40th Anniversary Tour Box

Performer: King Crimson
Artist: Robert Fripp
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Preceded by the Power to Believe Tour Box (2003), this 40th Anniversary Tour Box (2009) is the second of its kind -- gathering behind-the-scenes audio snippets and prime aural odds and sods from the studio and concert stage alike. The audio-only disc is accompanied by an oversized ultra-high quality, 20-page booklet. Inside are page-upon-page of rarely published images, a personnel timeline/discography, and reproductions of all manner of tour memorabilia and ephemera that span the four decades (1969-2009) of King Crimson's existence. The contents of the 40-plus-minute CD provide something of an aural -- musical, and (occasionally) spoken word -- equivalent. After Fillmore West stage manager Kip Cohen's portentous prologue on "The Introduction," the compression of 40 years in under four minutes is attempted. Although abbreviated -- sans solos and instrumental improvisation between verses -- "21st Century Schizoid Man" combines several live recordings one atop of the other so that all 20 members (i.e., every live incarnation) of King Crimson can be heard playing the song (more or less) simultaneously. The two parts of "Astounding Revelations" are brief interview fragments from the mid-'90s re-formation. Part One contains perils of wisdom from Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, and Pat Mastelotto. These were used as part of a multimedia promotional Electronic Press Kit for the album Thrak (1995). "Form No. 2" is a short, funky bit of improvised music from the seventh lineup circa 2004 with Adrian Belew (guitar), Robert Fripp (guitar), Tony Levin (touch guitar), and Pat Mastelotto (acoustic/electronic percussion). The second "Astounding Revelations" contains additional sound bytes from the double-trio incarnation. Up this time are words from Fripp, Levin, Bruford, and Trey Gunn. One of the 40th Anniversary Tour Box's musical highlights is the "Improv/Tomorrow Never Knows" from a Warsaw concert in June of 2000. Belew nails the hurdy-gurdy inspired by John Lennon's original vocal while the rest of the band provides a perfect balance of psychedelia and sonic drama behind him. The brief "Shocking Confession" reveals three members of the incipient band rethinking the importance of and their respective roles in King Crimson's highly influential debut combo. "Steinberger Melody" is a dark and moody bit of tone probing that occurred between the recording of Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair(1984). It finds the foursome of Fripp, Belew, Bruford, and Levin working out potential musical directions at the C.V. Lloyd Music Centre in Champaign, IL. Fairly self-explanatory is the "Terrifying Tale of Thela Hun Ginjeet" as Fripp and Belew are excerpted from 1981 interviews describing the events that led up to the song's creation. Their analysis segues directly into a fierce version of same from the Mann Music Centre in Philly in late July of 1982. Somewhat of a novelty is the "Starless & Bible Black U.S. Radio Advert 1974: The Unfettered Truth" that recalls a time when AOR FM radio stations would advertise and actually play the band on the air. The concluding improvised musical selection is the stunning ten-minute "Improv: Brescia" -- recorded March 20, 1974 in Brescia, Italy at the Palazzo Dello Sport (Palasport). Bruford (drums/percussion), David Cross (violin/mellotron), Fripp (guitar/mellotron) and John Wetton (bass) are at their most agile and dangerous. Just as the combo drift into "Starless," the audio fades out. Luckily, the whole concert can be downloaded from www.dgmlive.com. Following nearly a minute of silence, there is a "hidden track" containing some god-awful "Various Early Audition Demos." Judging by the material -- "Cadence and Cascade," "Pictures of a City," and "21st Century Schizoid Man" -- the time period would have been the very early '70s. But wait, that is not all. Purchasers are also privy to a downloadable entry from King Crimson's concurrent configuration as documented during the actual 40th Anniversary Tour. Details can be located within the text of the aforementioned booklet. ~ Lindsay Planer

Led by innovative guitarist/conceptualist Robert Fripp, King Crimson went through countless changes in style and personnel. They moved from early symphonic/progressive rock to angular, experimental improv to a mixture of hard rock and fusion before breaking up in the mid-'70s. Revived in the '80s, the group modernized its approach by incorporating Gamelan-like polyrhythms and an almost danceable Talking Heads-influenced sound into their approach. Always the coolest of the art-rockers, Crimson was also one of the most influential of the early-'70s prog crowd.

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