AAJ Review: King Crimson, Live in Toronto, Queen Elizabeth Theatre November 20, 2015

[jkelman]

My review of King Crimson, Live in Toronto, Queen Elizabeth Theatre November 20, 2015, today at All About Jazz.

"The best live albums are the ones that make you glad they were recorded while simultaneously regretting you couldn't have been in the venue on the night." So writes Declan Colgan, president of Panegyric Records--the label responsible for, amongst other things, King Crimson's extensive 40th Anniversary reissue series of its initial run of studio and live albums, remixed by Steven Wilson or Jakko M. Jakszyk--in his liner notes to Live in Toronto: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, November 20, 2015, the full-concert release for which fans of the current seven-piece King Crimson have been eagerly awaiting. Listening to Live in Toronto, the group's second live album after the 2015's 40-minute teaser, Live at the Orpheum (Panegyric), it's clear that truer words have never been spoken.

Crimson co-founder and only remaining original member of the lineup that released In the Court of the Crimson King (Panegyric) forty-seven years ago in 1969, guitarist/keyboardist Robert Fripp, has often referred to studio recordings as "love letters" and live recordings as "hot dates." In a nutshell, Live in Toronto is one heckuva hot date, even surpassing the four stellar shows already experienced, two each, in San Francisco (2014) and Montreal (2015).

Live at the Orpheum's seven tracks were carefully mixed (and in some cases, edited) by Jakszyk, representing a more produced taste of what the current Crimson's three-drummer frontline, twin-guitar/bass/reeds and woodwind backline is all about, culled largely from one show during its inaugural Fall, 2014 US tour. Live in Toronto, by comparison, is a warts-and-all "official bootleg" recording of the entire show--available initially as a download from DGM Live but subsequently issued in hard CD form. There are no edits at all, other than to reduce the time between the pre-recorded announcement that commenced all shows--asking, with some levity but serious intent, that the audience experience the show through their eyes and ears rather than through their smartphones and tablets--and when bassist/stick player Tony Levin and woodwind/reed multi-instrumentalist Mel Collins came onstage to engage in some brief improvisational interplay over Fripp's "Threshold Soundscape."

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[taliesin]

I was at the show and it was extraordinary - CD is on order and looking forward to hearing it again.

[Dave (in MA)]

Nice write up, John.
One thing I might argue with is the notion that the older repertoire was brought back because Jakko could sing it (or the other way around), but I have every confidence that Belew could pull off the pre-Discipline material if they so chose.

On a side issue, it looks like AAJ has been re-jiggered (described by the announcements primarily as a move) to no longer allow reader comments outside of the Forum.

[battema]

Kudos to you John: as someone who isn't as excited about the current incarnation of King Crimson, your review really makes me want to give them another shot

[Haruspex Carnage]

IMO the only songs this band do justice/make somewhat new are LTIA I, L5, 1MRN, and The Letters...otherwise i think they should completely drop the nostalgia and forge the F forward...but i'm probably in the minority here/not being realistic at large...

[Dave (in MA)]

Letters=>Sailor's Tale is the order they should have been played on Islands. I think it would be even better if they didn't pause between them and started blasting away on Sailor's immediately.

[g.bremer]

IMO the only songs this band do justice/make somewhat new are LTIA I, L5, 1MRN, and The Letters...otherwise i think they should completely drop the nostalgia and forge the F forward...but i'm probably in the minority here/not being realistic at large...

I'm with you on this, except for L5. I have a playlist of only Larks & L5 tracks (yes, I need a psychiatrist) it's the weakest one of all. Mel's solo at the end is excellent though.

[AncientChord]

Great review, and feel like you do. And yes, I'm one of those old Crimheads that is in heaven with the modern versions of songs not heard since 1969, 1971 and 1974. I downloaded it the moment I got the email from DGM, and have had a big smile ever since.

[jkelman]

Nice write up, John.
One thing I might argue with is the notion that the older repertoire was brought back because Jakko could sing it (or the other way around), but I have every confidence that Belew could pull off the pre-Discipline material if they so chose.

On a side issue, it looks like AAJ has been re-jiggered (described by the announcements primarily as a move) to no longer allow reader comments outside of the Forum.

Thanks, but to be clear: I wasn't suggesting (or, at least, meaning to suggest) that the repertoire was brought back because Jakko could sing it; however, I disagree that Belew could have done that older material proper justice, vocally. I love Belew, but that music is distinctly British in flavour and, while I'm sure Belew has the chops to sing it, I don't think he would have been the right guy for the gig.

