Following a couple of days playing in Canada, the newly revitalised King Crimson are on pretty devastating form. For all the general muddiness of this restored audience recording, their musicality burns bright. The occasion is auspicious enough to bring Robert Fripp up from his stool in order to address a highly boisterous and enthusiastic crowd. “First it begins King Crimson’s return to active service in the United States...in the venue King Crimson first worked in America in October 1969. it was also the same hotel in which bill Bruford last stayed with Yes before joining King Crimson...” Prior to this announcement Fripp had just played the solo of his life on The Sheltering Sky in a band performance that’s simply stunning - not only in the first solo but in the coda as well easily overcoming the sonic disadvantages of its source. Across the gig, the material that would make up much of Beat the following year, pulsates with life, vibrant and vital. Sartori In Tangiers is blessed with a spectral introduction featuring some soaring guitar from Ade against the dark undertow of Levin’s rumbling Stick work and radiant constellations of notes radiating from the Roland keyboard. It’s stunning stuff.
