King+crimson

Finally on vinyl, the King Crimson 40th anniversary albums mixed and produced by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp.
• Cut from the same hi-res masters used for the 40th anniversary CD/DVD-A series
• Pressed on 200gram super-heavyweight vinyl for the best possible audio reproduction
• King Crimson is on tour in the UK in from end of October into November, with the current band playing much of the material on these albums
• Boxed set contains the band’s three classic albums by the celebrated 1972 – 1974 line-ups plus a fourth album containing a complete alternate version of “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” mixed and produced by Steven Wilson featuring the LP’s original US artwork.

Repackaged in this box are four live King Crimson concerts that were initially unleashed via the band's Collectors' Club mail-order series or as à la carte downloadable files. Granted, the primary target for anthologies such as this is not the casual enthusiast or curious listener. However, that unspoken guideline should be suspended for 2006's The Collectors' King Crimson, Vol. 10 due to the remarkable breadth of its contents…

This Japanese box set contains three consecutive entries in King Crimson's live and studio archival releases. The specific volumes in question are the tenth, 11th, and 13th from Discipline Global Mobile's Collectors' Club mail-order-only series covering Live in Central Park, NYC '74, the pre-Krim Discipline: Live at Moles Club, 1981, and the last gasp of the '90s double-trio incarnation on the Nashville Rehearsals, 1997. The July 1, 1974, concert in Central Park was the final King Crimson performance by the '70s quartet. While the recording is very good - not great - the group's spirited musical antics more than make up for any lack of audio fidelity. With the notable exception of "21st Century Schizoid Man," the band draws primarily from material on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and Red albums, respectively…

King Crimson is a decidedly unwieldy band. Spanning more than 35 years (as of this writing) and at least seven distinct lineups, and complicated by the studio vs. live dichotomy (not to mention no hits to speak of), this is a band that almost refuses to be anthologized. Anything less than a box set doesn't really do the band justice, but anything more than two discs may seem like a grand investment to someone who just wants to get acquainted with them. Since King Crimson completely ceased to exist in the mid- to late '70s and early '80s, that seems a logical dividing point in examining the band's output. And that's exactly how Robert Fripp approached it when he assembled the 21st Century Guide to King Crimson in two volumes.

This set compiles what Robert Fripp contends is "a comprehensive overview for new ears of all that is necessary in the Crimson corpus." Going on to acknowledge that "old-generation completists might disagree with some choices, but material not included here is available for new-generation completists, should they wish." Enthusiasts' personal preferences aside, The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Vol. 1: 1969-1974 (2004) is the first of two four-disc volumes gathering the entire recorded output of the band in its variety of personnel. Each CD contains highlights from a specific era, either in the studio or live, and the material is presented in chronological order.

This three-disc box contains a trio of entries from King Crimson's archival series. Housed within the Collectors' King Crimson, Vol. 3 (2000) are Live in San Francisco: The Roar of P4, The VROOOM Sessions, 1994, and Live at Summit Studios: Denver, 03/12/1972, respectively. After the fraKctilization of King Crimson's mid-'90s double-trio lineup, Robert Fripp (guitar) formed various "projeKcts" involving all six members; however, not necessarily at the same time. Live in San Francisco: The Roar of P4 features the fourth mini-Crim (aka ProjeKct Four) at the 7th Note Club in the city by the Bay. This all-instrumental and highly experimental aggregate features the collective efforts of touch guitarist Trey Gunn and electronic and acoustic percussionist Pat Mastelotto, guitarist Fripp, as well as bassist and Chapman stick player Tony Levin…

This three-disc set gathers two King Crimson D.G.M. Collectors' Club releases: Live at Cap D'Agde, 1982 and On Broadway: Live in NYC, 1995, respectively. Oddly, the contents within this boxed set are reversed, with the latter title featured on disc one and two and the former on disc three. On Broadway: Live in NYC, 1995 contains a composite of five shows from the double-trio version of King Crimson at the off-Broadway Longacre Theater in New York City. Enthusiasts will find a whole lot to like about this two-hour-plus performance compilation, thanks in part to the flawless sound quality, which devours the endless stream of bootlegs that quickly flooded the underground market shortly after these shows were played…