What a amazing noise the crowd at The Savoy make as this new incarnation of King Crimson take to the stage for the very first time. No wonder the spines in the band were tingling. This was the 12th gig into the North American tour and the beginning of a three-night stint that would pass into KC mythology as some of the best moments for the 81-era Crimson.
As with most things, you probably had to be there to fully appreciate the atmosphere and excitement generated during these concerts. For those in attendance, both artist and punter, the occasion is etched into the memory with indelible detail. For the rest of us, these audience recordings at least provide a thumb-nail sketch.
With a set consisting primarily of numbers from the then newly released Discipline, the inclusion of new tracks in varying stages of progress make this a fascinating piece of documentation when it comes to charting the making of Beat. Neil And Jack And Me is a beautiful lattice-work of ideas, muscular in places yet remarkably fragile in others. Interesting also to hear Manhattan (later to become Neurotica by the time it was recorded four months later) taken at such a slow tempo.
Writing on Elephant Talk in 1997 Steven Sullivan noted "Those concerts were outstanding even by Crimson standards. The Sheltering
Sky and Manhattan were literally hair-raising. And Fripp-raising: the guitar 'conversation' in Sheltering
Sky at one of the Savoy shows was the only time I've ever seen Fripp rise off his playing stool in musical transport.
If Mr. Fripp's reading this, he knows I write truth. How about giving all the other Crimheads a chance to hear these performances?"
Well, 15 years on from that plea being written, and 31 years after the performances themselves, here they are.
Buyer beware: Discipline is sadly incomplete. DGMLive would like to give a special thanks to John Bella for his assistance with these downloads.
