Red sees King Crimson follow in the direction established by their previous two albums, Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973) and Starless and Bible Black (1974), but in contrast to those albums, Red features more layered production with multiple overdubs, as well as the return of the earlier instrumentation of the guest players. Red's heavier tone was largely due to the influence of the rhythm section of Wetton and Bruford, whom Fripp has referred to as "a flying brick wall". During the recording of the album Fripp, increasingly unsure of the group's direction, took a "backseat" when making large decisions, leaving Wetton and Bruford to call the shots over the final content.[8] Wetton and Bruford believed Fripp was merely "pulling another moody", but in the week prior to recording Red Fripp had discovered the works of mystic John G. Bennett and decided to take "a year's sabbatical ... at Bennett's Institute".[9][6] Fripp offered the idea of McDonald rejoining the band in his absence to EG. When this idea was met with lack of interest, Fripp abruptly disbanded King Crimson on 24 September 1974, and Red was released two weeks later.[10]
1974 - King Crimson - Red.rar
Live in Central Park, NYC, 1974 is another matter, however. Having already released Mark 3's first gig through the Club, this is their last and is another stormer. Fripp describes it in his sleevenotes as "Angels descending from heaven on chariots of fire blowing trumpets of gold in your ear", so I think it's safe to assume he thought it was a good one too. The band are, er, 'blowing' after a lengthy US tour, especially the rhythm section, who were, by this point, rather drowning out David Cross: violin vs. Wetton/Bruford. Hmmm. Cross and Fripp were, by this point, using the white/black colour scheme (instruments and clothes) that rather pointed out their personality differences; Fripp couldn't have looked more satanic had he been sporting horns and a forked tail. While a great album, capturing this classic band on a great night, Central Park is slightly less essential from the Mellotronic point of view than most of the Club CDs, if only because most of the Mellotron tracks are available in similar versions elsewhere, chiefly on The Great Deceiver. The exception is the rocking improv Cerberus, with some ripping strings from Mr. Cross under Fripp's searing lead work (review cliché no. 14), shifting into some orchestrated flute work in the 'funkier' section (that is, Crimsoid funk, which has little in common with James Brown et al.). As a result, killer performance, but Mellotronically inessential.
University of Texas, Arlington, TX, October 6, 1973, a.k.a. Starless, discs 25 & 26, contains one of this series' more interesting versions of Larks' Tongues I, its Mellotronic highlight being Cross' flutes and strings on Improv I. Stanley Warner Theater, Pittsburgh, March 6, 1972, a.k.a. Sailors' Tales, disc 14, sees the band having fun with Ladies Of The Road, while the six-minute Improv that ends the set has to be one of the slackest, most irrelevant improvisations across all these sets. As usual for an early '72 set, Cirkus is the only Mellotron track of any import. Kennedy Centre, Washington, DC, June 27, 1974, a.k.a. The Road to Red disc 14 features a longer-than-usual version of Easy Money and what the hell is Wetton singing in Starless? It sounds like random syllables, made up on the spot. Perhaps it is. No Mellotron on either (admittedly short) improvs, Cross giving us the only unexpected use as he plays a brief flute part with a string line towards the end on this version of Fracture. A good set, but not one of the greats. Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, March 8, 1972, a.k.a. Sailors' Tales, disc 15, sees the band moving into an Islands setlist, including a rather formative Ladies Of The Road and that bloody VCS3'd drum solo in Groon. At least the sound's decent and there aren't any incomplete tracks. Very little Mellotron, at least by Crimso standards, with the usual minor use in Pictures Of A City and Sailor's Tale, leaving Cirkus as the only major Mellotron moment. If the improv titles on Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland, October 23, 1973 look familiar, it is, of course, because a large chunk of the gig's been available for ages on The Great Deceiver. It's good to hear the whole thing, though, in the correct order, previously-unheard highlights including excellent takes on Fracture and Exiles, not to mention a ripping Talking Drum. Mellotronically, we get the usual parts on Easy Money, The Night Watch and Exiles, plus the tiniest smidgeon of Cross' strings on Fracture. Incidentally, note that the Peace - A Theme/Cat Food encore was extremely unusual for the band at this point and also incidentally, couldn't we have lost the entirely unnecessary six minutes of crowd noise that follows Larks' Tongues II?
