On this date 40 years ago King Crimson played to a half-empty Casino at Asbury Park on a wet and windy night as part of the final leg of a tour that was meant to break them commercially in the States, but ended instead breaking up the band.
A few days after this gig they returned to England, recorded Red and then King Crimson was in Fripp’s words at the time "completely over for ever and ever.”
With its contents drawn largely from this gig, a posthumously released USA, garnered critical applause and brickbats in roughly equal measure. Even the normally Crim-sceptic Rolling Stone cited the fade on Easy Money as perplexing and frustrating.
As life moved on, with Fripp heading into retreat, Wetton and Bruford both off to too many bands to mention and David Cross en route towards sessions and eventually academia, USA was finally deleted and long forgotten.
Except it wasn’t.
Spooling forward a few years to the internet age it became evident that those who held this period of the band in high esteem saw USA and this particular concert as a kind of Holy Grail.
It was a regular topic on message boards and news groups who called for the album to be released on CD and the tracks restored to their imagined pre-edited glory.
When, finally reissued in 2002 as part of King Crimson’s 30th anniversary editions, although tracks from the rest of Casino gig concert had been added, somewhat perversely Fripp decided against undoing the edits rendered in 1975.
Though its release was roundly welcomed it was surely a frustrating and bittersweet moment for fans looking forward to hearing what happened next on Asbury Park or Easy Money.
For that they would have to wait until November 2005 and the launch of DGMLive. It was no surprise given the clamour for it over the years that the very first download on this site was for 28th June, 1974.
Presented uncut for the very first time using unreleased mixes from the multitracks, and without the added Eddie Jobson overdubs, the power of this gig is tangible. Despite the internal politics and tensions of the period, the band taps into a ferocious energy that never stops burning. Wetton is especially inventive, infusing the material with a brutal force.
At the other end of the sonic spectrum Fripp’s sparkling clarity produces a consistently powerful performance that must rank amongst his very best.
And what about those edits Fripp and Wettton had made in 1975? Although it’s nice finally to have the full version, some (myself included) would grudgingly accept that the cut on Asbury Park and the fade-out on Easy Money were probably right in terms of the dynamics of the original album release.
From the grumbling rasp of LTIApt2 through to the ecstatic demands for an encore, this is a classic Crimson show in every respect. Indispensable to fans and worth every bit of the attention the show has received over the years.
Even if concerts live on forever sometimes the venues which housed them don’t. This was the state of the casino after its closure in 2005.
Head over here to see some more of Mike Black’s photos.
What are your thoughts on this concert? What about the edits - right decision or wrong move? Get onto the guestbook and let us know.
Image courtesy of: Dave Reininger
A few days after this gig they returned to England, recorded Red and then King Crimson was in Fripp’s words at the time "completely over for ever and ever.”
With its contents drawn largely from this gig, a posthumously released USA, garnered critical applause and brickbats in roughly equal measure. Even the normally Crim-sceptic Rolling Stone cited the fade on Easy Money as perplexing and frustrating.
As life moved on, with Fripp heading into retreat, Wetton and Bruford both off to too many bands to mention and David Cross en route towards sessions and eventually academia, USA was finally deleted and long forgotten.
Except it wasn’t.
Spooling forward a few years to the internet age it became evident that those who held this period of the band in high esteem saw USA and this particular concert as a kind of Holy Grail.
It was a regular topic on message boards and news groups who called for the album to be released on CD and the tracks restored to their imagined pre-edited glory.
When, finally reissued in 2002 as part of King Crimson’s 30th anniversary editions, although tracks from the rest of Casino gig concert had been added, somewhat perversely Fripp decided against undoing the edits rendered in 1975.
Though its release was roundly welcomed it was surely a frustrating and bittersweet moment for fans looking forward to hearing what happened next on Asbury Park or Easy Money.
Image courtesy of: Mike Dowd
For that they would have to wait until November 2005 and the launch of DGMLive. It was no surprise given the clamour for it over the years that the very first download on this site was for 28th June, 1974.
Presented uncut for the very first time using unreleased mixes from the multitracks, and without the added Eddie Jobson overdubs, the power of this gig is tangible. Despite the internal politics and tensions of the period, the band taps into a ferocious energy that never stops burning. Wetton is especially inventive, infusing the material with a brutal force.
At the other end of the sonic spectrum Fripp’s sparkling clarity produces a consistently powerful performance that must rank amongst his very best.
And what about those edits Fripp and Wettton had made in 1975? Although it’s nice finally to have the full version, some (myself included) would grudgingly accept that the cut on Asbury Park and the fade-out on Easy Money were probably right in terms of the dynamics of the original album release.
From the grumbling rasp of LTIApt2 through to the ecstatic demands for an encore, this is a classic Crimson show in every respect. Indispensable to fans and worth every bit of the attention the show has received over the years.
Even if concerts live on forever sometimes the venues which housed them don’t. This was the state of the casino after its closure in 2005.
Head over here to see some more of Mike Black’s photos.
What are your thoughts on this concert? What about the edits - right decision or wrong move? Get onto the guestbook and let us know.
