Wow - the DGMLive debut of Jamie Muir era Crim. Following some warm-up shows in Germany (documented on KCCC20) and a one-off date in Redcar in October, the new line-up of King Crimson took to the stage of Hull’s Technical College to unleash a ferocious sound. The abrasive mixture of freshly composed material and off-the-top-of-their-head excursions into improvised territory was a dynamic and often challenging combination.
Things are clearly still in development. LTIApt 1 has a rockier feel to it and is at this point still awaiting the familiar coda. The big improvised set-pieces shed light on the protracted nature of KC’s compositional techniques as licks from Fallen Angel and Doctor Diamond are thrown and tossed about long before they were ever distilled into songs.
Even the tuning problems which plague Exiles fail to dint the excitement of the show. First night nerves are also evident in the execution of some cues and corners of tracks which sound very familiar to our ears now but were brand spanking new on the night in question.
The murky sound of this complete audience recording won’t be to everyone’s taste, and of course the audio medium fails to convey the full anarchic presence of Jamie in full blood-spurting flight.
However, its availability on DGMLive is more than justified by the historical importance of the show which one reviewer described as "a riveting performance."
