EARTHBOUND

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.

Share this KING CRIMSON review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Einsetumadur
• Report this review (#978636)
• Buy KING CRIMSON music online with PA partners
• Show all KING CRIMSON MP3/Stream
• Go to KING CRIMSON page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Earthbound page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for KING CRIMSON related discussions