LIVE IN MAINZ, GEMANY 1974

A decidedly welcome live release from the mid-1970s lineup of King Crimson; OK, sure, we have USA, we have The Great Deceiver, but even then there's still treats to be had here. Of course, the mid-1970s Crimsos had their famous penchant for improvisation, and you have several such pieces here, as well as an actual composed song that never made it onto a studio album in the form of the sleek and scandalous Dr Diamond. Combine this with excellent versions of old favourites, and the fact that the audio cuts off abruptly towards the end (this was sourced from a soundboard recording) is really the only mark against it.

Note that if you get the Starless boxed set, not only is this live set included (in its most recently cleaned-up form), but one of the bonus discs also has the two missing songs from the end of the concert, sourced from an actually pretty decent-sounding audience cassette taping.