King Crimson - (1993) The Concise King Crimson

King Crimson - (1993) The Concise King Crimson

Boxset/Compilation, released in 1993

I have taken the easy way to make a review, it´s easier to review a compilation or "Best of" than an a complex studio album.

King Crimson being a monster of Progressive Rock, is neccessary to be tasted by every prog fan, if you like it or not, that´s the less important, but you have at least to listen to them to haveyour persola criteria about the band, i think for deep prog fans like the most of the people in this site, is not important to own a compilation, at least it´s not that usual that i put my Bests Of in my CD player very often, sometimes is good because maybe you have the mood of listen to those classic songs (usually called hits) , but it´s obvious that we prefer much more the studio albums.

The fact is, that the opposite happens when you are a newbie, i mean, i have had the experience of people that are interested in new bands, the first thing that they do before buying the album , is download some songs, usually the most well known songs, and then they decide if dig the band or saty away, so my thoughts here is that a compilation or best of could be recommendable for people who is not familiar with the band or the songs, they probably dont know the names of the most beautiful albums, so the easy way is buying a compilation which supposes to contain the most representative songs (not always the best songs.

King Crimson had released some compilation albums, Sleepless is one of them, and maybe the one that i prefer.

A newcomer of King Crimson maybe won´t know that they have had several line up changes, and musical changes, in this album i think the track selection is suitable for newbies and also for Crimson lovers (as i said above, a Crimson lover won´t play a compilation that often, but sometimes it´s ood to have a nice time).

The order of the tracks is chronologically , which is a good point, because you will appreciate the different eras one by one, and not suddenly like in "The Compact King Crimson" which track list is not that different from this one, but the order makes it terrible to listen to. Also we won´t find the original songs, some of them have been edited to give pass to other ones, it´s only like a proof of what King Crimson music is about.

Track Listings:
1. 21st century schizoid man (7:20)
2. Epitaph (8:45)
3. In the court of the Crimson King (7:19)
4. Cat food (edit) (2:45)
5. Ladies of the road (5:30)
6. Starless (abridged) (4:36)
7. Red (6:16)
8. Fallen angel (6:00)
9. Elephant talk (4:41)
10. Frame by frame (5:07)
11. Matte Kudasai (3:45)
12. Heartbeat (3:53)
13. Three of a perfect pair (4:11)
14. Slepless (remixed) (5:22)

Total Time: 75:30

Line-up/Musicians
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Adrian Belew / guitar, lead vocal
- Tony Levin / bass guitar, Chapman stick, support vocal
- Bill Bruford / percussion, electric and acoustic drums
- Ian McDonald / woodwind, keyboards, mellotron
- Greg Lake / bass guitar, lead vocal
- Michael Giles - drums, percussion
- Peter Sinfield - words & illumination
- Keith Tippet / piano
- Mel Collins / saxophone, backing vocal
- Boz / bass guitar, lead vocal
- Ian Wallace / drums, percussion, backing vocals
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocal
- Marc Charig / cornet
- Robin Miller / oboe

King Crimson - King Crimson Collector's Club 09 (1972) Denver Live at Summit Studios

King Crimson - (1972) KCCC09 Denver Live at Summit Studios

(Review from progarchives.com)

You can always rely on King Crimson to challenge your expectations, even in a 30-year old archive recording from arguably the least popular line-up of the band. If you only know this Crimson from their somewhat austere 1971 album "Islands", prepare to have your eyes and ears belatedly opened, and better late than never.

At this point in the band’s history the signature King Crimson spirit of "energy, intensity, and eclecticism" had been all but reduced to just the eclecticism. But this live-in-the-station radio broadcast, recorded in Colorado during their final U.S. tour, offers a candid and surprisingly playful portrait of a group supposedly in disarray, and as a welcome bonus it sounds a heck of a lot better than the sub-bootleg concert tapes on the posthumous "Earthbound" album.

Forget everything you might have read about this being an unhappy quartet of mismatched talents, split by creative frictions: this set captures them in peak form and high spirits. Evidence of the informal nature of the gig can be heard in some of the goofy but affectionate banter between songs, including (in "My Hobby") Ian Wallace doing his best Mr. Gumby impersonation, for an audience not yet acquainted with Monty Python (this from a drummer, keep in mind, who according to band biographer Sid Smith once performed for the goggle-eyed comedian Marty Feldman, while dressed as a duck).

