King Crimson - Night Watch vs The Great Deceiver

Well, two of the three improv sections, "Starless and Bible Black" and "Trio", are the ones that ended up being used on Starless and Bible Black.

The third is unique, "The Fright Watch", and forms a smashing medley with the more traditional "The Talking Drum/Larks' Tongues In Aspic: Part Two" combo, before "21st Century Schizoid Man" is played as an encore.

The track "The Night Watch" is a great opener.

All in all, a great show with great SQ. If you want plenty more live Crimson, and don't mind the essential doubling of the Starless tracks, it's worth getting.

Okay, thanks for your opinion! I think I'll get it!

Love the Cowboy Bebop sig BTW!

A good choice. 

Never once did we hear "Improv:Starless And Bible Black" or "Fracture" on any of the broadcasts of the Amsterdam show and so it was not revealed to Crimheads in 1974 that these 2 tracks which appeared on the "Starless and Bible Black" studio album were from Amsterdam. It's possible that Fripp mentioned something on the subject when being interviewed by a journalist, but nevertheless it seemed to pass us by.


I used to have an interview with Fripp on tape where he questions the Rock journalist if he had ever heard the Amsterdam show. When the journalist answers no, Fripp then remarks to the journalist that he missed the best concert ever given by the 73/74 band. Aside from the mellotron dropping out in the song.."The Night Watch", it is their overall best performance. It's not like they open with "Easy Money" or "Larks Tongues Part II" and rush through the predictable set list. Instead they open with a different sounding "Easy Money" with a Jazz style guitar solo in the center of it and later execute a unique running order of tracks. It doesn't stagnate like some of the other live shows from that period where I often shake my head and wonder if I'm not trapped in a time loop of road shows where the band wasn't changing the set list around for a few months...which is okay...but "The Night Watch" live in Amsterdam 73' doesn't take you there.

After Jamie Muir left ....they band changed their set lists around , experimenting with some very odd running orders of their material and as a result, some very interesting, quirky, oddball King Crimson shows took place during this specific period...which was probably a whole of 3 or 4 months until Fripp alternated "Easy Money" or "Larks Tongues In Aspic" as an opener or closing of most shows. This is what makes Amsterdam unique. Another unique set list was for the Pittsburgh show in 74' where the band opened with "Great Deceiver".  There are few live shows available of this period where the set list running order of songs and pieces are unique and make it seem as if you are having a visit with King Crimson and not a quick set list that was assembled and decided upon for the fast road they traveled on.

 

Off thread for a moment......I would like to have the original soundboard recording of King Crimson at the Fillmore East in 69' ..which Fripp claims to be the best performance of that band. Pete Sinfield lost the tape , but the audience recording , (which featured only a few tracks), was discovered by Michael Giles. It was released on the Epitaph box set ..along with a young King Crimson giving somewhat of a poor performance at the "Fillmore West".  According to Fripp, there is no other performance that compares to it. I can dream on with the audience recording. One day...someone might cough it up as it was supposedly misplaced at an airport, but considering what was happening in those days..someone could have sniffed coke off of it or used it to flick cigarette ashes on to it and furthermore played it, deciding it was rubbish and threw it in the trashcan like record executives used to do with demo tapes sent to them from independent artists.