The 21st Century Guide To King Crimson

It appears that just when you thought the folks at Discipline Global Mobile had re-released every single King Crimson track in as many configurations as possible, they surprise you with another compilation: 2005's The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Vol. 2: 1981-2003. Following in the footsteps of 2004's The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Vol. 1: 1969-1974, the second volume combines the best tracks from Crimson's studio albums from the advertised period, as well as mixing in live takes and rarities. When Crimson reconvened in 1980 after an extended hiatus, no one could have predicted that the group would have more in common sonically with Talking Heads and the Police than Yes and Genesis.

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.

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.

USA is a live album recorded towards the end of King Crimson's final US tour of the 70's in June 1974. It was issued as an epitaph for the band in Spring 1975 as a single album. It's critical reputation grew immeasurably in the intervening years to the point where a review of the 21ST CENTURY GUIDE TO KING CRIMSON boxed set in 2004 identified the album as the point "… where Fripp maps out the guitar blueprint for the entire post-punk movement".

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, King Crimson are releasing 50 rare or unusual tracks from the archives. Starting on 13th January, the date the band was formed in the Fulham Palace Café in 1969, these tracks will be released one a week for the remaining 50 weeks of 2019. Each track will be introduced by a commentary from David Singleton, King Crimson manager and producer.

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.

Deluxe box set containing 21 CDs, four Blu-rays and two DVDs - all audio. Three CDs feature Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp stereo mixes of In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970), Lizard (1970) & Islands (1971) + additional tracks. Six CDs feature the Islands line-ups early concerts from Germany (new to CD) and the UK (1971). Nine CDs feature live recordings (several new to CD and/or previously unreleased in any format) from the 1972 US tour, including a new stereo mix of Summit Studios and an expanded Earthbound…

Released in December 1970, King Crimson's third studio album, Lizard, is often viewed as an outlier in the pioneering British prog outfit's nearly half-century discography. It's not easily grouped with 1969's stunning In the Court of the Crimson King debut and 1970 follow-up In the Wake of Poseidon, and along with 1971's Islands it's considered a transitional release on the band's path toward the relative stability of the Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (1974) trilogy. Plus, the Lizard sessions were difficult and the core group lineup acrimoniously collapsed immediately afterward, as bandleader/guitarist Robert Fripp, with lyricist Peter Sinfield, continued brave efforts to save King Crimson from disintegrating as the group's lengthy history was just getting underway.