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EARTHBOUNDKing CrimsonEclectic Prog |
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When I first heard this live album in the mid-70's, I went back to the record store to exchange it with another copy, as I was sure it was obviously a bad pressing. You can imagine the visible amusement of the vendor's face and gently explaining me that this was indeed as the album was released. Indeed, Fripp & the boys tried to stop Island Records to release this sore excuse for a live record (a cassette used as a master), but it came out anyway. This was probably one of the worse-sounding album ever released (along with Grand Funk Railroad's Live album, but that was intentionally bad), and I never dared return to it after getting rid of the album in the used vinyl circuit, until recently I fell upon the 30th anniversary remaster version and decided to see how precise were my (bad) memories of it. All I can say is that I didn't find the sound nearly as bad as I did back then, but that's easily explainable with modern technology to clean up badly recorded music. What a job Fripp did with this Live album, one that he disowned for over two decades.
Actually behind the eternal Schizoid Man (not the best version), there is little else material that is present on studio albums, if you'll except Sailor's Tale (from Island, the album, not the company) and even that one is quite different (instrumental) than its original form. The rest of the albums are some improvisations that Crimson was getting famous for, even though the next line-up (Bruford/Wetton) would become famous for. Indeed Peoria is an improvised blues-rock with Burrell singing & scatting over a steady rhythm, while Collins blows a solo or two and Fripp remains mostly rhythmic. Not fascinating, but interesting, even if the fade-out leaves wondering how they could end it. Similarly Sailor's Tale starts on a fade-in, obviously in the middle of a wild and fast improv, but then one recognizes the tune when the group slows down, especially with the two mellotrons. Earthbound is another one of these improvs, one that fits well the mould of this album, but definitely not on par with the future improvs of the next line-up. The flipside opens on the rare Groon (this was the flipside of the Cat Food/Groon single and not available on an Lp), where the improv seems to be the continuation of Peoria, but it gets lost into individual solos (including the inevitable drum solo) and even goes dissonant for a while.
If the sound was not so awful, this would've probably been a great record back then. It is a real shame that the sound quality did not improve as much as I would've hoped (probably expecting too much, I guess) as this got finally released to CD's but I guess there is only so much one can do to an original cassette . When one thinks that Genesis did not agree with their label releasing their live album in 72 because of recording quality, this leaves you perplexed how this one got out in the store's bins a second time, especially when Fripp is soooo keen on quality. If progheads, want to investigate into that era live Crimson, there are some fine releases in the Crimson Collector's Club with much better sound quality, but the one I have is Groon-less. Paradoxically Earthbound is rather interesting enough for those Crimson lovers into their improvisations: this one is loaded with them, even if mostly blues-derived.



Truth be told, this is an abomination! Between the horrible sound quality (done on a cassette recorder in rain), and the rather inept plodding rhythm section (well actually, Ian Wallace is a decent drummer, just not right for KC.) and a lot of personal friction, it was bound to self-destruct.
This period of Crimson could be described as Fripp's desparation phase, having the record company breathing fire down his neck and being willing to settle for anyone that would stay long enough to fulfill a contract. Mel Collins and Fripp do the best they can given the dire circumstances and Boz's complete ineptness as an instrumentalist at the time (he NEVER played bass before, Fripp had to teach him by rote).
Thankfully, this was all short lived, as Fripp would find his perfect foils in Bruford, wetton, Cross and Muir not long thereafter.
For MASOCHISTIC completeiists only.







The sound quality is enough to turn off most listeners, but as a diehard Deadhead I'm a little more used to bootleg material. And this isn't the worst bootleg ever; crowd noise is mostly absent and the instruments are usually tolerably distinct, except for the not uncommon moments of extreme saturation.
Performance-wise, this is a decent offering; Collins is excellent, Fripp and Wallace turn in solid and tight showings, and Burrell is...better on bass than on vocals, anyway. During instrumental sections it is almost possible to appreciate him, and during the aforementioned 'scat' sessions it is a struggle not to want to kill him. Maybe Fripp thought that he and Boz had a Zappa/ Beefheart dynamic, or maybe his perception of what makes a good vocalist was somewhat faulty after working with Hammill.
I must say that if I'd been at this concert, I wouldn't consider my ticket money wasted- there's a rawness in the energetic and dirty tracks that foreshadows the ragged edge of Lark's Tongues and Red; it's a much more pared-down menace and wildness in the delivery than in any of the previous studio albums. Subtlety loses out in favor of power, and it is this power which almost redeems this release.
If you are not already a KC fan, this will almost assuredly NOT appeal to you. Even if you are a fan, there are many (many) more live KC albums that show a better band, clearer recordings, and more nuance-filled performances- so if you're contemplating your first live album by the band, do NOT choose this one. However, if you are a fan, and you prefer the raw and heavy side of the band, it is actually fairly full of impressive moments within the seeming shambles.

This is essentially a jam-album, featuring a very blues and jazz oriented band. Wallace (drums), Burrell (vocals/bass), and Mel Collins (Sax) were all the time at odds with Fripp (guitar) who was still pulling the band in a very Prog direction. The other three wanted more control, and Fripp, always a domineering sort of person, refused to give it, (resulting in the breakup in 1972). This album shows those strains, but has many good points. This was a very popular touring lineup, and there strengths show.
The album opens with a strong rendition of "Schizoid Man". Boz Burrell's vocals are processed through a synthesizer to get that same studio distortion as when Lake sang the song, and it works quite well. The band then breaks into a long jazzy break where Mel Collin's sax really shines. Next is "Peoria", a jazz-improv-jam piece, which surprisingly features 'scatting' of all things from Burrell. Overall, not a very impressive piece, but it is energetic and is played well. The "Sailor's Tale" off of the Islands album, is this albums most symphonic piece, and it is good, but pales in comparison with the strong original. The mellotron, (when it can be made out) as well as Fripp's Guitar are fairly good. "Earthbound" is another jazzy piece much in the vein of "Peoria" but it features much more interesting guitar work. Finally, the album closes with "Groon", a fifteen minute expansion of a three minute B-side from 1970 (from "Catfood"). This track is very interesting, especially to fans of avant-garde King Crimson. It features fantastic and funky drumming by Ian Wallace, and very interesting VC3 synthesizer work by Robert Fripp, which remains interesting despite its obvious improvisation. It does, however, drag on a bit too long.
This album is enjoyable, as the only King Crimson live album from its early period (1969-1972), (others have since been released), but its awful sound quality and jazzy- jam nature, and lack of classics (other than "Schizoid") make it definitely for King Crimson collectors only. Start with the studio albums first, if you like those, proceed to this one.with caution - 2 stars.






Robert's guitar solo is spellbinding, and then the immense sax solo from Mel Collins, preseded by a shout of 'Go on Mel' from Ian or Boz is untouchable.
Finally, the band come back together for the intricate last section and third verse, before finishing off with a frenzy of notes.
The raw sound quality of the recording only adds to the intense edge that this song should always have.
Peoria is a funky blues jam which leads into an edited version of The Sailors Tale.
Earthbound is another improvised track but the last track of Groon, shows the risks that this particular version of Crimson were prepared to take.
I can only imagine what the audience felt when Ian Wallace's drums were electronically distorted by Pete Sinfield's use of the EMS VCS3, but the effect is out of this world.
An inconsistant album, but certainly it should be heard by all Crimson fans, and owned by more.