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Columbus, OH, April 28, 1974, a.k.a. The Road to Red, disc 1, is a strange, truncated set, ending with two minutes of Fripp & co. feeling the love from the audience. No Starless (played but not taped?), but, Mellotronically speaking, the usual brief flute part on opener The Great Deceiver, flutes on Improv I and flutes and strings on Fracture. Live in Kassel, April 1, 1974 is anything but an April Fool; a slightly unusual set for the time, featuring four Starless & Bible Black pieces and another Dr Diamond (so why didn't they record this for Red, anyway?), but only two from Larks' Tongues, although it's truncated a few minutes into Fracture, probably missing a closing Larks' Tongues II. Has Fripp run out of suitable improv titles? Previous Club releases have diligently given retrospective titles to thirty year-old jams, but all we're given here is Improv I/II/III. I is essentially an extended intro to Dr Diamond and II performs the same function for Exiles, only more extended, leaving the brief guitar/violin duet III as the only one of the three worthy of particular mention. A reasonable helping of Mellotron, with the customarily short flute part on opener The Great Deceiver and the standard segments on Exiles, The Night Watch, Lament and Starless. Before you get too excited, Improv II isn't one of their Mellotron improvs, sadly, its Mellotron part only really being the first few cello notes to Exiles, included in the previous track due to the disc sequencing. 2008's download-only New Theatre, Oxford, England, November 25, 1972, a.k.a. Larks' Tongues Complete, disc 7, documents a short-yet-potent set, at its best on Larks' Tongues I and the twenty-minute improv, retroactively titled A Boolean Melody Medley. The more observant amongst you may have noticed that this recording features Mellotron during Fripp's announcement, as he and Cross tune their instruments (as far as anyone can) in preparation for the improv, where Cross gives it his all on the flutes for several minutes, Fripp plays shifting string chords under Cross' violin towards the end, finally leading into the familiar strings and cellos of Exiles.
There's little about Armoury, Wilmington, Delaware, February 11, 1972, a.k.a. Sailors' Tales, disc 10, to make it stand out from the pack. Dare I suggest that Fripp's policy of releasing everything might be slightly misguided? Of course, no-one's making anyone buy anything, but listening to multiple very minor variations on a theme is, frankly, somewhat mind-numbing. Oh well, no-one's making me do it. I think Fripp plays a slightly different guitar part on this version of Groon, but that's about it. Usual Mellotron parts, principally on Cirkus. Stanley Warner Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA, April 29, 1974, a.k.a. The Road to Red, discs 2 & 3, is the full version of the set originally aired on The Great Deceiver set, adding only a handful of versions of tracks we've heard on literally dozens of other releases. Chief Mellotronic point of interest? Cross' flutes all over Improv: Bartley Butsford. After innumerable download-only releases, 2009's Live in Boston, MA, March 27, 1972 is a welcome return to a real, hold-in-your-hand CD issue, although I've absolutely no idea why Mr. Fripp's opted to release this particular one 'properly'; superior sound quality? Everything's relative. Anyway, it's another typical early '72 set, albeit one with an especially cataclysmic version of Schizoid Man; Fripp was clearly on fire that night. Minor Mellotronic input from Collins and/or Fripp on Pictures Of A City, the usual parts on The Sailors Tale and Cirkus, so no real surprises here.
Palazzo dello Sport, Udine, Italy, March 19, 1974, is probably the main oddity in the Starless set; the (nearly) full recording is tacked onto the end, as disc 27, while a mere three tracks, one of which (Larks' Tongues II), isn't on the longer version, are to be found on disc 7, in much higher quality, leading to a situation where two tracks (Exiles and Fracture) are duplicated. An early-in-the-tour set, it has several points of interest, not least what appears to be an otherwise-unheard song, as against instrumental jam (sorry, 'improv'), Guts On My Side, a really shaky (i.e. early) Starless and a rare tour outing for Book Of Saturday. Mellotronically, we get the usual parts plus an unusual (unique?) few seconds of strings on Doctor Diamond and flutes, cellos and strings on the reflective Improv II. Tarrant County Convention Centre, Fort Worth, TX, June 6, 1974, a.k.a. The Road to Red, disc 5, is one of the lower-fi recordings in this series, especially closer (encore?) Schizoid Man, which sounds like it's from a different (and poorer) source. For a poor-quality truncated set, this is actually pretty good, highlights include a particularly blistering version of The Talking Drum. Not that much Mellotron, by Crimso standards, with the usual parts on Easy Money, Lament and Fracture and cellos and strings on Improv. Fairground Arena, Oklahoma City, OK, June 7, 1974, a.k.a. The Road to Red, disc 6, is... a typical show from the band's last tour, its only standout feature, musically or Mellotronically, being Cross' mad, fairground flutes on Improv II and a particularly rabid Talking Drum. The heavily-incomplete The Barn, Peoria, IL, March 10, 1972 features Fripp adding a snatch of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds to the end of Ladies Of The Road, while the near-twenty minute Groon stands out for being one of the most flaccid versions available, including a bizarre, sax-and-vocal led detour into Silent Night. Given that Earthbound's Peoria was excerpted from this set, perhaps the conspiracy theory that the album was Fripp's idea of a joke has legs. Avoid. 2ff7e9595c
Comments