Guest Chaney Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 (edited) After not having heard this gem since my vinyl days, I've been feeling an urgent need to buy a (CD) copy of King Crimson's "In The Court Of The Crimson King". Question is, which reissue to buy? Is it as simple as buying the Fripp remastered 30th Anniversary Edition? Is there a Japanese pressing out there? Is this title being released on hybrid SACD tomorrow? Anyone have an idea? Cat's foot iron claw Neuro-surgeons scream for more At paranoia's poison door Twenty first century schizoid man. Blood rack barbed wire Polititians' funeral pyre Innocents raped with napalm fire Twenty first century schizoid man. Death seed blind man's greed Poets' starving children bleed Nothing he's got he really needs Twenty first century schizoid man. Edited October 25, 2003 by Chaney Quote
J.A.W. Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 UK limited-edition mini-LP sleeve edition, probably the same edition, regular UK edition, Japanese 24-bit remastered edition. I understand there's been a single-layer SACD, but I couldn't find it on the "usual sites". Quote
Guest Chaney Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 Thanks Hans! I think I'll make life easy and go with the affordable Anniversary Edition. Noticed this on the Red Trumpet site: 21rst Century Schizoid Man (EP) (CD) Highly limited Japanese-only digipak EP featuring six years of 'Schizoid Man' by three different King Crimson line-ups, in four different locations at four different times and places. Five tracks, '21st Century Man' (Edit, Original Version, live 1969, live 1972 & live 1974). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tracks: 1. 21 Century Schizoid Man EP (Edit) 2. 21 Century Schizoid Man EP (Original Version) 3. 21 Century Schizoid Man EP (Live 1969) 4. 21 Century Schizoid Man EP (Live 1972) 5. 21 Century Schizoid Man EP (Live 1974) It never ends, does it? Quote
Quincy Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 I'm in the same boat as yourself as I'm still on my original vinyl. Whenever I remember to look for a CD of it I start running into different versions, get confused and then forget about it for another year. I think it's time for me to break that habit! I've heard good things about the 30th Anniversary edition from a couple of friends though if you have a player that decodes HDCD be aware that unlike the others it is not HDCD encoded as noted in this thread in rec.audio.opinion. At Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile the only version they are currently selling is the 24 bit 30th Anniversary version (CAR1502-2). If your interest in the band (and friends) extends beyond their 1st album I'd recommend signing up for their Inner Knot newsletter as they'll keep you apprised of their current projects (or Projekcts as it were) and archival work. Also note that for the past year one no longer has to subscribe (pay $90 in advance) to receive Collector's Club offerings as you can now buy as many as you like. Quote
Guest Chaney Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 Thanks Quincy! Gotta love this from the rec.audio.opinion: I don't know if the album was ever available in a "180g version." However, it was released by Mobile Fidelity as one of their "Original Masters" series and is highly prized. And yet another wrinkle - a wrinkle that I'll not concern myself with as I'm not willing to participate in an eBay bidding war. I would love to hear the MoFi version, though. Quote
Guest ariceffron Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 NONE OF THE ABOVE OUT OF ALL PROG ROCK lps I OWN, IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING IS THE ONE WHICH SOUNDS SUPERIOR ON VINYL. THAT ALBUM MORE THAN ANY ROCK ALBUM I OWN JUST SOUNDS PERFECT ON VINYL. Quote
Dmitry Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 Where's jmjk and the rest of the prog gang? Hans is right - go for the digi-pack, if not - the jewel cased last edition. Sound's the same. I'm away from home now, but I believe Fripp did the remastering. Go to the Discipline Global site for more info. Quote
Guy Berger Posted October 25, 2003 Report Posted October 25, 2003 (edited) Where's jmjk and the rest of the prog gang? Hans is right - go for the digi-pack, if not - the jewel cased last edition. Sound's the same. I'm away from home now, but I believe Fripp did the remastering. Go to the Discipline Global site for more info. I hate digipaks. Anyway, the 24 bit version (which is also available in a jewel case) sounds waaaaaaaaay better than the previous version. (Edit: the other version is not a digipak but rather the mini-LP that JAW mentions. I imagine the music is identical, but I hate that type of packaging.) Guy Edited October 27, 2003 by Guy Berger Quote