1)-21st Century schizoid man:One of my favourite KC tracks. As dark, agressive and progressive as ever.Distored vocals by Boz sound a lot different than Lake's, and they sound weird and cool. The middle "Mirrors" section is quite longer than the original. Fripp and Collins do an amazing work on this one, combining jazz-rock sax, with heavy guitar. As great as ever!
2)-Peoria: A funky-groove jam. Mel Collins shines on this one. You really feel his going to tear his sax up! Ian and Boz do a fine job keeping the rythm. Boz sings to the crowd to get onto it ( he sings anything that comes into his mind: "bababdubbab....No make no difference...it makes a whole lotta differece while I think about you", or something). Fripp plays the funky rythm guitar, most of the time, but then he does a werid mini-wah- wha solo, which is great!
3)-Sailor's Tale (edit): This is an almost-5-minute version of the track from "Islands". It's psychedelic all the way through. Remarkable drumming by Wallace, nice bass lines by Boz, ground-breaking sax and mellotron by Mel Collins, and the typical Crimson trademark guitar by Fripp. Awsome and really progressive!
4)-Earthbound: The second groove jam. Funky drums with funky bass, funky sax and guitar. The same "whatever" vocals by Boz which feature on "Peoria". At first, it doesn't even seem like King Crimson, but, then Robert Fripp knocks out a solo which is really KC! Cool!
5)- Groon: The jazzy guitar riff and the jazzy drums from the original. Then, it turns out to be more "Earthbound"-like with funky bass and sax. Progressive Crimson guitar solo...and then...the moment for Mr.Wallace to show all he's got: Really freaked-out drum solo! And it ends.... Amazing!
Ok, I'll rate it with 4 stars, 'cos it's awsome, but not so much (as, say, ITCOTCK or "Lizard"). But I don't thing it is for collectors only, or that it's just good. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection.
Note: You can notice why they became Art rock, and they weren't symphonic anymore, like on their debut. Their style became more varied and more experimental crossing different prog genres and jazz and, even funk. Genre: Art Rock: Jazz, funk, groovy and progressive rock.


I've heard some pretty poor recording in my time, but few measure up to the basic butchery of an otherwise pleasant experience. This stuff can put some Black Metal recording quality to shame. Think Bathory's Return with incessant static popping. That's how abysmal it is. If you can get past the annoying fade outs and the incessant popping, it's actually not half-bad a concert experience.
Besides the fact that I never, ever, in my dreams want to hear Boz sing "21st Century..." again, the track is quite good in its improv state, with really nice instrumental play from the band. The opening of it just makes me want to literally stab my ears because of how poorly it is done in comparison to Lake's performance on the debut album. It's so over-dramatic to the point of being cringeworthingly laughable. I guess the thing that excites me the most, an anecdotal piece of information if you will, is how much my guitar playing sounds like the ending instrumental section before we go back to the familiar verse and chorus.
The only reason this record is remotely inspiring or insightful is the work of Fripp and Collins, two masters of their craft who manage to pull off an interesting live show, despite it's many flaws, none of which can particularly be credited to them. This is a jam album in every meaning of the world, and this can lead you too many insightful and inspiring passages, but also many marked by confusion and questions. There's enough good material on here keeping it from being a total disaster, but it's layered in so much filth its difficult to find.

The distortion of Burrell's voice during "21st Century Schizoid Man" is an intended artistic effect here and very fitting with the lyrics. It is accomplished by Burrell singing through a ring modulator. I definitely don't think Burrell is a bad singer or that he did not fit in with King Crimson; he fitted a lot more than the overly schmaltzy Greg Lake, for example. he is my number 1 singer for KC. a lot of jamming on this album ""Groon", "Peoria"), and I think those jams do work. Wallace tends to play a bit monotonously though (which is my main complaint about "Islands" too, by the way); of all the drummers King Crimson ever had he is my least favorite. a brutal rendering of "Sailor's Tale" which many do not like because of the rather tranquil verson of" Islands", but I like it a lot more than the studio version. ("Islands" always appears to me to be having toned down in the studio after recording). all in all, a live album that is definitely a great addition to any record collection. due to the perfomance of Wallace I deduct one star, so this makes it 4 stars for me. the bad sound quality does not enter into my rating at all, by the way; I hear the music and nothing else and don't let my judgement be affected by sound quality. great sound can't save a bad album, and bad sound can't ruin a great one

My dad, for example, thinks that this is KC best album ever made. In Slovakia there was little opportunities to hear raw rocking live performances back in the early 70's. This album was like a lightning from the sky. It was unexpected, very hard and full of energy. Yes, the sound quality was very poor (LP), but it was something totally different from e.g. Karel Got (for those, who knows...). He was (and still is) astonished by Boz screaming and great improvisation of the whole group. So, if he knew english he would give five stars to this album here on Progarchives.
But he isn't here. I was not much impressed by this when I heard it first. It was from the cassette and it was more noise than music. But when remastered CD version appeared I bought it (mainly for my dad). I can tell you now that I like it. It is not typical KC album, but it is surely very heavy and that's how I like it. The sound is MUCH better than on LP. If you want to listen to the best live version of The 21st Century Schizoid man, it can be found here. Some improvisation passages are greatly performed by Collins and the last song Groon is nice played as well. Though the drum solo is not the best one ever recorded, it can be heard without any bad feelings.
To sum up, I would give it two stars, but due to the impact this album had in Slovakia, I give it three stars. It is quite nice hard live album and it is also surprising to KC fans, so that's something I would call progressive enough to call it good.

I never understood why this album has been released in the first place. Was it a contractual obligation toward the recording companyl ? Was Mr Fripp in one of those moods these days? i don't know.
You all know that the concert has been recorded on a...cassette. The sound is worst than a bootleg!! and it's an official KC album. I know when the KC albums have been transfered on CDS . Robert Fripp made sure that EARTHBOUND wasn't released back then in the 90s. But i guess, he changed his mind and this CD was released as part of the 30th anniversary collection. As an ardent Crimson fan, i bought it back for completion purposes , but that stops here. I am listening to it while reviewing this album but nothing new is changing my mind;utterly disposable! At least the CD sound is a big improvement over the LP; but that doesn't save it; the music is not very good either.A lot of jams with a very poor rythm section that doesn't fit with the music. The vocals are atrocious and it sounds like a mess. Thanks god i was not at this concert ready to listen to the goods of ISLANDS.Only MEL COLLINS saves the day>
This is the same line-up than on Islands, but that's the only common point. I am amazed at some reviews on this site giving 4 , even 5 stars to this album. I read that BOZ voice on this album was the best KC ever got. I love KING CRIMSON, but i am not that masochistic.
2 stars means for collectors onlY? so 2 stars! But it could be less.
Thanks god, King CRIMSON will be back in a big way!

