8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great collection, but only buy as a collector's item, January 21, 2003
This review is from: The Essential King Crimson - Frame By Frame (Audio CD)
This is a fantastic collection of King Crimson, and at the time it was released, it was a "must have" simply for the 4th CD, a sampling of live songs spanning '69 - '84. At that time, there was little live Crimson available, especially in CD format. But now, there is a wide variety of live Crimson that is easy to get. I would highly recommend "Epitaph", "The Night Watch", and "Absent Lovers" rather than this box set.
As it stands now, this box set is a collector's item, and is priced accordingly. About the only things on it that you can't easily get elsewhere is a studio version of "Groon" and Tony Levin's "King Crimson Barber Shop". The remixed versions of "Cadence and Cascade" and "Bolero" are nothing special. (Belew sings the C&C vocal and Levin plays the Bolero bass.)
If you are new to King Crimson and are wanting to sample their music, I would recommend you try "In the Court of the Crimson King", "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", and "Discipline". That is a great sampling of what they accomplished in the studio between '69 and '84.
King Crimson is still around today and going much stronger than any other band, especially "progressive rock", that is 30+ years old. (Attention Yes fans!) Certainly in part because only Robert Fripp remains from the band's pre-80's albums. Check out the ProjeKcts box set or the "ConstruKction of Light" album. Unimaginably intricate and complex!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good overview of influential prog band, September 8, 2003
This review is from: The Essential King Crimson - Frame By Frame (Audio CD)
Although far from definitive, Frame by Frame is about as close to the word as you're going to get. Covering the entire career of the band through the early 80's, Fripp's band (he would probably deny it was his but, after all, he's the only member from genesis to its final days).
Frame by Frame collates the some of the best material from the 10 studio albums and previously released and unreleased live material made under the King Crimson banner. The best material really depends upon which version of the band you were a fan of; I personally liked all the line ups seeing different strengths and weaknesses in each. The editing of the some of the material actually improves the weaker, meandering songs while the inclusion of a few rarities make this a one stop shop for fans.
It's not a perfect collection but it's quite good and well worth having if you don't have any KC on disc or only a couple of albums.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
If only..., May 15, 2011
This review is from: The Essential King Crimson - Frame By Frame (Audio CD)
If only they have maximized each cd to its fullest time of 80 minutes then this is well worth it. All cds are just in the 60 min. range. The booklet is excellent like a day to day journal or documentation of KC's history. Starless was cut short missing the explosive part. I bought this because my essential KC albums from In the court to Construction were all in the Philippines. The remastering is an A+ but the only downer is the length of each cd. Nevertheless a good accompaniment to the album collection.
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