Elsewhere the band’s enthusiasm (yes, even from the normally taciturn Fripp) must have been contagious, as more than half of their performance here was clearly unscheduled. The original four-song set opens with a tight, swinging variation of "Pictures of a City" (miles removed from the "21st Century Schizoid Man" similarity on the "Wake of Poseidon" album), and was meant to conclude with "Schizoid Man" itself, here in a more circumspect version played at a somewhat lachrymose pace, no doubt to accommodate the rookie bass guitarist.

But just as the studio host begins his closing acknowledgements and thanks, an irrepressible Ian Wallace starts a spontaneous drumbeat and the band kicks into another impromptu jam. "…Looks like we’re gonna get an encore", drawls the DJ, and not for the last time that evening. There are at least two more false endings before the true final number: a long freeform arrangement of the Leon Thomas / Pharaoh Sanders composition "The Creator Has a Master Plan".

The variable mix of this track suggests it might have actually been a pre-show microphone check. After 15 minutes the whole thing finally unravels (with unaccountable tape splices spoiling the continuity), but not before another surprise, when the upbeat melody suddenly breaks into a filthy blues riff, inspiring even Fripp to throw his guitar (all too briefly) into some unlikely sonic contortions.

The unexpected and wholly American blues-funk flavor of this line-up still doesn’t sit well with doctrinaire Crimheads, and was never quite to Fripp’s own taste either. The guitarist himself is often the odd man out here, but it’s fascinating to hear him beginning to move away from the jazzier sound of earlier King Crimson albums toward the harder, more aggressive style soon to reach fruition only a few short months later with the "Larks Tongues" crew.

Some tantalizing hints of that uncompromising musical future are already evident. At the end of the "Summit Going On" improv you’ll recognize what would become the opening motif to "Night Watch" and the guitarist can later be heard test-driving some of the white-lightning riffs of "Larks Tongues In Aspic, Part One", almost daring the rest of the band to follow him.

Some of this show would later appear on the haphazard "Ladies of the Road" collection, but the entire set, warts and all, might go a long way toward rehabilitating the undervalued reputation of this Crimson. For diehard fans in particular, this album fills in the blanks of an only half-sketched and long neglected chapter in the ongoing King Crimson biography.

Track List :
01. Pictures of a City - 9:38
02. Cadence and Cascade - 4:46
03. Groon - 13:49
04. 21st Century Schizoid Man - 10:10
05. Improv: Summit Going On - 11:39
06. My Hobby - 1:31
07. Sailor's Tale - 6:52
08. The Creator Has a Master Plan - 15:26

Line-up :
* Robert Fripp - Guitar, Mellotron
* Mel Collins - Sax, Flute, Mellotron
* Boz Burrell - Bass Guitar, Lead Vocal
* Ian Wallace - Drums, Backing Vocal

King Crimson - King Crimson Collector's Club 02 (1972) Live at Jacksonville

King Crimson - (1972) KCCC02 Live at Jacksonville

This concert was recorded at the Baseball Park, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, February 26, 1972.

Track List :
01. Pictures Of A City - 9:46
02. Cirkus - 9:08
03. Ladies Of The Road - 6:39
04. Formentera Lady - 10:21
05. The Sailor's Tale - 14:05
06. 21st Century Schizoid Man - 10:28

Line-up :
* Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
* Boz Burrell / bass guitar, vocals
* Mel Collins / saxophone, flute, mellotron
* Ian Wallace / drums, vocals

JON ANDERSON - (1982) Animation

This album belonged strangely to my brother when I was 14-15 and started to play our family's records. There were also some other influential albums including Yes: 90125, Rush: Signals, plus some Saga and Asia, that had something to do with prog - of which I at the time didn't know yet. Of all these albums Animation had the strongest impact on me; more precisely, it was the long title track. It simply blew my young mind and transferred me into new magical spheres of music, the kind I had never heard before. It was PROGRESSIVE instead of normal verse/chorus/verse song structure. So I could say it all started right here (honorary mention goes to 'Telegraph Road' by Dire Straits).

'Animation' is still written in my memory even if I have listened to it very rarely since 80s. It must be the deepest existing expression of emotions about childbirth - by a man who "was there". Some chaos, pain (described by instrumental sections), and after all has settled, love and amazement of life's wonder. "There is nothing like seeing the birth of a child." It is wonderful, but probably only if you totally surrender to it emotionally.

