Search - King Crimson :: Collectable King Crimson 1

Fripp's love / hate relationship with the "USA" album contin

Mike | San Jose, CA | 05/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The box set "Great Deceiver" (essential concert material from the Wetton-Bruford years) was intended, in part, to stand as proof that "USA" wasn't the "best" or "only" live document from that era. The set from Providence, especially the bombastic take on "Easy Money," made "Deceiver" an instant classic. That said, it didn't diminish the core KC fan appetite for "USA" one bit. Fripp ultimately relented during the 30th Anniversary "miniature cardboard sleeves" era of Crimson reissues on CD. Bonus tracks were added, but it was still the edited gig...just as it appeared on the original vinyl release. The Asbury Park CD from "Collectible KC Vol 1" presents the show as it happened...no edits on "Asbury Park" or "Easy Money," no Eddie Jobson overdubs. It doesn't matter if the potential consumer is a King Crimson purist or a casual fan. The Fripp-Wetton-Bruford-Cross KC was one snarling beast...less calculatingly eccentric and precise than the Belew rebirth and more like four virtuoso musicians in a take-no-prisoners battle to death for the spotlight. The 1974 tour resulted in the band's breakup and the posthumous assembly and tweaking of the "USA" tapes, but this new release allows you to put yourself in that Asbury Park audience...the next best thing to being there. If you have "Great Deceiver" and "Night Watch," you'll want this."

Superb shows, but frustrating purchase.

Metaljim | Kansas USA | 01/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I highly recommend this package to anyone interested in King Crimson. The band are simply superb here and the two shows, recorded almost exactly three months apart show how the songs/improvs developed in that time frame. There wasn't another band quite like this one back in 1974 and there certainly hasn't been one like them in the past 30+ years. I have absolutely zero complaints about the shows, the sound, the packaging, the performances, anything.

What irritates me is the way they were released. I bought the Mainz show included in this package from the KC website as part of the Collector's Club series. I was under the impression that was the only way to get them.

I bought it as the perfect companion to the remastered "USA" live album, which was originally released in 1975 after the band broke up. The problem with "USA", which was recorded in Asbury Park, was there were studio overdubs done later and there were severe edits on several tracks. For years, the Holy Grail of Crimheads was the original unedited show.

Then I read that the Asbury Park show was to be released in its unedited form, but only as a download from the KC site. According to the liner notes included with this package, it's the single most popular download since Fripp authorized the downloads to begin.

So my questions are this; Why? Why make fans pay $9.99 to download it, only to then release it as a factory pressed disc? Then, why package it with another show that most fans have already bought as a stand alone title from the KC store? Basically I have purchased "USA" on vinyl, on cassette, on CD and now again, in a re-mixed and unedited form. To have to repurchase Mainz again just makes it all seem a little too slick and a bit underhanded.

However, if you do NOT already own any live Crimson from this era, then by all means, run to your nearest retailer or friendly computer and order it. This music is so intense it could cause sterility at volume, take the paint off a wall at 20 feet and destroy brain cells from across the street. Buy it and see......."

Incredible!

Joseph C. Helton | 12/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Collectable King Crimson Volume One features two shows from 1974, the show in Mainz Germany and the one in Asbury Park. The band members are Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, and David Cross, my absolute favorite version of King Crimson. From the opening track of the show in Mainz the listener is immediately drawn in to an improvisational piece, and then treated to tracks from Starless and Bible Black and Larks' Tongues in Aspic (plus three more improvisational tracks). The energy of the band is incredible. The audience sits silently throughout the show, no doubt mesmerized by the grooves laid down by these four musicians. The second disc and concert in Asbury Park features more of the same, including an 11:00 improvisational piece named after the locale of the concert, fantastic and very sweet.



As a King Crimson fan I almost fell over when I found this at the music store, and have cherished it ever since. A very high recommendation!"