Released: 1972
Tracks: 21st Century Schizoid Man; Peoria; The Sailor’s Tale; Earthbound; Groon
Best track: of course, Schizoid Man
Track to skip: the drum solo on Groon
Fripp’s solo on Schizoid Man rips. Rips! This album was finally released on CD in September 2002 after being out of print for the last 30 years. I’m happy to have it on CD, I was not really wanting to have to review the vinyl. OK, for the record, the sound is not exactly pristine. Big deal, you’ll get over it. Earthbound was one of the first ‘official bootlegs’ released and it’s the sound that gives it that distinction. Recorded on cassette during Crimson’s spring ’72 tour, this is actually a pretty cool album. The club releases recorded by this band are probably ‘better’, but it doesn’t make this one any less enjoyable.
As with the previous two CDs, the stars of this are Mel Collins and Robert Fripp. The solos of both on Schizoid Man (and the rest of the album) are phenomenal and worth the purchase. I also really like hearing the jams Peoria and Earthbound. Both present a side of Crimson that was unique to this lineup, and also unique to this CD: Crimson as a funk band. Boz’s scat singing on Peoria gets old, but overall both songs are actually fun.
Besides the imperfect sound, the only things that really annoy me about this are the seriously edited Sailor’s Tale and the damn drum solo on Groon. Even with the edit, Sailor’s Tale is still excellent. Most of Groon is very cool, and the first half of the drum solo is even good, but once they turn on the VCS3 to add *that* effect to the drums, it really sounds bad. Why did bands do that in the 70’s? I’ll never understand it. Regardless of those imperfections, Earthbound is still enjoyable and essential if you’re into Crimson. I’m very thankful it’s finally (legitimately) on CD.
Rating: 86
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