Usa: 30th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition, Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

King Crimson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 3, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition, Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Caroline
• ASIN: B00006ANZO
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,887 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Walk On...No Pussyfooting

2. Exiles

3. 21st Century Schizoid Man

4. Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part II)

5. Asbury Park

6. Fracture

7. Lament

8. Easy Money

9. Starless

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally it's here!, October 13, 2002

By 

stuartm "stuartm" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Usa: 30th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

This is the single best record of the 72-74 Crimson line up, arguably their finest. Everyone's playing is strong and focused, especially Fripp, Bruford and Wetton. The live versions of their songs have much more drive and power and are a more accurate reflection of the artists' intentions than the studio versions.

I worried that Fripp's long laboring over this CD would result in a radically different mix than the original. But other than the expected clean up work, the mix is very, very close to the old vinyl mix. I think some punch was taken out of Bruford's drums (Fripp always hated how Bill's syncopated style overlapped his guitar parts), but not enough to detract.

For fans of the original USA, there are now 2 additional tracks - Fracture and Starless. Taken as a whole, USA now includes the finest songs from this version of Crimson (absent Red). However, the version of Fracture is lamentably disjointed in the middle section and overall not as crisp as the version on Starless and Bible Black. And Starless doesn't quite have the power and presence at its climax that the Red version has. Nonetheless, they are great songs and it's wonderful to hear live versions of them.

If you like Crimson, this is a no brainer. If you like Progressive Rock, and haven't heard this version of Crimson, grab this album, but be prepared. This is hard core stuff - dark, ominous, loud. Turn it up!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Wetton-era Live Album, September 9, 2002

By 

Vaughan (Brentwood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Usa: 30th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

As soon as I heard that this was released I rushed out to the record store to buy it. I had looked for this album before and was frustrated with the lack of availability of it. Let me tell you that I was not disappointed in my purchase.

Wetton's bass and vocals have never sounded better than on this live release. In fact, the entire band was in fine form; very tight and loud. The last track, "Starless" is the most compelling track in this set - a treat, since most songs from the Red album aren't available on the various Crimson live recordings.

The packaging was great (cardboard sleeve with a more than ample amount of liner notes and pictures from the period) and the audio was mixed very well. The only down side was the fade out of Easy Money - I don't quite know why that was done, but the inclusion of Starless makes up for it, in my opinion.

If you like John Wetton era King Crimson, your collection cannot lack this essential component.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jobson's Overdubs an Uncertain Plus, April 23, 2005

By 

Johann Cat "Grauer Kater" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Usa: 30th Anniversary Edition (Audio CD)

This is a high fidelity, butt-kicking record, so my reservations are based on fine points and on my view that there are other, better representations of the 1973-74 Crimson. What's odd about this record are the violin overdubs by Eddie Jobson. As others here point out, David Cross, the violinist on site, was dialed out of the mix (perhaps because he wasn't loud enough in the original), and Jobson brought in. Jobson is an excellent player, mind you, and he sounds great on a record like Roxy Music's live "Viva." But overdubbing a live record is tricky business at best, and the ambiance of the violin is rather obviously not that of Crimson's locale: it sounds mailed-in. The best live set from this period remains "The Great Deceiver;" in second place I'd put the double set "Night Watch." The production of the "Great Deceiver" performances, many also made in America, is drier and "realer" sounding overall (there's either ambient echo or a tad added to "USA"), and the violinist Cross is fine on those records. Still, "USA" remains the only single-disc live Crimson from this period.