J.A.W. Posted October 26, 2003 Report Posted October 26, 2003 The 30th Anniversay Edition I have is not a digipack edition, but it has a fold-out mini-LP sleeve. It was 24-bit remastered by Simon Heyworth, Robert Fripp and David Singleton on August 3, 1999, and the UK CD number is Virgin CDVKCX1. It sounds great. Quote
Dave James Posted October 27, 2003 Report Posted October 27, 2003 Oh boy...does this one bring back some memories. I went to Lewis & Clark, a small liberal arts college just outside Portland. It's about two miles from where I grew up. I will never forget one, shall we say, heavily medicated experience in the Spring of 1970. At the conclusion of a rather interesting evening, I decided to walk home from campus. It was about 5:00 in the morning. Upon arrival, I planted myself in front of the big picture window in our living room, put on my headphones and chambered In the Court of the Crimson King. The window faced East, so I cruised through the entire album while watching the sun make its way up over the horizon. WOW! One of those experiences that's indelibly etched in my memory banks. Up over and out. Quote
Guest ariceffron Posted October 29, 2003 Report Posted October 29, 2003 in some ways im actually glad i didnt live in the 1970s because i swear to fucking god i would have been seeing music every day of the year and by the end of the decade i would have been to exausted to do much of anything. every day would have been a special concert. KC on day and led zep the next and the who and pink floyd and genesis and tull and yes and elp and deep purple and then there was miles davis would i seriously would have followed for at least all of 1971-3. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted October 29, 2003 Report Posted October 29, 2003 KC on day... Yeah, Get Down Tonight was a real barnburner! Quote
Shrdlu Posted October 30, 2003 Report Posted October 30, 2003 I well remember the original LP, which I once had. I got it partly as a joke, as that grotesque red cover seemed like someone was taking the Mickey. It was fun to wave it at Mom and other horrified older folks. It looks like the view down the throat of some devil. Ugggh! You folks like this thing? My Dad hated the sight of it. At the same time, I was "badgering" him with Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet on "Last Date"; he said that it sounded like a farmer chasing a turkey cock around a farmyard. Those were the days! Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted October 30, 2003 Report Posted October 30, 2003 As a kid I was quite good at drawing. It was all killed for me when an art teacher tried to bully me into taking art to 'O' Level (the academic qualification taken by 16 year olds in the UK before the late 1980s) instead of history. My interest died. I took art as my 'relaxation subject' to CSE Level (the qualification for those who were not considered academic) but never gave it my heart. The new art teacher obviously saw me as a waste of space and didn't pay much attention... Until the day I brought in a drawing I'd done at home. He went mad with excitement at the strange concept, the shading (it was black and white pencil) and told me if I did more work like that I'd do brilliantly. Of course I'd copied the picture straight of ITCOTKC! He never did get to see anything else like that. In the end I got a CSE grade 2...everyone else in the class got grade 1s (which were equivalent to O Level passes). I could copy. Beyond that... Quote
Quincy Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 I never did get around to buying any of the above versions on CD, but I now have in my hands the latest flavor of In The Court Of The Crimson King. It's been out in Europe for awhile (maybe a couple of months) but was just released in the US this week. What's different this time: 1) They recently found the master tapes and thus used them for this release. 2) This time it's in HDCD, if that matters to you. DGM0501 is available at Discipline Global Mobile. I'm not sure if it's in stores or not, but other things to look for to make sure you get the latest version include a 2004 copyright on the back cover, the HDCD logo in the upper right of the back, and this time it's called an "Original Master Edition," as seen through the clear border to the left of the lovely face on the cover. Under the clear tray below the disc is the following information about the mastering: "The original masters - with splicing tape still present between the various songs, and crossfade between I Talk To The Wind and Epitaph yet to be created - were discovered in the Virgin archives in 2003." Also "24 bit remaster by Simon Heyworth at Super Audio Mastering, September 2004." Haven't had a chance to listen to it, and all I have to compare it to is a kinda beat up vinyl copy from 25 years ago. But I reckon it will be an upgrade for me. Quote