About the recording's quality, my view is comfortably indisposed by the general flash cleanse miss, which makes music to be as sophisticated as it wants, but of minimal, chopped beauty. The recordings is badly scratching the ears, making out of a hard-listening default pleasure a fight to resist the album. The most annoying details come right as the most intrinsic, so that music's scratch staying drenched and, besides the bombatistic, mandible, defiant. The sound proves a jam of all the break-out, whilst, by finally some taste, a different kind of disturbance catches voice, in the posture of a concrete decibel stepped-on play and of an unaesthetic pedaled intensity. Earthbound is doubtless a crash of musical performance viewpoint and one of sound-producing too, and this, unfortunately, can't sound exaggerate; perhaps only a too suggestive remark.
In the Crimson music that's played, somewhat, things stay better, though not by a chance excellent. I've already said it, a live from the immediate period would have deserved a plus (or a surplice) of magic, frenzy and indubitable quality; have the small groove on the side, it would have seized all frivolous useless shivers. Otherwise, this "mistaken live" has only good moments, some even interesting, acting in a performance of experimentalism, pure schizoid and mental-digressive tones, it site well in the power asthenia and in the rotten symbols, and characterizes classic artists in a treating way of living up their personal nemesis in the side-syringing pathos. Extremely visceral and virulent, as well as unforgiving in an experimental dominating ardor, Earthbound is heavy listening, for fans who forgot the boredom of broken music or the much ignorant lack of character. But even in these points of critic that are from captivating down to acceptable, appears, typical, the complex of bad interpretation, of jam music and of hardly thought art, of a terrible improvisational passion, of a straight dire effect and of a poisoning elixir for the too evaluative soul. Maybe something cacophonous has ambiance as well. Everything tends to be style "grudge", well-pointed only if it doesn't mark the great tiresome of dead times and beaten to a bleed and a sheer corpulence sounds. 21st Century Schizoid Man, the great schlager, useless to be considered otherwise than essential and eternal, has an execrable vocal art, but the powerful instrumental, from the middle of the piece, is quite good class. Peoria is something I do consider a composition gem, too bad of the new sound handicap, entering the dissimulation. I never ever liked The Sailor's Tale, still here it's crispy plus macabre. After this, the joke of the jam and the schist-phonic thickens, the last too pieces share the greatest sin. Earthbound is ephemeral in itself, whilst Groon is too a gem composition, ruined by mud caliber, orgasmic loud-louder-loudest collapse.
For an unbelievable heavy rock cognitive orientation, it is a full shame and blame that the live album is a chop of sound quality and a killing bash art. It is a shame and blame that a quasi-perfect (art) period has such a "live" epilogue and such a "performance" comfort. Un-prodigious, on top of everything. No for Earthbound, no with a regrettable shrug.

This is an early live collection from King Crimson, released around the same time as "Pictures at an Exhibition" (ELP). When originally released in LP format, these albums (plus others such as the re-released, "Valentine Suite" by Colosseum) sold at a budget price on Island records HELP label. For many, because of their budget price, they offered an introduction to the music of these bands. The success of the venture was however mixed. While ELP's offering was excellent both in terms of quality and musicianship, "Earthbound" did little to encourage the casual buyer to investigate King Crimson further.
The recording quality is little better than that of a bootleg with distortion aplenty, indeed, the sleeve notes actually state that the recordings were captured on a stereo cassette! To be fair, the cassette recorder was plugged into the mixer (sound board), this is not a microphone recording.
Looking through the mist, we find five tracks in total. An 11 minute rendition of "21st century schizoid man" kicks things off, the substantial lengthening of the song being due to improvisations on guitar by Robert Fripp, and sax by Mel Collins. Greg Lake's vocal is replaced by that of Boz Burrell, who rather struggles with the intricacies of the song. It's all rather messy with a distinctive feel of being under-rehearsed. The fact that by the time of these recordings the band was down to a four-piece, with most of the original members having moved on, clearly has a significant impact in this respect.
Two of the five tracks are new compositions, credited to all four current band members. In reality, "Peoria" and "Earthbound" are little more than lengthy jam sessions. Both tracks even find Burrell indulging in vocal improvisation! One can only imagine what those people in the audience who had turned up expecting to hear "Epitaph" and "Court of the crimson king" must have thought.
"The sailor's tale" fades in as "Peoria" fades out, presumably the cassette must have needed turning over at this point. The track is the only one taken from the band's then current album "Islands", Mel Collins moving to mellotron since Fripp is still on his guitar. This track at least has some semblance of a structure, but once again we have a rapid and unsatisfactory fade before it actually ends.
The final track, "Groon" was not considered worthy of a place on an album in its original 3 minute form as a single B-side. Quite why then it would become a 15½ minute monster here is especially puzzling.
Much has been made over the years of the sound quality of these recordings being the reason the album is poor. In reality, the sound is all too audible, it is the lazy, hope you like our new direction performances which are the real disappointment. All "Earthbound" did was to show that the majesty of the band's early mellotron drenched works was well and truly behind them. Avoid!



The version of 21st Century Schizoid Man is pretty lame, save for Fripp's guitar solo, which is all over the place and might actually be one of his best if it could be heard in decent sound quality. Peoria is some jazzy funk; same with Earthbound, which reminds me of the rock/jazz/funk found on any Les McCann/Eddie Harris album of the same era. Sailor's Tale is just okay. Get Islands instead.
That leaves Groon, which is the only reason anyone would actually purchase this, it being generally unavailable on any other official release of the time. Groon is one strange duck, an extenuation of the jazz tendencies on display on Lizard and Island, though it too eventually devolves into the aforementioned rock/jazz/funk.
Realistically, this will only appeal to KC completists, which is the only reason I own it.

Another seldom documented feature on this album is the funkyness of the band. Peoria is like a 7 minute funk jam, and this really gives a sense of fresh air.
Anyway, it starts of with the loudest band you'll ever hear by Crimson. The 21st Century Schizoid Man makes his appearance in the form of Boz Burrell. The ear-shattering vocals are superb, with the cracks and pops in the background only contributing to the raw power of the performance itself. Then follows the, in my opinon, best damn guitar solo in the history of recorded audio. Absolutely furious fretwork by Bobby Fripp, almost drowning out the others with his lightning fast playing. This is the kind of energy I'm talking about!
Peoria, of course, is a delightful funk-jam. Lovely and smooth saxophone improvisation by Mel, and of course the scat-vocals by Boz make this a great track. Wah-wah soaked guitar playing by Fripp and the meticolous time-keeping skills of Ian contribute to the cake, but doesn't really quite make the icing. Instead, the slow fade-in of the Sailor's Tale is where it's at! This track is an amazing showcase for Fripp and Collins, who duel it out for the intro. We are then treated with some lovely Fripp playing. It fades out with some loud drum fills by Ian. I'd wished it would've been a bit longer though.
Earthbound, the title track, is another funky track. Boz kindly thanks the audience, before it kicks into gear. It's a large showcase for Collins and Fripp, but again Boz contributes with scat-vocals. Great improvisation throughout. And while it may sound as if Ian is nothing more than just a rhythm-keeper, don't worry. You'll see why I haven't mentioned him soon.
Groon is the last and by far longest track on the album. Standing at 15 minutes and 26 seconds in duration, this is another saxophone-based jam. And it's bloody well the best sax playing I've heard in a long time! Fast, jazzy and long are three keywords to the saxophone playing in this song. After some 6 odd minutes of great saxophone playing, it seems the players settle down a bit. But oh no... Do you hear it? The light tapping of a ride cymbal. Oh yes ladies and gentlemen, it's time for sir Ian to take the throne. Beginning quite slowly, it turns into an out-right battering of the poor toms. The pure powerhouse that is Ian Wallace spares no drum skins for this. But the scary thing is that he keeps this raw energy for four whole minutes. Madness! Finally, strange effects carry on over the drumming, before it ends on an apocalyptic note by Fripp.
Overall, if you're a Crimson fan, get this album. Beyond the obviously bad sound quality there is loads of fantastic musicianship and amazing playing. If you're not a King Crimson fan, stay away from this. It will probably leave you quite shaken. 4 Stars!



