Starless (track)
by King Crimson
Starless appears on the following album(s) by King Crimson:
- Red (track #5) (this album) (1974)
- USA (track #9) (1975)
- Casino, Asbury Park, New Jersey, June 28, 1974 (track #8) (2005)
- The Condensed 21st Century Guide To King Crimson (track #11) (compilation) (2006)
- The Great Deceiver (Live 1973 - 1974) (track #9) (1992)
- The Great Deceiver (Live 1973 - 1974) (track #30) (1992)
- The Collectable King Crimson: Volume One (track #7) (compilation) (2006)
- The Collectable King Crimson: Volume One (track #18) (compilation) (2006)
- Live In Mainz 1974 (track #7) (2001)
- Cirkus - The Young Person's Guide To King Crimson Live (track #25) (compilation) (1999)
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Starless ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this track. | Show all 499 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/22/2026 05:47 | ravidal | 25 | 96/100 | |
| 02/22/2026 01:05 | alexandermause | 15,901 | 85/100 | |
| 02/14/2026 20:22 |  Norshammar | 1,409 | 87/100 | |
| 01/27/2026 18:33 | Robert_fripp | 823 | 86/100 | |
| 01/26/2026 13:45 | kinginsomniac12 | 5,498 | 100/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 93.0/100, a mean average of 91.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.4/100. The standard deviation for this track is 14.6.
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Starless comments
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talinhosgameplay 04/06/2025 17:49 | #308363
Music cannot get much better than this.
AAL2014 03/19/2023 02:26 | #295163
Starless could have only been written and performed by this lineup of King Crimson. It’s so indicative of the off-kilter tones, rhythms, and textures they’d been using up to this point and through the Red album while being the greatest example of it.
As this song builds and builds (and yes, builds some more), it becomes this unbelievable, transcendental journey of emotion which eventually spills over into an absolute JAM reaching levels of catharsis only matched by final foray of Pink Floyd’s Echoes.
This is one of the greatest pieces of music in the rock canon.
Now, this is a great song. One of the many coming from KC. Is it their best? I don't know. I can't tell. But it is certainly fantastic.
Simply gorgeous song with fantastic use of the saxophone, bass and mellotron behind John Wetton's pained vocals. It's easy to see why so many people consider this King Crimson's best song; it's certainly one of their best.
My favorite song ever. Masterpiece
teague 06/25/2020 23:33 | #254518
Absolutely their best song. Just one of the best songs ever written, period.
This song contains the greatest bassline of all time.
One of the greatest songs of all time, and the summation of King Crimson's work from 1969-1974. The band was correct to disband after this - it's best to stop at your peak so you don't become a parody of yourself.
Listen to music since the early 70ies from A to Z, have " A Young Person' Guide...." since 1978. I've heard "Starless" since then about 1 or 2 times . Now I' ve seen a live-version on you Tube. What can I say ? If I have to choose one song it yould be "Starless" . For me the best song ever!
Clearly an excellent progressive rock song. Creepy mellotron, a gradually intensifying buildup, some mad rocking out and a powerful ending. However I still prefer the tracks on Court of the Crimson King to this most of the time, this just feels slightly less grand, perhaps because there is less mellotron.
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