King Crimson - Road to Red

[Stefan Wood]

Ok........ I concede. UNCLE!!!!! I can keep up no more.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ECK21WO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Preordered it.

[Homefromtheforest]

Haha..l'm very tempted myself, but I know in reality I will never listen to all of it...especially with a wife and kid now!

I don't think I've event listened to all of my "great deceiver" box yet and that's been sitting on my shelves for years ;(

[Quincy]

From Amazon UK it's around $160 for Americans. Remember that they don't subtract the VAT until you provide your US address when it's in your cart.

I passed on the Larks' box as the lo-fi Zoom Club kccc gets played only every couple of years so I couldn't imagine having a whole lot more lo-fi live shows, but this is different! Even if for '74 I already have 5 of the preceding live Europe downloads & kcccs plus the Great Deceiver, Asbury, and Central Park. Looking forward to it!

[mjzee]

I was at the last show on the tour (Central Park, NYC) and saved it on a cassette recorder. I liked it, but not sure what all the fuss is about. Some groups you get to the core, and others you feel like a spectator, watching everyone else swoon. Powerful group, don't get me wrong. But not a lot of it seemed improvised, so will one concert really be different from the next?

On that last concert, Fripp made a point of thanking his road crew. It was interesting to hear him speak, thanking his road crew at a rock show in an almost Oxfordian dialect.

[felser]

Overkill for me, for sure. I like that period of Crimson, but still... Hope they consider a (much) smaller box of this later.

[A Lark Ascending]

It was interesting to hear him speak, thanking his road crew at a rock show in an almost Oxfordian dialect.

Dorset dialect!

Fripp has a distinct West Country accent...a lovely burrrr! The locals in Oxfordshire have a milder form of it; it's very different to the accents of many of those who attend the university (who are mainly from very different circumstances than the locals). Probably harder to hear the difference in the US; like all US Northern accents sound the same to me.

Much as I love KC these megalopoboxes seems way over the top.

Edited August 19, 2013 by A Lark Ascending

[Blue Train]

What is going on in Rock reissues is what on with on with Jazz. Just how many times has Kind of Blue been reissued?....the 40th Anniversary reissue of Red just happened in 2009? Barely 4-years later. There is even a whole remastering/engineer fetish in the publicity about it. New stereo mix from Fripp and Steven Wilson.

Does anyone sit back and ask what was wrong with the last stereo mix involving Fripp that a new mix was needed only 4-years later?

Edited August 18, 2013 by Blue Train

[mjzee]

I can't figure out how to post a sound clip here.

[Quincy]

But not a lot of it seemed improvised, so will one concert really be different from the next?

The variation of setlists isn't as great as with the Dead but the improv sections (anywhere from 1 to 3 per show around this time) can vary a great deal. There can be differences in solos within the songs. The Great Deceiver box does a great job of illustrating the way the improvs can differ and some get dark. (Just look for the amusingly named tracks). So this box is great for those of us who have outgrown (or rather played to death) the The Great Deceiver and want more beyond the kcccs and downloads. I'm looking forward to having 6 of the shows as blu-ray audio too.

It certainly isn't a necessary set but I'm happy they're going whole hog including finding shows that weren't even bootlegged. It's getting to the point where I have so many hi-rez discs that also happen to be 5.1 discs that I should probably buy a home theater amp and a few more speakers.

[Quincy]

What is going on in Rock reissues is what on with on with Jazz. Just how many times has Kind of Blue been reissued?....the 40th Anniversary reissue of Red just happened in 2009? Barely 4-years later. There is even a whole remastering/engineer fetish in the publicity about it. New stereo mix from Fripp and Steven Wilson.

Does anyone sit back and ask what was wrong with the last stereo mix involving Fripp that a new mix was needed only 4-years later?

When they started this project Steven Wilson did not remix Red as he thought it was perfect the way it was. However 2 things happened since then. 1 is that Wilson has a huge following for his good taste in remixing & remastering. So he did a remix to complete the set. Secondly is that once the KC series was underway (about 3 releases a year) the Pink Floyd Immersion sets and other boxes with marbles & scarves & crazy packaging sold well so Crimson went beyond just doing one for the debut album but put one together for Larks. It apparently sold well enough that they've now done one for Red.

As always if one doesn't like this stuff one doesn't have to buy it.

[Shawn]

And the whole "engineering fetish" thing shouldn't be discounted as frivolous, Wilson did an absolutely BRILLIANT job remixing these records. These King Crimson records sound better than they have ever sounded, I doubt I'll ever listen to the original mixes again, there is really no need.

[Stefan Wood]

I have to say I am STILL absorbing the deluxe "Larks Tongues" box behmoth set.

[jazzbo]

I've learned from "another board" that importcds.com has an attractive price.

Edited August 19, 2013 by jazzbo

[Stefan Wood]

The box was "dispatched" this morning. This will be a marathon listening. If only I had received it this past week; it would have been perfect while on furlough and stuck in the house during the driving rainstorm we have had these past few days.

[7/4]

And the whole "engineering fetish" thing shouldn't be discounted as frivolous, Wilson did an absolutely BRILLIANT job remixing these records. These King Crimson records sound better than they have ever sounded, I doubt I'll ever listen to the original mixes again, there is really no need.

ditto.

[Stefan Wood]

Received my box today. Popped the "last" disc, the remastered Wilson/Fripp disc of Red, and it is the best sounding version. Now for the live material......

[Uncle Skid]

I've learned from "another board" that importcds.com has an attractive price.

Currently at $136.02, plus the 10% off coupon... $122 is quite an attractive price.

Also, the Lark's box is at $111, before the 10% off.

[bogdan101]

This thread made me order the Lark's Tongues box; on a related note, I read somewhere that KC is touring this summer...

[JETman]

This thread made me order the Lark's Tongues box; on a related note, I read somewhere that KC is touring this summer...

Good thing too! You'll have to start saving for the SaBB mammoth coming this Fall to an internet retailer near you.

[Stefan Wood]

ugh!

[bogdan101]

Heads up for a good price (78 quid shipped to Canada) on the Red box from amazon.co.uk:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ECK21WO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edited July 9, 2014 by bogdan101

[bogdan101]

I just listened to Starless from the 8th cd of the Red box, taken from a performance at the Denver Coliseum, June 16 1974. Hairraising stuff... I have the Starless box on preorder now!

[Rooster_Ties]

Speaking of Red...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JhwFI0WUmkM

[GregK]

I resisted buying this box set for an entire year, expecting to become available. It still is available, and I'm really glad I bought it! Fantastic package, even with the redundant DVD-A/Blurays (likely never to be played, unless I somehow get a massive upgrade to my stereo system). Grand Rapids has an excellent improv.

[A Lark Ascending]

I was determined not to buy this. But also cracked at the weekend. Which makes it certain I'll go for Starless too. The power of advertising.