The rest of the album always remained less important. I liked some other songs too, e.g. energic 'Olympia' about sports spectacle, pastroral 'Boundaries' and colourful 'Much Better Reason'. Without title track I might say this is well produced - rather 80-ish - and arranged, but nothing very special, in a same category as 90125 or actually less interesting in compositions. But as it has that 9-minute 'Animation', I say sincerely it's clearly the best Jon solo album I've heard. (3,5* rounded up.)

Studio Album, released in 1983

Track Listings

1. Olympia (4:58)
2. Animation (9:07)
3. Surrender (3:53)
4. All in a Matter of Time (3:06)
5. Unlearning the Dividing Line (4:56)
6. Boundaries (3:20)
7. Pressure Point (3:20)
8. Much Better Reason (4:27)
9. All God's Children (4:25)

Total Time: 41:32
Line-up/Musicians

- Jon Anderson / vocals, producer, engineer
- Jack Bruce / bass
- Henry Lowther / horn
- David Sancious / keyboards
- Simon Phillips / drums
- Chris Rainbow / vocals
- Dave "Clem" Clempson / guitar
- The Delme Quartet / strings
- John Giblin / bass
- Billy Kristian / bass
- Ronnie Leahy / keyboards
- Dick Morrissey / saxophone
- Morris Pert / drums
- Blue Weaver / keyboards
- Ian Wallace / drums

King Crimson - (2002) Ladies of the road live in 1971-1972

Track List :

CD1
1. Pictures of a City (8:46)
2. The Letters (4:42)
3. Formentera Lady (abridged) (6:40)
4. The Sailors Tale (5:42)
5. Cirkus (7:57)
6. Groon (6:51)
7. Get Thy Bearings (8:32)
8. 21st Century Schizoid Man (8:57)
9. In the Court of the Crimson King (0:47)

CD2
1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (1:44)
2. Schizoid Man (Improv 1) (4:46)
3. Schizoid Man (Improv 2) (3:12)
4. Schizoid Man (Improv 3) (5:15)
5. Schizoid Man (Improv 4) (6:22)
6. Schizoid Man (Improv 5) (3:57)
7. Schizoid Man (Improv 6) (5:13)
8. Schizoid Man (Improv 7) (3:18)
9. Schizoid Man (Improv 8) (5:01)
10. Schizoid Man (Improv 9) (3:23)
11. Schizoid Man (Improv 10) (4:57)
12. Schizoid Man (Improv 11) (5:43)

Line-up :

- Boz Burrell
- Mel Collins
- Robert Fripp
- Ian Wallace

EARTHBOUND

Tracklist

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (11:45)
2. Improv: Peoria (7:30)
3. The Sailor's Tale (4:45)
4. Improv: Earthbound (7:08)
5. Groon (15:30)


Lineup :

- Boz Burrell
- Mel Collins
- Robert Fripp
- Ian Wallace

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Live at the Zoom Club 1971

Lineup:
Robert Fripp - Guitars
Boz - Bass / Vocals
Pete Sinfeld - Illumination / Lyrics
Ian Wallace - Drums / Percussion
Mel Collins - Sax / Flute


Setlist:
01 - Cirkus
02 - Get Thy Bearings
03 - In The Court Of The Crimson King
04 - Lady Of The Dancing Water
05 - 21st Century Schizoid Man
06 - Pictures Of A City
07 - The Sailor's Tale
08 - Cadence And Cascade
09 - The Devil's Triangle

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King Crimson (1971) ISLAND

Track List :
01. Formentera Lady (10:14)
02. Sailor's Tale (7:21)
03. The Letters (4:26)
04. Ladies Of The Road (5:28)
05. Prelude: Song Of The Gulls (4:14)
06. Islands (11:51)

Line-up :
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, pedal harmonium and sundry implements
- Mel Collins / flute, bass flute, saxes and vocals
- Boz Burrell / bass guitar, lead vocals and choreography
- Ian Wallace / drums, percussion and vocals
- Peter Sinfield / words, sounds and visions
with:
- Keith Tippet / piano
- Paulina Lucas / soprano
- Robin Miller / oboe
- Mark Charig / cornet
- Harry Miller / string bass


CD 1

CD 2

Complete Wolverhampton 1971

Lineup:
Robert Fripp - Guitars
Boz - Bass / Vocals
Ian Wallace - Drums
Mel Collins - Sax / Flute

Setlist:
01 - Pictures of a city
02 - Cirkus
03 - Formentera lady
04 - Sailor's tale
05 - The letters
06 - Cadence and Cascade
07 - Ladies Of The Road
08 - Groon Incl. Drum Solo
09 - 21st Century Schizoid Man
10 - Devil´s Triangle

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