In 1985 the singer of the band in which I was playing then, after knowing that I liked King Crimson`s USA live album, told me: "The live version of "Schizoid Man" from their "Earthbound" album is better!. In 1991, one German friend from one of my brothers, while being in my city on Holidays, asked me: "Is it true that you have the "Earthbound" album?". I said to him, "No, I don`t have it". He then said to me: "But your brother told me that you have it!" (my brother knew that I have the "USA " album, but as he never has liked King Crimson he didn`t remember the name of that live album, so he thought that it was called "Earthbound"). I said to him: "No. The only live album that I have from King Crimson is called "USA" . He was a bit disappointed but as he never have listened to "USA" too, he recorded it in a cassette before returning to his country. (The "USA" album was also a "rarity" in 1991, because it wasn`t available on C.D. then).
I have to say that in 1979-80 I found in some record shops several very expensive L.P. copies imported from England from this "Earthbound" album. I was a bit curious then to buy it but the prices were so high than I never bought it then, and another reason was that the back cover said that it was recorded using a cassette tape recorder, so I really expected a bad quality recording. I also didn`t know then why this album wasn`t released in the U.S. Now that I have it on C.D. I know the reason: maybe this album shouldn`t have been released. Why Fripp released a cheap live recording from his band? Why he didn`t use a more professional recording equipment to record this line-up in concert? I don`t know. Maybe he had some budget restricitions then.
This is really a "Schizophrenic" album, because some of the tracks are not very representative of the original musical style of the band. "Schizoid Man", "A Sailor`s Tale" and "Groon", which were released on previous studio albums ("Groon" was first released as the B-side of the "Cat Food" single in 1970, until being included in the remastered C.D. of the "In the Wake of Poseidon" album) , obviously sound in the original musical style of the band. The live improvised tracks, "Peoria" and "Earthbound", while sounding good and interesting in some parts, sound more like played by another band in a Jazz-Rock-Blues-Funky style. The musicians in this line-up are very good and they played interesting things, in my opinion. I don`t think that Boz Burrell was a bad singer / bass player. Ian Wallace and Mel Collins are also very good musicians, and both particularly shine in some moments. Fripp`s guitar playing is also very good, sometimes a bit noisy, but good. Wallace plays a very good dums solo on "Groon", and Collins plays a lot of very good solos on his sax in most songs
The live version of "Schizoid Man" is very good, more close to the original studio version in some parts due to Collins`sax playing. Wallace also plays the song more in the style of Michael Giles, the original drummer of the band. I like this live version, but I also like the live version which was released in their "USA" album.
The worst thing in this album is the recording, which sounds as a Bootleg, as many reviewers wrote. The performances are not bad, and this album has some interesting things. This is a Heavy live album from this band, not bad, but not of enough quality in the recordings to be sold now in the record shops in the same prices as better live recordings fom this band and others. Now I now why Fripp didn`t want this album to be released on C.D. It is more for Collectors / Dedicated Fans only.
After being for several years "a rarity and a mystery", now I have this album. Now I can see why I didn`t buy it in 1979-80. I was right. The recordings are of bad quality, as expected.
Two members of this line-up are now dead: Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace died a few years ago. RIP.


When I'm telling TERRIBLE, it doesn't means, that sound is plain, or bad mixed, or too rounded, as often happens, when we're speaking about recording quality of other albums. NO! The quality is terrible in direct sense, sound was recorded ot portative recorder (of that time) and just put on the disc as it is.
It's a mainly reason, why it's almost not possible to speak about album's music: what you are hearing there remains sound, recorded from radio from 70-th.
For a long it was very limited possibility to listen live sound of KC from early years. After USA album, "Earthbound" missed that exclusivity. And now, when you can choose perfect "The Great Deceiver"from the same era, only crazy KC-maniac could be interested in "Earthbound".

As a King Crimson fan since '81 (via their appearance on the late night show FRIDAYS), I've avoided this album for many years due to the extremely hostile and venomous bad rap it gets from fans and critics alike. Fortunately, last year I stopped listening and decided to check this album out out of sheer curiosity. I figured "How bad can this really be?" The answer: this (along with the many other fine live albums of this particular line up from the King Crimson Collector's Club series) kicks the blithering crap out of ISLANDS (which I always considered to be Crimson's weakest album, despite minor gems like "The Sailor's Tale" and "Ladies Of The Road").
Ever since hearing the aforementioned better quality live outings from the KCCC, the '72 line up has been really growing on me. This was a band that seemed to be dominated by Mel Collins and Ian Wallace, as far as live presence goes. And we're all aware of the tension that's on display here: Fripp struggling to maintain some sort of control while the other three are Hellbent on turning Crimson into some kind of monster r&b/funk jam band. Yes, the sound quality is "bad", but it does nothing to diminish the Hellish intensity of these performances. In fact, it's almost appropriate. I will go out on a limb and say that this is their METALLIC K.O. The primary difference is (besides the musical genre), EARTHBOUND is the sound of a band at war with itself rather than with the audience. And it's hard, raw, gritty, unhinged, and angry. It is truly the Anti-ISLANDS. Crimson was (is?) one of the very few prog bands who weren't afraid to attack their audiences with occasional aural psychotic ugliness and still exhibit the precision that this genre is known for. It's just that in this case, it wasn't the kind of musical violence that Fripp had planned.
This album's "21st Century Schizoid Man" is flat-out mean, with Boz's crazy modulated vocal and Wallace's herd-of-elephants drumming. Probably the most urgent version I've heard yet. "Peoria" is a stomping Goliath of a funk jam, with Boz's wonderfully ridiculous scatting and Fripp being forced into some Reggie Lucas-style comping (and he pulls it off!). "The Sailor's Tale" is good, but merely a tease as it gets cut off too soon. "Earthbound" is full of rock/funk swagger, with a heavy beat, a bit more of Boz's purist-offending scatting, Fripp loosening up a bit, and Collins' fine sax playing. This track also gets cut off early, and it seems to be a primitive precursor to some of the live improvs of the '73/'74 line up, at least rhythmically. "Groon" is a wobbly jazz-rock ramble, complete with with some of Boz's excited and seemingly drunken yelling and hollering in the background. Things get really out-there when the electronic effects attach themselves to Wallace's thundering drum solo like the face-hugger in ALIEN. It ends with Fripp playing a few doomy, sustained notes which decay into quiet amp humming. What a glorious mess!
I think we all agree that this is Crimson's runt of the litter. But it's much more than that. It's a grainy black & white snapshot of a band's dying incarnation on the edge. Think of a large, bellowing beast in its death throes with a few spears stuck in its side, and you've got the picture. I completely dig it.

"Peoria" the name of an Indian Tribe, and the town where it was recorded. Nothing indian about it, as some might hope, straight forward beat music, simple track, with a very simple vocal !, but a nice feel to it. The sound still pretty bad, but better than most tracks here. Collins does a long solo, in the beginning, fine, but nothing glorius there either. Fripp fine rythm guitar stuff, a bit like on "The Sailor's Tale" but less impressive, it is a Jam !. The jamming goes on for 7.22 long minutes !
"The Sailor's Tale", again the sound so bad. Drums and bass drowning in the mix. And the version not even a good one, sad !
"Earthbound", well another Jam, maybe a bit better than "Peoria", Fripp's soloing is nice, but at this point You just dont care that much anymore, where is the King Crimson we all love ?
"Groon", same feel to it as in "Peoria", but now more complicated, making it way more interesting. Constant soloing from Fripp/Collins, more breaking, more bass diversity. The track ending out in one of those 70's drum solo's, like Bonham would play it live. I love good drumming, but 7+ minutes of drum solo, I can live without it. Second half is played trough a Synz, making it more experimental, or honestly, even more boring.
This is a recording of the kind, that should be given as a free copy when you buy Islands. Its not worth the price of shipment, unless you are the die hardest Fripp collector.

