April 29, 1974
	Stanley Warner Theatre    Pittsburgh, PA

The Above Average Deceiver   April 15, 2009
Written by DeVito

This download is worth it for Fripp’s ripping solo on Schizoid Man. The solo opens with 60 seconds of full-on scream in Fripp’s patented FLAIL mode. After a wind-down and a brief pause, there’s a couple of minutes of single-note lead that goes from angular sustain to jagged feedback to knotted strings of notes and back again -- just some good old-fashioned electric rock guitar, supported by a monstrous, crunching groove from Wetton and Bruford.

At the other end of the spectrum, and just as good, is the pastoral Daniel Dust improv into Night Watch (even though Fripp has to stop and start over again because of all the loudmouthed assholes in the audience). This was pretty much David Cross’s only chance to make an audible contribution on violin -- very nice. It’s clear that by this point Cross was having trouble fitting into this band; often he played supporting piano or mellotron, and on the loud tunes where he played violin, he was just audible enough to be distracting but not loud enough that you can really hear what he was trying to do. But on quieter pieces he made a vital contribution.

I have to wonder how Dr. Diamond hung on as long as it did in the set list -- they needed an auctioneer to spit out those rapid-fire lyrics. The instrumental section is heavy though.

Overall, this concert feels uneven to me, and I don’t think it’s among the best by this group -- though it’s nice to have a complete set from the Spring 1974 tour. But get it for Schizoid Man.

Next, how about more from Summer ’74?

-- Chris DeVito

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