(Progressive Rock, Art Rock) [WEB] King Crimson - Live In Toronto - November 20, 2015 - 2CD (2016), FLAC (tracks), lossless

1. Threshold Soundscape 4.00
2. Larks Tongues in Aspic, Part I 10.29
3. Pictures of a City 8.32
4. VROOOM 5.18
5. Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind 3.20
6. Meltdown 4.51
7. Hell Hounds of Krim 3.31
8. The ConstruKction of Light 6.44
9. Red 6.47
10. Epitaph 9.02

1. Banshee Legs Bell Hassle 1.43
2. Easy Money 8.33
3. Level Five 7.04
4. The Letters 5.38
5. Sailor's Tale 6.56
6. Starless 15.18
7. The Court of the Crimson King 7.17
8. 21st Century Schizoid Man 11.41

It’s a strange feeling to hear Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part One opening a concert after an absence of 40 years from the King Crimson setlist. Strange exhilarating. Just as the original recording served as a kind of overture heralding a new adventure in the ongoing KC story, so it does here. There are so many highlights just within the one piece; Pat summoning Jamie Muir’s presence in the introductory build; the pounding theme; Jakko’s spidery lines scuttling between percussive salvos; Robert and Tony’s short-but-sweet soloing underpinned by Gavin’s driving beats; Mel Collins’ wry flute solo and Bill’s haunting atmospherics; the triumphant downbeat into the bittersweet coda. It’s one hell of a way to open a gig. Pictures Of A City never sounded as forceful or as dynamic as it does performed by this line-up. With scorching vocals and barbed wire lead lines, the three drummers meld into one body spurring the entire ensemble onwards. Collins’ feverish sax solo in the middle section ups the temperature as he does in the glowering improv during The Letters. Yet listening to the concert it becomes obvious that there’s no single star of this show. This Crimson is all about teamwork; the work of one supporting the work of many, to borrow a well-known phrase. There’s the thrill of the big set-piece moments and the joy in alighting upon the tiny, painstaking details that have been invested into the fabric of this music. Radical Action... and Meltdown typify that approach. A classic Crim rollercoaster of simultaneously ascending and descending dovetailing lines and baton-passing beats calculated to create a wildly dynamic yet intricate mechanism. As the last notes of a barn-storming Starless dies away, smoldering under the intense red stage light, it’s one hell of a way to close a gig. And after the encores King Crimson stand reinvented and triumphant taking deserved applause after turning in an astonishingly powerful performance.
Please note a 2-disc Collectors Club Special Edition of this show (identical to this download) will be available mail order from March 17th, 2016.

This is an excellent recording and if you are a fan of the group you definitely should download it immediately. As advertised, this is a novel formation of the band with three drummers – the effect of which is somewhat reminiscent of Clear Light (not the Clearlight of “Forever Blowing Bubbles” but the late 1960s LA group), which had two drummers. It includes songs from almost every era of the band’s various incarnations – the only one I could find missing was something from “Lizard,” which is more of a chamber music record anyway. You will find pleasing versions of “Starless” and “21st Century Schizoid Man,” though frankly I am as tired of hearing the latter tune as Mr. Fripp surely must be performing it. Mel Collins on woodwinds also must be somewhat bemused by the fact that he is replaying songs that he originally played some 45 years ago. Many of the songs have been reconceptualized, for example, “Easy Money” now features a lovely interlude that sounds like a different piece altogether. Jakko Jakszyk is an excellent singer – less pitchy and with far better intonation than some of his predecessors. On the negative side, Mr. Fripp employs altogether too much flanging and other modulation effects, you don’t need two Eventide Harmonizers and four TC2290 delays, one of each (or even none of each) is sufficient. It’s enough to make one yearn for the days of the black Les Paul, the fuzz pedal, and the Hiwatt amplifier. It would have been nice to hear (say) a violin to complement Mr. Collins’ flute playing. And, the massed drummers on “Hell Hounds of Krim” are frankly reminiscent of Ginger Baker’s “Toad”; why drummers insist on these types of solo bits is unknown. For me, the most interesting thing about the record is its choice of material. I might quibble with some of the selections – songs like “VROOM” fall flat, and I would have liked to hear “Exiles” and “Night Watch.” I distinctly recall “Pictures of a City” and “Epitaph” from my days as a troubled adolescent, and these versions sound terrific. Especially noteworthy is the inclusion of several songs from “Islands,” which at one point Mr. Fripp had completely renounced. 1971-1972 was a horrible, miserable, dreadful, awful, horrific, and unpleasant time of my life, and “Islands” was its soundtrack, in particular, the song “The Letter,” this version of which sends chills up and down my spine. As Mr. Fripp correctly has observed, each of us extracts from the band’s oeuvre those pieces that impact us personally, and I am well aware of my limitations and biases in that regard. He offers all of them to us, inviting us to partake of what we will. It is a measure of his spiritual progress that he has developed a relationship of tranquil equanimity with his repertoire. Yes, in principle, the songs could have been anything else; the notes could have been different; the lyrics could have been different; and who knows if this iteration of them is the maximally aesthetic version. Yet, the fact remains that these are the songs that were iterated, these are the notes that were played. This is the legacy with which Mr. Fripp is associated, and these are the songs for which he will be known. This is a difficult ontology to navigate, achieving equipoise is difficult, and Mr. Fripp is to be commended for having done so. - dkronemyer, dgmlive.com

Robert Fripp Guitar Keyboards
Jakko Jakszyk Guitar and Voice
Mel Collins Saxes and Flute
Tony Levin Basses Stick Backing Vocals
Gavin Harrison Drums Electronic Percussion
Bill Rieflin Drums Electronic Percussion Keyboards
Pat Mastelotto Drums Electronic Percussion