THRAK by King Crimson (Panegyric)1995/2019

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

"THRAK" is King Crimson's best album. The sound of two guitars (or more overdubs), two basses, and two drummers, in other words, a double-trio setting, makes the sound hard with truly beautiful moments of softness. "Coda: Marine 475 is like the greatest Yardbirds rave-up within three minutes. I have never been a mega-fan of Adrian Belew's writing, but here he shines as both writer and guitarist. "THRAK" is an accurate title for this work because that is the album's overall sound. 

The music is orchestral and very contained in the hands of Robert Fripp and company. He knows how to obtain a singular focus while still showing each musician's character and trademark. Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto work brilliantly together to give loose, almost chaotic rhythms to match the sweetness and mostly the harshness of the guitars. My favorite guitar albums are the first Television and Feelies albums, and "THRAK" is another excellent guitar record. 

And I have entered into the forbidden.  For the past year or so, I  have been listening to King Crimson, a band that I once avoided because I couldn't stand the word "Prog."   Prejudice is an ugly stance to have in one's life. Still, I slowly started listening to the first five King Crimson albums in my fashion. I realized that I enjoyed the music due to the intensity of the band's playing but also their compositional streak.  It reminds me of Duke Ellington, not in style, but in that Robert Fripp has firm control of the band yet allows each musician to participate in the overall sound of the project on hand. "THRAK" is the only album I have that features guitarist and lyricist Adrian Belew in the King Crimson lineup.

"THRAK" is a fitting name for this album because that is what it sounds like.  It's a tense, textural record with incredible percussion flourishes, the intensity of the guitars riffing against each other, but the overall approach of Fripp's soundscaping, in a sense, is the foundation of this work.   Of the King Crimson albums I own and listened to, "THRAK" is the heaviest due to the force of the instrumentals and some of the vocal works.  I think the weak link to King Crimson is the lyrics.  Whatever it is by Belew or others, it seems to be second thought compared to the sound of the music.   

Moreover, the sound of the recording and arrangements give it a full sonic plate.   The beauty of Fripp and company is that they do look back but always go forward.  The unique lineup of a double trio or having two percussionists (Pat Mastelotto & Bill Bruford), two bassists (Tony Levin & Trey Gunn), and two guitarists (Fripp & Belew) are that it's not a mess. Still, again, like an Ellington big band, it fits the entire motif of the big sound. 

THRAK by King Crimson