The major problem with Earthbound is, of course, the recording quality. Why the band's label thought this botched recording to cassette (1972-quality cassette, at that) would ever be acceptable for mass release is beyond me, but there you go. On top of that, I *think* that the performances captured on this muzzy, horribly mixed recording are quite sub-par: there's a version of 20th Century Schizoid Man in which the instrumental soloing sections make it quite clear that only two of the band members (Mel Collins and, of course, the honourable Robert Fripp) even remotely possess the chops of the 1969 lineup, a similarly uninteresting performance of Groon, a passable (though still ruined by the recording quality) stab at The Sailor's Tale, and two new jams (Peoria and Earthbound) which consist of Boz boringly scatting into the microphone whilst the band make a fumbling and altogether half- hearted attempt at something resembling funk, both of which are unbearable.
I say I "think" the performances are sub-par - I can't say for sure because the recording quality is so bad I could easily imagine that any good there may have been in these renditions has been washed out by the tape recording. Trust me, the sound quality is terrible, to the point where it sounds like half the album was recorded in the next room away from where the band were playing. And in this day and age, there is no earthly reason why anyone who wasn't a completely uncritical King Crimson fan should feel obliged to track Earthbound down. When one considers all the many, many alternative live Crimson releases - every single one of which is superior to this one - the fact that the thing actually got reissued from time to time is completely baffling. It's a horribly recorded record of below average performances from a comparatively unimportant lineup of King Crimson.
Get USA, get Absent Friends, get the Great Deceiver box, get the Projekts material, get Epitaph, get Ladies of the Road, and get all the other King Crimson live material you could ever want in the world before you even consider wasting a scrap of your money on this one. As far as King Crimson's discography goes, this is as close as it gets to the bottom of the barrel unless you're willing to dabble in bootlegs - and most bootlegs will sound better than this turkey.

The recording quality, as many have already said, is poor. It was recorded on a cassette deck from a mixer at a series of concerts in 1972. That doesn't excuse to poor sound. The more recent Collectors Club releases indicate that there were better tapes available.
As for the performances themselves, it's obvious that Boz Burrell at that time was a sub-par bassist, and although some recordings show him as passable, here he is an embarassingly bad vocalist. Ian McDonald, we know, was a pretty good drummer, although not up to the level of any of the other Crimson drummers before or after him, but he does a fair job on these tracks. Robert Fripp and Mel Collins play well, as always.
So, performancewise, I would give this three stars. But the poor sound, and bootleg style editing, like entering The Sailors Tale in the middle of the song, rate only one star.
So by the average, two stars.

If you were doing a bit of a research on that album, you may have realized by then that the band and the album caught some fire of criticism because the band did some crappy performances that were recorded on a cassette. Well, I have some breaking news for you: I did not think the performances were crappy, nor was the sound quality a big deal for my eardrums to be able to appreciate what was happening on this record.
The album opens with an incendiary version of "21st Century Schizoid Man", where the drummer Ian Wallace is doing a lot of justice to the piece. Also, I don't mind the slightly excessive distortion of Boz Burrell's vocals. If I couldn't understand what Greg Lake sung on the opener of the band's debut, then it's only fair to add a little more, right? And doesn't it sound like Boz was faking his emotions? If so, then so did Greg, right? But who cares? The band is there to deliver! Now, why did I rate this track with a four? For one thing, it's the sound quality on the tape, but it's no biggie. Second of all, there is nothing new, truly fresh, or groundbreaking that the band had to offer. There are no surprises, so you can already imagine what the whole track sounds like. But still, this is a truly decent version. The track sounds good to me.
Then there goes "Peoria." What is "Peoria"? It's an interesting title for an average funky/bluesy rhythm track. At least no one there shows off for the sake of the show, no technical inconsistencies, no intentional drawbacks whatsoever, unless you count the lack of an emotional lead solo as a drawback.
Then there goes "The Sailor's Tale." This one is not superior to the rendition on "Islands" because it's shorter. A very good excerpt was cut out unless it was actually poorly executed live and, like with the "Schizoid Man", there's nothing truly innovative. Still, I can't find any good reason to pull its rating down to three as long as the musicians keep it tight.
You could think of the title track as the precursor to some of the jams on the the band's album "Starless and Bible Black." This is where Fripp polishes his economical guitar style (perchance something along the lines of ambient in mid- and late 70's) and Ian Wallace sounds like he took from Bill Bruford (or is it Bruford who took from Wallace? Or maybe nobody took from anybody else in that case?), but that's good. I don't mind another Bruford. And that's it. A very adequate jam. A band's sound in a development. They are cool as long as they keep on rocking. Boz's scat-singing is extraneous, just really in the way, but it's not much. I can't complain big time. The track sounds tight enough for me. No huge reservations.
Last, but not least, is the album's final track, the insane "Groon". I wanted to give this one a five because the first time I heard it, I skipped to the second half and heard some crazy sound affects accompanying Wallace's berserk drumming. This is actually one of those few cases where self-indulgence does not bother me. I actually found this kind of listening experience to be very rewarding. The drumming (which lasts about eight minutes) and the experimentation may be out of control, but you know what? Some people want longer freak-outs. In the case of Yes, some people want longer adventures. Sounds fair? And then, after all the intense drumming, the sax kicks in, and Mr. Fripp closes the deal. Oh, how he closes the deal, man.
Now, here is the kicker, though. When I heard the first half of the jam, I changed my mind. This is where self-indulgence was really grinding my ears: Mel Collins' saxophone performance can be thought of as simply dismal at first, but when I got used to it, it did not bother me as much. Now that first half of the track sounds pretty listenable to me but it doesn't really grab me. The whole track is now left with four stars.
1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" - **** ; 2. "Peoria" - ** ; 3. "The Sailor's Tale" - **** ; 4. "Earthbound" - **** ; 5. "Groon" - ****
Recommended for people who just can't get enough of the Ole King Crimson's jamming, minus the Mellotron, and want a bit of sonic wackiness to go with that.

This is a genuine misfire on almost every level. The band themselves were in a transitional stage. Gordon Haskell was out replaced by Boz Burrell who does not do the songs justice either vocally or on bass. The saving grace of Mel Collins' sax is at least something to look forward to and one cannot dispute the towering guitar work of legendary prog hero Robert Fripp. Even the set list lacks something with waste of space B side 'Groon' and dull 'Peoria'. The 6:44 edit of 'Groon' on "The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Vol 1" box set is better and interestingly the box set has an edited 9:47 version of '21st Century Schizoid Man', minus the vocals that is, as they no doubt realised how bad Boz sounded.
The sound is as good as I could get if I had been there at Wilmington, Peoria, Jacksonville and Orlando venues recording on my boom box cassette recorder. Actually scratch that, it is worse as I would not have recorded static feedback and drop outs. At times the sound is low fi and muffled, at other times it eats static, and occasionally it is a notch above tolerable. For some reason this was as good as the band could do, yet in the 70s there were plenty of live albums that bury this in terms of sound quality. It really sounds like a bad bootleg and perhaps should have remained out of circulation to surface as bonus tracks to CDs in later years rather than released as official. Listeners would be more forgiving if they were mere bonus tracks.
In June 9th 1972 when "Earthbound" was released in England, the US Atlantic label actually declined to release it on the grounds that it had poor sound quality. Also that same year King Crimson split up, and the following month of the album's release in July Bruford, Wetton, Muir and Cross reformed the band with Fripp as the sole survivor. When Bruford quit Yes 'Melody Maker' likened it to "Rolls quitting Royce". Nevertheless this record testifies to the fractured state of the band, and it is not a pretty sound.
It is difficult to forgive this quality no matter how much you love the band, it is truly the worst you will hear on an official release. We have a raw whispy gutless sound though the band are so energetic and heavy that I can still sit through most of this. You have to be in the right frame of mind to purposely subject your ears to such a cacophony of noise but King Crimsonites will do so relatively easily. It is the archival nature of the material that holds the interest as this was the early phase of the Crims and is a one off live record. The "USA" live album to follow later in 1975 is a better choice of course but the band were tighter and as a cohesive unit were outstanding musically. Boz is the main culprit here who only learnt bass at Fripp's training in a desperate attempt to quickly replace Haskell. This concert followed in the wake of "Islands" where Boz sounded better and then he was replaced quickly by John Wetton just in time for the awesome "Lark's Tongues in Aspic". Bill Bruford was also a better drummer, streets ahead of Ian Wallace who had replaced Andy McCulloch. Peter Sinfield jumped ship indefinitely so it is clear that there was a lot of tension in the band with all these changes.
It is disappointing that the quality is so under par because the music itself is rather excellent. The brilliant '21st Century Schizoid Man' is certainly one of the best things on it and worth getting hold of. It exists on CD on the box set of King Crimson so it is not worth hunting down "Earthbound" if one already has this track. I was astounded at how bad the sound is and with all the live material available these days the album exists as more of a collector's only item or for archival records rather than an essential purchase.


