AAJ Review: King Crimson, The Road to Red

[jkelman]

My review of King Crimson's massive The Road to Red, today at AllAboutJazz.com.

Another massive King Crimson box, hot on the heels of the 15-disc, 40th Anniversary Series Larks' Tongues in Aspic: The Complete Recordings (DGM Live, 2012), which—collecting every known note (ranging from low to hi-fi) played by the then newly forged, five-piece edition of a group that, in addition to sole founding member Robert Fripp, also featured violinist/keyboardist David Cross, bassist/vocalist John Wetton, drummer Bill Bruford and, most significantly, percussionist and all-around madman x-factor Jamie Muir—brought new meaning to the word heavy? Absolutely, and for fans of this era of Crimson, the 21-CD/1-DVD/2-Blu-Ray The Road to Red is more than just a welcome addition, it's an exhilarating document of a progressive rock band reaching far beyond whatever purview such labeling might entail to achieve heights never reached before—and, some would say, rarely (if ever) attained since.

Muir left Crimson following the quintet's first live performance of 1973—February 10 at London's renowned Marquee Club—leaving Bruford much the wiser for it (and now assuming double duty as drummer and percussionist). This leaner and much, much meaner four-piece Crim toured extensively in 1973/74, releasing the composite studio/live recording Starless and Bible Black (DGM Live, 1974), which introduced a number of classic songs into the repertoire, including the fusionesque "The Great Deceiver," more rock-heavy "Lament," mellotron-heavy ballad "The Night Watch" and, most importantly, perhaps, the 11-minute whole tone instrumental workout of "Fracture." But it was on the cusp of being unceremoniously—and unexpectedly—brought to a halt by Fripp that the group, reduced to a trio after Fripp's equally unexpected firing of Cross, recorded a studio swan song that has gone on to become truly legendary, an album cited by progressive metal bands like Tool, Primus and Dream Theater as one of the most influential albums of all time: Red (DGM Live, 1975).

High praise? Perhaps. But Red managed to encapsulate all the things that defined mid-'70s Crimson: ear-crunching instrumentals like the title track; improvisation-heavy excursions into the outer reaches of rock, jazz and beyond on "Providence" (recorded live on the penultimate night of Crimson's final North American tour); dynamic, mellotron-driven ballads that morphed into thundering solo opportunities for members past and present via a lengthy middle section that milked the hell out of just a few choice notes ("Starless"); and two songs ("Fallen Angel," "One More Red Nightmare") that suggested a shifting direction for Crimson, with even stronger song form than on SABB but delivered with the same (or, even, more) massive weight-bearing load of what was one of the loudest, most mind-blowingly powerful power trios in the history of rock music.

Continue reading here...

[walt]

I started my immersion into TRTR with the Central Park concert.Quite acceptable sound(for a bootleg).Wetton(to my ears) seemed in good vocal form.What made me laugh was on at least one occasion,someone(probably someone I knew) yells out "Haaaaaawkwiinnnd".

Ah, those New York audiences.

I've got quite a bit of music to listen to in this here box.Life is good.

*Excellent review of the box, John,as always

[battema]

Hi John;

It is a fantastic review as ever, and I'm still working through it (I have the box playing behind me, in fact). One note for you though, if you don't mind. The Central Park show wasn't download-only; it was first released as part of the old KC Collector's Club on CD (it was #10). Minor stuff but I know you pay terrific attention to details

[jkelman]

Hi John;

It is a fantastic review as ever, and I'm still working through it (I have the box playing behind me, in fact). One note for you though, if you don't mind. The Central Park show wasn't download-only; it was first released as part of the old KC Collector's Club on CD (it was #10). Minor stuff but I know you pay terrific attention to details

Thanks for the kind words; re: Central Park, I must have misread the digital liners they sent (box currently on its way). In any case, fixed, with many thanks!

As ever, if folks find a factual, grammatical or typographical error, please don't hesitate to let me know - I really do appreciate it. I'd rather the article be as accurate as possible, and appreciate that there's expertise here that trumps mine.

Best!
John

[battema]

I've heard a fair number of these shows before but...yes, the sound quality is just stunning. Some of the cassette soundboards are amazing.

