AAJ Review: King Crimson, Meltdown (Live in Mexico City)

[jkelman]

My review of King Crimson's upcoming Meltdown (Live in Mexico City), today at All About Jazz.

Something happened to King Crimson between June 28, 2017 in Chicago, IL and the band's five-night run from July 14 to 19 (with a night off on the 17th), that same year, in Mexico City. Both engagements were exceptional, with the Chicago performance captured on Official Bootleg: Live In Chicago, June 28th, 2017 (DGM Live, 2017), and now, with Meltdown (Live in Mexico City) serving as an audio and video document of the best performances from those five Mexican nights (and more).

Chicago was undeniably extraordinary, so much so that the band decided to hold off the planned release of the more fully produced Live In Vienna, December 1st, 2016 (Panegyric), already released in Japan in a slightly different form, until Spring 2018, so that they could squeeze the Chicago soundboard recording into the schedule just four months after it was recorded, in October, 2017. Still, comparing it to Meltdown renders emphatically that, in those 15 days between the two gigs, something did, indeed, happen.

In Meltdown's liners (largely taken from sole original member, guitarist/keyboardist Robert Fripp's diaries from the time), Fripp affirms that something significant certainly did take place during those five Mexico City shows (also described in his Vienna notes):

"The Seven-Headed Beast (2014) can be seen as KC 8.1 and Jeremy [Stacey] replacing Bill [Rieflin] (2016) as 8.2. So, from one point of view, the present Octet might be 8.3. For me, it's something more, and qualitatively different: King Crimson v. 9.1. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, the parts added together already impressive. But the focus of my interest is the overall performance of the group. In this incarnation there is no member/s who believes themself to be special, or their contribution privileged in some way."

For those who have followed the seemingly relentless growth of King Crimson 8.x, since reemerging in 2013 with its three-drummer frontline (playing its first dates in the USA in the fall of the following year, including two mind-blowing shows at San Francisco's The Warfield), comparing these two live documents from just a couple weeks apart demonstrates how, even in such a relatively brief period of time, King Crimson has continued to evolve and, from an improvisational perspective, open up to an even greater extent. But it's also important to note that Crimson's evolution from 8.1 to 9 has been both organic and not without its challenges.

Continue reading here...

[starless and bible black]

Thanks John for your review of KC's Meltdown (Live In Mexico City). While I haven't heard it yet (the last KC live set I bought was 2016's Radical Action), your review makes me want to grab a copy of this new collection.

[jkelman]

Thanks John for your review of KC's Meltdown (Live In Mexico City). While I haven't heard it yet (the last KC live set I bought was 2016's Radical Action), your review makes me want to grab a copy of this new collection.

Thanks for the kind words; I'm certain you won't regret picking Meltdown up!

[MissKittysMom]

Excellent review; thank you! You've persuaded me to pick this one up, as much for the video as anything. I was fortunate to see Crim in Raleigh a year ago, with Chris Gibson sitting on for Bill Reiflin in the fall 2017 tour. As you say, you really can't pick up on everything that's happening from the audience seats, just as you can't absorb it all in a single concert, much less hear the entire catalog. Still, it was an outstanding concert.

So this one gets my money.

[Ozricale]

Well, if there was any doubt about getting this, that review has me looking forward to it tremendously. Thanks!

[pulse01]

Great review John. I have this on pre-order and it sounds like that was a good decision. Also looking forward to the Crimson concert in Glasgow in November.

[jkelman]

Excellent review; thank you! You've persuaded me to pick this one up, as much for the video as anything. I was fortunate to see Crim in Raleigh a year ago, with Chris Gibson sitting on for Bill Reiflin in the fall 2017 tour. As you say, you really can't pick up on everything that's happening from the audience seats, just as you can't absorb it all in a single concert, much less hear the entire catalog. Still, it was an outstanding concert.

So this one gets my money.

Thanks for the kind words...and glad you got to catch the eight-piece, even without Rieflin. You'll love Meltdown, I'm sure!

[jkelman]

Well, if there was any doubt about getting this, that review has me looking forward to it tremendously. Thanks!

My pleasure! Thanks for taking the time to read it!

[jkelman]

Great review John. I have this on pre-order and it sounds like that was a good decision. Also looking forward to the Crimson concert in Glasgow in November.

I'm sure you'll dig it...and I'm jealous about your seeing them next month...enjoy both!!