is a Part IV now as well, from "The ConstruKction of Light".) The song begins with musical quotations from the first two installments, and then breaks into its own complex, impossible and articulated guitar line backed marvellously by Bruford and Levin. After a while, the song lurches into an extended section of gruesomely edgy guitar chords by Fripp over Belew's spry, whammy-barred rhythm section (which, humorously enough, contains a musical quotation of its own when Belew borrows one of his own riffs from a previous solo album). Once again, Bruford and Levin hold down the fort with right-on thumping.Without question, this is my favorite King Crimson line-up (though Trey Gunn's replacement of Tony Levin since then is not the least bit disappointing), and "Three of a Perfect Pair" is probably the most well-realized of this line-up's three albums (as the name suggests). Pop songs with progressive edges, progressive improvisations with pop accessibility, "Three of a Perfect Pair" is a marvelous combination of both worlds, conveniently divided on the original album into sides, so you could listen to either one or the other."

Revitalized King Crimson

D. L. Worthing | Arundel, Maine United States | 02/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1984 release is probably the best recording with the lineup of Adrian Belew on guitar, ex-Yes drummer Bill Bruford on the skins and bass virtuoso Tony Levin joining founding member and guitar guru Robert Fripp.
Although by some said to be their most "commercial" album, I found it to be highly enjoyable.
Split into two sides (the left and the right) at Fripp's request the Left Side is more radio friendly while the Right Side is what the Crimson fans are more accustomed to.
On the Right Side the quartet opens with the title track "Three of a Perfect Pair" which I liked quite a bit. Followed by "Model Man" and the radio release "Sleepless". It is some of Belew's best lyrics with the band.
The Right Side opens with "Industry" a very Crimson-esque industrial rock instrumental. With Levin and Bruford's driving rythmn section, Belew's futuristic guitar and Fripp's haunting guitar this is a great KC track. I really enjoyed the very funny "King Crimson Barber Shop". Where the band singing in their best acapella impression of a Barber Shop quartet exclaiming they won't sing "21st Century Schitzoid Man". I've always enjoy bands that are great but don't take themselves too serious. This band is one of them.
Four very talented and top knotch rock musicians putting together a great disc. Get it."