[battema]

Thanks for the kind words; re: Central Park, I must have misread the digital liners they sent (box currently on its way). In any case, fixed, with many thanks!

As ever, if folks find a factual, grammatical or typographical error, please don't hesitate to let me know - I really do appreciate it. I'd rather the article be as accurate as possible, and appreciate that there's expertise here that trumps mine.

Best!
John

No worries...the only reason I remember it was because at the time Fripp made a point about this one. The next release was the very first show as Discipline at the Mole's Club and he pointed out that despite the gap between them, these two CC releases were actually consecutive shows in the KC history

I just finished reading. Really great review, all the better having the tunes as a backdrop while reading. Your point about in-ear monitors and the challenges Cross faced (as well as being perflexed by his dismissal) was very apt. I sometimes wonder...did the sheer chaos of the time also help fuel the visceral aspect of the music as well? Had they the perfect hearing setting, isolated from monitor issues and audience asshattery...would they still have been as powerful?

Just a passing musing...

[jkelman]

No worries...the only reason I remember it was because at the time Fripp made a point about this one. The next release was the very first show as Discipline at the Mole's Club and he pointed out that despite the gap between them, these two CC releases were actually consecutive shows in the KC history

I just finished reading. Really great review, all the better having the tunes as a backdrop while reading. Your point about in-ear monitors and the challenges Cross faced (as well as being perflexed by his dismissal) was very apt. I sometimes wonder...did the sheer chaos of the time also help fuel the visceral aspect of the music as well? Had they the perfect hearing setting, isolated from monitor issues and audience asshattery...would they still have been as powerful?

Just a passing musing...

Interesting thoughts...and the kind of discussion I always hope my reviews will engender. Quite possible; music is really a function of who we are, where we are, and what's going on around us, so you could be quite right.

[calyx]

the kind of discussion I always hope my reviews will engender.

John, if I may then respectfully challenge your review on a few points...

Before I do, I'd like to state that I'm enjoying listening to the box very much. It is a beautiful product with a lot of great music in it, and an informative, well-written and well-illustrated booklet.

Still, I see a couple of aspects of which I would be more critical than you are :

- The very concept of the box doesn't convince me. To call the April-July 1974 tour "the road to Red" is in itself more than debatable. Much of the point of "Red" was to open the next chapter for KC rather than to close one. Admittedly, the second side looked back - "Providence" to the quartet's improvisations, "Starless" to the repertoire of its final tour. The rest, though, was KC reinventing itself as a power-trio and, potentially, a quartet with Ian McDonald's sax replacing Cross's violin. Basically, for me the concept is a rather feeble excuse to bulk-sell fans a whole archive of recordings, rather than select the best bits. This is why I'm not sure I share your view that this is superior to "The Great Deceiver". The fact remains that the historical significance of "TGD" is incomparable simply because before it, KC's live work had been underdocumented. For people like me who bought it back then, it was a revelation. "The Road To Red" will NOT be a revelation to many, and certainly not to those for whom "TGD" was precisely that.

- I already had minor issues with "The Great Deceiver" in the over-repetition of the same tracks, but that was mainly "Easy Money". Here the range of material is distinctly narrower. Every gig has its "Lament", its "Exiles" (and its "Easy Money" of course) etc. And your reference to "27 improvs" is overgenerous in accepting the box's indexing that sometimes calls "improvs" what are essentially lead-ins to "Exiles" or lead-outs to "Easy Money". This leaves - because, as you mention, a lot of these shows were part of multi-band bills and sets had to be cut down to ca. 45 minutes - an altogether meager crop of "real" improvs, especially if you leave out those from the multitrack-recorded shows, all of which (unless I'm mistaken) were already on "TGD" (or "USA").

- Lastly, a somewhat minor complaint... In his online diaries of last summer, Fripp gave a couple of tantalising excerpts from his summer '74 diaries, most notably references to the period when the band were recording "Red". I was expecting those to turn up in the booklet, with ample justification for that in the box's title and the inclusion of the new stereo mix for "Red". But there's none of that. The chronology of the tour with Fripp's diary excerpts (some of which had appeared in previous boxes) and the often very interesting recollections of concertgoers is great, but that it doesn't go on to cover the events of summer '74 is frustrating. Hopefully some of that be used for the next edition of Sid's book ? One can hope...

