The Construkction of Light

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2000 studio album by King Crimson

The ConstruKction of Light

Studio album by

King Crimson

Released| 23 May 2000
Recorded| 1999
Studio| StudioBelew, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
Genre|

* Progressive rock
* progressive metal
* industrial metal

Length| 58:18
Label| Virgin
Producer| King Crimson
King Crimson chronology
| Live in Central Park, NYC
(2000)  | The ConstruKction of Light
(2000)  | Heavy ConstruKction
(2000)

|
|

King Crimson studio chronology
| Thrak
(1995)  | The ConstruKction of Light
(2000)  | The Power to Believe
(2003)

|
|

The ReconstruKction of Light cover

The Construkction of Light (stylised as the construKction of light) is the twelfth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in May 2000 by Virgin Records.[1] It is the first of two studio albums to feature the "double duo" line-up of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. It is the group's longest studio album and the only one not to chart in the United States.

## Recording and release

[edit]

In the late 1990s, drummer Bill Bruford and bassist Tony Levin left King Crimson, ending the "double trio" era documented on THRAK.[2] For the first time in the group's history, Robert Fripp was the only Englishman in the lineup.[3][5]

The Construkction of Light bears a sound similar to the "rock gamelan" 1980s incarnation of King Crimson, with Mastelotto primarily playing electronic drums and Belew, Gunn and Fripp often playing sophisticated, interlocking parts. However, the pace of these interlocking parts is often slower than it was in the 1980s, with Belew and Fripp often trading single notes back and forth in hocket.[citation needed]

The album also contains two sequels to instrumental pieces by 1970s incarnations of the band. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" continues the series of pieces started on Larks' Tongues in Aspic and continued on Three of a Perfect Pair. "FraKctured" began as a fifth entry in the "Larks" suite, but was renamed after being judged as more reminiscent of "Fracture" from Starless and Bible Black.[6]

Fripp was unhappy with the album, considering that it "doesn't convey the power of the music, to a greater extent than any of the [King Crimson] studio albums", as none of the music was played live before the recording, Mastelotto used only electronic drums instead of his preferred hybrid acoustic/electronic kit, and Fripp's attention was focused more on writing and playing than on recording and production. Discipline Global Mobile later considered "re-assembling" the album with live recordings instead of reissuing the studio version.[7]

In 2019, a substantial reworking of the album was released as The ReconstruKction of Light, when parts of the original recording were found to be lost. Mastelotto re-recorded all of his drum parts on a predominantly acoustic kit.[8] The remix of "FraKctured" was released as part of the KC50 series of archival recordings that year.[9]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [10]
PopMatters| [11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [12]

AllMusic wrote that the band "fall flat with The ConstruKction of Light [...] Unable to shed the weight of their oft-brilliant history, the most promising moments of ConstruKction are crushed underneath the bulk. What makes ConstruKction such a disappointment is, despite how 'progressive' the band-fragmenting ProjeKct approach appeared on paper, upon execution, it produced an utterly backward-looking album."[10]

German prog magazine eclipsed, on the other hand, rated the album as the third best King Crimson album ever, and also included it in their list of the 150 best progressive rock albums of all time.[citation needed]

Regarding the revised 2019 version, Mark Smotroff of Audiophile Review noted that "the dynamics are much better...Mastelotto has arguably rescued this album by adding an impassioned new live drum track."[2]

## Track listing

[edit]

All music written by Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto; all lyrics written by Adrian Belew.

The ConstrucKction of LightNo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "ProzaKc Blues"| 5:27
2.| "The ConstruKction of Light" (instrumental)| 5:49
3.| "The ConstruKction of Light" (song)| 2:50
4.| "Into the Frying Pan"| 6:54
5.| "FraKctured" (instrumental)| 9:06
6.| "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum"| 6:24
7.| "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" (instrumental)| 3:41
8.| "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" (instrumental)| 2:50
9.| "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" (instrumental)| 2:36
10.| "Coda: I Have a Dream"| 4:51
11.| "Heaven and Earth" (instrumental; as ProjeKct X)| 7:46

Note: Digital editions of the album do not split "The ConstruKction of Light" or "Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV" (including "Coda: I Have a Dream") into multiple tracks.

## Personnel

[edit]

King Crimson

* Adrian Belew – electric guitar, vocals
* Robert Fripp – electric guitar
* Trey Gunn – Warr guitar, Ashbory bass
* Pat Mastelotto – electronic drums; acoustic and electronic drums on ReconstruKction edition

Production personnel

* Ken Latchney – recording, mixing
* Bill Munyon – additional recording, mixing
* Simon Heyworth – mastering
* David Singleton – mastering, management
* Ioannis – art direction, digital art
* Alan Chappell – design

## Chart performance

[edit]

Chart (2000)  | Peak
position

|

German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 67
Italian Albums (FIMI)[14] | 18
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] | 31
UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 129

## References

[edit]

