Search - King Crimson :: Collectable King Crimson 2

Two more collector's club releases

Dark Star-The Other One | The Bus To Never Ever Land | 05/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As with the Collectable Vol. 1, This is made up of two releases that were/are available through the band's website. These were originally done back when you had to have a membership in the King Crimson Collector's Club in which you paid in advance for a certain number of releases and then you had the option of picking which ones you wanted. The nice thing about them being released this way is the fact that now you know before you get them what they sound like thanks to the rating on the back.



The first show here from the Moles Club in Bath is from an audience tape and that might be offputing to some. However, being someone familiar trading concert tapes over the years(IE Grateful Dead, King Crimson, and so on)I don't think the sound on here is that bad. The band was still calling itself Discipline at the time and that's what you get. Early versions of what would become the Discipline album with the first live Red and a cool Larks part 2. The performances are a little rough due to the fact that this is this lineup's first performance.



The second performance on here from Philadelphia was taken and mixed from the band's own multi track recording(8 tracks) tapes. You get different versions of the material on disc one plus four songs from the Beat album. Given the fact that this performance was professionally recorded, I doubt many people will have a problem with the sound quality as it's superb.



The short, all the performances are very good to excellent and the sound for the most part is top notch."

First live show Crimson played and one of the best "Beat" p

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 04/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This two CD set documents two pivotal concerts by the 80's line up. The first concert features the band when they were still known as Discipline (before Fripp realized that this could a viable new version of Crimson)appearing at Moles a small concert club in Bath, England. The band performs material that would form the basis for their first album and recorded much of it getting out to hone their chops live. The performance sounds fair--it is drawn from a restored audio cassette so is presented in mono with limited fidelity. It still is worthwhile for some of the stunning, loose performances here. This is before the songs had been honed to perfection by constant live playing. It features the bulk of "Discipline" as well as two 70's era Crimson compositions "Red" (which would become a staple of this line up)and "Larks Tongues in Aspic: Part II".



The second disc is from one of the band's best performances during their 1982 tour (although I prefer their last show in Berekley for personal reasons--I was there). Capturing the band at peak intensity, Belew is on fire during this performance and the rest of the band follows him down that hot trail. Featuring "The Howler" (a song that would later be sadly retired from many live shows), the bulk of the second 80's Crimson album "Beat" and once again "Red" & "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", this was one of the four pieces best captured performances. Recorded on 8 track the sound quality varies from extremely good to excellent as it was pulled from the band's recordings and sounds much as the show would have sounded live. My only complaint about the second concert is that Tony Levin's bass is occasionally buried in the mix but otherwise the sound is exceptional.



Crimson biographer/blogger Sid Smith provides separate liner notes (as he did for the individual releases)for both in the booklet and they are excellent. I didn't realize that Smith never caught the 80's version of KC live (at the time he preferred the last incarnation with John Wetton, Fripp, Brufford and Cross)but he does confess that he didn't get into them until after they had split up again.



An excellent release and an essential purchase for Crimheads just be aware that the Moles show isn't perfect before buying. It's worth having because the performances are terrific. 4 stars for the Moles performance 2 stars for the recording; 5 stars for the Philly show and 4 stars for the recording.

"

A fascinating glimpse at Discipline and a great live perform

Joseph C. Helton | 03/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This second volume of Collectable KC gives us a fortunate and exciting glimpse of the very earliest days of a new King Crimson. Robert Fripp initially assembled these guys under the name Discipline, as if he was unsure what to do with these guys and where he wanted to go with them. On the first cd we have Discipline performing together as a group, for the very first time, in the claustraphobic Moles Club, in Bath England in 1981. The performance was captured off an original cassette recording of the show, and so the sound quality is very poor. However, we catch the energy and prescence of the crowd, feeling almost as if we were there, elbowing for space, trying to catch a glimpse of what new thing Robert Fripp has come up with. The band performs the new material with penache, but does seem to stumble some. The classics Red and Lark's Tongues are performed to perfection. We are fortunate that Fripp released this recording. I would have loved to have been in the audience. Just imagine how it must have been to hear this totally new King Crimson, playing this music which was radically different than anything out there, and different even from what the band had put out under different personnel in the previous album Red.



The second cd is a performance done in Philadelphia, PA in 1982. While a very good show, we do feel quite removed from the audience in this one, unlike the very crowded feel we get from disc 1. The performance lives up to the usual high standards of just about all KC shows. The sound quality on this disc is much better, having been made from the band's original 8 track recording.



Consider this a must for all King Crimson collectors."