King Crimson: Three of a Perfect Pair : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The "three of a perfect pair" in the title track of the new King Crimson album refers to the combative moods of a difficult couple, considered one by one and as one: he, she and they. Three, you see. It also works as an allusion for the creative partnership between guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew. Their interlocking, cyclical guitar work is a marvel of control and technique that's all the more remarkable given the contrasting dispositions of the two players. Belew: congenial, humanistic, creator of a menagerie of witty, animate guitar noises. Fripp: formal, methodical, rational in the pursuit of extremes. Though there is unity within the playing at any given moment, Three of a Perfect Pair is a creature with a split personality.

The "left side" (side one) is more accessible, comprising mostly vocal numbers with potent, explosive riffery from Fripp and Belew and a terse, febrile rhythmic attack from bassist Tony Levin and drummer Bill Bruford. More than anything, the members of King Crimson are aware that the sound of an instrument can be as expressive as the nuances of the human voice. Note the pointillistic guitar and contrapuntal bass rumbling in "Three of a Perfect Pair"; by the end, you're paying as much attention to the textures as to the composition. "Man with an Open Heart" is notable for its mix of Eastern modality and rock dynamics, "Sleepless" for the ecstatic swirl and clash of popping bass strings, impassioned singing and cascading guitar.

The flip side of that ecstasy is the measured menace of the instrumentals on the LP's "right side." Even the lone vocal number, "Dig Me," the plaint of a soon-to-be-junked car, is treated to sound more metallic than human. The landscape is pure Eraserhead: the dull, patterned repetition of machinery; the numbing ritual of assembly-line work; vague intimations of humanity crushed by the wheels of industry. It's the opposite of ambient music in that it aims to disturb, to unnerve. But again, the technique fascinates quite apart from the content, which itself is disturbing. Not a pretty picture, any way you look at it.