The ConstruKction of Light | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 23 May 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Studio | StudioBelew, Nashville | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 58:18 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | King Crimson | |||
King Crimson chronology | ||||
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The ReconstruKction Of Light cover | ||||
The Construkction of Light (stylised as the construKction of light) is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by record label Virgin. [1] It is the first of two studio albums to feature the "double duo" line-up of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. It is the only King Crimson studio album not to chart in the US.
By the release of the construKction of light, drummer Bill Bruford and bassist Tony Levin had left King Crimson. Their departure brought to an end the "double trio" era and marked Crimson's return to a quartet formation. [2] For the first time in the group's history, Robert Fripp was the only Englishman in the band. [3] [5]
The album bears a sound similar to their 1980s lineup, with Mastelotto primarily playing electronic drums and Belew, Gunn and Fripp often playing sophisticated, interlocking parts, with Belew and Fripp often utilizing overdriven guitar tones. However, the pace of these interlocking parts is often slower than it was in the 1980s, with Belew and Fripp often trading single notes back and forth in hocket. As such, it presents a twist on the gamelan approach of the 1980s quartet.[ citation needed ]
The album also harks back to the 1970s, presenting sequels to instrumental pieces from this era. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" continues a series of pieces forming a cross-album suite, primarily recalling motifs from part II. "FraKctured" began as a fifth entry in the "Larks" suite, but was later considered closer in lineage to "Fracture", the final track from 1974's Starless and Bible Black , and thus renamed. [6]
Fripp was unhappy with the album, considering that it "doesn't convey the power of the music, to a greater extent than any of the [King Crimson] studio albums", feeling it was hampered by the conditions under which it was made: none of the music was played live before it was recorded, Mastelotto did not use his preferred hybrid acoustic/electronic kit, and Fripp's attention was focused on writing/playing over recording/production. A "re-assembling" of the album with live recordings instead of the original studio recordings was an option explored by Discipline Global Mobile when it came to reissue the material. [7]
In 2019, a substantial reworking of the album was released as The ReconstruKction of Light, when parts of the original recording were found to be lost. In particular, Pat Mastelotto re-recorded the drum parts for each song on a predominantly acoustic kit. [8] The remix of "FraKctured" was released as part of the KC50 series online, serving as a preview of the full release. David Singleton's commentary on this track is underscored by the remix of "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum". [9]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
PopMatters | [11] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
AllMusic wrote that the band "fall flat with The ConstruKction of Light [...] Unable to shed the weight of their oft-brilliant history, the most promising moments of ConstruKction are crushed underneath the bulk. What makes ConstruKction such a disappointment is, despite how 'progressive' the band-fragmenting ProjeKct approach appeared on paper, upon execution, it produced an utterly backward-looking album." [10]
German prog magazine eclipsed, on the other hand, rated the album as the third best King Crimson album ever, and also included it in their list of the 150 best progressive rock albums of all time.[ citation needed ]
Regarding the revised 2019 version, The ReconstruKction of Light, Mark Smotroff of Audiophile Review noted that "The dynamics are much better and the music is not lying there flat. Mastelotto has arguably rescued this album by adding an impassioned new live drum track." [2]
All lyrics by Adrian Belew. All music by Belew, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "ProzaKc Blues" | 5:27 |
2. | "The ConstruKction of Light" | 5:49 |
3. | "The ConstruKction of Light" | 2:50 |
4. | "Into the Frying Pan" | 6:54 |
5. | "FraKctured" | 9:06 |
6. | "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" | 6:24 |
7. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" | 3:41 |
8. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" | 2:50 |
9. | "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" | 2:36 |
10. | "Coda: I Have a Dream" | 4:51 |
11. | "Heaven and Earth" (as ProjeKct X) | 7:46 |
Note: Digital editions of the album do not split up "The ConstruKction of Light" or "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" and "Coda: I Have a Dream" into multiple tracks.
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
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German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [13] | 67 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [14] | 18 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [15] | 31 |
UK Albums (OCC) [16] | 129 |
The Power to Believe is the thirteenth and final studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It was released on 24 February 2003 in the United Kingdom and on 4 March 2003 in the United States through Sanctuary Records and met with generally favourable reviews, with several critics appreciating its heightened aggression. The Power to Believe was preceded by the EP Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With (2002), which features alternate and otherwise unreleased tracks.
Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With is the third EP by prog rock band King Crimson released in 2002, a companion to the subsequent album The Power to Believe (2003). Many of the songs on Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With can also be found on The Power to Believe, but there are differences between recordings; this version of "Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With" is longer by one chorus, and "Eyes Wide Open" uses primarily acoustic instrumentation.
Heavy ConstruKction is a live three CD set by the band King Crimson, released by Discipline Global Mobile records on 1 December 2000. The album features recordings of the European tour of May to July 2000, from DATs made at the front-of-house mixing desk.
King Crimson On Broadway is a live album by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in July 1999. The tracks on the albums were recorded at the Longacre Theater in New York City, New York, US, on November 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25, 1995, as the band was touring to promote the album THRAK.
B'Boom: Live in Argentina is a live album by the band King Crimson, released in 1995. All songs were recorded between 6 and 16 October 1994 at the Broadway Theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, except for "Heartbeat" which was recorded in Córdoba.
Live in Nashville, TN is a live album by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in February 2002.
Nashville Rehearsals is an album of studio sessions and rehearsals by the band King Crimson, released through the King Crimson Collectors' Club in November 2000. The band were working towards a new King Crimson studio album, but decided progress was unsatisfactory and did not develop these ideas further.
EleKtrik: Live in Japan is a live album by the band King Crimson, released in 2003. It consists of most of the audio soundtrack from the first disc of the band's double DVD Eyes Wide Open.
A Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club is a 2000 album by the band King Crimson, compiled from King Crimson Collectors' Club albums - limited release live recordings of concert performances, studio sessions and radio sessions.
Live in Mexico City is a live album by band King Crimson, first released as a free Windows Media Audio download in 1999. Some tracks later appeared on the live albums Cirkus: The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson Live (1999) and Vrooom Vrooom (2001), and as part of the expanded "THRAK BOX" in 2015. The album was recorded at the Metropolitan Theater, Mexico City, Mexico, 2–4 August 1996
THRAK is the eleventh studio album by the band King Crimson released in 1995 through Virgin Records. It was preceded by the mini-album VROOOM in 1994. It is their first full-length studio album since Three of a Perfect Pair eleven years earlier, and the only full album to feature the "Double Trio" lineup of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn, Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto. It is also the last time all members from the Discipline era would work together, the last new album to feature Bruford, and Levin.
ProjeKct X was a side project of the music band King Crimson during 1999–2000.
The Roar of P4 is a live album from ProjeKct Four, a King Crimson offshoot band. It was recorded on November 1, 1998, in San Francisco and released by the King Crimson Collector's Club in August 1999.
Cirkus: The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson Live is a live album compilation from King Crimson. It was released in 1999 through Virgin Records.
The ProjeKcts are a succession of spin-off projects associated with the band King Crimson.
"Larks' Tongues in Aspic" is a musical suite by the English progressive rock band King Crimson. Spanning thirty years and four albums, the series comprises five parts, all of which carry unifying musical motifs. Parts I and II were released as the introductory and final tracks on King Crimson's 1973 album of the same name, part III was featured on their 1984 album Three of a Perfect Pair, part IV appeared on 2000's The Construkction of Light, and the final part, "Level Five", was included on the 2003 album The Power to Believe. Despite breaking the naming convention, Robert Fripp, King Crimson founder and only constant contributor to the suite, insists that "Level Five" is part of the pentalogy.
The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson – Volume Two – 1981–2003 is a compilation album by the highly influential English progressive rock band King Crimson, containing the best-known songs from the group's 1981–2003 phase. No material from the album the construKction of light (2000) was included in this box set. It was released in 2005.
Vrooom Vrooom is a live two CD set by the band King Crimson, recorded in 1995 & 1996, and released in 2001. It features the six member “double trio” lineup of the band, with guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, bassists Tony Levin and Trey Gunn, and drummers Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto.
Live at the Orpheum is a live album by the band King Crimson, released by Discipline Global Mobile records in 2015. The album was recorded on 30 September and 1 October at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California on the band's The Elements of King Crimson US tour of 2014.
Eyes Wide Open is a live 2-DVD set by the British progressive rock band King Crimson, released in 2003. It presents two concerts filmed in the early 2000s, the band lineup featuring Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto.
Q: You are the only Englishman in the band. RF: I noticed that too.