King Crimson
reborn yet again -- the then-newly configured band makes its debut with a violin (courtesy of
David Cross
) sharing center stage with
Robert Fripp
's guitars and his Mellotron, which is pushed into the background. The music is the most experimental of
Fripp
's career up to this time -- though some of it actually dated (in embryonic form) back to the tail-end of the
Boz Burrell
-
Ian Wallace
Mel Collins
lineup. And
John Wetton
was the group's strongest singer/bassist since
Greg Lake
's departure three years earlier. What's more, this lineup quickly established itself as a powerful performing unit, working in a more purely experimental, less jazz-oriented vein than its immediate predecessor. "Outer Limits music" was how one reviewer referred to it, mixing
Cross
' demonic fiddling with shrieking electronics,
Bill Bruford
's astounding dexterity at the drum kit,
Jamie Muir
's melodic and usually understated percussion,
Wetton
's thundering yet melodic bass, and
's guitar, which generated sounds ranging from traditional classical and soft pop-jazz licks to hair-curling electric flourishes. ~ Bruce Eder