ABSENT LOVERS - LIVE IN MONTREAL, 1984

Having attended this very concert (actually the tracks are taken from two back to back shows) in the summer of 1984 at The Spectrum in Montréal my shouts and screams can be heard amidst a very enthusiastic audience on this, one of the stronger live releases from King Crimson. Although it was to be the last two shows the band would play before Fripp would disband the group (again!) only to resurrect it ten years later in 1994, the Crims were in top form with Adrian Belew even taking turns on additional drum kit. The tracks are taken from mainly the Discipline/Beat/Three Of A Perfect Pair Trilogy from the early eighties and each album is represented adequetely, although a couple of classics pop up in the form of excellent renditions of Red and Lark's Tongues In Aspic Pt.II. There are a few reservations to this otherwise excellently executed live performance from the band as they were at the end of this era with plenty of audience interaction (The album certainly has a very "live" feel to it.) There possibly could have been some more improv sections included and this aspect is restricted to the searing intro which really gets the proceedings off with a bang. Another small disappointment is the exclusion of some of the more quirky Belew lyrics from Thela Hun Ginjeet three tracks in. Regardless, a great live edition of the 1981-84 Crimson and indespensible for fans of this incarnation of King Crimson.