If I were polemic I'd call this record the first black metal album of music history. In these years certain musicians of the black metal genre also feed their aggressive artworks through lots of tape recorders time and time again in order to get the necessary amount of brutality in the production. People might rightly argue that the band didn't record it in bad sound quality deliberately. That's absolutely true, of course. But Robert Fripp, an intelligent man with a frequently critical attitude towards his own work, surely released this recording deliberately. The band history reveals that the band somehow wanted to undermine the bootleggers' activities by bootlegging their own concerts with a primitive broadcast vehicle. If they had had the modern means of production, they would surely have recorded their shows with better equipment. But, looking back to the year of 1972, they wouldn't have published this thing if they hadn't been convinced by certain qualities of this recording: maybe the raw power, the cathartic performance or the unusual funk jams.
The one sufficient reason for getting this CD is this version of 21st Century Schizoid Man. King Crimson sound as if they were demolishing the whole stage - not a bit of clarity, just cristallised energy devouring your internal ear. Mel Collins' saxophone shrieks, Robert Fripp bathes in oceans of feedback, Boz Burrell screams through Pete Sinfield's VCS3 machine and lets the original Greg Lake version appear pale in comparison to this frantic exorcism. Sailor's Tale is very similar, albeit with Mellotron input and at least some moments which are a bit pastoral.
The point is that King Crimson don't care about anything on this record - and this is the inspiring point about it. The drum solo of Groon, also fed through the VCS3 machine, is ugly and overlong, but still amazes you due to its recklessness. Boz Burrell's scatting in Earthbound and Peoria is ugly and off-key, the funk rhythms are dull - but again it's this certain artistic arrogance which grabs you. The only fault of the album is that the similarly destructive version of Circus by this King Crimson line-up is missing.
Admittedly, I've never ever listened to this album in its entirety. I do listen to 21st Century Schizoid Man several times in a month, however, actually every time when I'm disposed to remind myself how much force and energy a 4-piece band line-up can convey. The sound quality is awful, it's - as I've said - close to being unlistenable, but I have tremendous respect for the band having put this stuff out.

One of these albums is Earthbound, which until the late 1990's, was the only live (official) document of the short-lived "Islands"-era line-up, featuring the late Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace, along with saxist Mel Collins. The album is infamous for its extremely-poor audio quality, a result of the album being hastily picked by Robert Fripp from the collection of tapes gathered over the group's final U.S. tour that winter.
On Earthbound, there are few things to be familiar with, as the only recognizable recordings include: 21st Schizoid Man, The Sailor's Tale, and Groon. Everything else, however, are what Fripp calls "jams", and not actual "improvs", for this particular incarnation of King Crimson were more accustomed to blues-based jams and not the meticulous improvisations that was somewhat present in the previous live incarnation and would be a big part of future incarnations of Crimson.
Kicking off the album, Schizoid Man, even in its poor quality, is able to sound pretty stellar. The group, grinding along intensely, with Burrell's growling vocals, gives an edge to the apocalyptic lyric; although it doesn't really show Burrell's vocal prowess as it did with other performances. The improv drives the song along even further, building up to an explosive finale, before being abruptly cut off.
One of the two new songs on Earthbound, Peoria is much more relaxed than the previous track, giving Mel Collins a chance to show his chops as a saxist. Burrell also uses this time to mumble around, weakening the track itself. Earthbound although, is about as good as indulging in cat food, with Burrell adding even more unnecessary scat vocals to the track, although it is pretty rousing and cheerful. Behind these two jams showed the internal issues of the band. Fripp losing control of his own band, was the victim of a mutiny of some sort. The other tracks, The Sailor's Tale and Groon, feature impressive playing by the band, the latter being one of the best renditions of the track, despite being cut off earlier than usual. Groon features the band working as a unit, before Wallace takes the helm for his VCS3-infused drum solo, channeling Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Only after the solo is finally over, does the band come back in before fading out, ending the album.
Earthbound, throughout the long forty-one years it has been out, has always been known for how jarring it was to the ear and how it went against everything Fripp had done quality-wise in the previous and coming years. It was and is notoriously weak, to the point where Fripp attempted to "delete" the album, rendering it hard to find, before customer demand forced him to release it several years later. It was bad to the point where Atlantic Records, the band's North American label, absolutely refused to release it, and was released on E.G.'s budget label due to its quality alone.
Thinking about, this album could've been much better, and definitely much worse. From what was released twenty years later on the "King Crimson Collector's Club", Fripp had far much more shows to choose from, but for one reason or another, chose the worst possible recordings, surprising for someone who is known for high quality recordings. In general, there was so much wasted potential, both on this album, and for this particular incarnation of King Crimson. I really wanted to like it and all, but with the exception of Schizoid Man and Peoria, there's simply nothing here to enjoy in this mess of bogged-down sound that is called a "live album". To put this review in four words: "It's not worth it." Nothing here is worth your time, and while there are some enjoyable aspects to Earthbound, the effort put forth here is just downright shameful.

With four studio albums under their collective belt, King Crimson released their first live record in 1972. When hearing it now the first thing one notices is that the sound quality is less than optimal. The second thing one notices is that the performances are not as good as they should be either. Thirdly, the selections do not at all well represent the band's output up to that time. They open the disc with a rather half-baked performance of the great 21st Century Schizoid Man originally from the 1969 debut In The Court Of The Crimson King. Nothing at all is included from the follow-up album In The Wake Of Poseidon but instead they play a non-album b-side from a single taken from that album. Originally this b-side with the odd title of Groon had conventional b-side length but here they drag it out to an incredible 15 plus minutes complete with an aimless drum solo and it is a real challenge to sit through the whole thing. The band's third album Lizard is also overlooked here and one song is taken from the then current Islands. The tracks Peoria and Earthbound appeared here for the first time and are not included on any studio album.
What's more, at this time in the band's history key members like Ian McDonald, Michael Giles, and Greg Lake had moved on leaving Robert Fripp alone and having to bring in new people. On this occasion the line-up consists of Mel Collins, Ian Wallace, and Boz Burrell. This is hardly one of the best remembered formations and perhaps for good reason. Boz Burrell was not really right for the band and his awful ad lib vocalisations here prove it.
Earthbound is best avoided unless you are a completionist.


Surprisingly, by the time this line-up went on tour in early 1972, it was already decided that they will disband afterwards. Yet, they played with remarkable enthusiasm and almost in a visionary way. What came out as "Earthbound" is a selection of tracks performed in the US in Feb/March 1972. Interestingly, Fripp chose to publish largely improvised tracks, contrary to that the band had also performed pieces from their first four studio albums at the same venues. (Much of the complete performances had been made available under the umbrella of the King Crimson Collectors Club.)
The style is a combination of heavy Rock and Jazz, but not to be confused with Jazz-Rock as a genre. Fripp plays furious guitar often venturing into Jazz territory. This is beautifully complemented by Mel Collins on saxes. Boz, who was very fond of Jazz, but himself a rather mediocre musician is also at this best here. His scat vocals and heavy bass are probably the best that I know of. Add Ian Wallace with his mega-heavy chops on the skins and it is an experience I wouldn't want to be without.
The music itself is 5 stars for my taste. Sadly, it was recorded onto a Lo-Fi cassette player, technology at an elementary stage back in 1972, more of a novelty then. In recent years a 24-bit remaster with somewhat improved sound quality was released on CD.

