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KING
CRIMSON |
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King
Crimson is proof of reincarnation so says famed prog-rock mastermind
Dr. Winston OBoogie. Well, no matter what god you pray to, at
least now you can shelve all your earlier CD reissues of In
The Court Of The Crimson King - An Observation By King Crimson because
this is the one to get. Sometime around 2004, the actual multitrack
tapes of Court were found and now this 2009, 40th anniversary
remix / upgrade of Court by Robert Fripp and Porcupine
Tree founder Steven Wilson is really something! Rock history
101 will tell you, of course Fripp went on to lead numerous King Crimson
franchises if you like (no pun intended) but lets face it kids,
the greatest thing old Bob did when he formed the original King Crimson
was put together of band of musicians who, each great in their own
right, went on to become pioneering prog-rock musicians after recording
this album. I mean how serendipitous was it having Greg Lake as
the groups leading singer and mellotron / flute icon Ian
McDonald writing and singing too? To say nothing of the brilliant
drumming of Michael Giles. Yes, its just too historic
and will no doubt be canonized, eulogized and glorified by generations
of music students and fans in years to come as being one of the most
important rock albums ever made. It certainly was in my top 10 of
1969! Funny how Chris Squire and Jon Andersons YES also made
their debut album also in 1969 yet it was Fripp, Lake, McDonald &
Giles who made the biggest waves with the first King Crimson album.
Following the meteoric rise of King Crimson, Lake exited quickly,
following McDonalds departure and thus was born the short lived
McDonald & Giles and of course rock legend ELP with Lake rocking
on in style with Keith Emerson just after King Crimson I. We were
somber reptiles at the time, though now with 2020 (or maybe...2010?)
hindsight its a real hoot to review the 2009, 40th anniversary
edition double CD/DVD set of Court featuring an amazing multitrack
remix of the original album that clearly
sounds
head and shoulders above earlier CD reissues of The Court,
of which there are many. Hogwash you say? Well, if my memory serves
me well, the first CD reissue of In The Court Of The Crimson King,
released on EG by good old Marty Scott of JEM Records (where are you
now?) back around 1987, delineated the album as one of the most densely
recorded and mixed prog-rock albums ever made. Yet with this 2009
remix, Fripp and Wilson kind of opens up the album mix and my God,
it nearly breathes!
Commenting in the illuminating and most excellent detailed booklet,
with 2009 liner notes from Fripp and July 2009 liner notes by Sid
Smith, Fripps remix cohort Steve Wilson adds, We
were able to go into the music in a way that no-ones been into
it before. Just amazing, thats all I can say. I swear
I hear the King himself stirring within his jewel box, which is lavishly
done up here in a fine looking 40th packa CD and DVD situated
facing each other in plastic jewel sides housed within an attractive
slip-on case, three times displaying that great Barry Godber
painting that will live forever. Not intended Im sure, but that
front cover painting is really what King Crimson is all aboutthe
heightened suspense filled chords, shapes of things that took you
to musical destinations that were only dreamed about when the Shadows
hit number one with Apache in 1960! With the first half
of the package featuring the complete album remixed from the original
multitrack master tapes and bonus tracks consisting of full versions,
instrumentals, alternate mixes and even a weird CD closing experimental
track that borders on future Frippertronica called Wind Sessions,
the DVD half of this package features a 5.1 mix and the two different
(2004 and 2009) album mixes including the bonus cuts. There's also
a brief B&W video clip of the first Crimson lineup performing
at the Brian Jones memorial concert in Hyde Park in July 1969. With
mellotrons ruling the day, I'm sure Brian, the Stones' ousted mellotron
guru, was beaming down from heaven. King Crimson fans can also pick
up on similar double CD/DVD remix / remaster reissue sets on DGM /
Inner Knot of the trendsetting
1971 King
Crimson album Lizard as well as the equally classic
1974 Crimson
Red redux. It would be easy to go into depth and detail
on the significance of both Lizard and Red, except long
story shortboth are essential classics and have long been
considered
definitive progressive rock classics in the spirit of the 69
debut. Long live King Crimson. www.King-Crimson.com
/ www.dgmlive.com
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