Music Arcades: King Crimson: The Collectable King Crimson, Volume 2

The first CD is from 1981, before the band were actually calling themselves King Crimson, as far as I can tell. They did some warm-up gigs, including this one in Bath at the same venue where James recorded One Man Clapping about eight years later, under the name Discipline. It's an audience bootleg, cleaned up and EQed by the very clever engineers at DGM Live.

I didn't realise until I read Bill Bruford's recent autobiography that Philadelphia is a real prog mecca: the American Aylesbury. Bill said all his various bands were assured of a good reception there. The second CD was recorded there in 1982. It's taken from the band's own 8-track recording.

Which do you think is better? The first, of course. It's noisy, in all senses of the word. It's a mess, and it even sounds sweaty. You can hear a new band gradually knitting together around a new repertoire. Seven of the nine tracks are from Discipline (which, obviously, had yet to be released at this point). The performances are less, well, disciplined; more raw. Especially at the beginning. In Thela Hun Ginjeet, Adrian Belew quotes/improvises the "My house, your house" rant from Exposure's NY3. (That was a trainspotter service announcement, which also evidences my 'raw' claim.)

A year later and things are more settled, everything in its right place. Including the audience, who no longer make their presence felt during the songs: just a remote tinkling of appreciation, like insects on a summer's day between songs. Note (in the spirit of audio verité): when recording live performance, be sure to record the room, not just the instruments. It's the interaction between players and listeners that matters, not just fact that the players can't stop and rewind when they choose. Witness the best live records ever made: 1, 2.