Robert Fripp was persuaded to entirely reform and restructure King Crimson with a new musical direction and with a new line up. However, as the band had a live tour commitment, he took the decision to dismember the band only after that live tour. The recordings from this live tour were later recorded as the "Earthbound" live album, which became their debut live album and which was released in 1972. So, "Earthbound" became also the farewell album of this line up, with Robert Fripp (electric guitar), Boz Burrell (vocals and bass guitar), Mel Collins (alto, tenor and baritone saxophones and mellotron) and Ian Wallace (drums).
"Earthbound" has five tracks. The live recordings of the tracks were taken from several locations. The first track "21st Century Schizoid Man" was recorded at the Armoury, Wilmington, Delaware, USA, in 11 February 1972. The second track "Peoria" was recorded at the Barn, Peoria, Illinois, USA, in 10 March 1972. The third track "The Sailor's Tale" was recorded at the Baseball Park, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, in 26 February 1972. The fourth track, the title track "Earthbound", was recorded at Kemp Coliseum, Orlando, Florida, USA, in 27 February 1972. The fifth track "Groon" was also recorded at the Armoury, Wilmington, Delaware, USA, in 11 February 1972.
About the tracks and their performance I need to write some lines. "21st Century Schizoid Man" was originally recorded on their debut studio album "In The Court Of The Crimson King" released in 1969. These eleven minutes live version isn't bad at all. It's my favourite second track on the album. However, in contrary to the opinion of some other reviewers, I consider this live version inferior of that was performed on their second live album "USA". "Peoria" is a live improvisation of a piece of music that was never released on any studio album of them. This is a kind of an energetic jazz/funky groove song with some quality and played well. However, in my humble opinion, it isn't a very impressive piece of music, and honestly, I think that it's a little bit an outsider on the band's music. "The Sailor's Tale" was originally recorded on their fourth studio album "Islands" released in 1971. This is, for me, the best track on the album. It's a very good live piece of music and the most symphonic of all on the album. However, it isn't as good as their studio version. "Earthbound" is another improvised live song that was also never released on any studio album of them. This is another track with a kind of an energetic jazz/funky groove in the same vein of "Peoria". This is another song that I also think it's a little bit out of their musical context. "Groon" is a rare song which was released for the first time as the B-side of their single "Cat Food"/"Groon" and wasn't available on any studio album of the band. Sincerely, this is my less favourite track on the album. I really think that is a great monstrosity. First of all "Groon", on its studio version has only 3 minutes and on this live version has about 15 minutes. This wouldn't be bad if its live improvisation was good. Sadly, this isn't the case. By the other hand, I must say that I like very much of the typical live solo drums of the 70's. I really like of good drumming. But on this track, the 7 minutes of a drum solo slow and without flame, it's boring and honestly, I can live perfectly without it. Finally, on a live album, the musical improvisation can be free, but all musicians must play together as a band. But on this live album, and in particular on this track, this isn't the case. When I listen to "Groon", I have the sensation that each musician performs alone what they really want.
Conclusion: "Earthbound" is the most obscure, atypical and failed King Crimson's album, and I'm sure that it wasn't a coincidence that was the last band's album to get reissued on a CD format. In my opinion, several reasons contributed to that. In the first place, I'm perfectly sure that the Fripp's decision of dismember the band, brought demotivation and some tension in the band's members. In the second place, make only a live tour just to meet their contractual commitments, was certainly another factor of poor motivation. In the third place, probably the main reason, this isn't for sure one of the best King Crimson's line up. Excluding Fripp and Collins, which are really excellent musicians, Burrell and Wallace are, with respect, slightly below to the minimum quality level required for this band. I'm convinced that with John Wetton and Bill Bruford, it would have been a better album. In the fourth place, the choice of the band's repertoire wasn't the best that the group had written until the time, with the exceptions of "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "The Sailor's Tale". The last but not the least reason, its sound quality is really awful. The information that the recordings were captured live on an ampex stereo cassette recorder in the rain and from the back of a Volkswagen truck, says it all. So, with all these conditions reunited together, "Earthbound" had to be a huge failure. Sincerely, I must confess that I hesitated to rate "Earthbound" with 1 or 2 stars. Finally, I decided to give it only 1 star because I can find on it very few of positive and I need to be fair with some other albums that I rated with 2 stars.
Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Earthbound was recorded on the Islands tour with Boz Burrell on vocals, Ian Wallace on drums, Mel Collins on saxes, flutes and mellotron. This was not supposed to be released, and Fripp himself tried to prevent its release and even get it discontinued. On first listen the reason is obvious - the sound quality here is not up to even basic standards of an official live album. There is lots of saturation, the peaks distort, and it sounds like it was recorded by an audience member on an old cassette machine. And the tape runs out in the middle of Sailors Tale. Fripp also likely wanted to prevent its release because he was not happy with this band. According to Sid Smith's Fripp-sanctioned biography of Crimson, there were times during the tour when Fripp was in a grumpy mood, so the band retaliated by doing blues improvisations, which Fripp never wanted to do - he would sit there during the whole blues tune with his arms crossed. Saying this, any Crimson fan should have this in their catalogue. There are two improvs, which are not blues per se, but nonetheless very raw funky jams (with Fripp playing). Boz scat sings on these, and his voice is rough. But they feel real and gutsy, the opposite of polished and sleek. The version of Schizoid Man is actually really excellent here - again raw and loud, with some great sax and drum solos. But the real gem here is the 15 minute version of 'Groon'. This tune otherwise can only be found as the b-side to the original Cat Food single, and on that it is a short and unassuming instrumental. But on this live album, it is a monster, with tons of great improvisations and dark menacing soundscapes. Awesome track. Because of the poor sound quality and rough performance, I can't go above 3 stars, and could not recommend this for the novice. But if you find you really like the improv side of early Crimson, you will want this album. On balance, my rating is 7.0 out of 10 on my 10-point scale (which translates in the PA world to mid 3 stars).
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knorkator (Andrew)
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Voytus
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plinius (Achille)
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mosesfusion (Moses Talbot)
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Rush77 (Ryan)
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Viribus Unitis (Yuriy Mushta)
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genesis91 (brais espuña villar)
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darkshade (Mike) COLLABORATOR Jazz Rock/Fusion Team
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Thommy Rock (Thomas)
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danielfortin (Daniel Fortin)
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Pelfraps (Simon Bramhall)
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freedombasquecountry
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Pagan (Steve)
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The Unifawn
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Timicianu (Roman)
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LuKcho (Luís Gomes)
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yoldiasea
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ceccobebi (moonchild)
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lord777lord7 (Kuehne, Axel)
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vertigojc (Juan Carlos Macurí)
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TALIESYN
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A B Negative (Alan)
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Hallogallo (Allan)
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pigman73 (Wayne)
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tallliman
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brogdonius
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Clash (Uldis)
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rwagom
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Lynx33 (Balázs Markó)
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barp
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familleS (Fanny)
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Hagu
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BarryGlibb (B)
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Grinischki (Benoit Martel)
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twiller (Gennaro Garramone)
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The Rock (Alain Mallette)
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dingo_virgin (Francesco)
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akaBona
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Jan Jansky Stefan (Jan Stefan)
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Chunkydub (Stuart)
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proslambanomenos (Keith)
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Rikki Nadir (Luis)
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Lemmings (Naji Chmayssani)
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richby
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valravennz (Penny)
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melpavel (Pavel Melichar)
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besotoxico (Beso Toxico)
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spacelover (Constantin)
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progknight94 (alessandro gambarotto)
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vinivini
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Brainback
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red.freeskier (Dmitry)
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Wanorak (Jeff Nichols)
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cloudynow
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paolo.beenees (Paolo)
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patday34 (Patrick Day)
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Yandr (Andrianov)
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Clive Codringher
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Mitrandir_Prog (Dmitriy)
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laphirax (P. Helminen)
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zhiterplayer86 (mariano)
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magoatem (Fabio Poggi)
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Talybont
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Zustang (Doron Barness)
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Serg (Sergey)
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jean-marie (Same)
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lunarston (Vyacheslav)
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TOMMYARZACHEL (Tommaso Stefano Zanetti)
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boom
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ElBoyoLoco
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NovaCat (Robert Schuster)
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el_topo_1990 (Florian Jurzitza)
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vdgg9
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MintySnares
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ssudak (Alex Sudak)
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playbass (Nathan Gilbert)
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CatFood
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Malanorn
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Loren (Loren)
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gacek778 (Daniel)
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ragazzi65 (Volkmar Mantei)
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Progghettaro
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progstreaming (Markwin Meeuws)
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ole-the-first (Oleg)
