Starless Deluxe

King Crimson are one of THE great progressive rock bands. The 1973-1974 era quartet of Robert Fripp, John Wetton, David Cross, and Bill Bruford is considered by many fans to be the best lineup of the group. Their music mixed melodic, epic ballads with bone crunching rock (some of which borders onto metal) and open ended improvisation. They were also unique among rock groups in that they rarely played music that predated this particular lineup's existence, as Bob Fripp felt that most of the band's past music "did not belong to this lineup" (in fact, 21st Century Schizoid Man and Cat Food appear to be the only songs from before 1973 that this iteration of the band ever played, with Fripp sometimes preceding the former with Peace: A Theme). They were also one of the most exciting live bands ever. This boxset compiles live recordings from 1973 and 1974, along with a newly remixed version of the classic album Starless And Bible Black. The earliest recording on this set is a single track from a June 1973 show in Atlanta. Though they played the song regularly during the shows they did during this era, it was never taken into the studio and never appeared on any official releases until 1992 when it appeared on The Great Deceiver boxset. Bob Fripp has suggested that the song "never fell into place as a piece of writing", and in fact, early versions (such as this one) show the band tinkering with the arrangement in public, as if to suggest they weren't quite sure how they wanted the song to sound at first. It's not the greatest song ever written, but it is an interesting piece of music, particularly the instrumental section in the middle of the song.Next up is a show from the following October, in Arlington, Texas. As with the Atlanta recording, this is an audience tape, but it's of very high quality recording (for what it's worth, there are a few other audience tapes in this set, but most of it is sound board recordings). Though the boxset is primarily an overview of the band's European and UK performances, this particular concert was deemed "too good to leave out". Like other shows played during the autumn of '73, they play a mix of music from their most recent album at the time, Larks' Tongues In Aspic, plus several new pieces that would appear on Starless And Bible Black. One of the highlights of this show is a version of Fracture, the classic instrumental that would eventually close S&BB. What makes this version noteworthy is an extra section that was excised from the familiar arrangement.After that show, there's a jumpcut to Europe, where we hear three shows October and November '73, recorded on multi-track tape (which means they could be remixed, and have the best sound and instrument balance). The purpose of the full blown professional recording treatment was so that new material could be cherry picked and used on Starless & Bible Black. The Zurich and Glasgow shows will be familiar to veteran fans, as a selection of songs from them were included on The Great Deceiver set. Here, though, they're presented in their entirety, with the music in the original running order. As always the band plays great. Those familiar with S&BB will recognize We'll Let You Know from the Glasgow show, and The Mincer from the Zurich show.Speaking of The Mincer, it was actually an excerpt from a longer improvisation, with a vocal overdubbed on top of it. Since the original multi-track tape for this particular track is MIA, the track as it appeared on S&BB was simply reinserted into the longer improvisation, so you can (sort of) hear how it sounded on the night, in Zurich. For the "purists", they've also included a version of the same piece music, but with an audience tape (which naturally doesn't have the overdubbed vocal) replacing the section of music that became The Mincer.The last show from autumn '73 is from Amsterdam. Veteran fans will know this music for several reasons. First of all, excerpts from this show were broadcast on radio at the time, which became the source for a popular bootleg. Several songs were also used on the album Starless And Bible Black, including Trio, Starless And Bible Black itself (which, somewhat confusingly, is an improvisation which has nothing to do with the song that contains that phrase, which band would play the following year), Fracture, and part of The Night Watch (which is a mix of live performance and a studio track). Then, in the late 90's, the entire show (or at least, as much of as still exists on tape) was issued in the form of a double CD called The Night Watch. Once again the band plays an excellent show.Of particular note is Trio, a gentle piece featuring Cross on violin, Wetton's bass and Fripp playing a flute sound on the Mellotron. Reportedly, Bill Bruford was waiting for the right place to join in, but after realizing the piece was working fine without his participation, he chose to stand behind his drumkit, with this sticks folded against his chest. Though he doesn't play, he's still credited as a co-composer, and when the track appears on compilations, he is credited with "admirable restraint".After Amsterdam, the set jumps to the following March, and the start of what would be the final King Crimson European tour of the 70's (though nobody knew it at the time). The tour began in Udine, Italy. Unfortunately, only the last three numbers performed on the night appear to survive in soundboard form, though an audience recording of the rest of the concert appears in this set. Though the sound quality on the audience portion is less than perfect, it's still quite listenable, and has important historic value. In the first place, it presents the lone surviving recording of a hitherto unreleased song called Guts On Your Side. This song appears to have been played, at best, only twice in public, and like Doctor Diamond, was never recorded in the studio.The other important thing about this show is it's the debut of Starless, the epic ballad that would become a favorite of many Crimson fans, through it's inclusion on Red, the band's final studio album of the 70's. Here it's very rough around the edges, with Wetton singing provisional lyrics, and the band sounding like they're on the verge of losing control of the arrangement during the lengthy instrumental section of the song. It's intriguing to find that, at least initially, Starless was placed in the latter half of the show each time it was played, it typically wasn't the last song of the set. To this listener's ears, Starless belongs at the end of the set, last song before the encore (assuming there is one, which wasn't always the case with King Crimson), but apparently, it took the band themselves awhile to figure that out. It's also interesting to listen to the different versions of the song that appear on this set and The Road To Red (which chronicles the band's spring and summer 1974 North American tours), and hear how the lyrics evolve from night to night. John Wetton would never sing the lyrics that appear in the studio version of Starless, at least, not with King Crimson, as they weren't finalized until the July 1974 studio sessions that would produce the Red album.Apart from Marseilles, France, the band has every show from the tour on tape (and apart from the Udine concert, they're all soundboard tapes), and they all appear on this set. Some of these will be familiar to those who bought the King Crimson Collector's Club releases. The show from Mainz, West Germany is one example, it was released as a Collector's Club title circa 17 years ago, but was missing a small portion of the opening improvisation as well as the portion of the show that followed Easy Money (the tape cutting off abruptly as the end EM dissolves into Fracture). Here we not only have the restored opening, but an audience tape fills in the ending of the show.Other shows on this set have never been heard before, at least, not on an official release, and most likely not with this fidelity. Every show features the band taking the written pieces and (as Fripp once put it) turns them inside out, back to front, and upside down. They're all completely recognizable, but fans will take delight in cataloging and noting the differences, different guitar and violin solos each night, different fills and miscellaneous percussion playing from Bruford, etc. If you're the kind of fan who can't get enough of this group, this set is for you.

