In spring 1987 I discovered Tom Phillips when he had a show and a series of events at the Mappin Art Gallery. These celebrated both his 50th birthday and the fact that his most ambitious postcard compositions had been based on a old postcard of a room in the Mappin that was later bombed in the Second World War. I think it was because the events also included an early showing of A TV Dante, a collaboration with Peter Greenaway, that my attention was first caught.
In the 20 years since then, I've gradually found more and more ideas and coincidences that make Tom Phillips's work interesting to me. His involvement in the cover art for Starless and Bible Black was one of the early and minor coincidences. By the late '80s the record companies were, if not dropping LPs altogether, definitely not issuing them in gatefold sleeves any more. So I realised if I was to get a copy of the Tom Phillips illustration that graced the gatefold of this album, I had better get a second-hand copy while I still could. I got this one for £3.50 from Record Collector in Broomhill.
The album is part of a very prolific period for King Crimson, just before their first 'retirement', with one of their most exciting line-ups. No one would call it easy listening, though. The first bars of the first song are like a statement of intent, which is backed up by Side 2, with its 20 minutes of two intense instrumentals.
The only real respite on the album comes with Trio on Side 1. I first came across this song, which is a recording of a live improvisation from a concert, on the Young Person's Guide to King Crimson where, in the listing of who played what, drummer Bill Bruford is credited with "admirable restraint". Basically he plays nothing at all throughout the track. It's characteristic of Fripp and Crimson that doing nothing should be recognised as a valuable contribution, and Bruford is also given a co-writing credit for the track.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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