1. ^ King Crimson - The ConstruKction of Light Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 29 October 2023
2. ^ a b Smotroff, Mark (17 February 2020). "ReKonsidering King Crimson's ConstruKction of Light in New Stereo and 5.1 Surround". Audiophile Review. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
3. ^ Fripp, Robert (5 February 2003). "RF Press Conference with European Journalists" (Interview). "Q: You are the only Englishman in the band. RF: I noticed that too."
4. ^ "BBC - Music - Review of King Crimson - the Power to Believe".
5. ^ The Power to Believe had the same lineup as the construKction of light.[4]
6. ^ "The ConstruKction of FraKctured - from the diaries of Robert Fripp". Spaceward Records. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
7. ^ Fripp, Robert (26 October 2011). "Bredonborough A later rising than". DGM Live. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
8. ^ Sid Smith (29 March 2019). "Heaven & Earth Pre-Order". Retrieved 2 April 2019.
9. ^ "KC50 14 - FraKctured". 12 April 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
10. ^ a b Nickey, Jason. The ConstruKction of Light review AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-02-27.
11. ^ Moos, Dan. "King Crimson: The ConstruKction of Light". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – King Crimson – The Construkction of Light" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
14. ^ "Italiancharts.com – King Crimson – The Construkction of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
15. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
16. ^ "King Crimson | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 February 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* The Construkction of Light at Discogs (list of releases)
* Lyrics

* v
* t
* e

King Crimson

* Robert Fripp
* Mel Collins
* Tony Levin
* Pat Mastelotto
* Gavin Harrison
* Jakko Jakszyk
* Jeremy Stacey

* Peter Sinfield
* Michael Giles
* Greg Lake
* Ian McDonald
* Peter Giles
* Gordon Haskell
* Andy McCulloch
* Boz Burrell
* Ian Wallace
* Bill Bruford
* John Wetton
* David Cross
* Jamie Muir
* Adrian Belew
* Trey Gunn
* Bill Rieflin

Studio albums|

* In the Court of the Crimson King
* In the Wake of Poseidon
* Lizard
* Islands
* Larks' Tongues in Aspic
* Starless and Bible Black
* Red
* Discipline
* Beat
* Three of a Perfect Pair
* Thrak
* The Construkction of Light
* The Power to Believe

ProjeKcts albums|

* Space Groove
* Heaven and Earth
* A Scarcity of Miracles

Extended plays|

* Vrooom
* Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With

Live albums|

| Standard release|

* Earthbound
* USA
* The Great Deceiver
* B'Boom: Live in Argentina
* Thrakattak
* Epitaph
* The Night Watch
* Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal
* Live in Mexico City
* The ProjeKcts
* Live at the Jazz Café
* Heavy ConstruKction
* Vrooom Vrooom
* Ladies of the Road
* EleKtrik: Live in Japan
* Live at the Orpheum
* Live in Toronto
* Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind
* Live in Chicago
* Live in Vienna
* Meltdown: Live in Mexico City
* Music Is Our Friend: Live in Washington and Albany

|

Collector's Club|

* Live at the Marquee
* Live at Jacksonville
* The Beat Club, Bremen
* Live at Cap D'Agde
* On Broadway
* Live in San Francisco: The Roar of P4
* The Vrooom Sessions
* Live at Summit Studios
* Live in Central Park, NYC
* Live at Moles Club, Bath
* Live in Hyde Park
* Nashville Rehearsals
* Live at Plymouth Guildhall
* Live in Mainz
* Live in Berkeley, CA
* Live in Northampton, MA
* Live in Detroit, MI
* Live in Nashville, TN
* Live at the Zoom Club
* Jazz Café Suite
* Rehearsals & Blows

Compilations|

* A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson
* The Compact King Crimson
* Heartbeat: The Abbreviated King Crimson
* Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
* Sleepless: The Concise King Crimson
* Cirkus: The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson Live
* The Deception of the Thrush: A Beginners' Guide to ProjeKcts
* A Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club
* The Power to Believe Tour Box
* The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Volume One: 1969–1974
* The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Volume Two: 1981–2003
* The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson: 1969–2003
* The Elements of King Crimson

Major Box Sets|

* In the Court of the Crimson King
* Larks' Tongues in Aspic
* The Road to Red
* Starless
* THRAK
* On (and off) The Road
* Sailors' Tales
* Heaven & Earth
* The Complete 1969 Recordings

Singles|

* "The Court of the Crimson King"
* "Epitaph" / "21st Century Schizoid Man"
* "Matte Kudasai"
* "Thela Hun Ginjeet"
* "Heartbeat"
* "Sleepless"

Other songs|

* "I Talk to the Wind"
* "Moonchild"
* "Islands"
* "Larks' Tongues in Aspic"
* "Fallen Angel"
* "Starless"

Videos|

* Déjà Vrooom
* Neal and Jack and Me
* Eyes Wide Open

Related|

| Articles|

* Discography
* Members
* Discipline Global Mobile
* In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50

|

Bands|

* Giles, Giles and Fripp
* Yes
* McDonald and Giles
* Emerson, Lake & Palmer
* U.K.
* Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
* Tuner
* HoBoLeMa
* Stick Men
* TU
* 21st Century Schizoid Band
* Crimson Jazz Trio
* Crimson ProjeKct
* The Vicar

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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