ELEKTRIK

In all the abundance of King Crimson live releases, this one is a must for fans of modern Crimson. The band delivers almost the entire Power to Believe album and the best tracks from The ContruKction of Light with a steaming intensity.

After the lush emotive Introductory Soundscape, Level Five strikes with a devastating blow. This is where Crimson teaches all metal bands a lesson in crushing heaviness. Belew's guitar is screaming on top of the heavy chromatic riffs from Fripp. Belew truly surprises with his raw vocal performance on ProzaKc Blues. I can understand most people fall for the choir-boy charm of Greg Lake, but Belew has proven to be a much more versatile and dependable vocalist.

Most tracks from Power to Believe can hardly be told apart from their studio originals. One Time from Thrak offers a slightly changed interpretation with delicate frippertronic soundscapes from Fripp. The concert closes with the two best tracks from the ContruKction of Light, making that album even less necessary for me.

An excellent concert but as usual with live albums, I feel a bit disappointed that most track stick too close to the originals. I find the DVD version of this concert (Eyes Wide Open), with its extra tracks and concert footage to be much livelier and generally the preferred live experience from this incarnation of Crimson.