"One of KC best albums ever!!! Very experimental ( in sense of containing many raw improvs in it), heavy and perfectly mixed! Plenty of guitar, strong bass line , quite acoustic sound. For sure much more better production, than on Red album. I know many fans don't like this album much because of it's improvs and heavy sound. I think, this is stronger side of that album, guys! The album contains three very strong songs as well: The Great Deceiver, Lament and The Night Watch. In combination with improvs, filling the space between them, album is very interesting mix. This album as well doesn't have this jazzy elements so usual for KC of that time. Real Progresive ROCK! Another strong point - looking now from all these years, many early period KC albums sound as dated classics. And SABB is one of a few ( near ITCCK), that dated well, and sound perfectly fresh till now. Very recommended to all listeners, searching on heavy and experimental side of KC Mk I."progarchives.com
Spurred on by Robert Fripp's innovative guitar work, arguably the definitive exponents of British progressive rock.
If there is one group that embodies progressive rock, it is King Crimson. Led by guitar/Mellotron virtuoso Robert Fripp, during its first five years of existence the band stretched both the language and structure of rock into realms of jazz and classical music, all the while avoiding pop and psychedelic sensibilities. The absence of mainstream compromises and the lack of an overt sense of humor ultimately doomed the group to nothing more than a large cult following, but made their albums among the most enduring and respectable of the prog rock era.
As with previous tour boxes, the 2020 Elements box covers the full spectrum of Crimsoning, this one with music and line-ups from 1969-2019. Disc one represents a mostly live/mostly new-to-CD selection of material including 4 tracks taken from the 2019 tour. Disc two, in keeping with the theme of Sid's notes, discussed below, presents pieces played occasionally by the current line-up - Exiles and Sheltering Sky, pieces from the studio - both King Crimson and Robert Fripp that were never completed, or were developed in different ways, material that never made it to a studio recording - The Errors, Dr. Diamond, Trees (extract), Guts on my Side, etc, all combine to present a convincing musical counter-history to the band.
A 2019 addition to the popular Tour Box series, originally created for concert venue sales on King Crimson’s 2019 European tour. As with previous releases in the series, the full variety of King Crimson’s music is presented over 2 CDs with extracts from rehearsals, new live recordings, elements from studio recordings, full tracks, alternate takes and finished recordings from 1969-2018.