Customer Reviews

Great Deceiver: Live 1973-74

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This is an astonishingly amazing box set of live King Crimson all recorded between 73 and 74. The songs covered here are from albums Larks Tongue in Aspic, Red, Starless and Bible Black, No pussyfooting, and couple of early tracks like 21 century schizoid man.
To me this is the place to start with King Crimson- I think that their studio tracks do not compare to the live raw power this box set contains. Although I certainly think that the individual albums are essential (especially Larks Tongue in Aspic) the don't give a glimpse of how exciting the songs can be in the raw.
The sound of these cds are itself something to marvel at. You compare it to other live albums from that period and it makes Great Deciever sound like it was recorded in the 90's. I think it shows great insight into Robert Fripp's vision that he thought to document these shows so well. Infact it's so well documented that as I recall, he gives some day to day stuff in the booklet.
The line up for these shows is Fripp= guitar, mellotron/ David Cross- violin, mellotron/ Bill Bruford (ex-Yes) percussions/and John Wetton (ex- Family) bass and vocals. The members of this band jell so brilliantly live that they sound more like a full orchestra and compare well to any top notch jazz band.
One of the many things that make this box set worth while is the improv performances that sometimes goes eleven minutes long and sometimes segways effortlessly into another song. Sometimes it works brilliantly, making true magic, sometimes it get a bit dull- but none the less fascinating.
The only draw back to me is that there are repeats of certain song- although I read and agreed with another reviewer in saying that the songs are never the same and with each performance they bring something new to it; but I can't help wonder what Red, One More Red Nightmare, Fallen Angel or maybe Sailor's Tale would have sounded like in this live context with the amazing sound quality and the band line up. But it's a very very slight complaint.
So, go buy this, play it in the dark, play it in your car,
play it loud, and be suprised how powerful it can be even when played silienlty. This is truely like nothing else- totally original.

I thought I should add that this item still is in print and lists for $63. Check out www.disciplineglobalmobile.com for any hard to find KC live material.

Yes, this is a terrific set, if you happen to be a fan of the 1973-74 lineup of King Crimson. What needs to be said has already been said by other reviews here.

However, people are asking way to much money for this as a used item. Robert Fripp has gained control of all KC past masters, and this set is available at the official KC website for a more reasonable price, and brand new at that.

By turns delicate, furious, jazzy, introspective, and monstrous. The power of the band that was hinted at on L.T.I.A., Red and Starless and Bible Black really comes through on this monster box-set. Almost every song is served better by the live recording. The playing is more direct, heavy, heady, and emotional. The solos are more evocative not to mention incredible. John Wettons' vocals are more impassioned.

Excellent guitar playing by Fripp. The man absolutely smokes when he wants to. He plays beautiful melody lines, funky chordal improv, ripping solos, and sometimes atonal free-rock guitar skronk. The rythym section of John Wetton on bass and Bill Bruford's drums is huge, creative and loud. David Cross on violin, mellotron and electric piano is really suprising. I've always thought him something of a lightweight, but his playing is quite good throughout and very creative on the improvised pieces.

Ah, the improvs, they're the real treat with this boxed set. For the first time you get to hear the '73 - '74 Crimson really stretch out into uncharted territory. I read that Crimson were an incredible improvising band but since few of their improvs ever made it to their albums, I'd had to take the reviewers word for it.
The improvs are astonishing in their variety. Daniel Dust is quite pleasant and mellow, sounding almost like an exceptionally melodic acoustic outing by the Grateful Dead?!?, (except with violin and a certain crim sensibility) Other improvs sound like Stravinsky, as played by Slayer while being directed by Sun Ra. Elements of classical, free rock, jazz, space, metal, whatever... You get to hear how good this band really was at walking a tightrope without a net, amazing band.

If you like the '73, '74 band , you'll love this CD boxed set. When I first bought it back in '92 I played it for two weeks straight. Buy it before it goes out of print again, you won't be sorry.

Thirteen years after I snapped this box set up on its initial release, I still listen to it on a regular basis. These performances sound so good, it is hard to believe that they were recorded way back in '73-'74 ... They certainly blow away any other live recordings I know of from any band prior to 1975.

Some may object to the inclusion of several versions of certain tracks, such as Easy Money, but for the most part each version is so distinctive as to warrant its inclusion. The two versions of "Fracture," for example, really illustrate the band's philosophy of never playing a song - even a meticulously composed and arranged piece - the same way twice.

This collection also includes several "blows," as they used to refer to the group improvisations which became a King Crimson trademark during the early-mid 70's. Some of these, such as "Providence" and "We'll Let You Know," would be included on KC studio albums of the period. It's a treat to be able to hear them in their original context.

If you are a fan of the "Lark's Tongues / Starless / Red" period King Crimson, then you MUST HAVE THIS. Progressive Rock was never any better.

Oh yeah, the packaging is top-notch, and the book contains a plethora of information: commentary by all four members, extensive Robert Fripp diaries, period reviews ... just a wealth of interesting info.
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Yes I am biased... I prefer the 73-74 incarnation of KC to all the others. This boxed set is for people like me. There is so much wonderful music on these CDs you cannot begin to assimilate it in less than a few weeks of steady listening. All of your favorites are here, performed with intensity and passion.

The recording quality is variable, but generally of a very standard for the era. If you can, listen on a very "high-end" system at the stupendous volume level that KC always deserves. Extremely lifelike presentations.

Giving credit to Belew's inventiveness and craftsmanship, Wetton is hands down the better vocalist.

I honestly think that almost any music or band considered by the public at large as "heavy metal" or its adjuncts sounds limp and ineffectual in comparison to King Crimson at its best.

These wonderful recordings support my position.

