“Great music,” exclaims a young man in the vicinity of the taper as Crimson finish their first number. Never ever underestimate the crowd control qualities of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part 2. Hitting the punters with the force of a water cannon, well-honed and intended to make people sit up and take notice, regardless of the band they might have been there to see, it announces in the most unambiguous terms possible that King Crimson is in the building.
While the audience is still dazed by what’s just hit them, the quiet intro to Lament slips out into the air, leading to yet more abrupt twists.
After the high-stakes drama of Fracture and Easy Money, they usher in a lovely pastoral improv, full of space and light. While Wetton chops and strikes the bass, David Cross’s freewheeling violin travels high, trailing delicate curves and long sonorous melodies. While it ultimately leads to The Night Watch, it’s very much a track in its own right and indicative of the gentler side of the band.
Although the climax of Starless suffers from the headwinds of a slightly detuned Mellotron, it’s still a remarkable rendition, as indeed the hurricane force version of 21st Century Schizoid with Fripp and Cross both taking excellent solos and a wailing duet. A somewhat boomy audience recording, this is an eminently listenable and rather exciting show.
