“When I was a very young man at school in England I studied German. I gained 4% in my school examination and abandoned the subject,” says Fripp as he stands on stage in Hamburg for the first time in his professional career. After a powerful opening with LTIA PtI, which leaves the audience momentarily reduced to silence, the band dive into a blast of Easy Money, containing a furious guitar solo. He may have failed his German exam at school but this musical one at the Audiomax is passed with flying colours.
Reinhard Karasek, in the audience tonight had previously seen King Crimson in 1969 at Hyde Park and the Marquee. “In 1973 we could feel the energy and dynamic in this band and I think the concert was a better experience for me than in ’69,” he recalls.
On this somewhat grainy but eminently listenable audience recording, what would have then been three previously unknown numbers are unveiled to the assembled punters; a lovely rendition of The Night Watch, a sadly truncated Fracture, and a particularly forceful Lament.
The improv that follows features Bruford’s rhythm box providing an insistent click track of sorts. Wetton is quick to jump in and despite the less than optimal recording, you can easily hear John’s muscular yet lyrical counterpoint. A surging, high-octane improv for most of its duration, it finally gives way to Exiles, which sits, somewhat unusually, adjacent to LTIA Pt II which closes the gig from a cold start.
