For
those of you that need an introduction
to the world of King Crimson, here is
a perfect place to start. For those of
you familiar with Robert Fripp and his
many assorted cohorts, this has everything
you could possibly want from the live
beast that is King Crimson. The years
from 1969-1996 are covered, spread over
8 different line-ups, all seamlessly put
together to sound like one 2 ˝ hour concert.
One
of progressive rock’s founding bands,
King Crimson pioneered the use of extended
song format with many instruments not
often used in the standard rock format,
mellotron, violin, clarinet, oboe, bass
stick, touch guitar, etc. King Crimson
said it was alright to create music that
didn’t have an instantly hummable melody.
This made them sometimes difficult to
listen to, but a little patience will
reveal many musical pleasures.
The
great thing about listening to King Crimson
live is that they strike a perfect balance
between tightly written well-structured
songs and improvisational looseness. It
is a marriage made in heaven, introducing
an element of danger that is a true test
of musicianship.
Every
King Crimson classic is here, but the
closing of disc two with the absurdly
titled “Larks Tongue In Aspic” (part two,
naturally) by the 1996 Double Trio King
Crimson, of Robert Fripp, Adrian Below,
Trey Gunn, Tony Levon, Pat Mastelotto
& Bill Bruford, followed by “Starless”
from 1974 with John Wetton, David Cross,
plus the ever present Robert Fripp &
Bill Bruford is simply Jaw Dropping.
It
all comes in a nice little 2 C.D Digi-Pak
with informative liner notes and a brightly
coloured booklet with a full Crimson family
tree, and lots of pictures to look at,
of all the different line ups over the
years. Give the dog a bone, what more
could you want.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
