King Crimson – USA: 50th Anniversary 2LP (200g Blue Sparkle Vinyl – IMPORT) Cheap

On June 28th 1974, King Crimson s New Jersey concert was recorded to multi-track tape. 50 years later to the date of that recording, the full concert will be reissued, as a 3,000 copies limited edition on 200gram blue sparkle vinyl. From one of the last few concerts of King Crimson s final US tour of the 70s, USA was issued as an epitaph for the band in Spring 1975 as a single album, at a time when doubles or even triple live albums were considered more the norm for live releases. Deleted towards the end of the vinyl era in the mid-1980s, it remained unreleased in the CD era until the expanded edition was finally issued in October 2002. In common with much of Crimson s output, it was not well received by critics when originally released, though it s critical reputation grew immeasurably in the intervening years to the point where a review of the 21st Century Guide to King Crimson boxed set in 2004 identified the album as the point … where Fripp maps out the guitar blueprint for the entire post-punk movement. If that claim sounds somewhat exaggerated, a casual listen to the opening minutes of the album – where the ethereal Walk On.. tape of Fripp & Eno s No Pussyfooting gives way to the sonic assault of Larks II – provides ample evidence to back up the claim. It s also worth noting the audience response to the band – especially at the end of Starless , a piece that had yet to be recorded in the studio at that point. The 1972 1974 King Crimson line-ups is now revered by critics and fans alike as one of the key bands of the era – a reputation enhanced by DGM s archival live releases from that period, starting with The Great Deceiver released in 1992, through to the multi-disc boxed sets of more recent years. Originally issued on vinyl in 2018 as part of the second King Crimson vinyl series boxed sets & only briefly available as a standalone set from that box, this vinyl reissue is much sought after by King Crimson fans & presents the 2013 mix of the concert by Robert Fripp, David Singleton & Tony Arnold.