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King Crimson

Hyde Park London England 04 Sep 1971

Two years after they had last played Hyde Park, a different line-up took to the stage in the London park once again, sandwiched between Formerly Fat Harry, Roy Harper and Jack Bruce. Writing for the Melody Maker, Chris Charlesworth wrote this of Crimson’s short time on the stage. “The sun was shining at mid-day and about 60,000 gathered on the Queen's lush garden. Many had slept the night in the park to ensure a good seat at the front of the stage. Formerly Fat Harry opened the proceedings with a tight but uninteresting set. They were followed by King Crimson, who played the shortest set I've ever heard from the new group. Choosing from their material from the softer numbers in their catalogue, it was singer Boz who stole the honours. They ended with 'Schizoid Man', which has become their anthem, and really deserved to carry on longer. As it was probably Crimson's last London concert for some time, it was a pity the cheers for more went unheeded. Presumably the strict regulations about playing in the park (I remember Canned Heat being "switched off" last year) prevented more.” This is a listenable audience recording although during the two ballads the band sometimes has to compete with conversations of the punters nestled around the tape recorder’s microphone. There are also some head-screwing tape warbles and distortions to contend with. Nevertheless, the dedicated listener will find that despite the shortness of the set Crimson are on good form here.