MELTDOWN: LIVE IN MEXICO

Here's another box set live release of a band that makes sure that they can get all the money from their loyal fans. But at least this one is more affordable than those 13 CDs live release. I don't think there are many bands that can say that they have progressed in their quality of music over the years like KC. Maybe they have regressed with a couple of albums in the 80's, but this is an exception. The band's music is experimental always ahead of his time. Maybe they have invented the metal genre with some of their heavy parts starting with the legendary first album "ITCKC". 50 years later, it is impressive to see Robert Fripp pushing this band further by recruiting young and old musicians and keep the band alive. This live set complement the "Radical Action" previous release with a first set that has some songs that didn't appear on "Radical Action", like the neurotic "Neurotic", the intense "Cirkus", and the "Batlle Of Glass Tears" suite from the album "Lizard". But even more fun is the great "Fracture" song from "Starless and Bible Black". We have a couple of songs from the "Indiscipline" album, but for the title track, Jakko Jakszyk talk in a different way compared to Adrian which sounds a bit strange. I have enjoyed a lot the song "Fallen Angel", if there's one song that has influenced the sound of Anekdoten, this is the one.

The visuals on the Blu-Ray are like "Radical Action", a show with only a curtain with white light, it is looking more like a band playing in the studios than on a dark stage. As for the sound in stereo and surround, it's clear, perfect, and with 3 drummers you have something that is out of the ordinary. The band gives a lot of room to the drummers with many short solos that you can only hear on those live releases.

Review #42

I always wanted a live album in which I could say that I was part of the audience and now here it is. KING CRIMSON played five nights in Mexico City as a part of the Radical Action tour (July 14, 15, 16, 18, and 19, 2017) I was there on the 15th and 16th and it was unbelievable: the seven-headed monster that recorded the Monkey Mind album got a new head (Jeremy STACEY) who was the new drummer while Bill RIEFLIN found his place as the main keyboard player.

The wonderful experience of seeing your favorite band playing alive all (or almost all) the songs that you love and know by heart is indescribable, the eight guys gave amazing performances and we the audience ended absolutely satisfied with the shows. To me (and I'm sure that to everyone who attended any of the five shows KING CRIMSON gave in the Metropolitan Theater) this album is a very sentimental experience since when I hear it I can re-experience the feeling of being there watching my favorite band playing as I always wanted to see it.

I don't consider this an indispensable album if you were not a part of that audience, musically it's almost the same as listening to the "Radical action bah, bah, bah, monkey mind" album, so the rate will be only 4 stars, 4 well-earned stars.

Epic, long-haul live journey through every conceivable phase of King Crimson, from their earliest roots as pioneers of symphonic prog rock through their improvisational mid-1970s phase, their 1980s New Wave era, and their more recent reincarnations, plus every phase in between, all captured by the impeccable late 2010s lineup on a set of Mexico dates. Rather than presenting a single show, this gives you a massive collection spanning over 40 compositions and improvisations. The 2010s King Crimson has put out several of these sprawling multi-disc sets, but they've all been pretty grand, and this one is no exception. (It also includes a rare live performance of Fracture, which makes it worth looking into even if you've got one of the other sets.)