John Kelman's extensive review of the forthcoming Meltdown Live In Mexico City has been published.
"Even as a seven-piece lineup, Crimson 8.1 was already doing something no other Crimson had done (or, to be truthful, had been able to do): refresh and revitalize material from (almost) across the band's entire history, by having enough hands on deck to interpret studio material that had originally included far more layers and instrumentation than any of Crimson's previous quartet configurations (or, even, the mid-'90s double trio and 2008's double-drum, double-guitar quintet) could manage in concert.
Expanded to an eight-piece has rendered Crimson 8.3/9 even more capable and filled with farther-reaching prospects. Beyond Harrison's innovative arrangements for three drummers, with both Stacey and Fripp also contributing on keys alongside Rieflin means that there can be up to three keyboardists at once, which further allows the group to develop as it brings together, for the first time, two guitarists, bass/stick and saxophones/flutes. And, of course, three drummers who, rather than following rock's semi-norm of playing largely the same parts, are, instead, more like a classical percussion section, albeit one with rock energy and a strong improvisational bent."
