Red (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Red
Type = Album
Artist = King Crimson


Released = November 1974
Recorded = July-August 1974 at Olympic Studios, London
Genre = Progressive rock
Length = 39:55
Label = Island Records
Atlantic Records
Polydor Records
E.G. Records
Virgin Records
Producer = King Crimson
Reviews = *Allmusic rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2kq2g44ttvnz link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=king+crimson link]
*Warr.org rating|3.5|4 [http://www.warr.org/crimson.html link]
*Sputnikmusic rating|4|5 [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=332 link]
Last album = "Starless and Bible Black"
(1974)
This album = "Red"
(1974)
Next album = "USA"
(1975)

"Red" is a 1974 album by progressive rock group King Crimson. It was their last recording of the 1970s and the last before the lead member Robert Fripp temporarily disbanded the group. Fripp and drummer Bill Bruford are the only personnel on this album to appear in later versions of King Crimson.

Production

David Cross left King Crimson in 1974, reducing the group to the trio of Robert Fripp, John Wetton and Bill Bruford. The trio recorded "Red" with the help of Cross and former band-members Ian McDonald and Mel Collins. Fripp disbanded King Crimson on September 24, 1974, and the album was released later that year with no accompanying tour.

While musically similar to its predecessor "Starless and Bible Black", "Red" was produced very differently from previous King Crimson albums, resulting in what band-members felt was a better approximation of their aggressive live sound.Fact|date=September 2007 For instance, while the acoustic guitar features prominently in previous releases, on "Red" it is heard only for a few bars in "Fallen Angel". Also, unlike previous King Crimson albums, "Red" features extensive use of guitar overdubs. Later albums lacked acoustic guitar entirely and reverted to a minimum of overdubs, though by that point the band featured multiple guitarists playing simultaneously.

Legacy

The record faltered on the British charts. In the United States, it reached #66 on the Billboard Top 200.

However, it remained a popular album with fans and critics. In 2001 "Q" magazine named "Red" as one of the "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time," [ [http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#50%20Heaviest 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time] ] and Kurt Cobain has cited the album as a major influence. [ [http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Robert_Fripp_in_Rock_and_Folk Interview with Robert Fripp] ] [ [http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Bill_Bruford_in_Percussioni_%28in_Italian%29 Interview with Bill Bruford (in italian)] ] Musicologists Eric Tamm and Edward Macan both consider "Red", and particularly the track "Starless", to be the highlight of King Crimson's recorded output. Users of Rate Your Music.com have rated it the 62nd greatest album of all time [http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/king_crimson/red/] .

Track listing

ide one

# "Red" (Robert Fripp) – 6:16
# "Fallen Angel" (Fripp, Richard Palmer-James, John Wetton) – 6:03
# "One More Red Nightmare" (Fripp, Wetton) – 7:10

ide two

# "Providence" (Bill Bruford, David Cross, Fripp, Wetton) – 8:10
#:Recorded at Palace Theatre, Providence, USA, 30 June 1974
# "Starless" (Bruford, Cross, Fripp, Palmer-James, Wetton) – 12:16

Personnel

King Crimson

*Robert Fripp - guitar, mellotron
*John Wetton - bass guitar, vocals
*Bill Bruford - drums, percussion

Additional musicians

*David Cross - violin
*Mel Collins - soprano saxophone
*Ian McDonald - alto saxophone
*Robin Miller - oboe
*Marc Charig - cornet

Notes

External links

* [http://www.elephant-talk.com/releases/red.htm Lyrics]