Performer Notes

The initial pressing of STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK is packaged in a cardboard-stock gatefold sleeve.
King Crimson: John Wetton (vocals, bass); Robert Fripp (guitar, mellotron); David Cross (violin, viola, keyboards); William Bruford (percussion).
Digitally remastered by Robert Fripp.
King Crimson: John Wetton (bass guitar); Bill Bruford (drums); David Cross , Robert Fripp.
Personnel: John Wetton (vocals); Robert Fripp (guitar, Mellotron); David Cross (violin, viola, keyboards); Bill Bruford (percussion).
Audio Remasterers: Robert Fripp; Simon Heyworth.
After the transitional ISLANDS, LARK'S TONGUES began the third Crimson phase that continued with STARLESS and ended with RED. The quartet of David Cross, John Wetton, Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford (augmented on LARK'S TONGUES by madman percussionist Jamie Muir) is regarded as the most innovative of Crimson's many lineups, offering hard-edged improvisations on an unprecedented level. With founding member/lyricist Pete Sinfield departed, Robert Palmer-James stepped in with a more cutting, concise lyrical approach that matched the group's uncompromising instrumental precision.
STARLESS takes the furious improvisational style inaugurated by it's predecessor and takes it to new heights. Tunes like "We'll Let You Know" and "Fracture," while based around typically devilish Fripp guitar figures and complicated time signatures, lean heavily on the spontaneity of the band's no-holds-barred interaction for their fireworks. The drumless "Trio" is 100 percent improvisation and inspiration. "The Great Deceiver" is about as close to a standard "rock" tune as STARLESS gets, Wetton's throaty vocals leading the charge. Even on this, one of Crimson's pointiest, nastiest efforts, there's room for a poignant ballad, "The Night Watch," which ranks among the band's best.

Professional Reviews

Q (11/00, p.129) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A stolid affair - proof of the band's road-hardened discipline....envincing a lofty...ambition which they rarely, if ever, matched again."

The Wire (10/00, p.77) - "...Mostly recorded live, it ranges from isolation tank bliss to monolithic rock heaviness of the closing 11 minutes of 'Fracture'..."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.95) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK was originally released in 1974, with the majority of the tracks forged through live improvisation."

Uncut (magazine) (p.91) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Crimson's four-way interplay is laid out afresh in this new stereo mix by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson."

Album: Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Great Deceiver	More Info...	0:04
2)	Lament	More Info...	0:04
3)	We'll Let You Know	More Info...	0:03
4)	The Night Watch	More Info...	0:04
5)	Trio	More Info...	0:05
6)	The Mincer	More Info...	0:04
7)	Starless and Bible Black	More Info...	0:09
8)	Fracture	More Info...	0:11

Album: Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Great Deceiver	More Info...	0:04
2)	Lament	More Info...	0:04
3)	We'll Let You Know	More Info...	0:03
4)	The Night Watch	More Info...	0:04
5)	Trio	More Info...	0:05
6)	The Mincer	More Info...	0:04
7)	Starless and Bible Black	More Info...	0:09
8)	Fracture	More Info...	0:11