Also, as I wrote in both my concert reviews - Montreal and San Francisco - and with no intended disrespect to Belew, he would have been problematic in this band because he is, by his very nature, a frontman - it's who he is. Even in contexts where he wasn't the frontman, like Talking Heads, he couldn't help but steal attention away from those who were. It really is simply who he is.

And one of the defining features of KC 2014-16 has been that, while everyone shines at various points, there is no distinct single frontman. I believe that was absolutely by design, and whether or not Adrian could perform the material isn't really the issue; it's that he would be unable to avoid becoming a frontman, and that is clearly something Fripp did not want this time around.

It's with no disrespect that I say this: I love the various Belew-era Crims, believe me. But I absolutely do not think he would have been the right fit for this incarnation, even if he could have technically executed all that was required (as he most certainly could).

So, while I don't disagree that Adrian could sing that material, I don't think he'd have been the right guy to do it.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should," right?

As for comments? I see the comments section at the bottom of the page (yes, the site moved to a new hosting service, but I don't believe that Michael intended to do away with comments). However, I do know that I've never been able to add comments from my iphone/ipad, so perhaps you are trying to access comments from a smartphone or tablet?

If you scroll to the bottom of my review from a Mac or PC, you should see the Disqus comments section. I did, and tried adding and deleting a comment no problem. So perhaps it's the device you're using? If not, let me know and I'll raise it with Michael. If you don't see the Disqus at the bottom, below the "More Articles" section, please take a screen shot, send it to me with the types of device you are using, and what OS you are using (OSX, Windows 10, etc). That would be helpful for me to pass along.

Anyway thanks for the kind words...even if we don't agree on one point

[jkelman]

Kudos to you John: as someone who isn't as excited about the current incarnation of King Crimson, your review really makes me want to give them another shot

Well, then; my work here is done

[jkelman]

IMO the only songs this band do justice/make somewhat new are LTIA I, L5, 1MRN, and The Letters...otherwise i think they should completely drop the nostalgia and forge the F forward...but i'm probably in the minority here/not being realistic at large...

I don't know about that (that you're in the minority). I love hearing the old material, but I was very happy to see, in the 2015 Montreal shows, that they'd added more than just percussion interludes and a brief two-flute/bowed bass trio, all typically acting as segues into other material: both the medley of "Radical Action (To Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind)" and "Meltdown," as well as "Suitable Grounds for the Blues," which wasn't played on November 20, are brand new songs/compositions that give me hope there's more to come.

I think that the reason this group has done what it has is that it didn't do the usual routine: record, tour, live album. Instead, since they went straight to tour, there wasn't much new material to be had in 2014, though they added three new pieces in 2015.

Personally, I'd be thrilled to see more new material - though, much as Steven Wilson has done by beginning to reclaim his old PT material, I think it would be great if the current Crim could find a balance between new material and the older stuff. I think it's great that it's possible for people who weren't around at the time to hear some of this music live (I was); but agree that a better balance would ultimately help give this new incarnation greater relevance, even though I do feel they bring the older material into the 21st C.

Perhaps a 50/50 split of new material and old material would allow them to have even more diversity in their setlist from night to night in the same city.

But either way, I'd sure welcome more new material, much as I am loving hearing the older stuff reinvented.

[g.bremer]

Oh, I should have mentioned this: regardless of my feelings about this iteration of the band, your review was excellent as usual. I always look forward to them.

[jkelman]

Letters=>Sailor's Tale is the order they should have been played on Islands.

Oh, I can't agree. I think "Formantera Lady" into "Sailor's Tale" is absolutely wonderful on Islands.

I think it would be even better if they didn't pause between them and started blasting away on Sailor's immediately.

WRT the current Crim? The gap isn't that great anyway, is it? But u=if you mean forgetting the intro cymbal baton-passing, sorry, I don't agree with that either. For me, that is absolutely essential; heck, when they were rehearsing and released a little teaser, all I had to hear were those first few cymbal hits and I knew what was coming, so I think they absolutely need to be there. And given the way they passed the delicate cymbal strikes around at the end of "The Letters," before leaving Jakko alone for the final words, those cymbals create the perfect connecting thread between the two pieces, at least IMO.

[jkelman]

Great review, and feel like you do. And yes, I'm one of those old Crimheads that is in heaven with the modern versions of songs not heard since 1969, 1971 and 1974. I downloaded it the moment I got the email from DGM, and have had a big smile ever since.

