King Crimson Earthbound expanded release

[Udi Koomran]

Earthbound Expanded edition
Fripp ... polishing a turd and selling it as "Deluxe"
Sorry I couldn't help it

[Dave (in MA)]

Earthbound Expanded edition
Fripp ... polishing a turd and selling it as "Deluxe"
Sorry I couldn't help it

Feel free not to buy something that includes a surround mix of Summit Studios.

[arturs]

^^^ Udi, and other skeptics, I agree with Dave. Summit is a great performance, worlds away from Earthbound proper, both in terms of sound and approach. Summit shows the guys were decent jazzers, and more generally a listening band. Earthbound, as much as I do like it, shows they wanted to play in the red, literally and figuratively, as much as possible. A menacing, stomping, out-of-control beast. EB shows they were great when they were good, and when they were not so good, well... Some other folks on this thread have some good descriptions.

[rghammill]

Interesting. I've never heard the story that way before. It was my understanding that Fripp wasn't interested in doing a live album, so he handed recordings from the sound board reference cassettes over to the record company. This is the first time I've heard it suggested that Fripp intentionally and knowingly recorded a live album on cassette because he was "doing it on the cheap."

Nevertheless, can I hear all four members of the band? Yes. Are the levels between the individual instruments balanced? Yes. Is there rumbling, muddy bass or tinny high end? No. Hiss or distortion? Minimal to none. All good.

It's an early 70's sound board cassette. Yes, there are better board recordings. And there are worse.

The shit this album takes for its "poor sound quality" is overblown and based largely on people repeating what's been said about the album before. No amount of words in quotation marks is going to convince me otherwise.

I've always thought the cassette recordings were simply for reference for the band. Particularly the improvs.

In fact, considering they made several multitrack recordings in '73 and '74, I suspect that Robert (who wasn't happy with the direction of the Earthbound lineup), probably had no interest or intent at all in terms of producing a live album at the time. Not to mention the fact that the cassette recordings were probably out of Fripp's pocket, considering the band wasn't paid for touring. So it probably would have to do with whether/when EG would put up the money (which they probably charged to the band anyway), to do proper multitrack recordings of the shows.

When the decision was made to release a live album, it was after the fact, and all they had to work with was the cassettes. Or, more likely, somebody realized Fripp had these cassettes and said, "we should release a live album."

So no, I wouldn't say Robert was "doing it on the cheap." I suspect at the time he wasn't doing it at all (recording a live album, that is.).
--
Back to the OP - I can't wait for the box set. It was a period of a very unique energy in the band, and the music has all sorts of hints of what's to come in the following two decades. One of the most interesting things to me about the '71/'72 live material is how different it was from the studio material, and the earlier live material. By Lizard, Fripp was in composer mode, and would apparently record a framework on guitar, but then most of the guitar was removed from the final mix. On the other hand, once they finally hit the road, Fripp the soloist came out in a huge way, along with Mel's screaming sax. It was a loose, rough mix, and I think the low-fi cassette recordings are oddly appropriate.

It's clear that this wasn't the band he was looking for, but I think it was the band that had to happen to get to the next step. For example, imagine if the Lizard's line-up had toured, and gone back in the studio for a follow-up with all the extra musicians again, and where the Larks' theme would have gone. Could have been very cool, but I think it would have been leaning more jazz than rock.

If you haven't heard the live recordings from this lineup other than Earthbound and Summit, I personally think you're in for a treat.

[Udi Koomran]

Sorry I admit didn't bother to read the entire content of the box
but why not call it Summit Studios Sessions etc. or 1972 or The Road to...
As someone who has listened to KC more then 40 years Earthbound Expanded Deluxe Box sounds like a joke

[Mister Triscuits]

Sorry I admit didn't bother to read the entire content of the box
but why not call it Summit Studios Sessions etc. or 1972 or The Road to...
As someone who has listened to KC more then 40 years Earthbound Expanded Deluxe Box sounds like a joke

There are two separate releases. The deluxe box is not called Earthbound; it's called Sailors' Tales. The expanded Earthbound is a single CD plus DVD, all the material of which is also included on the box set.

[Trane]

^^^ Udi, and other skeptics, I agree with Dave. Summit is a great performance, worlds away from Earthbound proper, both in terms of sound and approach. Summit shows the guys were decent jazzers, and more generally a listening band. Earthbound, as much as I do like it, shows they wanted to play in the red, literally and figuratively, as much as possible. A menacing, stomping, out-of-control beast. EB shows they were great when they were good, and when they were not so good, well... Some other folks on this thread have some good descriptions.

fairly different sets between Summit Studios

1. Pictures Of A City (Fripp, Sinfield)
2. Cadence and Cascade (Fripp, Sinfield)
3. Groon (Fripp)
4. 21st Century Schizoid Man (Fripp, Lake, McDonald, Giles, Sinfield)
5. Improv: Summit Going On ° (Fripp, Collins, Burrell, Wallace)
6. My Hobby (Wallace)
7. Sailor's Tale (Fripp)
8. The Creator Has A Master Plan * (Pharaoh Sanders, Leon Thomas - arranged by Fripp, Collins, Burrell, Wallace)
including Improv: Summit & Something Else ° (Fripp, Collins, Burrell, Wallace)

and Groon

1. 21st century schizoid man (11:45)
2. Peoria (7:30)
3. The sailor's tale (4:45)
4. Earthbound (7:08)
5. Groon (15:30)

Only Groon and Schizoid are common.