I hope the above will feed further discussion as per your wish !

A.

[neuroticdog]

I'm sorry if this has been covered before...but who has the best price on this for US customers?

thx
best
Michael

[jkelman]

John, if I may then respectfully challenge your review on a few points...

I'd be surprised if you didn't

Still, I see a couple of aspects of which I would be more critical than you are :

- The very concept of the box doesn't convince me. To call the April-July 1974 tour "the road to Red" is in itself more than debatable. Much of the point of "Red" was to open the next chapter for KC rather than to close one. Admittedly, the second side looked back - "Providence" to the quartet's improvisations, "Starless" to the repertoire of its final tour. The rest, though, was KC reinventing itself as a power-trio and, potentially, a quartet with Ian McDonald's sax replacing Cross's violin. Basically, for me the concept is a rather feeble excuse to bulk-sell fans a whole archive of recordings, rather than select the best bits. This is why I'm not sure I share your view that this is superior to "The Great Deceiver". The fact remains that the historical significance of "TGD" is incomparable simply because before it, KC's live work had been underdocumented. For people like me who bought it back then, it was a revelation. "The Road To Red" will NOT be a revelation to many, and certainly not to those for whom "TGD" was precisely that.

I consider TRtR an improvement over TGD because beyond the sonic improvements, it also includes complete performances (where available), rather than TGD, which, in most cases, did not. However, I do believe I give TGD its due when I write:

There are shows that were issued, in part, in the massively successful The Great Deceiver (DGM Live) box—released in 1992, the first indicator that there was significant potential in releasing archival Crimson live recordings

I don't agree that TRtR will not be a revelation. True, as you say, TGD came as a first indicator (as I said), and therefore asserts its position in rock history in general and Crimson history in particular. But there are a lot of performances here - including ones not previously heard - where the improvs are stunning, and there's a better chance, through the availability of so many more shows, to witness how, even with structured material like "Fracture," they group largely manages to keep it fresh, night after night.

- I already had minor issues with "The Great Deceiver" in the over-repetition of the same tracks, but that was mainly "Easy Money". Here the range of material is distinctly narrower. Every gig has its "Lament", its "Exiles" (and its "Easy Money" of course) etc. And your reference to "27 improvs" is overgenerous in accepting the box's indexing that sometimes calls "improvs" what are essentially lead-ins to "Exiles" or lead-outs to "Easy Money". This leaves - because, as you mention, a lot of these shows were part of multi-band bills and sets had to be cut down to ca. 45 minutes - an altogether meager crop of "real" improvs, especially if you leave out those from the multitrack-recorded shows, all of which (unless I'm mistaken) were already on "TGD" (or "USA").

Maybe it's because I'm coming from a jazz perspective, but to me the segues in and out of pieces, considering their length, are as legitimate to be considered as improvs as some of Keith Jarrett's similar moves with his Standards Trio over the past three decades. And I call them improvs because that's how they're titled and delineated in the box, just to be clear.

As for the sheer number of songs - "Easy Money," "Exiles," etc....I believe I'm pretty clear that it's not for everyone:

For those who don't understand the value of hearing 14 versions of "Easy Money," 15 versions of "Fracture," 16 versions of "Starless"—each one demonstrating just how unfettered this group was, even in the context of structured songs—or the 27 free improvisations that shine a massive light on a group that achieved true transcendence on its best nights and even on its average nights trumped many of its peers' best, The Road to Red may not be for them.

Maybe this box is not for you - and it's not as if the entire contents of the box weren't revealed before release, so folks could make up their own minds. But for me, having listened to each show somewhere between 8 and 10 times before putting virtual pen to paper, I largely love what I hear, and - quite surprisingly, perhaps - don't tire of hearing the same songs over and over again. Again, the interpretive nature of the band, even on songs with more rigid structural contexts like "Fracture," make each one worth hearing.