Many thanks, as ever.

I am a fan of hearing the older material too, but as I have already written I'd also love to hear more new material as I think this lineup has great potential for new music as well as bringing the old stuff into the new millennium.

[jkelman]

Oh, I should have mentioned this: regardless of my feelings about this iteration of the band, your review was excellent as usual. I always look forward to them.

Why thanks, man; that's very kind of you to say...especially if you don't enjoy this incarnation....

[chalkpie]

Loved the concert, hopefully love the disc too

[Zalmoxe]

Mr. Declan Colgan is spot on. I was not at the concert, but hearing the album I want to shoot myself for missing it.

[Dave (in MA)]

Oh, I can't agree. I think "Formantera Lady" into "Sailor's Tale" is absolutely wonderful on Islands.


WRT the current Crim? The gap isn't that great anyway, is it? But u=if you mean forgetting the intro cymbal baton-passing, sorry, I don't agree with that either.

No, it just seems on Orpheum they wait a little too long and the ensuing crowd noise seems to lessen the impact of going straight into Sailor's Tale. I'm not suggesting that they remove the cymbal-heavy drum intro at all.

[N_Singh]

As to Ade singing the older stuff, I always thought his version of Cadence and Cascade was gorgeous .

[Dave (in MA)]

As for comments? I see the comments section at the bottom of the page (yes, the site moved to a new hosting service, but I don't believe that Michael intended to do away with comments). However, I do know that I've never been able to add comments from my iphone/ipad, so perhaps you are trying to access comments from a smartphone or tablet?

If you scroll to the bottom of my review from a Mac or PC, you should see the Disqus comments section. I did, and tried adding and deleting a comment no problem. So perhaps it's the device you're using? If not, let me know and I'll raise it with Michael. If you don't see the Disqus at the bottom, below the "More Articles" section, please take a screen shot, send it to me with the types of device you are using, and what OS you are using (OSX, Windows 10, etc). That would be helpful for me to pass along.

Hi John, I can try getting screenshots later, but I just tried going to the URL

"http://www.allaboutjazz.com/king-crimson-live-in-toronto-queen-elizabeth-theatre-november-20-2015-by-john-kelman.php"

In Chrome, IE and Firefox (on Windows) and Chrome (on Linux).

On Windows, I get no "More Articles" section or comments on Chrome or IE, but on Firefox and on Chrome (Linux), it works as you'd expect.

Chrome on my Android phone is also missing the More Articles section and comments.

[Dave (in MA)]

BTW, I just got my hands on the 2015 Elements Box.

Both of the Elements boxes are IMO essential for any Crim fans who go beyond collecting only their main studio albums. It's apparent that a lot of thought went into selecting and sequencing the material on these; they're not just collections of various tracks.

[Spiral]

One thing I might argue with is the notion that the older repertoire was brought back because Jakko could sing it (or the other way around), but I have every confidence that Belew could pull off the pre-Discipline material if they so chose.

Me too. I don't think the article said anything about which was the cause and which was the effect: "With Jakszyk handling the vocals, this is the first time in decades where it's been possible to include certain songs in the repertoire." I'm not sure that's the right word. I don't doubt it's possible for Adrian to sing those songs, but I do doubt that he really has the right voice to pull most of them off.

IMO the only songs this band do justice/make somewhat new are LTIA I, L5, 1MRN, and The Letters...otherwise i think they should completely drop the nostalgia and forge the F forward

Largely agreed. I'd say Larks' 1, Red Nightmare, Vrooom, TCoL and L5 belong on that list, and Red gets maybe halfway there.

[JKL2000]

Very nice review! Now I can't wait to listen to it.

[Dave (in MA)]

Me too. I don't think the article said anything about which was the cause and which was the effect: "With Jakszyk handling the vocals, this is the first time in decades where it's been possible to include certain songs in the repertoire." I'm not sure that's the right word. I don't doubt it's possible for Adrian to sing those songs, but I do doubt that he really has the right voice to pull most of them off..

Well, John has clarified that what was meant had much to do with Jakko's Englishness and not Belew's abilities, which I can see.

[Spiral]

what was meant had much to do with Jakko's Englishness and not Belew's abilities, which I can see.

I can see it too, although to me Adrian's and Jakko's tones of voice are really what decide the question, more than their Englishness or lack thereof.