THE COLLECTABLE KING CRIMSON - VOL. 1 (LIVE IN MAINZ, 1974 + LIVE IN ASBURY PARK, 1974)

The Fripp Wetton Bruford Cross lineup of King Crimson is my favorite Crimson group, and by the ratings here, I'm not alone in that opinion. Not only that, this band was one of the high points in the history of progressive rock. Truly adventurous, exciting and completely unconventional, King Crimson, when the band could stay together, was always pushing the boundaries of rock music.

This album is made up of two of the King Crimson Collectors Club releases (originally too pricy for my budget), both taken from 1974 concerts. The first, recorded in Mainz, Germany, is decent quality, taken from a 2 track stereo soundboard mix. The noteworthy tracks are, as usual, the improvs, and a rare recording of Dr. Diamond, good, but marred by Wetton fumbling over the lyrics.

The second album is the Asbury Park gig, which was used for most of the tracks from the USA live album, and later expanded CD. The tracks are even longer here, with the improv, Asbury Parl running almost twelve minutes. The sound quality on this disk is great.

It's just too bad that this band wasn't around longer, and able to build a larger song selection.