Customer Reviews

21st Century Schizoid Band: Live In Japan

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!If there were more than 5 stars, this DVD rates it. I missed this band when they played the Middle East in Boston last year. On viewing this DVD, anyone who caught their recent tours were in for a treat. For those of you who are fans of the early King Crimson, this band is arguably more King Crimson than the current group of that name. Comprised of the Giles brothers, Ian Macdonald, Mel Collins and Jakko Jakszyk on guitar and vocals, the group literally brings the first Crimson albums to life on the stage. Some of these members (most, in fact) were part of the original Crimson, so, this is NOT a "tribute" band, but the real thing (check out the double mellotron effects and twin sax solos). The new vocalist/guitarist does sound like Greg Lake and Robert Fripp on their respective instruments. The whole mood of this concert reeks of early King Crimson (in fact they perform all of the first album (apart from Moonchild). It is great to hear AND SEE live versions of those works, as well as gems like "Ladies of the Road" and "Let there be light". The sound quality is supberb, the playing even better, and the experience incomparable. There hasn't been a Crimson DVD in recent years with as much impact. One listen to live versions of "The Court of the Crimson King", "Epipath" and the classic "21st Century Schizoid Man" will confirm to you that this is a keeper DVD. Enjoy your trip into the iconoclastic King Crimson as it was originally invisioned.

Wow! As a Crimhead since their first album, this DVD was a rare treat. With the highly underrated Michael Giles on drums, Ian McDonald on woodwinds and keyboards, and the great Mel Collins on sax, this band evokes the sound of a Crimson we all thought was lost long ago. I guess out of bitterness for them leaving, Robert Fripp refuses to play anything from the MacDonald/Giles era. This band fills that void and then some.
The two cuts from the McDonald and Giles album, "Tomorrow's Children" and "Birdman", are an unexpected treat.
With Jakko evoking the spirit of Greg Lake, and Peter Giles admirably filling in on bass, these performances are a must-see for any fan of early King Crimson music.
Highly, HIGHLY recommended!

Be careful!!! dvd claims it is region free but will not play on brand new sony machine.Message reads:"cannot play because of region limitations" and a friend of mine had the same problem with two copies of it.

A fantastic video document of an onstage "reunion" of several members of King Crimson's earliest incarnations. For me the biggest treat was Michael Giles; he's such an inventive and powerful drummer who makes it all look so effortless. His brother Peter Giles is a very worthy bassist who easily could have been a fulltime KC member rather than the minor substitute guy he was back in the day. In this show, aside from replicating those early bass parts he occasionally adds some very intelligent twists of his own. Michael Giles' son-in-law Jakko Jakszyk handles guitar and lead vocals; (thankfully) sounding a bit more like Boz than the pomp-piped Greg Lake. Jakszyk never tries to out-do Fripp's guitar parts; rather he respectfully plays them with polished skill and good taste - with plenty of speed & fire nonetheless. Ian McDonald & Mel Collins are very exciting as they duel/duet on saxes, flutes, and a variety of keyboards. Alas there are no mellotrons to be seen but the synths do a pretty reasonable facsimile; when two players are replicating them in unison there is an especially full/lush sound that should please the most discerning KC fan.

The show's set list was mainly tracks from ITCOTCK, Poseidon, and Islands, with a couple of real treats from the under-appreciated McDonald & Giles album. "Tomorrow's People" features Mike Giles singing lead while playing a funky backbeat; his voice sounds exactly as it did on the 1971 original! Too bad there was nothing from Lizard or Giles Giles & Fripp, but this is a minor issue.

As a listening experience for the KC fan, this disc provides a really interesting "what if" scenario. One huge difference between Schizoid Band and KC is that Schizoid Band sounds extremely polished, rehearsed, smooth, dignified and elegant. They plainly strove to make their performances sound every bit as good and detailed as the original studio albums were, whereas KC never seriously attempted this. KC was all about taking risks onstage, letting exciting musical accidents happen no matter if that often sounded quite rough & chaotic. This is not at all a criticism of Schizoid Band; just an observation of a very different musical approach which is still a total joy to listen to in this case. Schizoid Band thus has a very good musical identity of its own, quite apart from Fripp's King Crimson. That is perhaps the nicest surprise to be found in this DVD.

For anyone of a certain age, someone who may have come of age in the late 1960's and heard King Crimson's first album and had their mind blown but never had the chance to see them live in 1969, there are certain late compensations: the "Epitaph" box set, internet cd offerings, and this concert DVD of the 21st Century Schizoid Band.

I agree with the other reviewers that this is an awesome concert and the extras are equally amazing (hence the 5 stars), and would myself rhapsodize about the fidelity of this music to the original album recording were it not for two glaringly inadmissible flaws.

