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 Great followup to "Discipline"-- KC keeps moving. November 5, 2005
Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
An unfairly lamented album, "Beat" had the incredible misfortune of being the followup to one of the truly great records of its era. Tension abounded as the band sought new directions, and while stories of Fripp storming out of the studio at one point abound, through all this, the most difficult of the three 80s Crimson albums was born.
Named "Beat" as it took its inspiration from the beat poets, nothing shows this quite as clearly as "Neal and Jack and Me"-- an overt reference to Neal Cassidy and Jack Kerouac, filled with a driving beat, guitar pyrotechnics, and a great half shouted vocal from Belew, wrapped in interlocking guitars, its clear things have changed. This is about it for interlocking guitars-- there's a couple funky songs, with driving sort of beats, the instrumental "Sartori in Tangiers" and the frantic paced and crazed "Neurotica", which features a great break that takes the pace down before popping back up in intensity.
This one has no less than three ballads, two of which succeed and one of which ("Two Hands") is pretty much throwaway in my book. Hoewever, "Heartbeat" is a great love song, far and away the most straightforward the band has ever done-- it is however responsible for the opinion that Belew was putting a pop spin on the band, and I suspect if they did it over again, this one may not have made it. "Waiting Man" however is brilliant, featuring syncopated rhythms, a wonderful vocal from Belew, may be the best track on the album.
The album closes on a bizarre note, leaning towards the future in a way-- "The Howler", with its twisted guitars and the instrumental and brutal "Requiem". Full of angst ridden guitars and darkness, this one feels older, timeless in a way, full of the sort of darkness Crimson has been known for over the years-- almost out of place on this one, but one of the great moments of the '80s Crimson.
Its not as good as "Discipline", but "Beat" is a unique and interesting record. Definitely worth checking out.
A need to feel your heartbeat July 22, 2007
Tim Brough (Springfield, PA United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The second album from the 80's version of King Crimson doesn't have the immediate, visceral force that "Discipline" delivered, but "Beat" has lost none of its impact since its 1982 release. Envisioned as an album that would thematically and spiritually embody the scope of the great American Beat Poets, the album starts of with the spectre of "Neal and Jack and Me," told from the perspective of "a 1952 Starline Coupe."
But "Beat" also means rhythm, and the album has its share of that. "Neurotica" is a distant second to "Discipline's" "Elephant Talk," but the pulse underneath it is irresistible. The instrumental "Satori In Tangier" is made of the sort of polyrythyms that put the Talking Heads into overdrive. And if matching the spirit of the freewheeling and free-associating Beats was one of King Crimson's goals, then the aptly titled "The Howler" and angry clashing finale "Requiem" to just that.
The main difference between "Beat" and the bookending albums in Crimson's 80's block is that Adrian Belew's melodic and romantic streaks barrel to the head of the stage twice here. "Heartbeat" is the closest thing to a popsong the band recorded, with Belew liking it so much that he still pulls it out on his solo performances. His wife Margaret Belew penned the romantic "Two Hands." They are so much softer in tone than anything on "Discipline" that many fans of that album cried sell-out. But they miss the point. The "Beat" movement was all about sharing wisdom and commonality, discovering the brilliance in the everyday and gaining the freedom to be exactly the person you wanted to be. Should that goal be euphoria, then appreciating the beauty of art ("Two Hands") or the ecstasy of love ("Heartbeat") would be a part of that.
If not, well, the live review of random animal parts in "Neurotica" might be for you. Either way, "Beat" is not to be missed.
I also got a major kick out of seeing a picture of the ticket for the July 1982 concert ticket at the Mann Theater. I happened to be at that very show, the summer after graduating college. A spectacular show, and made me appreciate this album even more.
 Beats Me? February 6, 2007
K. Lewis (OZ)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This record sounds better to me now than it did when it came out. In some ways I like it more than Discipline. Here, Crimson goes from 2 extremes pop (heartbeat) to avant-garde Frippertronics (requiem), the rest is everything in between, their most diverse release, still it beat's me why that is because I used to dislike this release
Beat-en with a Stick July 19, 2008
M. Ballantine
King Crimson's reinvented return after several years of abdication includes mad-man Adrian Belew and the incomparable Tony Levin bringing his incomparable Chapman Stick skills fresh from proof-of-concept playing for Peter Gabriel, which was just as stunning...must be heard to be believed!
 not their best December 7, 2007
Bradley J. Krause (Milwaukee, WI)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
IF you're rounding out your King Crimson collection, you have to buy this. But it simply is not their best work, especially following Discipline
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