Album
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic
Larks' Tongues in Aspic is King Crimson's fifth studio album, released on 23 March 1973. It introduced a completely new line-up around co-founder and guitarist Robert Fripp: John Wetton on bass and vocals, David Cross on violin and keyboards, Bill Bruford on drums, and Jamie Muir on percussion. It came out through Island in the UK and Atlantic in the United States and Canada.
This is the record where the band changed direction. Eastern European modernist classical music and free improvisation sit at the heart of it, and they pull the group well away from the sound of its earlier albums. If you want to hear how King Crimson reinvented itself, and how the progressive rock of the early 1970s could turn adventurous and unsettling, this is the place to start.
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: tracklist, credits and charts
6 tracks · 46:45Tracklist
- 1Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part OneBruford, Cross, Fripp, Muir, Wetton13:37
- 2Book of SaturdayFripp, Wetton, Palmer‐James2:56
- 3ExilesCross, Fripp, Palmer‐James7:42
- 4Easy MoneyFripp, Wetton, Palmer‐James7:54
- 5The Talking DrumBruford, Cross, Fripp, Muir, Wetton7:26
- 6Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part TwoRobert Fripp7:08
- Produced by
- King Crimson
- Recorded at
- Command Studios (London)
- Recorded
- January and February 1973
- Engineered by
- Nick Ryan, Andy Hendriksen
- Labels
- Island, Atlantic
- Length
- 46:45
Line-up
- Bill Bruford · drums (drum set) · guest
- David Cross · mellotron, violin, viola · guest
- Robert Fripp · mellotron, guitar · guest
- Jamie Muir · percussion · guest
- John Wetton · bass, vocals, bass guitar · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1973 | 20 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1973 | 61 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1973 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1973 | 15 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2012 | 19 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1973 | 26 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2012 | 35 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1973 | 56 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
72.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.7k
ListenBrainz listeners
146k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
9.3k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 23 March
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1981
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 23 March 1973 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 March 1973 | |
| Wikidata | 23 March 1973 | |
| US release | 1973 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 23 March 1973 | earliest UK or European date |
29 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Virgin | 077778677529 | other |
| — | XW | Discipline Global Mobile | deluxe | |
| 1973 | DE | Island | other | |
| 1973 | IT | Island | other | |
| 1973 | US | Atlantic | other | |
| 23 March 1973 | GB | Island | original | |
| 1977 | GB | Polydor | other | |
| 1986 | US | E’G | other | |
| 1987 | US | Editions EG | other | |
| 26 August 1987 | JP | Virgin | 4988006615977 | other |
| 6 April 1988 | JP | Virgin | other | |
| 1989 | US | E’G | 017046150620 | other |
| 1989 | GB | E’G | 012985300728 | other |
| 1989 | GB | Virgin | 077778677529 | other |
| 2000 | US | Caroline Records | 017046150620 | deluxe |
| 2000 | JP | Discipline Global Mobile | 4988013047204 | other |
| 2001 | XE | Virgin | 724384407025 | deluxe |
| 13 December 2004 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367050526 | deluxe |
| 2012 | US | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367501127 | other |
| 2012 | XE | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367501127 | other |
| 22 October 2012 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367400529 | deluxe |
| 29 October 2012 | XW | Inner Knot | 633367197320 | other |
| 27 November 2012 | US | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367501127 | other |
| 2013 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367910516 | other |
| 30 September 2014 | — | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367880222 | deluxe |
| 2020 | XE | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367792013 | other |
| 12 June 2020 | XE | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367792310 | other |
| 20 October 2023 | GB | Panegyric | 633367795823 | deluxe |
| 21 March 2025 | XW | Discipline Global Mobile | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 600×599 | upscaled |