Disc One1. Walk On... No Pussyfooting - 0:49
2. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two - 6:24
3. Lament - 4:39
4. Exiles - 8:57
5. Improv: A Voyage To The Centre Of The Cosmos - 15:03
6. Easy Money - 7:13
7. Improv: Providence - 10:19
8. Fracture - 11:14
9. Starless - 12:04
Disc Two
1. 21st Century Schizoid Man - 8:27
2. Walk Off From Providence - 1:21
3. Sharks' Lungs In Lemsip - 3:22
4. Lark's Tongues In Aspic, Part One - 7:50
5. Book Of Saturday - 3:03
6. Easy Money - 6:41
7. We'll Let You Know - 4:55
8. The Night Watch - 5:17
9. Improv: Tight Scrummy - 8:58
10. Peace: A Theme - 1:01
11. Cat Food - 4:36
12. Easy Money... - 2:20
13. Improv: ...It Is For You, But Not For Us - 9:12
Drummer Bill Bruford might have described this version of King Crimson best when he compared it to his former band, Yes (paraphrased): "In Yes, we would spend all this time arguing about what to play... In King Crimson, you were just supposed to know." Nowhere is that more evident than in these live recordings, which showcase intense interplay and improvisation that must have been breathtaking both to play and to witness.
The live versions of the studio songs are almost improvisations themselves, with constantly shifting arrangements, on-the-fly instrumentation changes, and unpredictable performances from all four band members. The observant might notice two and a half different versions of "Easy Money" on this set. The version on Disc One is terrifyingly stark -- just John Wetton's vocal with unsettling swells from Robert Fripp's guitar before it roars to life -- where the version on Disc Two is more of a boogie-down, feel-good reading. The partial version at the end highlights yet another unique verse/chorus variant before going completely left-field with the haunting, Mellotron-based improvisation titled "...It Is For You, But Not For Us", which leaves its parent song completely behind and never revisits it.
In Fripp's extensive liner notes, he admits that Wetton's bass guitar and Bruford's heavy drumming had taken over the band by the end. Indeed, their raw power defines Disc One and the first track of Disc Two, which comprise the entire next-to-last concert performance of this band. Wetton's bass in particular is a revelation. Dancing lightly over the melody in "Exiles", pounding propulsively in "Larks' Tongues Pt. 2" and "Fracture", mixing menace with swing in "Starless", or flying pell-mell through the "21st Century Schizoid Man" encore, Wetton leaves it all on the stage. For fans of progressive bass guitar (all five of us), this is a treasure trove.
I'll try not to let my bass love obscure my appreciation for the other musicians, though. David Cross on violin and Mellotron provides some truly outstanding performances, particularly on "Larks' Tongues Pt. 1", "Exiles", and "Book of Saturday". Hearing the early Crimson tunes "Cat Food" and "21st Century..." with Cross's violin, Wetton's bass, and Bruford's drumming is quite a treat. Speaking of Bruford's drumming... yeah, the man poured some serious passion into these performances. And of course, Fripp's unworldly tone and laser accuracy on guitar turns from blaring rock to introspective jazz finger-picking with ease.
But perhaps the main event here are the improvisations. These are not jams in the traditional sense, where drums and bass start vamping while lead instruments solo. These are attempts at spontaneous composition, live on stage, with no prior discussion, plan, or roadmap. To be fair, it usually falls into one of two categories: spacey atmospheric or aggressively violent. But sometimes, the aggressively violent morphs into funk, or the atmospheric morphs into melodic ballad. And sometimes, it's all out the window, like on "Tight Scrummy", where Bruford lays down an unabashedly Latin rhythm, complete with wood block and tuned percussion, which the other musicians successively attempt to derail. You never know what you're going to get, and that's what makes it exciting.
Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 spontaneous compositions