- Lastly, a somewhat minor complaint... In his online diaries of last summer, Fripp gave a couple of tantalising excerpts from his summer '74 diaries, most notably references to the period when the band were recording "Red". I was expecting those to turn up in the booklet, with ample justification for that in the box's title and the inclusion of the new stereo mix for "Red". But there's none of that. The chronology of the tour with Fripp's diary excerpts (some of which had appeared in previous boxes) and the often very interesting recollections of concertgoers is great, but that it doesn't go on to cover the events of summer '74 is frustrating. Hopefully some of that be used for the next edition of Sid's book ? One can hope...

Indeed. Perhaps the difference between you and I is I don't actually follow Fripp's diary with great regularity. I pop in and out every now and then, but while I consider myself Crimhead, I don't spend the same amount of time the more, em, pathological ones do, following the diaries and even all the live releases. Obviously, doing what I do, I've got to spread my time out, and that just doesn't allow that degree of completist following. So you may well be right - maybe there should be more diary entries.

And I hear you about the box not really being appropriately titled. I do raise the point that, other than the edited "Providence" improv, the only song on Red that appears here is, indeed, "Starless." But, I suppose, if the group never played the other material live, then what's to be done. An alternate name for the box might have been more appropriate, but I'm not that concerned....but point taken. What I would like to have seen included here would have been a disc like the "Keep That One, Nick" disc on the LTIA box, that would have shed some light on the recording process for the album. But perhaps there was insufficient material, or some other reason not to include it.

I hope the above will feed further discussion as per your wish !

Always happy to hear from you, Aymeric; happy to hear that there aren't any factoids to correct this time around (though I did just do another pass and made a few minor adjustments, mostly just personal stuff that was bugging me)!

And yes, I am happy to see my review stimulate discussion - even controversy - that's what these bulletin boards are for, and if everyone agreed it would be a very boring place. Thanks for taking the time to post your issues with such detail!

Best!
John

[calyx]

Thanks for your reply, John. Let's be clear : I am merely offering an alternative perspective rather than radically disagreeing with what you've written. To some extent I am playing the devil's advocate. While I think the box's concept is flawed, and dare I say opportunistic, I too am among those who enjoy, and derive much pleasure from, listening to every single show by this band.

I get your point about the merits of presenting entire shows, enabling in-depth comparisons of performances. However I'm not sure this, a very valid concept in itself, works for a boxed set as well as it does with the DGM Live website which I think is the most appropriate vehicle for complete sets of performances like this one (and DGM Live has offered "bundles" covering entire tours or periods). Housing them in a boxed set just makes it more aesthetically appealing to collectors than anonymous hard disk storage (which is where TRtR is now stored, for convenience's sake, in my case).

As for your argument re: "improvs or not improvs", I can agree that some of "Easy Money" "outros" amount to newer directions and may merit separate indexing (note however that a different choice was made on the original release of the Asbury Park show), but I maintain that some of the "Exiles" intros are merely intros, so that your count of 27 improvs raises expectations that are bound to be disappointed if people expect two unique 10-minute improvs per show as is the case on the longer ones. In truth none of the previously unreleased improvs are over 5/6 minutes, and there is at best (& not always) one for each show. True, there are some gems, but the improv to familiar material ratio is much lower than on "The Great Deceiver", which had over 90 minutes of (real) improvs over just 4 CDs. I think the equivalent ratio for TRtR would be impressively lower.

Food for thought - maybe...

[Dave (in MA)]

My review of King Crimson's massive The Road to Red, today at AllAboutJazz.com.

Road To Red
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[slongert]

Hi John,

I just had to comment on the show at Vet's Memorial in Columbus, Ohio. I was a student at the Ohio State University at the time and a big fan of King Crimson. The opening act for the show was believe it or not Aerosmith. The audience was mixed, with a lot of high school kids to see Aerosmith. When KC took the stage these kids were bewildered.
I believe they were expecting more rock n' roll. When Robert stopped the show I thought the band was preparing to walk off the stage as many of the kids were shouting
"Boogie, Boogie"!

When he said "How many of you like us?" I thought for sure they were leaving. They did not leave and put on a tremendous show. Your review sparked my memory.

Scott

[Dave (in MA)]

[jkelman]

Thanks for your reply, John. Let's be clear : I am merely offering an alternative perspective rather than radically disagreeing with what you've written. To some extent I am playing the devil's advocate. While I think the box's concept is flawed, and dare I say opportunistic, I too am among those who enjoy, and derive much pleasure from, listening to every single show by this band.

