| "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by King Crimson from the album Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Three of a Perfect Pair, The ConstruKction of Light | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | March 23, 1973; March 27, 1984; May 23, 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Progressive rock, instrumental rock, experimental rock, hard rock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 36:00 (13:36/7:12/6:05/9:07[3:41/2:50/2:36]) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Island Records, Warner Bros., Virgin Records | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer | D. Cross/R. Fripp/J. Wetton/B. Bruford/J. Muir/T. Levin/A. Belew/T. Gunn/P. Mastelotto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | King Crimson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"Larks' Tongues in Aspic" is a multi-part epic progressive rock song by King Crimson released over the course of three albums and 27 years, Larks' Tongues in Aspic in 1973, Three of a Perfect Pair in 1984, and The ConstruKction of Light in 2000. Part II has appeared on multiple King Crimson live albums as it is a staple of their live shows, and Part IV is one continuous track on its live releases.
Contents |
The guitar figures that appear on Larks' Tongues in Aspic were first conceived by Robert Fripp c. 1971, and performed live in an embryonic form by the Islands-era lineup. One version, named A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls appears as a bonus track on 40th anniversary edition of the Islands album.
Part I is the longest part of the song and was first released in 1973 on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic album. It begins with a long percussion introduction, provided by Jamie Muir before entering a driving, hard rock section fuelled by Robert Fripp's electric guitar and introduced by a slowly-building violin. It slows down after a few minutes with David Cross' violin becoming more prominent until the beginning of Book of Saturday. It is this part of the song in which the influence of Ralph Vaughan Williams' composition The Lark Ascending (from which the song's title is derived) can be heard most clearly.
Few live performances have been documented; however, one is available on the King Crimson Collectors' Club release The Beat Club, Bremen. The same version was released on The Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club. The version on these two albums is only about seven minutes long. It is also included on the boxed set The Great Deceiver, a live set chronicling the 1972-1974 lineup of the band.
The song was dropped after the Starless and Bible Black tour.
Part II is driven throughout by guitars and recalls a few segments of Part I. The beginning developed into the familiar rhythm found in Parts III and IV. This is the second shortest part of the epic, but also the most familiar. It was released, as with Part I, on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic album. It segues out of The Talking Drum and was usually performed directly after it. Fripp said that the guitar starting rhythm is inspired by the "Dance of the Young Girls" part in Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" ballet.
Part of the score for the 1974 French erotic film Emmanuelle was based heavily on Part II. After taking legal action against the film's producers, composer Robert Fripp eventually settled out of court.[1][2]
Part II was done as a cover song by Dream Theater on the special edition of their 10th album, Black Clouds & Silver Linings.
One need not look far to find live versions of this track; almost every incarnation since the band which initially recorded it up to the current lineup has performed this live (with the exception of the 1999-2003 quartet). Versions can be found on Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal (1981-4 band), USA (Starless and Bible Black lineup), and the déjà VROOOM DVD (double trio). The "double duo" line-up appears to have dropped this in favor of Part IV, released on The ConstruKction of Light; it was not restored for the tour supporting The Power to Believe. However, this part of the song has been performed regularly by the current lineup (featuring Belew, Fripp, Levin, Mastelotto and Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison). A 1974 Lineup of Wetton Bruford Fripp and Cross finds Part II in slightly different territory to the 1973 studio release, the 30th Anniversary edition of USA features slightly improved audio quality, however more recently the live at Asbury Park Collectible edition finds the same track without overdubs.
Part III appeared on 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair album. It featured familiar rhythms to the first two parts, but was delivered much differently. The sound was far more electronic-sounding, as evidenced by the intro alone, a quotation of the guitar rhythm at 4:50 on Part I. This is the shortest part of the epic. It is positioned at the end of the LP, on side 2, which consisted of more experimental tracks.
This part was only played live in 1984 and always directly followed "No Warning" and was followed by "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (no story). Because this part was only performed on the Three of a Perfect Pair tour, not many live versions have been released. However, a version can be found on Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal as well as the DVD Neal and Jack and Me.
Part IV was first released on 2000's The ConstruKction of Light; it is the second-longest part of the epic at just over nine minutes; even if the coda, "I Have a Dream" is included - as it is in live recordings - this part is still shorter than Part I. It is similar, in many ways, to Part II. Like most tracks on The ConstruKction of Light, it is heavily guitar driven with a variety of effects applied to the sound.
If the coda is included, then this is the only part which includes vocals. The vocals are processed to make Adrian's voice sound heavily mechanical as he makes note of several of the most world-shatteringly important (and some not so important) events of the 20th century, focusing heavily on loss and sadness. It made a reference to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center - coincidentally about a year before it would again be attacked. The vocals were later dropped from the live performance.
Because it has been performed on both of the two most recent tours - those in support in The ConstruKction of Light and The Power to Believe-, several live versions can be found easily. For example, one version can be found on the Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With EP. Another can be found on Heavy ConstruKction.