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King Crimson - On Broadway - Live in NYC 1995  CD (album) cover

ON BROADWAY - LIVE IN NYC 1995

King Crimson

Eclectic Prog


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Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars I personally enjoy this live set as an example how powerful the Double-Trio lineup that was promoted heavily by the master of positioning strategy: Robert Fripp. I can not disagree with his words as the more I listen to this live album the more I like it. The opening track Conundrum depicts the double drumming works that sounds nicely to open the album. I can not imagine if I was there in the show I would keep shouting to them as the music being played live. Thela Hun Ginjeet sounds much much better here than the studio album under Discipline album - I think it's mostly more lively and there are double bass-guitar- drums. How can afford to have these wonderful sounds in other records? It's really great. Especially, the interlude sounds really different than the studio version.

What surprised me is that they also played the legendary track Red. Again, it's much better performed live under this one than the original recording from the Red album. Bill and Pat play the drums dynamically while the guitar portion of Fripp still referred to the original version but much more lively. Well ,....the basslines are also much more powerful here. I also love how the drums fill in transition pieces beautifully so that this track sounds really great. The interlude part has ambient sound which sounds like a keyboard work but ...as we all know that this format has no keyboard player at all. It must be coming from guitar work.

All other tracks are great as well like Dinosaur where the drumming is really dynamic in nature combining two personalities with their own style. Belew vocal is powerful as well. Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream is also much better recorded live here than the studio version. I enjoy the drumming and basslines. My favorite track One Time is also featured here. As this one is simple in composition it serves as a break after many improvisations along the way from start. One Time was performed excellently, flawless with full expression of Belew. It returns back to discrete music under Indiscipline which is another great track also. I love the percussion improvisation throughout the song - which were not there under original studio track. Wow! This track is really wonderful man!!! The drumming part is really articulative and inspiring at the intro part. It flows with all music where all instruments play together and immediately stops when the vocal starts to enter the music, Again...it's so great!!! Oh man ...this track really make my day! It's so powerful! The way belew sings is really great! And at the end of the track he shout : I like it ...and people clap their hands plus another words from Belew: And I hope you like it too ... Yeah, I like it Mr. Belew! It's a great performance. Then he sings with piano (?) - nice singing! Free as a bird .... This singing is not listed in tracklist but it's good.

The Improv: Two Sticks is basically between two players: Tony and Trey on their stick basses as a wonderful intro of Elephant Talk performed wonderful from start to end, better than the studio version. This song means a lot to me as this was the first time I knew in 1981 that KC musical direction had changed drastically to this kind of discrete music. Talking Drum is another wonderful track I love from this live set and it is performed wonderfully from start to end. It continues seamlessly to Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II) . Wow!!! Three Of A Perfect Pair is also great! Flawless really.

For me personally, this live set is a masterpiece for two reasons: the individual performance of the players who contribute to this live set are really oustanding; and secondly all tracks are performed better here than any other version the band has ever recorded. With no doubt I can give full five stars for this live set. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Report this review (#1128524)
Posted Saturday, February 8, 2014 | Review Permalink
Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars This is a highly enjoyable live set from King Crimson's five-gig residency at the Longacre Theatre in New York, during the 1995 THRAK tour. It's a bit of a Frankenstein of a live album, presenting a full set list of two hours or so patched together from the five nights of the residency rather than presenting a single night all the way through, but it's highly enjoyable. Most of the best material from THRAK is represented, there's some improvisation, and when it comes to earlier incarnations of King Crimson's work there's a heavy emphasis on the 1980s lineup's work (unsurprisingly, since the double trio is basically the 80s lineup with an extra rhythm section). The only pre-Discipline material here consists of Red and The Talking Drum/Larks Tongues In Aspic Part II, which the band fit into their 1995 sound admirably.

Note that the VROOOM VROOOM set includes a hacked about and abbreviated version of this release as its second CD, but also that this release isn't quite the definitive version of this set: that honour goes to the version retitled New York THRAK from the THRAK boxed set, which among other improvements restores to this set the encore of Free As a Bird - a little Beatles cover in tribute to one of King Crimson's lesser-known influences. (You don't hear much Beatles in their music, though Happy Family on Lizard was supposedly a tribute to them.)

Report this review (#2265672)
Posted Wednesday, October 2, 2019 | Review Permalink

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