This is a box with 4CDs (more than 4 hours of music) of live recodings of the most dynamic and creative King Crimson incarnation: 1973-4. Only one of the concerts is complete, their second to last, already with new pieces such as the heart-drenching "Starless" and this was when the famous "Providence" (from the Red album; actually an improv) was born. There are many full form improvisations here: 14 in total, showing, if not confirming, the genius of these four musicians. David Cross's violin shines in "Daniel Dust", Robert Fripp rips amazing solos all throughout (as if he could never do anything short of spectacular), and can be heard coming up with the famous "One More Red Nightmare" riff during "The Golden Walnut". There are a few surprises, such a very curious and excellent version of 1970's "Cat Food" - but what really matters are the 1973-4 songs. They are fully represented here, some of them more than once, such as the poignant "The Night Watch", three times. Although some of them do repeat, they are NEVER played the same way twice. The differences are truly remarkable, showing how the band would change entire songs from one performance to another, like in "Easy Money", which somestimes morphed into a full-fledged improvisation. Other times they would segue into new songs, or one improv would give place to the raucurous opening of "The Night Watch". Moreover, all of them surpass by far the original studio versions, having at least twice more power and energy. This is the DEFINITIVE King Crimson, this is where they were the most spetacular, where they would never come back.

Included it is a 70 page scrapbook, with a load of photos (not as much how much as I wanted/expected), commentaries by the musicians (especially Fripp's), Fripp's diary at the time (which is very interesting) and reviews of the other KC box set, "Frame by Frame" (which I considered as unnecessary filler). An extra that nobody gives credit for but that I found nothing short of excellent: each COMPACT DISC has its separate jewel case, with different covers and specific liner notes.

Summing up: if you are a fan of this incarnation, you MUST have this. It's simple as that. It will change your vision of King Crimson: it'll show you how it was as its best.

This is from the group that put out Lark's Tongue in Aspect, Starless and Bible Black, Red and USA. The group consisted of Fripp, Cross, Wetton and Bruford (although Cross dropped out near the end).

This is a 4 CD set that comes in one of those 6 inch by 10 inch boxes. Each disc has a separate jewel case. As with any of these King Crinsom releases, there is an extensive full color booklet with lots of commentary from Fripp. The boxset originally sold in the US at a reasonable price. Then it was discontinued and impossible to find. This is a re-issue and it is twice the cost of the original.

Since it is a 4 CD set from one concert tour, a number of the songs are repeated several times. There are some songs that didn't need to be repeated. But, for the most part, the songs are done differently enough each time that it doesn't get repititious. It may have been possible to cut this down to a 3 CD set without losing anything. The music is the loosest, and most energetic and imaginative that King Crinsom has ever put on record. The earlier material (Epitath) comes close but the sound quality is too poor to really enjoy the flow of the music. The material from the eighties (Absent Lovers) seems stiff (although I wonder if this concert was the best representative of the band from this era-I remember them sounding much better in concert). The most recent material isn't as melodic.

There were two other live albums from this same time period. "USA" was an LP released in 1975. It was rather disappointing and didn't come close to giving a clue what King Crinsom sounded like in concert. It was more of an attempt to capitalize on another live recording of 20th Century Schizoid Man. I haven't seen it available on CD and there is probably a reason for that. The second live album is the 2 CD "Night Watch", which was taken from a single concert. It has a bargain price that makes it very attractive. But, it doesn't have the magic moments of Great Deceiver.

As much as I love Great Deceiver, even I would be pressed to spend this much on 4 CD's. Best bet would be to get Night Watch. If you like the improv's on that, then you might want to fork out the bucks for this one.

Featuring the classic 1973 - 1974 line up featuring John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Bill Brufford and David Cross, this 4 CD set focuses on the quartet at their peak. Since the quartet only had two albums out at the time, to some fans this might seem like overkill but with variations in performance (and a couple of earlier classic Crimson tracks sneaking in periodically during the performances), this great overview allows fans to hear the power of this edition of KC.

The Great Deceiver is a glimpse of a great band in top form. While some of the improvs are acquired taste (and might not be of interest to all fans), the bulk of the material covered here is powerful and well played. It's a pity that this great boxed set is no longer in print as it's an example of what boxed sets should be about; more than a snapshot of a band during various phase of its life. This captures the 73-74 edition of KC in the prime of its life.

Another reviewer uses that term, and it's right on target. There are places on the first disc where it's been EQ'ed to bring out the highs from a mix that might have been a bit muddy and bassy (after all, these tapes were made over 25 years ago), which results in Bruford's cymbals coming out clangy and hissing--ouch! I had to EQ that back down. In contrast, I don't think I've ever heard Wetton's bass come through as solid and punchy as it is in some places on disc 2. And the dynamics of songs like "Starless" make it a bad idea to listen to it where there's background noise--you turn it up to hear the mellotron opening, only to get blasted out of the room a few minutes later. But one treat here is that this is the only live album I have which contains "Larks' Tongues Part One", with its guitar/ violin duet between Fripp and Cross. Earlier live albums have version after version of "Part Two" because it rocks more, but until now, no "Part One". On disc 2, the track "It Is For You..." is really an extension of "Easy Money" before it--it comes across as one song rather than two. But, as is the case in the version of that song on "USA", Wetton's scat-sung intro is surprisingly out-of-tune (sort of Neil Young goes prog) coming from one of rock's best baritones--I guess the lack of the harmonized overdub in the studio version brings that out. There are surprisingly few repeat songs here for the quantity of music you'll be getting--songs which they played in all the concerts represented here--but it beats hell out of the level of redundancy in the "Epitaph" set. I guess there was more of a repertoire on tap in Wetton's time than in Lake's. But the later "B'Boom" remains the only live album I know of without "21st Century Schizoid Man"--there's a version here. Oh well--at least that one isn't one of the repeated tracks.