LIVE IN PHILADELPHIA, PA , JULY 30, 1982

Well, if you love the 'new' King Crimson (I usually term it as 'Discipline Onwards' which refers to the era in which Adrian Belew and Tony Levin joined the band and the music direction changed since then) you MUST have this 26th Collector's Club CD. The performance was held on July 30, 1982 right after they released 'Beat' album which represented the third album under Discipline Onwards regime. Some fans who love old-style Crimson do not like the new one but in my case I love both as they all are excellent. The only thing that makes people do not favor this new style is I think the 'repetitive' nature of the music where in some parts there are repetition of other parts. But I got used to it as the sound is unique.

'Thela Hun Ginjeet' from Discipline opens the set beautifully with its dynamic music combining solid bass lines of Levin, double guitar work with different styles from Fripp and Belew and unique drumming by Bruford which has unique snare sound as well as beats. The setlist is something similar with the one that you can see at the video of Live in Japan (1984). The music flows beautifully from the opening to the legendary 'Red' (the era before Discipline). In my opinion, listening to their live record is much interesting than the studio version. This is largely due to the more solid and dynamic bass playing by Levin combined with improvisations on guitar as well as drums. For example, on the opening of 'Indiscipline' Bruford performed quite long drum solo. This track is very interesting for me because it sounds like unstructured but the harmonies are very good especially on guitar solo and bass guitar. But when it stops suddenly to let Belew vocal to enter the music it creates a unique nuance. Belew sings like talking is another attraction point. He actually did similar thing when he sings in 'Elephant Talk'. For those of you who are not familiar with new style King Crimson, 'The Sheltering Sky' is a good choice to listen as it sounds different compared to other tracks.

Overall, I am very happy with this record for two reasons. First, the performance of the band members was at its best, playing their excellent tracks. Second, the sonic quality of the CD is really excellent and it sounds like studio version. I would recommend you to have this CD especially if you claim yourself as Schizoid Man (The King Crimson fans). Keep on proggin' ?!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

The gold standard of live albums from the 1980s King Crimson has always been Absent Lovers, and this live release won't knock it off its perch any time soon unless you particularly despise Three of a Perfect Pair. This is a well- recorded, complete-sounding set from the Beat tour, with Belew-Fripp-Levin-Bruford lineup of King Crimson offering up the entirety of Discipline, plus about half of Beat, plus a couple of treats from the 1970s (Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 2 and Red) rearranged and updated to fit seamlessly into the sound of the 1980s lineup.

The band are on excellent form, by and large if you've heard the albums in question you know more or less what to expect, and Adrian Belew is perhaps the most exciting, characterful frontman that King Crimson ever had. What's not to love? (Note that if you're thinking of getting the On (and Off) the Road) boxed set, this is one of the live sets included.)