The classic is back and for good - This material is not new at all. In fact I remember I had The Noise and Three of a Perfect Pair live in Japan show in an old VHS tape and it has a lot of missing parts due to the typical failures of that format. But it was cool anyway. Now you have the opportunity to have them on DVD for a really low price and I must say with an incredible sound and picture quality (you have to think that these shows weren t recorded with HD cams).I know we all want a Wetton-Cross-Bruford-Fripp era DVD maybe with a The Nightwatch -like set list but that s utopic.This is a MUST.
Awesome - This is far better than I expected. I own two other KC DVDs, but this is better than both. Not only are these guys stellar musicians, but the combination of talent and imagination is amazing. This is definitely worth more than five stars. (The package says this is an hour performance, it s really over 80 minutes.) King Crimson at its best! You ll see KC playing nearly every song from Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. The band is very tight and what s more they obviously love what they re doing. A MUST SEE show if there ever was one.
Larks Tongues In Aspic: The Movie - I m very happy that they put this out on DVD. This features both the band s 1980 s concert videos in one release. Although the Live In Japan video is from the 1991 reissue which features different song placements than the first 80 s release as well as leaving off Discipline. Both Live In Japan 1984 and Live In Frejus 1982 were originally tv specials if I remember right. The performances here are excellent and I find it hard to single out favorites. The band is in top form in both shows. The 1982 show they were sharing a bill with Roxy Music. I wish that they had released some extra songs on here but I am happy that Robert Fripp saw fit to release these together one one release instead of dragging it out and making us have to buy them separate. This does include all the basic tunes from the 80 s line-up(ie Heartbeat, Elephant Talk, Sleepless, ect) as well as a couple of different versions of Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 2. If you like King Crimson you ll love this.
A Must Have for Fans of the 80 s Incarnation of King Crimson - The Fripp/Bruford/Levin/Belew lineup was my personal favorite. This DVD is, therefore, required viewing. The production is great and the performances are of the highest order. If you like this lineup of King Crimson, you simply must have this DVD.
I do remember one thing....I LIKE IT!!!! - Let me first begin by saying that this is, in my opinion one of the best line-ups this band has ever put together. If you are unfamiliar with the group here s a little background. The only constant in the band has been Robert Fripp. He started the group in 1969. Since then there have been many incarnations. In fact if memory serves the line-up is never the same on any album until we reach the 1980 s with this particular line-up. They ve even lost and gained members during their many concert tours as well, I also believe that during the 1972 tour Boz Burrel (drummer) was replaced with Bill Bruford because Boz was too drunk, and missed a few shows. Here s the line-up for these two videos: Adrian Belew (Lead Guitar, Backing Drums, Mellotron, and Lead Vocals) he hails from Frank Zappa, and Talking Heads fame. If you watch these videos you ll see some of his Talking Heads roots. Next is Tony Levin, a studio bassist who has roots with Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Genesis and even played with Pink Floyd (on tour) and ABHW (Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe). Levin plays Bass, Bass Synth, and the Chapman Stick® a 10-string Bass-Guitar touch board instrument that is just phenomenal and backing vocals as well. Bill Bruford plays Drums (Batterie) Electronic Drums and the Tongue Drum as well as various and sundry percussion instruments. Bill joined the band in 1972 on the Lark s Tongues In Aspic album, after leaving Yes behind as Jon Anderson would not allow him to branch out and experiment with electronics and other percussion instruments like the tongue drum. Plus he was only getting 5% for nothing cf. Yes album Fragile. Then there s Bobby (Robert) Fripp, he plays Lead and rhythm guitar, as well as mellotron and Frippertronics®, his signature guitar-synth machine.First you should watch Live at Frejus, it s a short video, only part of the entire set list is represented here. On the special features for this DVD you can hear a good version of Elephant Talk recorded at this venue but not seen on the video portion....it can be heard on Tony s Photo Album in the Special Features section. Mostly this concert is from the Beat album (1980, the blue album). The opening song is great Bill and Adrian play the electronic drum kit in tandem, and it s a joy to see how they put this song together live since in the studio they can dub and overlay tracks....namely Bill and Adrian playing electronic drums while at the same time playing the acoustic drums, electric guitar and singing....impossible to do all at once live. Tony s driving rhythms on the Stick®, and walking bass-lines (also on the Stick®) are just incredible to watch. He makes the Stick® look WAY to easy to play....almost makes it look as easy to play as a simple whistle! In fact he hardly ever looks at the thing, rather stares at his protégés or into the audience. Bill s drum solo just before Indiscipline is perhaps one of the best drum solos in the industry, and although John Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame was the first to use an electronic and acoustic kit cf. Bonzeau s Montreaux Bill is by far the master of electronic, and acoustic drums. He s never been a fan of the drum solo from what I hear, and even though it s short, it s extremely sweet. Robert is most likely the fastest guitar player in the industry. Some people say Yngwei Malmstein is fast....well he hasn t got SHE IT on little Bobby Fripp here. Now both concerts have been remastered in 5.1 surround, and as such, you can hear many of the limitations of the original analog audio recordings on Frejus. But it s the visuals of seeing these master musicians play their instruments which is the best part. They are all virtuosos. The video shows it s age too, but if you are a true fan, you will overlook these minor flaws. Waiting Man, Neal and Jack and Me, and Sheltering Sky are all incredibly awesome to see played live. Encore songs Heartbeat and Lark s Tongues In Aspic Part II are also awesome....who am I kidding the entire Frejus set is awesome....you ll love it, I did!Now after you ve watched the Frejus concert, go and change your shorts....I know you ll need to by this point, then flick over to the Japan concert. Here the band shines once again, playing a fuller concert on video, with a few old school KC songs, and a good mix of the 1980 s line-up songs from Beat (Blue), Discipline (Red) and Three Of A Perfect Pair (Yellow). You can tell which album a song is from as the background behind the band will be , Blue, Yellow or Red....Adrian even mentions this during the video. Here s a few kewl points: 1) There are 4 short vignettes toward the beginning where they show each member, just prior to the concert. Robert is even seen playing Fracture on his electric guitar sans amp. The set list is great, again as stated earlier a great mix of songs both old and new, though mostly new. And finally the sound is much better than the Frejus recording. Adrian makes some amazing sounds, and plays feedback better than anyone else in the biz, you ll see what I mean if you get this video. For fans of the old KC you ll get to see Lark s Tongues In Aspic Parts II and III. Too bad they didn t play Part I as well! The only problems I have with this particular concert video is all the stupid Dr. Who type video effects. They are not only superfluous and cheap looking, but also totally unnecessary, and in my opinion detract from the overall enjoyment of those few songs where the effects are too heavy. If I wanted to see those kinds of effects during this concert video I would have dropped 2 hits of acid, and smoked some KB before hitting play. Overall this is a 15-Star DVD set on a scale of 1-10 stars. You will not be disappointed in these videos, whether you are true KC fan, or just a beginning Prog Rock upstart. Go change your shorts again and start them both over and watch them once more! Thanks and enjoy!