I wouldn't go as far as you, Crimson King, on not caring too much for Orpheum, Toronto, and Radical Action, but I agree that this blows the other stuff away in a way that I can't quite put my finger on.
I guess the tracklist is more my taste (Heresy, I know, but In the Court of the Crimson King is my least favorite of the 70s Crimson albums these days, so I don't exactly miss Epitaph or In the Court...).
But its more than the tracklist. Everything this lineup has touched has had an awesome tracklist--even the Orpheum, which is in retrospect is this band's Earthbound.
I really like that Radical Action pulled every song from their repertoire at the time, but I find its sequencing a tad strange.
Toronto is the only full show release that can be an apples to apples comparison. (I don't have the live experience to compare. I generally follow Gertrude Stein's advice to Hemingway on buying art when I decide what concerts to go to: Only buy art from artists of your generation. You overpay buying from an older artist).
I listened to most of Toronto to check if I am imagining this difference. I still like Chicago better, but I like Toronto more than I remember.
Maybe Chicago is just a damn good show. Maybe the artwork is better. Maybe "Islands" and "Fallen Angel" are two of my 5 top Crimson tracks.
Somehow Chicago is better.
Bookmarks