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King Crimson - USA CD (album) cover

USA

King Crimson

 

Eclectic Prog

4.06 | 569 ratings

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Magnum Vaeltaja
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Note: This review entails the 30th anniversary edition CD, which includes "Fracture" and "Starless".

Compiling performances from King Crimson's most famed live line-up, the Bruford-Cross-Fripp-Wetton-(Muir) era, "USA" is a good selection of live tracks but I find it to be more flawed than not. After an inconsequential intro, "Larks' Tongues In Aspic Pt. 2" wakes you up and sets the tone for what's to follow; that is, a strong performance that is on par with, or doesn't get it quite as well as the studio version. Indeed, as is usually the case with prog, the live recordings lose a lot of the refinement that their studio counterparts set the standard for. This is especially evident with "Easy Money". While I love how crunchy and clean, yet hard-hitting the intro is on the studio album, the version here really just sounds messy. And without Jamie Muir's inventive percussion antics, you realize very quickly just how integral he was to the sound of this era of King Crimson. There are still some very good tracks, however, notably "Exiles" and "Starless", as well as the improvisation "Asbury Park", which is really the album's most unique offering.

Much like Yes' "Progeny Highlights", this is a live album that you'd probably enjoy if you stumbled upon it but it's not really worth seeking out if you already have the studio albums. 3 stars.

Magnum Vaeltaja | 3/5 |

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