Recorded: 1974, Released: 2000
Tracks: Walk On…No Pussyfooting; 21st Century Schizoid Man; Lament; Exiles; Improv: Cerberus; Easy Money; Fracture; Starless; The Talking Drum; Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Pt. 2
Best track: Starless? I’m not sure.
Track to skip: none
Another one from the Collector’s Club here. Robert Fripp reckons this to be one of the best shows Crimson ever did, and probably his favorite since the early days of the ‘69 Crimson. I don’t share his full view on this. I of course like this, but I think Crimson played better the night before in Providence (
Great Deceiver, Disc 1 & 2) and also a few days earlier in Asbury Park, NJ (as heard on the
USA album). Fripp, however, did play at all these gigs and I’m just a guy in Texas in 2003 listening to these shows on a piece of plastic. It’s often different experiences for the audience and band. All that said, I still LOVE that we get to hear most of the shows this band did in their last week together (4 of them, I think) and also this was the last gig King Crimson did until 1981.
Yeah, all the songs you’ve heard before and if you have USA and Great Deceiver (the places to start, in that order) then you’ll know this material pretty well. I think this show especially is for hardcore Crimson fans. The sound quality isn’t the greatest on here; it was recorded by a member of the audience. It’s interesting to listen to this on headphones and hear all the conversation that goes on between audience members close to the person who was recording. I think this might even be a combination of a few different tapes, as the sound changes during the show occasionally.
I’m happy to have another previously unreleased song, the improv Cerberus. True it’s not the best this band could do, but it’s always nice to hear. I really like the solo section in Schizoid Man and the 2nd half of Starless. Those are just excellent. But otherwise, honestly the other stuff I mentioned is better. This CD is only for collectors and even then there are a lot more from the Collector’s Club that should be purchased ahead of this.
Rating: 83
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