Three of a Perfect Pair is the tenth studio album by the band King Crimson, released in 1984. The album is a balance between the experimental Discipline, and the more commercially accessible Beat. Tony Levin had more input than on any other King Crimson album. It is divided into a "left" and "right" side, with a third side added in 2001. One of the bonus tracks is a barbershop a cappella in which all four members supposedly sing but is really Levin's voice overdubbed to create harmonization. Following the literary theme of the preceding two albums, the album title may be a subtle nod to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, as the album was released in the actual year 1984. The name is based on the idea of perfect opposites and "three sides to every story," or His, Hers and an objective truth. The Peter Willis designed artwork illustrates the sacred–profane dichotomy while being a simplified version of the Larks' Tongues in Aspic cover; a rising phallic object represents a male solar deity about to penetrate the crescent figure, a female lunar deity. However, one can also make out a Christian cross if staring at the empty spaces between the figures. The back cover illustration is the same but adds a third element, a curved line stretching to reconcile the opposing sides.
King Crimson are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The band have undergone numerous formations throughout its history of which 21 musicians have been members; since 2013 it has consisted of Robert Fripp, Jakko Jakszyk, Tony Levin, Mel Collins, Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison and Bill Rieflin. Fripp is the only consistent member of the group, and is considered their leader and motive force. The band has earned a large cult following.
Developed from the unsuccessful trio Giles, Giles and Fripp, the band were seminal in the progressive rock genre in their first five years with their standard of instrumentation and complex song structures. Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most successful and influential with its elements of jazz, classical, and experimental music. Their success increased following an opening act performance for The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park, London, in 1969. Following the less successful In the Wake of Poseidon (1970), Lizard (1970), and Islands (1971), the group reached a new creative peak with Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (1974). Fripp disbanded the group in 1974.
she is susceptible
he is impossible
they have their cross to share
three of a perfect pair...
he has his contradicting views
she has her cyclothymic moods
they make a study in despair
three of a perfect pair...
one too many
schizophrenic tendencies
keeps it complicated
keeps it agggravated
and full of this hopelessness