f the intention behind Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part 1 was to describe the full extent of what this still-new incarnation of King Crimson was capable of, it more than succeeds. While present-day ears are largely acclimatised to the Larks’-era Crims, the range of colour, tone, and dynamics covered during the piece instilled a kind of stunned awe in audiences back in the day. Capturing the third date on 1973’s jaunt through Europe, although the quality of this audience recording is somewhat boomy it nevertheless conveys something of the startling freshness KC represented at that time.
You can tell the crowd is well up it for as they trying clapping along to a bass solo that comes out of Easy Money and leads into an absolutely epic improvisation that makes the scale of LTIA Pt 1 positively myopic! As the audience’s clapping falters, the Crims flirt with something more angular for a moment or two but Bruford’s gorgeous In A Silent Way-style shuffle provides stability for Wetton’s percussive snaps and a languidly beautiful violin passage, before eventually moving more firmly into straighter rock territory. Fripp’s darting notes around 7.00 minutes provide a dazzling herald for the next excursion into the still nascent components of what would become Guts On My Side.
Graceful, delicate versions of Exiles and Book Of Saturdays offer a gentler, romanticised idea of Crimson which sounds all the more remarkable due to proximity to the band’s often caustic improvisations. The second example of this aspect of their collective personality in the set moves from pastoral themes into a solo rummaging on snare and kit from Bruford. He’s out there on his own for a while before a comping Fripp rides in and the intensity builds. When Wetton comes in it’s like a bomb being detonated. Perhaps more than anything this concert showcases an energised band taking flight.
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