THE GREAT DECEIVER: LIVE 1973 - 1974

Having been a prog fan since I first heard The Age of Atlantic (Yes - Survival) and my mate's brothers' copy of Tarkus in 1971, I came rather late to KC - a crying shame because I used to follow musos as they changed bands and somehow ignored Bill Bruford's move from Yes to Mr. Fripp's outfit. As Fripp famously said '...I think you are ready for King Crimson now...' Well, now I'm old and grey and have listened to countless hours of music, I can honestly say that this incarnation of the Crims was surely the best one. They were truly incredible musicians, Wetton from Family and never as good as this again, Bruford from Yes, David Cross from somewhere I can't remember and Fripp from Dorset - there must have been something strange and magical in the water of Dorset when he was conceived!

The Great Deceiver is a stupendous collection of some of the best improvised music of ANY GENRE, ever! The skill of the musicians as they develop their themes around each others ' playing is breathtaking and the several interpretations of familiar tracks (the marvellous Nightwatch and peerless Starless being particular cases in point) from earlier studio releases shows that they were not content merely to reproduce the original pieces, but to evolve them into new works. If you pair this up with the expanded edition of USA (Asbury Park being one of my top 3 favourite prog tracks) you will have some mind-blowing creative music which never ceases to amaze. It's so good, you can listen to it from a different instrument's perspective each time and hear something new.

The truly excellent factor is the skillful interplay between Fripp and Cross; try to decide who is playing the guitar, whether it's guitar or violin, Fripp at the bottom of his fretboard or Wetton. You can play endless ear games with this.

My particular reason for loving it is the fact that the music is much more subtle than it has become with later line-ups - I don't dislike the later incarnations of Crimson but feel that they sometimes substitute freneticism and volume for composition.

Anyway, if you are new to the band, start with the trio of Larks' Tongues, Starless and Bible Black and Red, then graduate to this collection.It's truly inspiring stuff!