King Crimson - The Condensed 21st Century Guide To King Crimson (1969 - 2003) (2019)
FLAC tracks | 02:39:39 | 970 Mb
Genre: Rock / Label: Discipline Global Mobile
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. Volume One covered 1969-1974 with two studio and two live discs, and Volume Two covered 1981-2003, also with two studio and two live discs. These were aimed at the uninitiated as "a comprehensive overview for new ears of all that is necessary in the Crimson corpus," and despite minor quibbling about what wasn't included, they served the purpose very well. Trouble is, the uninitiated might not be willing to drop the dough for such a lavish introduction no matter how thorough a portrait it paints of the band.