EARTHBOUND

3.75 stars. Despite what other people may say, Earthbound is one of my favorite albums by King Crimson. First of all, let's address the bad sound quality. As you may have already read, the album is recorded in the back of a van, on a cassette, in the rain. But honestly, the sound quality is not all that bad. It just sounds like a bootleg, which is not at all a bad aspect. I think it adds a gritty, earthy quality to the album. The album is also one of Crimson's jazziest albums, if not the most jazzy. The saxophone is really great and Boz's scat singing adds to it. The first track is literally the best live version of 21CSM ever recorded by King Crimson, that's all I have to say. The second track, Peoria, is my favorite song on the album. It has a really funky/jazzy groove to it and I like Boz's singing. The next song, the Sailor's Tale, is really done well in this album. I like it better than the original version on Islands. It has a more driving beat and the guitar solo is also pretty great. Some of the panning is weird though. The fourth song Earthbound is really great as well. The bass/kick drum at the beginning is really gritty with the audio quality. And the saxophone is super groovy and so is Boz's singing. My kinda groove! This album's version of groon is also good. Overall, this is one of Crimson's funkiest and jazziest albums, and the audio quality should not deter you from listening to it!