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Rating: And here is the only work of the Crimson King that I think (but I'm not the only one) can be defined as """"""ugly"""""". Yes, because 'Thrak', released eleven years after the last 'Three Of A Perfect Pair', is a record that, although it prepares the sounds (together with 'The Construktion Of Light') of the almost-masterpiece 'The Power To Believe', does not have the same level of every previous King Crimson album.
The official lineup of the album includes the now classic Fripp and Adrian Belew on guitars (the latter also on vocals), Tony Levin and Trey Gunn on stick bass, and Bill "octopus" Bruford assisted by Pat Mastelotto on drums (not for nothing this lineup, practically composed of two groups, is called by Fripp "double trio"). The first batch of four compositions is not a good start: "Vroom" is nothing more than a digression on "Red" not particularly brilliant (although of good impact), "Coda: Marine 475" is almost embarrassing with its little music box tune serving as the background to a completely uninviting guitar jumble, "Dinosaur" even instills terror in its very predictable progression with almost no originality and "Walking On Air" seems almost like a copy of "Two Hands" (from Beat), although pleasant to listen to.
From these compositions it is clear, however, that the King has decided to embark on a less melodic path than before, leaning more towards the experimental; one can also hear an impoverishment of the rhythmic base, despite the presence of two drums and two stick basses (listen to "Dinosaur" to believe). This first set, anything but inviting, is followed by what are probably the best songs on the album: "B'Boom" and the title-track, two powerful and sudden bursts. The first shows a finally decent rhythm base, with a good drum solo at the end, while the second recovers a great explosive guitar work well supported by the two drummers and the two bassists. "Inner Garden 1" follows these two explosions with its "acoustically tense" atmosphere on which Belew raises one of his best vocals (IMHO). However, the album has another sudden collapse with "People", an almost irritating song with no art or part, and "Radio 1", a useless jumble of cacophonic noises.
There is another attempt at recovery with the unsettling "One Time", "Inner Garden 2", beautiful although it's a copy of the first part (interspersed by a completely useless "Radio 2"), and "Sex Sleep Eat Dream", a song in the vein of "Dinosaur" but much more inspired, which, however, also due to the last two compositions ("Vroom Vroom" and its respective coda, two futile reprises of the first song) fails to maintain the album's high fortunes.
'Thrak' is, in short, an album that is just short of ascending, at least, to decency, the only very uninspired album of the King, which, however, is at least significant for the subsequent development of the group's music, which will turn towards a metallic (but not metal) aggressiveness. Not unlistenable and not entirely forgettable.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Coda: Marine 475 (02:41)
Marine 475
410
400
062
1009
1097
65
Non-Marine
10
190
510
1148
Motor
254
Aviation
545
03 Dinosaur (06:37)
Intro
Long ago and far away in a different age
when i was a dumb young guy
fossilized photos of my life then
illustrate what an easy prey i must have been
Standing in the sun, idiot savant
something like a monument
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
Ignorance has alway been something i excel in
followed by naivete and pride
doesn't take a scientist to see how
any clever predator could have a piece of me
Standing in the sun, idiot savant
something like a monument
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
I'm a dinosaur
Oh, when i look back on the past
some wonder i'm not yet extinct
all the mistakes and bad judgements i made
nearly pushed me to the brink
it doesn't pay to be too nice
it's the one thing i have learned
still, i made my fossil bed
and now i toss and turn
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
I'm a dinosaur
Solo
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
08 People (05:53)
people fly people flee
people clam and say "it wasn't me"
people fish people beef
people arm to teeth
yes, you've got people on the tube
walking on the moon
people at the bottom of the sea
people in tombs
people in igloos
even a tribe of pygmies
people are the main spring
turning the world around
people, they're the main spring
spinning this world upside down
people sun people toast
people tire shile other people smoke
people bowl people rock
people pay to see two people box
watch me face me
dress me baby me
phone me wire me
house me bug me fire me
people are the main spring
spinning the world around
people, they're the main spring
turning this world inside out
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