An often fuzzy and at times indistinct audience recording captures Crimson as it embarks on the second date of its North American campaign and what would prove to be Peter Sinfield’s last tour with the band. The double-whammy of Cirkus and an extremely aggressive rendition Pictures lets the punters in Toronto know the band mean business. The huge rise and fall in dynamics of these tracks are nicely contrasted by a gentle Formentera Lady, embellished by Mel Collins’ lightly skipping flute. Given the volatile and explosive notes that issue from his sax on the The Sailor’s Tale, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they emanate from two entirely different musicians. Fripp’s revved up solo provides a hair-raising and dramatic interlude, and though slightly scrambled by the audio quality, the dueling mellotrons on the outro sound bizarre and other-worldly. Ian Wallace’s drum solo erupts out of Tale and the whole piece concludes with a controlled sustain fade-out. A strong Schizoid Man sounds jazzier than usual in the winding instrumental break with Collins on devastating form. It’s easy to understand how audiences expecting some standard rock fare would have had their heads taken off by this outfit.
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