The Power To Believe

King Crimson

Sanctuary Records, 2003

http://www.dgmlive.com

REVIEW BY: Mark Kadzielawa

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/18/2003

After a preview in the form of an EP few months ago, we have a full-length album from King Crimson. This is third official album since the band reformed in mid 90's, and second in the Robert Fripp-Adrian Belew-Trey Gunn-Pat Mastelotto incarnation. In the meantime, King Crimson has been very active on the release front. In addition to the three albums, there were plenty of mini-albums, and live recordings from the current lineup as well as enough archive releases to keep the fans happy.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

The Power To Believe is a very diverse album, challenging in a way. It's an album comprised of movements, but done with excellent craft. Some tracks' sounds tend to be very much removed from the norm, and at the same time hard to swallow. On the other hand, they make the album very diverse-sounding. Then, we have the compositions that show King Crimson using what I call the oriental sound, resembling the '80s version of the band. I must admit, for this reviewer it's the sound and style I favor greatly.

When King Crimson gets loud, everything becomes clear. The band isn't really hiding much, and leaves very little room for exploration. With the softer songs, there's a lot more going on. Things become hidden, and fun to locate with each listen of the album. But, then again this is an opinion of one person; I could be wrong. Also, with each listen the perception of this music changes, as it becomes closer to the listener, and eventually becomes the property of the listener.

Albums such as The Power To Believe provide a great escape from the world of musical commercialism. You won't see this stuff on MTV, probably won't hear it on the radio, but give it a chance. Bands like King Crimson gain new fans through word of mouth.

Rating: A

User Rating: C


Comments

 








© 2003 Mark Kadzielawa and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Sanctuary Records, and is used for informational purposes only.