Recorded: 1972, Released: 2000
Tracks: Pictures of a City; Cadence and Cascade; Groon; 21st Century Schizoid Man; Improv: Summit Going On; My Hobby; Sailor’s Tale; The Creator Has a Master Plan
Best track: I don’t know, either Sailor’s Tale or Schizoid Man, Possibly even Creator..
Track to skip: My Hobby is REALLY goofy, but since it’s a side we never see of Crimson it’s worth it
I like this one. The sound is pretty good and the playing is too. It was recorded at Summit Studios in Denver on 3/12/72 and broadcast on the radio. The nice thing is that those listening on the radio only heard the first four songs. Bonus! This CD is the only thing released by King Crimson from 69-75 that does not have a mellotron anywhere on it. Fripp’s playing only guitar on it this and it’s a real nice change. Boz has improved, and of course Mel Collins is frequently conjuring the ghost of Coltrane. This CD is a lot looser than the other live stuff from this group, and they even laugh! Imagine that. The whole section that includes “My Hobby” is a series of goof-offs and it’s pretty amusing. They were no longer being broadcast by that point so I guess they could screw around a little.
The first 4 tracks are all pretty much just awesome. Boz’s vocal on Cadence isn’t the best, but the tune itself is great. I’m not a big fan of drum solos, so Ian Wallace’s drum-a-thon on Groon isn’t too fun to hear, but at least they aren’t using the VCS3 for it. It’s not too long and the track itself is one of the funkiest things Crimson ever did. I think that’s true of this whole band; the non-Fripp’s were all significantly more versed in Blues and Funk and the improvs reflected that. Creator Has a Master Plan, a Pharaoh Sanders tune, is pretty cool and they do some nice stuff in it. Again, Mel Collin’s sax playing is great on here.
This is a pretty solid CD and another worthwhile purchase from the KCCC. Very few bad spots, mostly just good music.
Rating: 89
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