The mighty King Crimson have been touring the globe these last few years with their revamped line-up, and as a result we've seen numerous live albums from various dates and venues being released. This latest was recorded on December 1, 2016 at a concert in Vienna, and you get the full show across three CDs plus a few bonus cuts tacked on at the end which were taken from other shows. These prove to be a mix of soundscapes and instrumental improvisations, and a nice addition to the main sprawling set.
For this tour, Crimson consisted of Robert Fripp (guitar, keyboards), Jakko Jakszyk (guitar, vocals), Tony Levin (bass, Stick), Mel Collins (sax, flute), Pat Mastelotto (drums), Jeremy Stacey (drums, keyboards), and Gavin Harrison (drums). If you've seen or been following the band since their re-emergence on the scene a few years back with this extended line-up, I'm sure you are aware that they have tried very hard to give all the eras of Crimson some love in a live setting, and this show in Vienna is no exception. Material from their early period such as 'Sailor's Tale", "Cirkus", "Epitaph", "Pictures of a City", "Easy Money", "Red", "Starless", "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", "Fracture", and of course "21st Century Schizoid Man" are dusted out and given royal treatment, Collins injecting plenty of jazzy sensibilities to those songs that did not contain reeds back in the day, and the combination works. Jakszyk for his part not only provides stellar guitar work alongside Fripp, but also proves perfectly capable to handle the old vocal parts of Greg Lake, Boz Burrell, John Wetton, and Adrian Belew, really impressive with his take on "Indiscipline" and "The ConstruKtion of Light" as well as the lovely "Epitaph" and the heartwarming "Starless". Interspersed are plenty of instrumental workouts and improvisations, the three drum attack really putting on a show and both Fripp & Jakko weaving their guitars in and out of the arrangements, Collins' adding his jazzy touch and plenty of Mellotron to go around. "Vroom", "Level V", and "Meltdown" are worth the price of admission alone.
All three CD's are housed in a lovely digipack adorned with plenty of photos, and the sound quality of the performance is superb. Do you need another live King Crimson album you ask? Yes, of course you do!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
Disc One:
First Set: (Vienna, 2016)

1 Walk On: Soundscapes: Monk Morph Music Of The Chamber

2 Hell Hounds of Krim

3 Pictures of a City

4 Dawn Song
Suitable Grounds for The Blues

5 VROOOM


6 The Construkction of Light

7 The Court of the Crimson King

8 The Letters

9 Sailors’ Tale

10 Interlude

11 Radical Action II

12 Level V
Disc Two:
Second Set: Vienna, 2016

1 Fairy Dust Of The Drumsons

2 Peace: An End

3 Cirkus

4 Indiscipline

5 Epitaph

6 Easy Money

7 Devil Dogs of Tessellation Row

8 Red

9 Meltdown

10 Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part Two

11 Starless
Disc Three: Encores and Expansions
1 Fracture 

2 Heroes

3 21st Century Schizoid Man

4 Schoenberg Softened His Hat

5 Ahriman's Ceaseless Corruptions

6 Spenta's Counter Claim
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