h e a t h e r

King Crimson exists in different bands, with different approaches, but always with a similar spirit (in composition as well as improvisation). This studio album is the second from the "Double Duo" incarnation of the band. The Double Duo unit crafts their sound with electronic percussion, MIDI guitars, touch basses, and heavily processed vocals. This is a very electronic type of music, countered with the snaky warmth so characteristic of the touch basses. The Power to Believe has individual pieces that are similar enough to music from their history, enough to raise strong comparisons, but unique enough to stand on their own, and to be a good contribution to an ever-growing canon. Unique because this band is different, and their sound is different (more "futuristic"), and with new musical elements integrated into their sound; particularly, Pat’s techno/drum and bass techniques, a stronger metal sound, and the greater guitar vocabulary allowed by all the technology. For example, "Level 5" will raise comparisons to "VROOOM" and "Red"; "Dangerous Curves" will raise comparisons to "Mars" and "Talking Drum"; "Power to Believe II" to "Sheltering Sky" and "Satori in Tangiers"; "Elektrik" to "Discipline" and "Frame by Frame"; "The Facts of Life" to "Schizoid Man" and "Sailor’s Tale"; and "Power to Believe III" strongly reminds me of "Starless and Bible Black". However, the music here has different personalities. For example, where "VROOOM" and "Red" possess a heavy but jaunty forward motion, like a musical motorcycle, "Level 5" has a personality that is a dark black, foreboding musical omen, a dead-serious Bartók/metal fusion. "Dangerous Curves" possesses the aggressive and atmospheric minimalism of similar earlier works but replaces the earthier textures (tablas, violin, buzzing guitars) with mechanical rhythms and electronic clouds. Bartók-metal is perhaps a good description for a lot of music here; at least for "Level 5" and "Facts of Life" but even parts of "Power to Believe III" reminds me of elements of Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. Gamelan music is perhaps the other. Electrified gamelan music appears in the guitar writing of "Elektrik", and shockingly, "Power to Believe II" contains a section that simulates a real gamelan orchestra. "Elektrik" has a fiery and ethereal beauty, with some intense dynamic changes. My favorite is "Power to Believe III", which is simultaneously dark, alien, and beautiful. I think it is beautiful how there are moments of almost complete silence, just a ray of sound like light, and then sudden shocking stabs of the drums, and the rustling and rattling sounds, and the strange theremin-like guitar sounds with eerie harmonics. On a side note, this is a development of the "Deception of the Thrush", which has appeared in many forms over the years in live recordings. A lot of people knock "Happy...", but in my opinion the main riff is clearly satirical, the most obvious and trite riff occurring in nu-metal, and it is as mocking as the lyrics (sample: something like "I am going to sing through a distortion box, to make the words sound menacing"). But the "Happy with what you have" odd-metered vocal riff and drunken bumblebee guitar solo save this song from just being a throwaway satire or joke. For some reason, this particular recording is the one in the King Crimson canon that most reminds me in spirit of the 1969 band, album, and live group. review by Heather Mackenzie — 3-31-03 —

j o e

If The ConstruKction of Light was the engine choking, this one shows the band coasting in neutral. That just might be a worse sign, since it could indicate a degree of resignation on the part of Fripp & Co. The positive side? The lyrics are improved (slightly) relative to ConstruKction, but how that could be otherwise, I don't know. Also, Pat Mastelotto, perhaps the Alan White of King Crimson with his heavier, rock-oriented style relative to Bill Bruford, really opens up on this one like never before. I do like the slowly building instrumental "Dangerous Curves." Also, with its undeniable hooks, raw power, and Mastelotto's fierce fills, "Happy With..." could've been truly killer had Belew taken the time to actually write some real lyrics, instead of the meta-lyric throwbacks and tedious wordplay that actually comprise it. Apart from that, though, I'm afraid there's not much positive to report. Almost all of it is a virtual parade of past Crimson ideas, ideas that were originally executed on invariably superior material. The electronic, dance-percussion beats, an element that actually is new for them, sounds little more than Relevancy gloss. The problem is that they seem too wrapped up in fashioning their music around the expectations of what they should sound like as 'King Crimson,' rather than wholly ignoring these considerations and going after something vibrant and new. A track like "Facts of Life" epitomizes this and sounds particularly beyond the realms of self-parody. "Aggressive, madman vocals?" "Check." "Ascending Red guitar lines?" "Check." "Odd time signatures?" "Check." I can't believe that Fripp and Belew aren't sick of writing this kind of song by now, it sounds so creatively tired to me. For those who want their by-the-numbers Crimson fix, The Power to Believe will certainly make the grade. But for those expecting something beyond a rehash... just move along folks, nothing to see here. review by Joe McGlinchey — 4-7-03 —

