Beat

30th anniversary edition

Worth every penny.

Yup, this one's my favorite. Lots of people like Discipline better, can't blame 'em, and lots like the earlier stuff. But this one does it for me. Neal And Jack And Me is just a great driving song. Adrian Belew is in top form and the band cooks. The rest of the album's just as good. Some folks say this record is too pop sounding. I've never heard that- it's still about as far away from radio fodder as electric music gets, but it does seem to have a bit more accessible-to-the-masses sound than some of their other efforts. How is that bad? I don't love every King Crimson disc ever made, but I like quite a few of them. Still, this is the one I'm likely to put on first. If you don't listen to a whole lot of avant garde rock type music, and want to see what the big deal is, this is a pretty good place to start. I'd also recommend Discipline and Red.

Beat is a wonderful album. It is similar in some ways to its precursor Discipline, yet distinct in others. If you enjoyed Discipline, you will probably enjoy Beat. If you are trying to get into King Crimson's 80s work, I would recommend starting with Discipline, though Beat would probably be a fine place to start as well.Beat features interlocking polyrhythmic guitars. Belew gives a powerful yet quirky vocal performance. The guitar work is very interesting and exciting. Beat is a very rhythmically exciting album. The most energetic track is probably "Neal and Jack and Me." "The Howler" is the most beautifully obnoxious, with its wonderful, slightly dissonant, repetitive riff. "Requiem" is tonally similar to a lot of Robert Fripp's soundscapes. My favorite song on the album is probably "Neurotica," which is similarly chaotic to Discipline's "Indiscipline" with it's chaotic drumming and spoken vocals (though the vocals are more rhythmic on "Neurotica" than on "Indiscipline").

As a long time fan of progressive or art rock from the likes of Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and more recently, King Crimson, I am always eager to find "new" music. By new I generally mean music from the 1970s that has a sensibility similar to the bands I just mentioned. And although I only recently began listening to King Crimson, I liked them enough to buy their first seven albums.As I read reviews on Amazon for the first three from the 1980s, I got excited. I didn't bother listening to the supplied snippets as reviewers promised that these albums were even better than anything King Crimson released in the 60s or 70s. Well, suffice it to say I don't necessarily agree with some of the other reviews.While I wouldn't call any of the three albums I purchased (Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair) bad, they are closer to a funky cross between The Talking Heads and Frank Zappa than anything the band did before. The music is indeed good, but it doesn't appear to be progressive rock anymore. Instead of a mix of classical, rock, and jazz, it's more of a cross between funk, rock, and jazz.So buyer beware! If you're ready for something more current than what King Crimson released in the 60s and 70s, these albums will deliver that. But if you wanted something a little closer to the great progressive rock of that era, look elsewhere.

Great KC record. Not my favorite, but even an "ok" KC record is better than most other artists.

These gentlemen are exceptionally talented. We're lucky to have them.

My favorite song had some scratches, it sucks, but the rest of the album is ok

`Beat' was the second album from the 1980s Anglo-American Crim line-up of Fripp-Belew-Levin-Bruford, released in 1982 one year after `Discipline'. In overall style the two albums are similar, but whereas `Discipline' is universally recognised as a minor landmark in rock music history `Beat' is sometimes seen as a kind of also-ran sequel, neither ground-breaking nor particularly original. In fact it's a very good (though not flawless) album containing some fine songs and truly inspired moments.An eclectic mix of 1980s dance music with prog-rock and flavoured by jazz-fusion characterises the music of `Beat', spiced with the usual dash of Crimson quirkiness. The opener `Neal and Jack and Me' is a fine song with a driving dance beat immediately accessible; Andrew Belew's song `Heartbeat' even more so. The very quirky `Neurotica' is in the same vein as `Elephant Talk' with stream-of-consciousness lyrics almost shouted rather than sung by Belew. `Two Hands' is a poetic observational close-up about human connectedness, and `Waiting Man' borrows some rhythms and ideas from the `world music' boom of the period.The closer `Requiem' is a Fripp-guitar-led piece which takes us back to the occasional sound-experiments of the Wetton-Muir period and at the same time predicts the distinctly un-tuneful diversions found on the follow-up album `3 of a perfect pair'. This ain't easy listening folks, and is not premium radio-play material.Each of Crim's three 1980s albums has a distinctive artwork theme-colour: `Discipline' is red and the third of the trio `3 of a Perfect Pair' is yellow. `Beat' is `the blue album.' The `30th anniversary' mix is considered the best version, though it contains no extra material.

On my first listen, I felt that my "bubble of King Crimson appreciation" had burst and I expected this to be my least favourite album.On my second listen, I realised I was starting to enjoy the songs and accepted that I had judged too harshly and too quickly.Now after several listens... I really enjoy this album.In some ways, I enjoy it even more than Discipline (the previous album) - an album which I was instantly impressed with.This album really shook up my opinion of "Adrian Belew era song-writing" Crimson.I really prefer to think of Belew era as being a different band, from the first 7 albums......After Discipline, I felt that "This new Crimson" was not as good as the "Old Crimson"....But after really getting into this album.... I now very much feel that this era of Crimson is NOT less than old Crimson - it's just different.

Watched a review of Top Prog albums by the acclaimed writer Martin Popoff and he recommended this as his fav album, so buy it I did... I have some King Crimson LPs so I thought why not.Nothing wrong with the seller who sent CD quickly but alas after 4 plays (which I believe is the minimum amount to see if you like it or not) I still can't get into it. Maybe three of four tracks are ok but frankly I find it tedious, sorry but I tried and now will be reselling it. Sorry Mr Fripp n Bellew not for me..

This is another great 80s crimson album. Very poppy at times but always mixed in with crimson strangeness. Not as immediate as discipline but it rewards repeated listening.

Absolute classic. Like starless and bible black or in the court , this album followed up a 10/10 which may explain why it is less popular. But this album is as good as discipline in my opinion. Neil and jack and me is a classic tune and my personal favourite. The howler is the only song that isn't a classic but even that isn't too bad and kinda works in the context of the album.