The Construkction of Light

In the late 1990s, drummer Bill Bruford and bassist Tony Levin left King Crimson, ending the "double trio" era documented on THRAK. For the first time in the group's history, Robert Fripp was the only Englishman in the lineup.{{cite interview|url=https://www.dgmlive.com/diaries/Robert%20Fripp/rf-diary-april5-2020|quote=Q: You are the only Englishman in the band. RF: I noticed that too.|first=Robert|last=Fripp|title= RF Press Conference with European Journalists|date=5 February 2003}}{{refn|The Power to Believe had the same lineup as the construKction of light.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/2cf9/|title = BBC - Music - Review of King Crimson - the Power to Believe}}}}

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|date=February 2022}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.spaceward.co.uk/frakctured-zone/ConstruKctionFripp1.htm |title=The ConstruKction of FraKctured - from the diaries of Robert Fripp |website=Spaceward Records |access-date=May 6, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507085425/http://www.spaceward.co.uk/frakctured-zone/ConstruKctionFripp1.htm|archive-date=7 May 2018}}

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.{{Cite web|last=Fripp|first=Robert|date=2011-10-26|title=Bredonborough A later rising than|url=https://www.dgmlive.com/diaries/Robert%20Fripp/bredonborough-a-later-rising-than-210916|access-date=2020-06-15|website=DGM Live|language=en}}

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.{{cite web|title=Heaven & Earth Pre-Order|url=https://www.dgmlive.com/news/Heaven%20&%20Earth%20Pre-order%20ReconstruKction%20&%20Power |author=Sid Smith |date=29 March 2019 |access-date=2 April 2019}} The remix of "FraKctured" was released as part of the KC50 series of archival recordings that year.{{cite web|title=KC50 14 - FraKctured|url=https://www.dgmlive.com/tour-dates/2234 |date=12 April 2019 |access-date=7 December 2019}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}Nickey, Jason. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r479059/review|pure_url=yes}} The ConstruKction of Light review] AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-02-27.

| rev2 = PopMatters

| rev2Score = {{Rating|8|10}}{{cite web |url= http://www.popmatters.com/review/kingcrimson-construkction/ |title=King Crimson: The ConstruKction of Light |first=Dan |last=Moos |work=PopMatters |access-date=13 May 2014}}

|rev3 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=Omnibus Press |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

}}

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."

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|date=February 2022}}

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."{{cite web|url=https://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-music/rekonsidering-king-crimsons-construktion-of-light-in-new-stereo-and-51-surround/|title=ReKonsidering King Crimson's ConstruKction of Light in New Stereo and 5.1 Surround|first=Mark|last=Smotroff|website=Audiophile Review|date=17 February 2020 |access-date=28 February 2021}}

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

{{track listing

| headline = The ConstrucKction of Light

| title1 = ProzaKc Blues

| length1 = 5:27

| title2 = The ConstruKction of Light

| note2 = instrumental

| length2 = 5:49

| title3 = The ConstruKction of Light

| note3 = song

| length3 = 2:50

| title4 = Into the Frying Pan

| length4 = 6:54

| title5 = FraKctured

| note5 = instrumental

| length5 = 9:06

| title6 = The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum

| length6 = 6:24

| title7 = Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV

| note7 = instrumental

| length7 = 3:41

| title8 = Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV

| note8 = instrumental

| length8 = 2:50

| title9 = Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV

| note9 = instrumental

| length9 = 2:36

| title10 = Coda: I Have a Dream

| length10 = 4:51

| title11 = Heaven and Earth

| note11 = instrumental; as ProjeKct X

| length11 = 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.

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

{{Reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|674}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040924084038/http://www.elephant-talk.com/releases/tcol.htm Lyrics]

{{King Crimson}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Construkction of Light, The}}

Category:King Crimson albums

Category:2000 albums