King Crimson bulldoze their way into the ears of this Tokyo crowd with the particular barbarous rendition of Red that not only takes no prisoners but at times threatens to storm ahead without various members of the group.
Improv I features Adrian on waspish setting that he would later refine for Virtuous Circle, whose bass notes can be percolating through the rhythmic patterns. Fripp’s laser beam lines take on an almost sinuous quality that eventually coalesce into 13-second sustained note that carries over into the second, rockier excursion.
In between One Time and Dinosaur, a fleeting, seconds-long Belew-generated beat offers up an intriguing platform. Yet almost as soon as it arrives, it’s gone, like some ghost in the machine. “Just thought I’d try that for a second” says the guitarist.
There’s a few clams that come to unseat players in the oddest of places but none so naked or apparent than on LTIA PtIV. Here it’s Ade’s rig that fails to rise to the occasion in that song rather than Ade himself, leaving Fripp the arduous task of trying to stay on the back of the beast all on his own. He stages a quick recovery in time for the fast running notes, executing a faultless run, by which time Ade’s rig is back up to speed. Of the clams in general, some forced and unforced, Fripp noted at the time, “the quality of our recoveries are only matched by the abandon which precipitates them.”
All in all, a very lively show indeed!
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