The latest in Stormy Mundy Selection (Occasional Series - Acts of Random Archive Rummaging) takes us to Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part III during a rehearsal on January 17th, 1983. Download available here.
It would take many attempts to find the definitive structure of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part III during the making of King Crimson’s third album of the 1980s. This early rehearsal finds the Larks’ double helix motif keeping company with a variety of ideas seeking to get the band from A to B. Of course not all of them would make it to what wee know as the final version but it’s interesting nevertheless to hear the band sifting through the different ideas including an ascending line or two reminiscent of some of Fripp’s Exposure album. The careful layering of steadily rising themes has always been a defining characteristic of Larks’ sequence of compositions. A satisfying blend of ascension and climax, although the climb may have been hard, the view from the top was nearly always worth the effort expended getting there. [Notes by Sid Smith]