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Beat (King Crimson album)

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"Neal and Jack and Me" redirects here. For the live DVD, see Neal and Jack and Me (album).

Beat
Studio album by
King Crimson
Released18 June 1982
RecordedMarch and April 1982
StudioOdyssey, London
Genre
Length35:19
LabelE.G.
ProducerRhett Davies
King Crimson chronology
Discipline
(1981) 		Beat
(1982) 		Three of a Perfect Pair
(1984)
Singles from Beat
  1. "Heartbeat"
    Released: June 1982

Beat is the ninth studio album by the British progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 18 June 1982 by E.G. Records.[2] It was the second King Crimson album to feature the lineup of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford, and the first ever King Crimson album to feature the same lineup as its predecessor.

Background and production

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Beat was inspired by the history and writings of the Beat Generation, spurred on by the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Beat writer Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road.[3] Adrian Belew recalls being "prompted by a note saying 'I'm wheels, I am moving wheels'" given to him by Robert Fripp, who suggested that Beat writings become the "lyrical underpinning" of the album after he saw Belew reading a work by Kerouac.[4]

Opening track "Neal and Jack and Me" references Kerouac and Neal Cassady. Besides On the Road, the lyrics also mention Kerouac's novels The Subterraneans, Visions of Cody and Satori in Paris. The song was released as a B-side to "Heartbeat", the album's lone single. Musically, "Neal and Jack and Me" picks up where Discipline left off, with Fripp and Belew playing patterns in 5
4 and 7
8.[citation needed] "Heartbeat" is also the name of a book written by Cassady's wife Carolyn. "Sartori in Tangier" derives its title from Satori in Paris and the city of Tangier in Morocco, where a number of Beat writers and Paul Bowles (whose The Sheltering Sky provided the title for a track on Discipline) spent time.[citation needed] The instrumental's distinctive intro was performed by Tony Levin on the Chapman Stick; the introduction was longer on early live versions.[5]

"Neurotica" shares its title with Neurotica, a Beat-era magazine.[6][7] The song's Frippertronics intro is lifted directly from "Hååden Two" from Fripp's 1979 solo album Exposure.[citation needed] It had been performed live in 1981 as an instrumental titled "Manhattan".[5] "The Howler" refers to Beat writer Allen Ginsberg's 1955 poem "Howl", which Fripp suggested to Belew as inspiration for the lyrics. The 15
8 guitar riff heard halfway through the song can be likened[weasel words] to the one Belew played on Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" in 1981.[citation needed] The song was first performed in early 1982 as an instrumental. Another instrumental track, entitled "Absent Lovers", was also performed during this time but not included on the album.[8]

The recording of the final track, "Requiem", created tension between Fripp and Belew. The instrumental was built on a Frippertronics loop from Fripp's 1979 solo tour. After Levin and Bruford recorded rhythm tracks, Belew returned to the studio alone to record additional guitar overdubs. Fripp later did the same, though when the group had re-convened, Belew told Fripp to leave the studio in response. Fripp, though visibly upset, complied and headed for his home in Wimborne Minster.[4] He was not heard from for several days, though a letter from Bruford and a phone call from manager Paddy Spinks led the group to "piece it all back together" and Belew would later apologise. However, the group did not reconvene until the beginning of their subsequent tour.[4]

Fripp recalled that "at the time, Bill and Adrian thought that Beat was better than Discipline. For me, this [was] an indication of how far the band had already drifted from its original vision. The group broke up at the end of [the sessions]...I had nothing to do with the mixing of Beat, nor did I feel able to promote it. Somehow we absorbed that fact, and kept going." Belew considered the sessions "the most awful record-making experience of [his] life and one [he] would never choose to repeat",[4] and both he and Bruford have stated in retrospect that "Heartbeat" and "Two Hands" should not have been included on the album.[citation needed]

Release and reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone[9]

Released on 18 June 1982, Beat peaked at number 39 in the UK Albums Chart.[10] In a positive review, Trouser Press wrote that "the players push their instruments into a new form, akin to fusion and art-rock, but miles beyond either, and beyond description as well."[3]

A 5.1 surround sound mix of the album by Fripp and Steven Wilson, started in 2009 and finished in 2013, was released in October 2016 for King Crimson's 40th Anniversary Series as a standalone CD/DVD package and as part of the On (and off) The Road (1981–1984) box set.[11][12]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Adrian Belew, except "Two Hands" by Margaret Belew; all music is composed by King Crimson (Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford).

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Neal and Jack and Me"4:22
2."Heartbeat"3:54
3."Sartori in Tangier" (instrumental)3:34
4."Waiting Man"4:27
Side B
No.TitleLength
5."Neurotica"4:48
6."Two Hands"3:23
7."The Howler"4:13
8."Requiem" (instrumental)6:48

Personnel

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King Crimson
Production personnel
  • Rhett Davies – producer
  • Graham Davies – equipment
  • Rob O'Conner – cover design
  • Tex Read – social services
  • Patrick Spinks – management

Charts

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Album

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] 47
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 75
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 39
US Billboard 200[17] 52
Chart (2016) Peak
position
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] 40

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1982 "Heartbeat" Billboard Mainstream Rock 57

References

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  1. ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Beat – King Crimson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  2. ^ King Crimson - Beat Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 29 October 2023
  3. ^ a b Grant, Steven; Fleischmann, Mark; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: King Crimson". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Sid Smith - Arguments, agreements, advice, answers... DGM Live. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b Smith, Sid (8 March 2004). "23 Nov 1981: The Roxy, Los Angeles". DGM Live. Discipline Global Mobile. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Neurotica". Landesmania. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
  7. ^ Chapter 10: Battling the Social Neurosis. University of Chicago Press. 8 June 1998. ISBN 9780226041889. Retrieved 20 March 2009. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Smith, Sid (8 March 2004). "03 Mar 1982: Toad's Place, New Haven". DGM Live. Discipline Global Mobile. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  9. ^ Stern, Chip. "King Crimson: Beat : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  10. ^ "King Crimson | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  11. ^ Fripp, Robert (11 January 2009). "Bredonborough Snow The Minx was". DGM Live. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  12. ^ Fripp, Robert (25 June 2013). "Bredonborough Rising at Shopping for". DGM Live. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6545". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  14. ^ Okamoto, Satoshi (2006). Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon. ISBN 978-4-87131-077-2.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – King Crimson – Beat". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  17. ^ "King Crimson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
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