Pictured above: Steve Peregrin Took, 1971
Following the release of Lean Out Your Window, Stars embarked on a joint tour with T. Rex. Initially, there was a particular tension in the air given Steve Took being previously kicked out of T. Rex sometime before he joined Stars, however, he and Marc Bolan reconciled during the tour, going their separate ways afterward.
“We later played a gig opening for Pink Floyd, Syd was a bit nervous about that. When we all met up backstage he froze up... He hadn’t seen any of them in almost two years at that point, and they didn’t split on the best of terms, especially him and Roger.”
- Twink, 2013
“I don’t really remember that concert all that well. What I do remember however is how Syd was sort of trying to avoid me. Now I don’t really blame him for that, I was always sort of a prick and I guess he partially blamed me for him being ‘pushed out’ of the band.”
- Roger Waters, 2010
After opening for Pink Floyd in October, Stars went on to start recording their second album at the Mayfair Studios with producer Tony Visconti, with it being recorded in only a week between October and November. The album, titled Beautiful Deceiver after one of Took’s songs, was released to positive reception, with many critics agreeing on it being not as good as their debut, yet still a solid effort from the group. Soon after the album’s release, Syd quit the band to focus on his painting career, and Stars went on hiatus.
Beautiful Deceiver
01. Baby Lemonade (4:11) [1]
02. Beautiful Deceiver (2:47) [2]
03. Mexican Grass War (5:29) [3]
04. Rats (3:02) [1]
05. Dominoes (4:09) [1]
06. The Sparrow is a Sign (2:23) [3]
07. Rhamadam (20:09) [4]
Released: January 23rd, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Barrett, 1970
[2] - Think Pink, 1970
[3] - Lone Star, 2001
[4] - The Madcap Laughs, 1970 - 2015 Japanese reissue
Pictured above: Ringo Starr, 1971
During the recording of The Ravellers’ All Things Must Pass, Ringo Starr met with American guitarist Peter Drake. They had previously discussed plans to record a country album, however, Ringo was unable to at the time given he was busy with The Ravellers. However, in January of 1971, Ringo flew out to Nashville to record with Peter Drake and “his folk”.
“We did the album in two nights. ... I was only there three days recording. I'd learn five songs in the morning and I'd go and record five songs that night. It was really good.”
- Ringo Starr, 2004
The album was released only two months after it was recorded, and while failing to chart in the UK, it received moderate success in the US, where it reached number 35 on Billboard’s Country Albums list.
Loser’s Lounge
01. Love Don’t Last Long (2:47) [1]
02. Fastest Growing Heartache in the West (2:36) [1]
03. Without Her (2:37) [1]
04. Woman of the Night (2:24) [1]
05. I’d Be Talking All The Time (2:12) [1]
06. $15 Draw (3:31) [1]
07. Wine, Women, and Loud Happy Songs (2:21) [1]
08. I Wouldn’t Have You Any Other Way (3:00) [1]
09. Loser’s Lounge (2:24) [1]
10. Waiting (2:57) [1]
11. Silent Homecoming (3:58) [1]
Released: March 25th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Beaucoups of Blues, 1970
Pictured above: Peter Sinfield, 1971
Between September 1970 and January 1971, King Crimson completed their second European tour. However, recording sessions for their fourth album, Tarkus, were rite with tension.
“Robert Fripp is a right bastard in the studio, trying to work with him was like having a root canal done by a drunken plague doctor.”
- Keith Emerson, 1980
The main cause for stress in-studio were the clashing egos of Robert Fripp and Keith Emerson. Fripp openly hated the material Emerson was composing, insisting his compositions were more worthwhile efforts. Things took a turn for the worse when Fripp left the band, bringing Peter Sinfield, and the King Crimson name, along with him. Mel Collins also left soon after.
“I was done with King Crimson at that time. A paranoid feeling crept into my head as if I were losing grasp of what I wanted to do with my life. I almost quit music entirely after that unfortunate turn of events.”
- Robert Fripp, 2014
Fortunately for Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Michael Giles, and Peter Giles were working on a new album of their own under The Devil’s Triangle name. Fripp rang up McDonald one morning, expressing a desire to work with the three once more.
“I had some doubts about bringing Robert along given our history with King Crimson, however, he told me he was done with King Crimson and wanted to set that aside in the name of making music together once more.”
- Ian McDonald, 1999
Robert Fripp brought along with him Peter Sinfield, Gordon Haskell and Keith Tippet from previous King Crimson projects. For the album, Michael Giles employed a more jazz-oriented style of drumming, which influenced much of the album’s sound. Unfortunately, these sessions were also problematic, with Gordon Haskell describing his experiences in the band as “musical fascism”. During rehearsals for a potential tour, Fripp and McDonald engaged in a shouting match which resulted in McDonald leaving the band, with Michael Giles following suit.
“There is no bad blood between me and Fripp, it’s just that he can be a pain to work with and Ian was right in quitting.”
- Michael Giles, 1972
The Battle of Glass Tears
01. Suite in C (11:21) [1]
02. Flight of the Ibis (3:18) [1]
03. Indoor Games (5:39) [2]
04. Happy Family (4:24) [2]
05. Is She Waiting? (2:41) [1]
06. The Battle of Glass Tears (22:21) [3]
Released: May 2nd, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - McDonald and Giles, 1971
[2] - Lizard, 1970
Pictured above: Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, and Keith Emerson, 1971
Despite being stripped down to a trio of Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer, the former King Crimson continued forth with Tarkus, finishing to record it and continuing to tour, under the temporary name of “Keith Emerson, Greg Lake & Carl Palmer of King Crimson”. This resulted in legal action from Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield, forcing them to be labeled as “Keith Emerson, Greg Lake & Carl Palmer” until a more proper band name was decided on. Tarkus was released on June 14th, 1971, under the latter name.
Tarkus
01. Tarkus (20:41) [1]
02. Jeremy Bender (1:51) [1]
03. Bitches Crystal (3:57) [1]
04. Infinite Space (7:09) [2]
05. A Time and a Place (3:01) [1]
06. Tank (6:47) [3]
07. Are You Ready, Eddy? (2:10) [1]
08. Oh, My Father (4:06) [4]
Released: June 14th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Tarkus, 1971
[3] - Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1970
[4] - Tarkus, 1971 - 2012 release
Author's comments:
Well folks, here it is. The first entry of 2020 and the first glimpse into 1971. I apologize for the wait, as it took me a while to finally get up and plan out 1971. However hopefully now stuff should run smoothly. Thank you for reading as always.
<3
ReplyDeleteAs always, very nice update! Happy new year! I'm presuming that Ron Geesin left the Devil's Triangle before this album was made? Also is Peter Sinfield a member of the group now too?
ReplyDeleteHello Anon. Yes that is the case for both of your questions... it's almost like a near-reunion of the original KC lineup but without Greg Lake and adding Peter Giles and Gordon Haskell.
DeleteBy the way, just in case you get confused, I am danielmartin273. Don't worry, all is good, I just graduated high school, I created the account with my school email. I then tried changing the email address of the account to my home one and it still didn't work, so I'm now using a new account. I know some other people have commented anonymously and just didn't want you to get confused. - Dan
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