g a r y n

Just as I was about to give up on the new millennium (post-Bruford) edition of King Crimson, I get free tickets on the day of a 2003 show and end up reminded of every reason I ever liked them, and it was all new material. I heard a thing or two I could have done without, but enough good stuff to get me to buy the CD (not like I wouldn't have eventually, but I mean right there, at inflated lobby prices!). I wasn't too happy with Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With, so my hopes were admittedly low, but that wasn't very good preparation for what lay ahead. The Power to Believe, aside from a few Belewy pop numbers, is presented as dark and mysterious as one could have hoped them to conjure. I guess it boils down to whether or not one likes the Belewy pop numbers. Two of them aren't bad at all. I will live with them, but "Facts of Life" should be a b-side released in Canada only. Well, I'll take the good and take the bad and mix 'em up and then I'll be happy with that with which I have to be happy. The rest of the CD is commandeered by Fripp and Gunn, with the still-kinda-growing-on-me electronic kit of Mastelotto occasionally adding the fighting-robots-in-space-so-you-know-we're-in-the-future-already sound which Bruford somehow avoided entirely. OK, so I guess I'm a little disappointed that the guy has a synthbeat looping behind him while he plays, but other than that minor detail, I'm totally astounded by this CD. Instead of calling the second track "Larks' Tongues in Aspic part V" they barely hint at it musically and call it "Level Five". Gunn employs a lot more distortion on this whole CD, reminding me of Wetton on "Level Five" and "Elektrik" especially. "Elektrik" sounds like another revisit of "Fracture", but way better than "FraKctured" as it draws to a much much heavier conclusion. When I heard this live, I knew I was blowing some dough on my way out. The CD version doesn't touch the live presentation, of course, but I did get to visualize robots fighting in space. For those attuned to the more mysterious elements of their writing, "The Power to Believe II" and "Dangerous Curves" give us the a double-whammy of drawn-out repetitive trancey space jams, virtually unfettered by brawling droids. The Fripp stuff at the end of "Power to Believe II" is great, and Gunn's work is both simple and amazing throughout each track. The cold dark ending with the last two parts of the title track seem to tie the P.J. Crook artwork together with the whole piece, and by extension the whole album. The anachronistic essence of past meeting future is what really won me over with this CD. Its as if what was once forecast is now reality, and this is the culmination of the energy which got us here from there. Toss out a song or two, and this would be near perfect. Perfection, of course, would require the absence of fighting space robots. review by Gary Niederhoff — 4-2-03 —

b r a n d o n

Where to begin? I had high hopes for this album, as it was getting some rave reviews on a few message boards, but in the end I feel about it the same way I felt about The ConstruKction of Light - ehhh. My initial reacton, in fact, was extremely negative, so much so that it shocked me. I think it was, more than anything, a knee-jerk response to hearing that signature tinny Fripp/Belew guitar timbre, a sound that I have a love/hate relationship with at best, and one that I'm rapidly getting really tired of. Previous King Crimson albums in the post-Discipline era have given me deja vu, but never in a really negative way. Even the throwbacks present on The ConstruKction of Light didn't really turn me off too much. However, I can't help but feel that I've already heard pieces like "Level Five", "Elektrik", and so on, and frankly they bore me to tears this time around. Even the percussive innovations on "Elektrik" — which aren't really innovative, actually, except in the context of King Crimson — can't save that song from the deja vu, either. And then there are the attempts at nu-metal (and no, I'm not just talking about the band photo in the liner notes), namely "Facts of Life" and "Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With". I have to admit enjoying these songs on a kind of visceral level, which I guess is the idea, but it's also sort of embarrassing to find King Crimson trying to ride more-or-less expired trends in contemporary pop rock. It's not all bad, of course. All the pieces I just disparaged aren't bad, they just don't represent a direction in which I'm interested in seeing the band move. "Eyes Wide Open" is a very pleasant song, even if it obviously channels older pieces like "Matte Kudasai" or "One Time". And by far the highlight is the one-two instrumental punch of "The Power to Believe II" and "Dangerous Curves". It's here that the influences from the ProjeKcts finally become apparent, with some unusual melodies, grooving bass lines, and slowly building compositions. "The Power to Believe II" even features some cool gamelan-sounding percussion effects, overlaid with ghostly distorted vocals and a deep, brooding bassline that makes the whole affair sound very subterranean. The song climaxes subtly, and it's one of the most moodily effective pieces King Crimson has done in their current incarnation. "Dangerous Curves" is just a good ol' slow-burning, extended tension-and-release, built around a simple, repetitive theme — nothing new, to be sure, but done well enough that I don't mind. Performance-wise, no one really stands out for me, although I appreciate what Pat Mastelotto has brought to the group, and his work here is far more subtle and interesting that the controversial drumming he did on The ConstruKction of Light. Unfortunately, neither he nor the two tracks I really like can save this album from mediocrity. Disappointing, although I have to say that if the band continues on the path of "The Power to Believe II", they'll still hold my interest with their future work. review by Brandon Wu — 3-30-03 —