Sorry I admit didn't bother to read the entire content of the box
but why not call it Summit Studios Sessions etc. or 1972 or The Road to...
As someone who has listened to KC more then 40 years Earthbound Expanded Deluxe Box sounds like a joke

There are two separate releases. The deluxe box is not called Earthbound; it's called Sailors' Tales. The expanded Earthbound is a single CD plus DVD, all the material of which is also included on the box set.

Udi's right... this is mighty confusing.

Summit Studio at 40.00 on Amazon (and 70.00 used)??

[Spiral]

Summit Studio at 40.00 on Amazon (and 70.00 used)??

Good thing it's normal price at Inner Knot.

[JKL2000]

Couldn't find a separate thread for the Sailors' Tales box, but I just got a shipping notification from Burning Shed.

[Steve F.]

And can't imagine any Crimson collection being without it.

Imagine it.

It is happily missing here.

[NogbadTheBad]

I have 40 Crimson albums and Earthbound isn't one of them.

[arturs]

^^^ As long as you guys have some shows from the '72 USA tour, I won't tell you that you *need* Earthbound. But you do need something. There is an unhinged ferocity to this version of the band that never reared its ugly head again. They were just putting it all out there, good taste and common sense be damned. The results are thrilling, tedious, ridiculous and occasionally sublime. Not much else like it in all of progrock.

[Dave (in MA)]

I can't wait to hear My Hobby in surround.

I'm seeing the Crim Octet tonight and it just happens that I'm wearing my Mr. Gumby shirt today.

[jkelman]

Also posted elsewhere, but for those not following the other thread....

For those interested in getting the full, detailed track and personnel listing, which is the first thing I do before I start writing, you can find the full album listing for Sailor's Tales 1970-1972 over at AAJ.

Just using the Blu Rays as sources, from which everything is included and from which I ripped the audio for my high res player, you might be interested in this fact: This box contains almost 44 hours of music that, barring needle drops and a few single releases, contains NO duplication.

Also, a note: the original five-track Earthbound has not been remastered, as far as I can tell, though the expanded version is available on CD, Blu Ray AND DVD-A, and the additional material would have been mastered for this released (by David Singleton and Alex R. Mundy; man, were these guys particularly busy with this one!).

I start writing the actual article tomorrow, but thought folks might be interested in seeing what is in this box, in full detail. In addition to previously unreleased rehearsal/audition jams, there are four shows never before released in any format, a bunch that were never available in hard media...and everything, barring the original Earthbound, it seems, has been given a sonic facelift. Given the source for most shows are cassette recordings from the soundboard, there are some incomplete tracks and some where the sound is distorted or there's tape flutter. But the vast majority of it sounds really, really good. Pro recordings like Summit Studio have never sounded this good....and for those who already own Poseidon, Lizard and Islands 40th Anniversary series, in addition to them being available on Blu Ray for the first time, there is a whole load of additional outtakes, alternate takes, rehearsal takes etc that were not on the original 40ths.

So this box really is the last word on this incredibly fertile period...and for a guy like me, who'd only heard Earthbound, Summit, Guildlhall and maybe one other live show from this touring band, all i can say is: WOW.

I'm hoping there aren't any errors in this album listing, which took the better part of 4.5 hours to put together. But if anyone is actually looking that closely and finds an error, please let me know, as I'd be happy to fix. Right now my eyes are spinning and I've a throbbing headache.

Ah, the things we do for love....

[Trane]

I have 40 Crimson albums and Earthbound isn't one of them.

Well, I apm considering buying ity, because of the sheer amount of stuff unavailable elsewhere.
And I guess that even if the sound is not good, it's probably better than the worst-sounding thing the KCCC has released

^^^ As long as you guys have some shows from the '72 USA tour, I won't tell you that you *need* Earthbound. But you do need something. There is an unhinged ferocity to this version of the band that never reared its ugly head again. They were just putting it all out there, good taste and common sense be damned. The results are thrilling, tedious, ridiculous and occasionally sublime. Not much else like it in all of progrock.

Well, I got the Ladies From The Road KCCC one, as it got a B&M release way back then... But it doesn't quench the thirst for a better-sounding version of the stuff on Earthbound

[Yellow Jester]

Also posted elsewhere, but for those not following the other thread....

For those interested in getting the full, detailed track and personnel listing, which is the first thing I do before I start writing, you can find the full album listing for Sailor's Tales 1970-1972 over at AAJ.

Just using the Blu Rays as sources, from which everything is included and from which I ripped the audio for my high res player, you might be interested in this fact: This box contains almost 44 hours of music that, barring needle drops and a few single releases, contains NO duplication.