Of course, Aymeric. No offense taken, btw. I don't agree that the box is being opportunistic, mind you. Perhaps a different title that didn't give the impression it has might have been better?

I get your point about the merits of presenting entire shows, enabling in-depth comparisons of performances. However I'm not sure this, a very valid concept in itself, works for a boxed set as well as it does with the DGM Live website which I think is the most appropriate vehicle for complete sets of performances like this one (and DGM Live has offered "bundles" covering entire tours or periods). Housing them in a boxed set just makes it more aesthetically appealing to collectors than anonymous hard disk storage (which is where TRtR is now stored, for convenience's sake, in my case).

Perhaps. But I have to admit that while I am totally comfortable working in the digital world, I do love box sets. Just got the John Martyn Island Years box and am gobbling it up in between large chunks of Herbie

As for your argument re: "improvs or not improvs", I can agree that some of "Easy Money" "outros" amount to newer directions and may merit separate indexing (note however that a different choice was made on the original release of the Asbury Park show), but I maintain that some of the "Exiles" intros are merely intros, so that your count of 27 improvs raises expectations that are bound to be disappointed if people expect two unique 10-minute improvs per show as is the case on the longer ones. In truth none of the previously unreleased improvs are over 5/6 minutes, and there is at best (& not always) one for each show. True, there are some gems, but the improv to familiar material ratio is much lower than on "The Great Deceiver", which had over 90 minutes of (real) improvs over just 4 CDs. I think the equivalent ratio for TRtR would be impressively lower.

Well, I suppose, but since all the improvs on TGD box are also on TRtR box, plus others, it amounts to a question of volume, and I am not sure I ever want to assess based on quantity. No, there are not two lengthy improvs/show, but I still think it's admirable that even on shorter shows of 45 minutes or less, there's at least some improv component.

You're probably right about ratio on TGD, but that's because it was edited shows spread over just four discs, rather than complete (or, as complete as possible) shows over 20. They are what they are, and the improv component of each show is what it is. Whether it's a discrete improv or merely a segueing one, it's still an improv and they clearly delineate where the improv is essentially over and the song has kicked in, so I still don't think there's any kind of deceit going on here. Just a representation of what the shows were. Perhaps if they had other good sources of live shows from the final leg of the North American tour, some of your issues would be less severe, but I am gathering this is what there is (or the best of what there is).

Food for thought - maybe...

...always!
Cheers!
John

[Beebfader]

"all the improvs on TGD box are also on TRtR box"

Don't forget TGD also includes shows from Zurich and Glasgow 1973 not featured on TRtR, just in case anyone was thinking TGD is now redundant.

[battema]

Lots of cool thoughts above...

Road to Red is for hardcore folks like myself; there is overlap with other items already released but the prospect of a complete series of shows tweaked to the best of their ability is too tempting to pass up. Same reason I jumped on the Larks box...and (just in case the powers that be are reading this) the same reason I'd totally jump on a box with all the available '73 shows

Being a somewhat younger fan of KC (didn't get into them until the Thrak period, although I had a cassette of SaBB somewhere), I never really viewed Red as a jumping point to something else; rather, it felt like a culmination of the period. To my ears any of the songs from Red would have fit perfectly in the 1974 set. So from that perspective, Road to Red seems accurate. However, I also agree that some additional studio outtakes ala 'Keep that one, Nick' would have been really nice.

Actually...as long as we're playing the "what if" game, I would love to have heard something akin to the Peter Gabriel "So DNA" album, where each song was presented as a montage of demos, in chronological order, showing the growth of the song from the roughest origins to the finished tune.

Just for saying...none of the above is trying to argue historical accuracy, or attempt any revisionism. Just offering the perspective of this particular listener based on his own biases and whatnot

[jkelman]

"all the improvs on TGD box are also on TRtR box"

Don't forget TGD also includes shows from Zurich and Glasgow 1973 not featured on TRtR, just in case anyone was thinking TGD is now redundant.

Ah, true - but, of course, entire shows are available via DGMLive.....so in many ways it is redundant...except that the track sequencing still makes it something that stands on its own. Sorry, I should have said "most of the improvs...."