KING CRIMSON — Beat (review)

KING CRIMSON — Beat album cover Album · 1982 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Warthur
Beat has a somewhat controversial reputation amongst King Crimson listeners, though on balance I think it's highly underrated. I think it gets less love than its predecessor, Discipline, because whilst Discipline included a number of callbacks to the King Crimson style of the mid- 1970s, this time around the group are focused determinedly on their angular New Wave guitar- dominated style and give more prominence to Adrian Belew's off-kilter vocal performances. But pieces like Sartori in Tangier show that the band were still interested in creating intriguing, fascinating, novel and progressive music, and the handling of the beatnik concept is adept and powerful. Whilst it isn't quite as compelling and universally appealing as the classic Discipline, it's hardly an embarrassment either.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Here For A While Post Bop
NEIL SWAINSON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Roll With Me Blues
DUKE ROBILLARD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pink Elephants On Parade Avant-Garde Jazz
SUN RA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Furniture of the Mind Rearranging 21st Century Modern
BLACK DIAMOND
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Alyson Cawley Martin Speake TENDRILS
MARTIN SPEAKE
js· 1 day ago
Canto proibito (feat. Giovanni Falzone)
ADA MONTELLANICO
snobb· 2 days ago
BADBADNOTGOOD - Audacia
BADBADNOTGOOD
js· 2 days ago
BADBADNOTGOOD - Sunday Afternoon's Dream
BADBADNOTGOOD
js· 2 days ago
dark little narratives
OMAWI (WARELIS / GOVAERT / DE JOODE)
js· 3 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us