Customer Reviews

B'Boom: Official Bootleg - Live In Argentina 1994

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If you are even remotely into King Crimson then you need to have these discs. Just look at the track listings: Frame by Frame, Larks Tongues II, Red, Indiscipline, THRAK, Elephant Talk, Hearbeat, VROOOM; What else do you need! Not to mention the duo of Bruford and Pat Mas on the drum kits. Belew and Fripp's guitar playing is nothing less than inspired as this duo continue to pioneer new sounds and musical styles for the next generation of guitar virtuosos. BUY THIS NOW.

This album is quite worth the money, whomever should be tempted to buy it. This is a good presentation of *songs*, not crazy musicianship. Sure, the technique speaks for itself, but the songs to me are presented in a collected manner, which allows for live show enjoyment, as well as the ability to follow along and not be flattened by the audio artistry. I really like this album and am glad I found it...

Okay, the more recent VROOOM VROOOM compilation probably gives a better look at what the "Double Trio" version of King Crimson was capable of; but this "official bootleg" is a snapshot of time. Specifically, it shows this band, a collection of overwhelmingly-skilled professionals, beginning to find its identity _as_ a band. Some of the playing is unaccustomedly sloppy for a King Crimson - which is to say, up to the higest standards set by most other bands. The repertoire is terrifying, both in the difficulty of some of the numbers and the sheer noise level of others. The first time I heard "THRAK" on disc 1 - which was the first time I ever heard "THRAK" at all, as I hadn't then picked up the Double Trio's studio work - I wasn't sure it was music; it went beyond dissonance to another place entirely.

The Crimson of the 1990s and early 2000s has reinvented the concept of heavy metal - not, please, "speed metal" (though there are some blinding solos on some tracks, and especially in the material introduced in the 2000 album "The ConstruKction of Light"), but dark, grinding, distorted slabs of metallic sound. Interspersed with this we find some of the gamelan-influenced pieces of the '80s Crim, a very few tracks from the "Lark's" band (including the heaviest piece of metal ever recorded, "Red"), and the simply funky new song, "People."

Unquestionably from the "not for everyone" department, but if you like this kind of thing you'll love "B'boom."

This is a fantastic recording of one of my favorite bands. Music,(for me anyway), is a force of nature which challenges/provokes/delights/disgusts the listener. This disc is full of music which draws me in. I love the harmonies, I love the dissonance, I love the rhythm. I love the images and reflections that this music creates. I love the fact that there is a market for music which bears no resemblance to the pre-digested goo we tend to hear on pop radio/MTV. If you're of a similar mind, or similar ears, BUY THIS DISC. And, if you want to broaden your mind, go read some of the features and interviews at a king crimson website, like elephant-talk.com. Enjoy!

If you are an old fan of King Crimson (as I am), you probably have searched for bootlegs of all the concerts you missed of the relatively rare occasions of the group touring. I saw King Crimson 5 times live, and as good as the group is in the studio (in all of Crimsons's incarnations), the sheer energy and vivacity of the group in concert can only be glimpsed at in studio recordings. In other words, King Crimson live was usually overwhelming and always made me want for more.

However, the group's older live recording - Live in the USA - was technically a disaster and left me more annoyed than happy: that is why the B'Boom Official Bootleg is such a joy. The quality of the recordings is excellent, taken off the main master board to DAT: as a result, what you hear here is nothing less than what the main mixer listened to. There are occasional weaknesses, of drums receding into the background a bit, but in general, the quality of the recordings in exemplary.

But that says nothing of the music itself: here we hear a new incarnation of the Crimson that reminds me of nothing less than the very first incarnation. The overwhelming power of the percussion of B'Boom, the sheer controlled frenzy of VROOOM awaken for me the same reaction as the first time I heard 21st Century Schizoid Man: goose pimples and the desire for the frenzy to never end.

It is the perfect easy listening music to drive to work with: that is, if you drive an hour to work at 150 mph on the Autobahn.

This is the first concert of this incarnation; as a result, they haven't really found their groove yet and are basically playing the straight versions of the songs. It's actually a very good record, nonetheless, but I can't recommend it given that Heavy Construkction provides much better live versions of most of the same songs and, unless you're simply a completist, there's not really any reason to have both.

quick review just to say that this 2-disc set is amazing, and definitely worthy of a purchase by any fan of the mighty King Crimson.

i also wanted to correct amazon's tracklisting. they list 6 tracks, when in fact, this is the proper track list:

disc 1:
Vrooom
Frame By Frame
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream
Red
One Time
B'Boom
Thrak
Two Sticks Improv
Elephant Talk
Indiscipline

disc two:
Vrooom Vrooom
Matte Kudasai
The Talking Drum
Larks' Tounges In Aspic Part 2
Heartbeat
Sleepless
People
B'Boom Reprise

I don't give a flying leap if it is considered their theme song by some people, I ain't one of 'em! I got sick of it within 3 or 4 plays of their otherwise great first mid-'60s album. But I buy their first live set (the UK release "Earthbound") and there's Boz Burrell singing it. They put a version of it with John Wetton on vocals on the "USA" live set. They stuck the original version of it on the "Frame By Frame" box set. Their live box set "Epitaph" has several versions of it from several shows, sung by the original vocalist and co-writer Greg Lake. There was even a version of it on Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Return Of The Manticore" box set! I guess having it sung by several vocalists, played by several lineups and even performed by a whole different band is supposed to make it less of a bore. Maybe Adrian Belew told Robert Fripp that he'd be a mother if he was going to sing it. Whatever. I only know I have someone to thank for its merciful absence on this set, I can tell you! But there's a lot of great stuff from the new "Thrak" album. The stuff from their three '80s albums ("Discipline", "Beat" & Three Of a Perfect Pair") has a harder edge to it. I guess it's multiple guitars (junior bassist Trey Gunn often adds guitar-type parts with his Stick) that makes it possible to finally do justice to that classic instrumental "Red" in a live setting. They call this album an "official live bootleg", a wierd thing to call a live album that's one of the best I've ever heard, both in execution and sound quality.

The band's first live shows in ten years and the first to feature the Double Trio. This wasn't originally meant to be released however, due to bootleg versions being put out, Robert decided to release this after the fact. The show starts off with Vrooom from their newest ep and is quickly followed by Frame By Frame from 1981's Discipline. Next, we get another new song Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream performed as well as the earlier songs. Red comes blazing out in full glory. One Time is a pretty ballad from the Vrooom ep. B'Boom and Thrak are great instrumentals. Improv-Two Sticks features Tony Levin and Trey Gunn going at it big time. Elephant Talk and Indiscipline take us back to Discipline again. Vrooom Vrooom is another great new instrumental. Matte Kudasai is one of the most beautiful ballad played sweet. From here we go to the Larks album for The Talking Drum and Larks, Tongues In Aspic which rock out loud. Heartbeat starts with a beautiful introduction played by Robert Fripp. Sleepless is as always cool. We end the release with three new songs People, B'Boom(reprise), and Thrak. This is an excellent release and is a fine live album.

robert fripps double trio version of king crimson in a live setting sets new boundries for musical creativity.mixing old and new compositions with this new line-up really lets the band shine.their studio releases are always good but,the magic that occurs on stage is truly amazing. the sheer power of two rhythm sections weaving layer upon layer can really leave you spinning.this is a very dense sonic excursion. highly recommended!!!! p.s. dgm has just released a highly interactive dvd called deja vrooom that is utterly astounding,chock full of multiple angles and giving the listener/viewer the option of choosing different line-ups 1969,1971,1974 or1996 to play 21st century schizoid man.super cool