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Pintos (Sasha)
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Pilot (Andrze Romaszkiwicz)
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palinurus
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al b
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ibnacio (Ignacio A. García Valdivia)
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hiro (Takano Hiroyuki)
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Crimzonite (Benjamin)
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Capt Fongsby (Bob Arctor)
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DarkSebat (MrocznySebat)
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kwilli86 (kevin)
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rafaelwho (Rafael)
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sirioanaav (Carolina)
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Progmind (Rodrigo)
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moebius
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hawkzen (Kenneth Borody)
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sl75 (Simon)
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tinoslav (Martin Lacny)
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miedj (Deret Dominique)
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LucasFloyd
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spacelounge (Jack)
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Gosgi (Pekka Koski)
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nipnip (Daniel Grau)
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Wildemusic
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Progvaed (Victor)
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Psychomodo (Mike)
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Muumi
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Greger (Greger Rönnqvist) PROG REVIEWER
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ocasalif (Oscar Casali Fuentes)
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paisanojac (Jamal Achmad Hosseinpour)
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PinkFloydManiac1973 (Krishen R. Jalali)
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Itsacon (Alessandro)
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face 1004
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GCT (Carroll Todd)
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JohnCarlson (John Carlson)
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Dyg
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aerolit (Tom Wojcicki)
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zak88
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Gopo (Popescu Radu)
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mezio fufezio
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BORA
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Virvo
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jacquesduraques
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eduardofoxx13 (Eduardo)
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pkoski (Pekka Koski)
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Eria Tarka (WHO)
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LucianoProg (Luciano Assunção)
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honganji
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rikkinadir
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Daniela (Daniela)
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Progressive Ghost
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Progdrummernb
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robin09 (Krzysiek (Chris))
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nitramessahc
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nickncm (emilio)
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Yuiox
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Foovius (Foovius Foo)
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Rocketboy
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thrak1001 (marcel duchamp)
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10piccoliindiani (Gianluca)
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rs_wavemaker
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The Passion Play
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Caporegimi (Serj Rusk)
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fliertje (Frank van Lier)
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Xonty
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highlikestoned
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Rsa2 (Sergey)
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Jonny66
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Vano
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Minty
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ZBDMiller
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NoSonOfVine (Thomas)
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Umph1348
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Tain
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sssvnnn
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olafmel (Olaf)
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EGallager (Erick Gallager)
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dsbenson (Doug Benson)
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kaktus63 (pavel m)
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Davit (Davit Wellingmeyer)
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GaryD
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rockmonkey78 (Sean)
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Peter Baumann
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Klingonian
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uduwudu
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Sina_81 (Sina HM)
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ed14 (ILDAR)
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terrycross
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Chaosmonger
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Sztermel (Patryk)
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Wiesmin (Jacek)
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Imperial Zeppelin (Nasir)
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Gharvelt (Paul)
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Yonga (Arthur)
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Pretoriano (Fernando Fernández Garganta)
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Justamops
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Sargantana
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indiscipline (marcel duchamp)
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Philoufk
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pnfod (pedro)
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crimsogenes
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Chewie
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toadeda (Daniel TOADER)
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Zahler (S. Craig Zahler)
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lagos
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Progear (Progear)
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Fido73 (Etienne Brousseau)
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Pastichoni (Marco Cayuso)
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evolver1
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fisciletti (Fabio Fisciletti)
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Razalduria (Stan)
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Jihnik1958 (Evgeniy)
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Tedhead
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Mike1958
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intres (alain senut)
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HAWKWINDED (Dave)
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Alexx (Alexandr)
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albona (André Luiz Bona)
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Yogaprogyoda (William Jagger)
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Hazy7868
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simmo (Jonathan Simpson)
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ultima_estacion (mauricio iturra)
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Mithrandir_Prog (Dmitriy)
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Aqqle1 (Ed)
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hhurtadog (Héctor Hurtado)
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Maximuss (Massimo)
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leslie2013 (Leslie)
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Contrina (Ernesto Martin)
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MrHaddington (Cornelius)
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Panza (Andrew Edwards)
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koubi1 (John Koubiadis)
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TinoPP (Martin Lačný)
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marzach
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spacface (Dave)
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Passka (Čengele Mengele)
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ulysse22 (patrick gentet)
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jacekweb (Jacek Witkowski)
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ElverGobbi (Elver Gobbi)
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manga
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Lothirius (Lothar Betzer)
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alexanderkein (Alexander)
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wthii (Will Haight)
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KingZappa (Dean S)
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Glubluk (Glubluk)
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Richardw PROG REVIEWER
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Minty58 (Mike Blower)
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KK58 (Chris)
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Oogst (Joost van Dongen)
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grumis (Karl Kraus)
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adkulpa (adriano)
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Orchid (Alex)
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lexus (Serg)
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tonioquintero (Antonio)
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freewheeler62 (Komarov Sergei)
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rdgevb (Roberto)
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PROGNATURE BEAST (AGAMEMNON)
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szczepek1959 (Andrzej Szczepkowski)
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vandekree (Charles Van de Kree)
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pgenesis66 (alex)
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pinolo
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ses (Edvin Ek)
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Sugarcube (Angela)
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ProckROGue (Chris)
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dannyb
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mooghead (luis)
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Close To The Jazz (Justin Allen)
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Rumspringa (Babkov Alex)
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Nogger (Roger)
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Asiostygius (Jose Carlos)
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Malachite (Micaiah Webb)
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APartOfTheUniverse (Matthew)
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SkyVlad
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seventeas (Mick Broome)
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E.Enx (Ennio)
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svek (Sven Kremer)
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beeebon (Stephen Reed)
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karolcia (Piotr Lachowicz)
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Newsworth (Mike Blower)
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jacobaeus (Alberto Nucci)
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marulanda (Alex)
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Friday13th
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psgnw (Pat Garret)
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Pekka (Pekka Turunen)
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Squire348
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Luciano Cardozo (Cardozo Luciano Fabrizio)
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Allain (Senut)
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tangerine1974 (Marcin Seydel)
-
omphaloskepsis (Cindy Elliott)
-
HarryAngel746 (Maciej)
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