King Crimson's debut on Sanctuary Records (a part of BMG) is this EP called Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With, a precursor to their full-length album to be titled The Power to Believe, which is to be released in early 2003. Made up of 11 tracks (plus a whimsical hidden track), of which four are actual songs, the rest are short but interesting little musical interludes.
The title track is a fearsome prog-rocker, full of angular guitars from Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew. Very reminiscent of the Red period, it kicks things off in fine fashion. After a few alluring instrumentals where Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto add some neat xylophone sounds on Warr guitar and drums, comes the acoustic "Eyes Wide Open", and the bluesy but heavy "Potato Pie." The band also chooses to once again expand on a theme with "Lark's Tongues in Aspic Part IV", only this time even more metallic than before. Fripp and Belew trade lethal shards of distorted guitar mayhem here, while Pat Mastelotto balsts away furiously on the drums. The barrage by Fripp here is simply awesome in its speed and intensity, and when Belew lets it rip you would think it was WWIII with all the whammy bar shrapnel.
This was a tasty treat while we wait for the full-length CD. King Crimson never seems to fail when it comes to producing quality music, and this release, while short, is no exception.
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