LARKS TONGUES IN ASPIC

The Krimheads will argue all the fine points of this 40th Anniversary expanded, remastered, remixes of this iteration of King Crimson. In my estimation these folks have an obsession that is both terrifying, yet beautiful. I get the benefit of their research and dissection, and can use their madness as a guide to the recorded output of the favorite prog-rock group of my youth.What I intend to do in this review, by the standards of the obsessives and experts is anathema. This review can be boiled-down to the simple, or simplistic, advice (judgments vary) that any "real" music lover, or student of progressive arts must own this box set. If you do not have it, buy it for yourself. If you have money to burn, or really care about another adventurous spirit, then buy a copy for that person. A gift that can truly keep on giving.Just the title, "Lark's Tongue in Aspic", produces a nostalgic rush of the Futuristic Fifties from my childhood. A chilled salad plate upon which sat on a bed of iceberg lettuce. The lettuce was the supporting layer for a salty, molded form of aspic encasing a anchovy filet. Crowning this creation was a dollop of mayo. Or, if one was a culinary anarchist, then the mayo would be replaced by "salad dressing" (i.e., Miracle Whip), which was the sweet antithesis to the aspic's salty savory. That and a half of an avacado topped with Thousand Island dressing were the "fast-living" set's appetizers.King Crimson's "LTIA" is every bit as iconic as either of those appetizers from another age. It is odd, bewildering, tantalizing, provocative, and a bit alien. LTIA assuages and assaults the senses, much like aspic, or avocados, or anchovies. Who cares what it was supposed to mean? Rather, what does it mean to you?

I have been a major fan since I was 12,I am now 60.I specifically review the 5.1 dvd mix. The clarity and quality of this mix is unbelievably great. I've been waiting for this kind of sound on Larks Tongues. Others hold this album to be their best.2 speakers are not enough for Crimson.The mix is terrible.All the little subtle, behind the music, extras, are so low in volume that they might as well not be there. Example, the mouth smack on Easy Money.If Fripp isn't leading, he's hard to even hear.About the end of Exiles all of a sudden Cross's minor violin part comes screaming out of nowhere. The vocals on this track are split, leaving them weird and hollow sounding...EXILES!It seems like the whole point, was to just be different, not expand the original.The whole mix is summed up as over bearing rhythm. Bummer.Thanks Fripp.How did Wilson think that this was a mix fans would want? This is a purely self indulgent mix for Wilson!!Fripp needs to understand that fans want to HEAR HIM!I won't even listen to this again... really, because it irritates me so much.I have all of these albums in 5.1.Starless and Islands I have not heard yet. All the rest are fine, at least resembling the originals.LIZARD is the one that defines what I want to hear, it's fantastic.So DISAPPOINTED.

Love this album/cd, would be a great if King Crimson released this only blu ray/dvd. Just like the recent release of "in the court of the Crimson King". The live material unlike the other box sets, live material is a hard listen. Itried but distorted sound made unbearable. So in essence I was only playing the dvd/blu ray which is not worththe price of the box set.

Maybe. One of the critics of my review of ITCOFKC suggests it is. Hard call.The fifth of the early KC sets, certainly ,at worst ,my second favored. Steven Wilson has worked his wizardry again, and the set is available here in a number of fomats.Of course, most prospective buyers will be KC afficionados, looking for further sonic insights into this seminal band, so I see no joy in a bar by bar analysis of the music, which even for its time and place, nay even for KC, truly new; barely premonitored at all in its predecessors. I still hear it as Jazz-Rock Fusion, utterly alien to, say, the sonic landscape of Weather reoprt, or Colliseum, or RTF later. Seems, in my mind, a more organic soundscape, if you will allow.This is where Jamie Muir played with Fripp for a period.DVD A gives us a rare glimpse into the band playing...video of "Life's Rich Tapestry", Exiles, and LTIA part one.Revelatory, and highly entertaining. Fripp may have become the "leader" of KC, but his stage presence was not exactly rivetting! Muir, for all his eccentricities, is highly entertainingto watch.So, the video alone is worth the price of the set. Highly recomended.

So this is what it sounds like! and I've had the LP since it came out in '73.A splendid album and the '40th' CD + DVD package is very good; no point in my reviewing the music as this is covered here by others. The DVD 5.1 surround is great (Steven Wilson simply knows how to do this), and the CD sound itself is way above the vinyl (not something that is automatically the case). It really is as if I'd never heard it before, just so much detail and presence. And visceral power where needed. As good as the '40th' Court of the Crimson King reissue - if not better as there is more to reveal on this album. The only trouble is - it makes you want the others in the series.

One of the all time great bands and this album is stupendous

Lovely album the DVD album sound quality is sublime

Larks' Tongue has always been way up there as a favorite recording not only from a King Crimson standpoint but across the whole array of the musical spectrum. I won't go into the magic of the album as most fans can already attest to it's special character but I will testify to the awesome experience of hearing it in the DVD 5.1 format. It truly is a revelation to zone in on the extaordinary nuance inherent within the recording. You have the sense of really "being there", let in on the secret world that was till now reserved for the artists themselves. So, if you have the appropriate equipment, & already love this disc, do yourself a favour & check this out. You won't be disappointed! Kevin.

A quintessential KC album.