The second date of a series of gigs in Europe King Crimson provides a stark contrast to the smoother tones of headline act Roxy Music. Given that Bryan Ferry and colleagues were touring Avalon, then their best-selling album, you’d expect the majority of the crowd would be barely tolerant of the support act.
However, in this restored slightly toppy audience recording, there’s clearly an enthusiastic enclave who are cheering our heroes on, and, in the case of the opening bars of The Sheltering Sky, attempting a clap-along! This piece always manages to provide a shift in dynamics, conjuring a kind of still-space. That they are able to achieve this in the face of a punter determined to whistle louder than the band borders on the remarkable.
Despite the Crims sounding a little distracted with the opening portion of Red turning a shade brown, powerful renditions of Indiscipline and the thundering set-closer of LTIA PtII are especially effective. Little wonder that in his interview with the popular Spanish newspaper, El Pais, published the day after this gig, Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry declared, “King Crimson...is very good live, fantastic.”
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