Three of a Perfect Pair

The album balances traditional song structures on side one (the "left side") with more free-form improvisation on side two (the "right side"), fitting somewhere between the experimental Discipline and the more commercially accessible Beat.

The "other side" on the 2001 CD remaster consists of instrumental material from the 1983 sessions, and a 1989 a cappella recording (first published in the 1991 "Frame By Frame" box set) in which all four members supposedly perform a humorous barbershop quartet that is really Tony Levin singing by himself, with the four part harmony achieved through overdubbing.

The title of the album is based on the idea of “perfect opposites”, or his truth, her truth, and an objective truth (the idea of “three sides to every story”).

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. According to Fripp, the artwork is “a presentation of a reconciliation of Western & Eastern Christianity..the front cover has the two elements, representing the male & female principles. The back cover has the third element drawing together & reconciling the preceding opposite terms”.[2][3]

Tracks 10-15 were added for the 2001 30th Anniversary remaster. The aforementioned instrumentals, “The King Crimson Barbershop”, and three alternate mixes of "Sleepless". Two of the three were previously released on the UK 12" single. The Bob Clearmountain mix appeared (incorrectly credited and against the band's wishes) on the U.S. Warner Bros. pressing of the LP.

The hip hop duo Gang Starr would later sample the intro to "Dig Me" in their song "Words I Manifest (Remix)" from their 1989 debut album No More Mr. Nice Guy.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Robert Christgau	B−[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
Kerrang!	mixed[7]
Trouser Press	mixed[8]

Released on 27 March 1984, Three of a Perfect Pair reached number 30 in the UK Albums Chart[9]

Trouser Press described it as "a most disjunct album from a band that prided itself on carefully matched contradictions. The Left Side sports four of Adrian Belew's poorer songs and a self-derivative instrumental; the flip is nearly all-instrumental, nearly free-form, nearly brilliant. [...] Apparently the Frippressive "discipline" that forged the critically acclaimed pop/art synthesis of the first two latter-day Crimson albums is not a permanent condition."[8]

During an interview on BBC Radio 1 in 1984, Robert Fripp described the album's 'left' side as "accessible" and 'right' side as "excessive".

A new 5.1 surround sound mix by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp was released in October 2016 for the 40th Anniversary Series as a standalone CD/DVD package and as part of the On (and off) The Road (1981 - 1984) boxed set.

All lyrics are written by Adrian Belew; all music is composed by Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp and Tony Levin, except "The King Crimson Barber Shop", with music & lyrics by Levin.

King Crimson

• Adrian Belew – fretted and fretless guitars, lead vocals
• Robert Fripp – guitar, frippertronics
• Tony Levin – bass guitar, chapman stick, synthesizer, backing vocals
• Bill Bruford – acoustic and electric drums

Additional personnel

• Brad Davis – engineer
• Tony Arnold (Arny's Shack) – co-engineer on "Industry" and "Dig Me"
• Nick James, Ray Niznik, Peter Hefter – assistant engineers
• Tex Read – social services
• Peter Willis (Trevall Mill Studio) – cover symbol design basis
• Timothy Eames – cover art

Album

• Three of a Perfect Pair at Discogs (list of releases)