THE COLLECTABLE KING CRIMSON - VOL. 3 (LIVE AT THE SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE, LONDON, 1996)

Excellent antology opera. Crimso in double trio are very good. This work was made in London, 1996, and presents some mastrerpieces of King Crimson, as 21st century schzoid man, Larks' tongues in aspic, Red, Indiscipline. But all the songs present are very interesting, as Three of a perfect pair or Elephant talk. I known King Crimson in 1970, I was 14; it's impossible for me to stay without a daily listening of them. I think that this work is very important for all Crimson's fans, togheter collectable vol 1 e 2, of course.

I saw this version of KC at the Count Basie Theater, in Red Bank, New Jersey. For those who have not been there, this is a wonderful theater, acoustically, and nary a bad seat in the house. In any case the concert I saw had the Californiia Guitar Trio as the warm-up act. They were a great lead in to the headliners. The concert was incredible. Fripp was playing in the shadows, as has been the case with this tour. Trey Gunn and Tony Levin are different players but complemented each other. I think you could expand that comparison to the Pat Mastellato and Bill Bruford as well as Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp. Complementary, yet different.

This was the double trio's final concert and it was a special one, at that. Without the California Guitar Trio present to provide the warm-up, Fripp took center stage and provided over 20 minutes of soundscapes. The fans in England are a different breed. Rowdy, yet respectful. I doubt that a crowd that came to see KC in the USA would be as willing to allow Robert Fripp provide a wholly entertaining presentation as he did that night. The ending of his solo set blended in perfectly to the beginning of the KC set with Conundrum.

The set earlier in the tour only had Red as the representative song from pre-Discipline days. it was the lead off track and got the audience into a proper frenzy. Here is appears as the fourth track. It is such a powerful song that it stands out, regardless of its placement. You cannot bury Red.

Imagine the absolute joy I had listening to 21st Century Schizoid Man. As mentioned in the booklet, the piece had not been played live for many, many years. Yet, the band was in sync and in full bloom, playing this piece. Adrian Belew hinted at it during the ProjeKct sessions with a small tidbit played on vibes by him. So, I am guessing that it was his suggestion to play it and Fripp agreed.

There is not a duff track to be found on this release. All of it is superb. The chemistry was right. The band was very tight from touring. You couldn't ask for more from this version of KC. It is such a shame that this six menber group did not stay together long enough to produce another studio effort. I think the results would have been stunning.

A few things piss me off about Robert Fripp. First, his statement back in the late seventies declaring that the progressive bands of the time were "dinosaurs" (he would later make fun of that with a song by that title on Thrak, which also appears on this album). How dare you, Mr. Fripp? You comment was used as a rallying cry for many record company toadies, and know-nothing music journalists as a means to disparage a genre that was more expensive to produce than mindless repetitive disco or poorly played punk.

Secondly was Fripp's refusal to revisit the majority of King Crimson works prior to 1980, save for Red and Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II, claiming that they were history, and he wasn't interested in playing them anymore. It seems that through the nineties and beyond, he could play the finger execise songs of the eighties, and the two above mentioned songs incessantly. At least on this album, the band plays Schizoid Man (extremely well, by the way). But many amazing songs could be reinterpreted and brought to life.

Third, Frippertronics. The first track here is a glaring example of the dreariness of the concept. Twenty-four minutes of noodling through two tape recorders, set to loop the sounds in an endless delay. The poor audience thought they were going to hear The California Guitar Trio (who had to cancel), but instead got to sit through nearly a half an hour of background fluff.

Other than that, the set played here is not bad. There are a few too many songs from that dreaded eighties group, although with the extra musicians, the sound is filled out a little better. And Tony Levin just amazes on Elephant Talk. The aforementioned 21st Century Schizoid Man is just fantastic. But Adrian Belew's thin voice, even through a distortion box, is just mot menacing.

The Thrak tracks and improvs are all very good. I especially like the percussion piece, Prism. And the sound quality, rated on the cover as "Very Fine", I would say is excellent.

3.5 stars.

I've always been a fan of KC's live albums. Before this one, I had listened to some other live albums from the 70's and the 80's line-up, but this record is made by the double trio line-up. (The same line-up which made Thrak). I didn't know how they would manage to perform old KC's hits like "Lark's Tongues in Aspic pt.2" or "21st Century Schizoid Man". But, interestingly, they have pulled off a good live album.

On first hearing, one would pass "Introductory Sounscapes" which is of course a nice track, but I prefer hearing at the ending not in the beginning. The Thrak songs have minor changes, and don't make such a difference to the studio version except the crowd cheering. 80's songs from " Discipline" era have some changes, "Indiscipline" is made a bit longer than the usual, and we have other songs like "Three of a Perfect Pair" and "Matte Kudasai" which are played very good. Actually, I like this versions of "Indiscipline" and "Matte Kudasai" more than the studio version. There is another interesting track, titled "Prism". It's a double-drum solo, and it's a really nice one, too. Made me feel like I'm in a tropical forest with wild cannibals chasing me! Fast and beautiful, this is one of the best drum solos I've ever heard. There's also an improvisation on disc one, titled "Improv I". This one is guitar heavy, no drums at all. Looks like Fripp and Belew were showing off their skills on improvising.( I think Levin or Gunn didn't play anything on this one). Not my favorite Improv, but not bad at all. 70's songs are good. The performance of "Lark's Tongues in Aspic pt.2" is just great. Simply one of the best live versions recorded; Wonderful ending. "Red" is also great. Fripp and Belew always play this one amazingly. The oldest song on the set list..."21st Century Schizoid Man" was not exactly what I expected. This song is one of my all-time favorite songs, I was expecting something stronger than this from the double-trio. Belew's vocals are funny on this one. The "Mirrors" section is performed good(not great) but for me, it lacks energy a bit.

Overall: This live album is a good one. If you are a KC fan(like me) and you like the double trio line up, this double live album is a good choice. 7.5/10