GregK Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 I don't know how much of an improvement over the 30th anniversary edition this is. I have that version (in the mini-LP sleeve, very nice packaging by the way), and the recent compilation box set which used the recently found master tapes for the debut album material, and I can't tell any difference in sound quality between the two Quote
Quincy Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 Thanks for that feedback Greg, as I made sure to note that I haven't heard any of the other CD incarnations. In the latest version there are 8 pages of newspaper clippings from '69 about the album. Included amongst the clippings is a list from RR of the top albums for the week of November 1st (the week it entered the charts.) 1. Abbey Road - Beatles 2. Motown Chartbusters, Vol. 2 3. Johnny Cash At San Quentin 4. Through The Past Darkly - Rolling Stones 5. In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson 6. Sound Of Music Soundtrack 7. SSSSH - Ten Years After 8. Then Play On - Fleetwood Mac 9. Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan 10. Best Of The Seekers 11. Oliver! Soundtrack Not a bad list. Included #11 as I recall my sister buying it and playing it far too often for my liking. To see the rest of the list, you'll have to Google or buy the disc. Quote
GregK Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 That sounds like the booklet from the 30th ann. edition that I have. I believe all of the 30th anniversary editions have a similar booklet relevant to the original release year. I wish they had done the lavish packaging treatment to their 2 recent releases, just to be consistent Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 (edited) I have the 2004 edition and to my ears it sounds a distinct improvement on the previous version I had from the early 90s. That sounded flat and muddy - this one is clear as a bell. There's also a remastered 'In the Wake of Poseidon' from 2004 which includes the single version of 'Cat Food' and 'Groon'. All the other discs currently being reissued by Discipline are the same as the late 90s 30th Anniversary editions. Edited February 18, 2005 by Bev Stapleton Quote
porcy62 Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 NONE OF THE ABOVE OUT OF ALL PROG ROCK lps I OWN, IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING IS THE ONE WHICH SOUNDS SUPERIOR ON VINYL. THAT ALBUM MORE THAN ANY ROCK ALBUM I OWN JUST SOUNDS PERFECT ON VINYL. I second that. ITCOTCK is unbeatable on original vinyl (UK Island pink label), all the Crimson's albums sound gorgeous on original UK Island pressing. I think that Crimson's records are a good example of the great analog era, with Decca, BN, Prestige. I sold my HDCD digital versions of them, when I listened to the original vinyl. The MoFi vinyl is great too. The only problem is that original vinyl are damn expensive! Quote
robert h. Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 "There's also a remastered 'In the Wake of Poseidon' from 2004 which includes the single version of 'Cat Food' and 'Groon'." Nope, the latest reissue of 'Poseidon' with the 2 bonus tracks uses the 1999 remastering for the 30th anniversary edition. Not much point in upgrading as the single version of 'Catfood' is at best a curiosity and 'Groon' is a throwaway. The 2004 remastering of 'In The Court Of The Crimson King', though, is a big improvement over the anniversary edition. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 Nope, the latest reissue of 'Poseidon' with the 2 bonus tracks uses the 1999 remastering for the 30th anniversary edition. Not much point in upgrading as the single version of 'Catfood' is at best a curiosity and 'Groon' is a throwaway. Sorry, an assumption on my part, given that it had those two extras. Quote
Michael Fitzgerald Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 "Groon" is a throwaway?! I strongly disagree. Mike Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 It sounds great in the extended versions on some of the KCCC discs. I've never heard the original B-side. Quote
bertrand Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 I agree with Mike to disagree about 'Groon'. It's a fantastic piece. I have it on a 2-LP compilation I bought years ago, principally for the amazing booklet. It is essentially a chronology of KC up to the time of the compilation's release (late seventies), chock full of pictures and hilarious press clippings and anecdotes (John Wetton was once referred to in a review as Rick Laird). I hope I still have it - it's probably at my mother's place in Paris. Thanks for the reminder, I'll bring it home on my next trip. Bertrand. Quote
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