...I chose this engaging boxset due to the high praise here and elsewhere. With expectations set high I was a tad nervous about being disappointed since often there's an inverse relationship between expectation and happiness. The correlation applies to much of life.But, I am now finishing the last disc(27) as I write and I feel like there are no adequate words to describe how ecstatic I am with this set. Should you get this set? Use the following criteria to perhaps make a decision:1. If you are a huge King Crimson fan, this set is essential.2. If you love the time period for this set, then it's essential.3. If 1 and 2 apply, it is simply a no brainer, get the set! Beyond essential!Earlier this year I moved to another state and before the move my best friend told me it would be "an experience of exhaustion and exhilaration". Listening to this massive set was like that. It was a two plus week exhaustive listen but far more exhilarating than exhaustive. Blissful and sublime, it is a work of love by Robert Fripp and all involved. And it puts to shame all other box sets I've ever owned from other groups.So, I've already ordered and received the the two other box sets from this time period. After I take a breather I will proceed with the Larks Tongue set. Don't hesitate if you are on the fence about it. Jump to the acquisition side. You won't be disappointed.

OK Fripperman, are you trying to bankrupt us? I got the Belew era Crim boxes because as the years wore on I learned to love that Crimso band and I feel connected w/Belew as he grew up in nearby N. Ky. I know the Bears and Belew's solo stuff well. I was rummaging thru King Crim on Amazon recently and I thought you know what I have to breakdown and get one of the box sets of the older Crim era that I grew up on and was fascinated by my entire life. Big fan of Wetton also. I got the Starless box and put on the first disc and was floored at the richness of the sound. I have the Great Deceiver box of course which is good, but this remastered stuff on the Starless box is unbelievable. I know the average price per disc in the boxes is low, but I may have to get the other boxes. So Fripperman this is all said in jest and like one reviewer said, I'll support this amazing band and their output. My only downside is and why I bought the latest Red 2 cd package was it had video and didn't go for the Road to Red set- I'd like to have more videos, but now that i've heard this remastered sound I'll probably have to spring for Road to Red. B.T.W. it's special how Crimso has been playing Islands era stuff lately and of course in conjunction with that recently released box. It's all good is BS with a lot of stuff, but when it comes to KC- all is definitely good!