Also, a note: the original five-track Earthbound has not been remastered, as far as I can tell, though the expanded version is available on CD, Blu Ray AND DVD-A, and the additional material would have been mastered for this released (by David Singleton and Alex R. Mundy; man, were these guys particularly busy with this one!).

I start writing the actual article tomorrow, but thought folks might be interested in seeing what is in this box, in full detail. In addition to previously unreleased rehearsal/audition jams, there are four shows never before released in any format, a bunch that were never available in hard media...and everything, barring the original Earthbound, it seems, has been given a sonic facelift. Given the source for most shows are cassette recordings from the soundboard, there are some incomplete tracks and some where the sound is distorted or there's tape flutter. But the vast majority of it sounds really, really good. Pro recordings like Summit Studio have never sounded this good....and for those who already own Poseidon, Lizard and Islands 40th Anniversary series, in addition to them being available on Blu Ray for the first time, there is a whole load of additional outtakes, alternate takes, rehearsal takes etc that were not on the original 40ths.

So this box really is the last word on this incredibly fertile period...and for a guy like me, who'd only heard Earthbound, Summit, Guildlhall and maybe one other live show from this touring band, all i can say is: WOW.

I'm hoping there aren't any errors in this album listing, which took the better part of 4.5 hours to put together. But if anyone is actually looking that closely and finds an error, please let me know, as I'd be happy to fix. Right now my eyes are spinning and I've a throbbing headache.

Ah, the things we do for love....

Even though I'm not getting KC's Sailor's Tales box set (or the expanded edition of Earthbound), I look forward to reading your review at AAJ.

[Frumious B]

With everything that is available now it is mind boggling to think that as recently as the early nineties the only officially released live Crimson recordings were on Earthbound and USA.

[jkelman]

Sorry I admit didn't bother to read the entire content of the box
but why not call it Summit Studios Sessions etc. or 1972 or The Road to...
As someone who has listened to KC more then 40 years Earthbound Expanded Deluxe Box sounds like a joke

Because it contains material (including more that's been discovered since their original 40th anniversary releases) everything from Poseidon through Earthbound. Yes, the emphasis is on live Islands band shows, but there's a lot of music associated with the prior three studio releases, including audition blows for the Islands band, that are new here.

Note: Actually, I just discovered I could insert html line breaks, so my complete track and personnel listing at aaj should be much easier to read now!

Again, the link here.

[jkelman]

Even though I'm not getting KC's Sailor's Tales box set (or the expanded edition of Earthbound), I look forward to reading your review at AAJ.

Thank you!

[GuitarGeek]

including audition blows for the Islands band, that are new here.

I wonder if that includes the tape Fripp mentions in his diary entry in the Great Deceiver boxset. As I recall, Crimson had shared the bill with Steeleye Span, and theri bassist Rick Kemp inquired about a tape Fripp had of Kemp playing with Crimson. Apparently, Kemp was in the band for just a week, before he came to his senses and quit. I suspect he's the bassist that Ian Wallace talks about but doesn't identify in the liner notes of one of the Collectors Club releases, something to the effect that one day, the new bassist didn't show up for rehearsal, but had left his bass, which in turn led to Boz (who had originally only been hired as singer) being dragged into the rhythm section.

[jkelman]

Apparently, Kemp was in the band for just a week, before he came to his senses and quit. I suspect he's the bassist that Ian Wallace talks about but doesn't identify in the liner notes of one of the Collectors Club releases, something to the effect that one day, the new bassist didn't show up for rehearsal, but had left his bass, which in turn led to Boz (who had originally only been hired as singer) being dragged into the rhythm section.

It wasn't a Kemp "coming to his senses." Sid Smith explains it in his liners and there certainly was no indication of acrimony ... and with the turbulence of these recordings, there was plenty of that (and Sid is totally open about it). He also discusses the bass left, that became Boz's first crack at the instrument. I’m not going to reveal more, as you’ll have to wait for my review and, of course, Sid’s even more extensive liners.

[GuitarGeek]

It wasn't a Kemp "coming to his senses." Sid Smith explains it in his liners and there certainly was no indication of acrimony ... and with the turbulence of these recordings, there was plenty of that (and Sid is totally open about it). He also discusses the bass left, that became Boz's first crack at the instrument. I’m not going to reveal more, as you’ll have to wait for my review and, of course, Sid’s even more extensive liners.

I've forgotten how Fripp phrased it in the Great Deceiver boxset, but I could have sworn there was a sort of facetious/sarcastic comment implying that Kemp was "too sensible" or something like to stay in the band. I somehow have the impression that Fripp has suggested in the past that only a crazy person would choose to stay in King Crimson, or maybe that's his "dry English way" of facetiously explaining why the band had such an unstable lineup during it's original existence.

But maybe I'm getting my Fripp comments mixed up, and I'm thinking of some other instance where he implied someone was too sane to stay in the group, perhaps the Jamie Muir crack.

[Dave (in MA)]

I’m not going to reveal more, as you’ll have to wait for my review and, of course, Sid’s even more extensive liners.

Oh, you big tease.