Red

Recorded at Studio 2 of Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, with engineer George Chkiantz, who had worked on Starless and Bible Black. Only three members played: Fripp, Wetton and Bruford. Chkiantz remembered Fripp sitting in the drummer's booth with his amplifier. Guests filled out the sound: David Cross on violin, former members Ian McDonald and Mel Collins on saxophones, Robin Miller on oboe and Mark Charig on cornet, plus uncredited cello and double bass players. Providence is edited from an improvisation recorded on 30 June 1974 at the Palace Theater in Providence, Rhode Island. Fripp described Wetton and Bruford as a "flying brick wall".

Starless had been played on tour before the recording. The group photographs on the sleeve were made separately and combined into a composite. Red spent one week on the UK chart at 45, lower than any earlier studio album, and reached 66 in the United States.

Christgau called it "grand, powerful, grating, and surprisingly lyrical", and Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called it "progressive rock's finest hour" in 1997. Chris Salewicz wrote in 1974 that it was the first Crimson album he could keep listening to. Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky called it "one of classic rock's heaviest, most meticulous albums" and said it is a record about fear. Q named it among the 50 heaviest albums of all time in 2001, and Rolling Stone placed it at 15 on its 2015 list of the best prog rock albums. Kurt Cobain mentioned it as an influence on In Utero. A 50th anniversary edition appeared on 25 October 2024.