The first is the NTSC encoding problem. The DVD I received was NOT a Region 1 disc. My new player read "incorrect disc error." (Fortunately I also have a region free player.) I nonetheless returned the disc. Amazon replaced it. I tried the second one in two different players. Same problem. Amazon wrote that they would look into this.

The second is the rendering of "In the Court of the Crimson King". Through the 4th and final verse, it is a wonder to behold. But that is where it ends. The entire coda is.... whoops, MISSING!!

Listen to the album and compare. On the album, after the 4th verse the song pauses for a breath, and then picks up with cymbals, then small pipe organ.....and then goes utterly nutz..... rendering it the epochal song that it is....(imho). The live version simply ends after the 4th verse. The concert rendition is about 7 minutes of the total 9.5 minute song. The very instrumental reprise that defines this song is absent. Pshaw!

The revered soul of the 69-72 Crimson King lives on!

I was simply blown away by this concert. To hear and see these ground-breaking musicians play this music live after listening to the studio albums for 35 years brought tears to my eyes. The inclusion of the beautiful numbers from the McDonald & Giles album should delight long time fans.

Michael Giles' under-appreciated one-of-a-kind drumming was a key ingredient of the original KC sound, and he shines here. WHAT A GREAT DRUMMER!!

I also loved the twin flute and twin sax work of Ian McDonald and Mel Collins. Peter Giles on bass is very fine, and Jakko does a very nice job on vocals and guitar.

Lastly, the keyboard work is great, with very convincing Mellotron patches.

These are the songs that made the early King Crimson a progressive rock legend. The selections are performed respectfully and proficiently. My only gripe is the band's decision to include several really obscure songs at the expense of the second album's title track, "In the Wake of Poseidon." The set list does include, among others, "A Man, A City" (or "Pictures of a City"), "Catfood", "In the Court of the Crimson King", "Ladies of the Road", "I Talk to the Wind", "Epitaph", Ian McDonald's "Birdman", and, of course, "21st Century Schizoid Man."

I have nothing but respect for the uncanny musicianship of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew and the current and recent lineups of King Crimson. Indeed, I own and enjoy their DVD ('Eyes Wide Open'). But their decades-long refusal to play even one or two early classics in concert made obtaining this entertaining DVD a must for me.

If you are a fan of early King Crimson, you must get this! You will not be disappointed. Jakko who plays guitar and does most of the lead vocals sounds amazingly like Greg Lake when he sings (although it was obvious that he was looking at lyric sheets during many of the songs). All the songs are performed very much like the original versions so don't expect any "updated interpretations" of the songs. That is fine with me because these songs are great as they are. Each member has definitely kept their chops up on their respective instruments. This is one DVD you'll play many times!

I loved the first few albums of King Crimson. Then Robert Fripp went off in other directions that were not as impressive to me. I saw this new DVD on Netflix and decided to rent it. I was stunned at how fresh these songs were 35 years later. This was the basis of the group from the beginning. These musicians were the heart and soul of King Crimson. The drumming of Peter Giles is imaginative and technically accurate. His brother's bass playing is tasteful. Collins and McDonald are great on wind instruments and keyboards. Jacko is an amazing vocal clone of Greg Lake. His guitar playing is magnificent. This concert demonstrates how wonderful these musicians are. Timing is impeccable. Recording is surround and uses it well. Get this album if you loved the original King Crimson. You will not be disappointed. BTW, the opening of the disk while booting up is a bit distorted visually. It was like that on the rental and my purchased copy. There is no problem with the actual content of the performance.

I cannot think of any group that has realeased something like this; an album of mostly all original members playing their oldest music the way it was played back when they first recorded it. Jakko is the only non original member but as far as I am concerned, he is doing a great job of filling in for Fripp/Lake (not trying to be sacriligeous here but if you dont have the original then the best will do).

Song selection is of course all it can be for what these guys are playing. I have always remembered the jazzy element of King Crimson so well even up to Larks' Tongues and of course Starless and Bible Black. Their stuff beyond that has been very good musicianship but not nearly as daring as the era from "In the court of the crimson king" to "Red". I do have "Neal and Jack and Me", "Eyes Wide Open" and "Deja Vroom". I like them all and can let myself get lost even in the newer stuff.

But anyway, back to the meat of the review: this looks like it may be the only DVD of these guys from what I can see but I feel so lucky to have it.

If anyone knows of any other concert footage of these guys please let me know.

One last thing, there are copies of the PAL version of this and you can get stuck with those. I thought I would try Netflix and they had the PAL copies. I got this from Audiophile Imports in Cooksville MD. Give them a call, I found them just when I lost all hope.

...........and this DVD comes with a CD of the music also....................