Three of a Perfect Pair cover

Three of a Perfect Pair

Released

The third entry in King Crimson’s early-1980s trilogy and the last album made by the Fripp-Belew-Levin-Bruford configuration feels more willfully opaque than the first two, and more sonically compressed. The title track is a romantic lament, mixed densely and claustrophobically; “Sleepless” feels desperate, while “Industry” is a clattery, grinding tone poem. “Man with an Open Heart” is the closest thing to a pop song here, but it’s a cry of despair. This is objectively excellent music, but not as enjoyable a listen as either Discipline or Beat, the first two albums recorded by this manifestation of the band.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians cover

Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians

Ensemble Signal, Bradley Lubman, Steve Reich
Smiley Smile cover

Smiley Smile

The Beach Boys
Concurrence cover

Concurrence

Daníel Bjarnason, Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Dance Hall cover

Dance Hall

Robben Ford, Bill Frisell, Jerry Granelli
Castles in the Air cover

Castles in the Air

Stan Strickland, Christine Van Arsdale, Claire Ritter, Steve Swallow, Andrew Blickenderfer, Takaaki Masuko, Johannes Ammon
Antiheroes cover

Antiheroes

Jim Black, AlasNoAxis
Night Reign cover

Night Reign

Arooj Aftab
Reich: Sextet & Double Sextet cover

Reich: Sextet & Double Sextet

Ekkozone, Mathias Reumert
Danse cover

Danse

Patrice Moret, Julian Sartorius, Colin Vallon