This is an excellent box set. After purchasing the Road to Red and Larks Tongues box sets, and realizing that most of it was low quality recordings, I was quite reluctant to buy this one. But I did anyways and I am happy to report that this box set is truly excellent. Sound quality is good throughout, and excellent on a few CDs. Only 2-3 CDs have poor sound quality, and those are labeled as "bonus" CDs. Anyways, there are so many discs in there that there is more than your share of good quality music for anyone. Consider this as a compendium of Crimson shows from the 1973-1974 era. The best quality recordings may have been released as part of the Great Deceiver box set, which is no longer in print. Fripp managed to find additional recordings with comparable quality. And you'll find those in here. Steven Wilson did a good job at remixing the Amsterdam concert - the bass sounds much more upfront and clear. The drums also sound very clear and dry. There are no silly sound effects added. Everything is dry and clean, as you would expect from an early 70s recording. Gosh, this box contains over 20 CDs (26, I think), even for $200 this is a really really good deal.

Toda la obra de King Crimson es de muy alta calificación y este box no es la excepción... cómpralo de inmediato

Nachdem ich die Sailor‘s Tail nieder gemacht habe, möchte ich hiermit wieder etwas gut machen. Ich habe erst 7 CDs gehört und bin dermaßen hin und weg, dass ich das Geld auch allein für diese 7 Scheiben ausgegeben hätte. Die Mixes sind dermaßen top, dass eine gute Stereo-Anlage einen 3D Sound abbildet. Die Band steht auf einem soliden Bassfundament mitten im Raum und spielt ein Konzert besser als das andere. Dies ist ein absolutes Muss für KC- Fans und die die es werden wollen.

Another great lump of KC in a LP sized box. 27 discs in total, 4 of which are DVD-A or Blu-Ray. I don't play the DVD/Blu-Ray discs from these boxsets, so can't comment on them.The set 1973/74 European concerts. The audio discs are for the most part superb. The bonus discs (25-27) are of very poor audio quality and I don't think I need to play those again. The main course, audio discs 1-20 are want you want. Discs 1-19 are live and disc 20 is the 2011 Steve Wilson stereo mix of Starless and Bible Black.There is a lot of similarity in the live sets in terms of songs played, but the performances do vary. Beware most of these performances have been released in one form or another, mostly download only from DGM. There are 4 concerts released for the first time herePalais Paul Videl, Avignon , France 24 March 1974Palias Des Sports, Besancon, France 25 March 1974Halle Der Fachschule, Dieburg, Gemany 28 March 1974Stadthalle, Göttingen, Germany 2 April 1974If you like KC and this line up (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford), then this box is for you. It is expensive , but for 27 discs works out about £5 a disc. Plus you get all the box candy.

Un'edizione splendida per chi non si accontenta. Immergersi completamente nella registrazione e nel percorso di realizzazione di una musica che non ha limiti storici, che attraverso il tempo senza alcun tipo di invecchiamento. C'è chi critica questo tipo di edizione, come se fosse uno sfruttamento dell'ascoltatore fan dei King Crimson. In realtà sono veri e propri scrigni per chi, come me, vuole approfondire la nascita di un'opera. In un parallelo letterario, è come se venissero messi a disposizione del pubblico i passaggi di realizzazione di un'opera, con le modifiche, i cambiamenti, le evoluzioni del testo, fino alla stesura completa.Per chi come me, cerca stimoli nella musica ma non li trova nel contemporaneo, è una forza inestimabile quella di cercarli e trovarli nelle opere del passato.

The item arrived without a protective post box or even the shop sealed plastic. The postage labels stuck directly to cover. Super disappointed with the treatment of such a great product.