Box Set:
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The Great Deceiver |
Release Date |
10/30/1992 |
In King Crimson's extensive catalog of archival recordings and box sets, The Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974) is the undisputed winner, the item truly worth acquiring. The four-CD set Frame by Frame, released 18 months earlier, was light on material previously unavailable and included a few edits and overdubs on classic King Crimson tracks that shocked the fans. Epitaph, another four-CD collection culled from the group's first live shows in 1969, boasted understandably flawed sound and more repetitive content. But The Great Deceiver has it all. Over four discs, the set chronicles the on-stage activity between October 1973 and June 1974 of the most powerful King Crimson lineup. Robert Fripp, John Wetton, David Cross, and Bill Bruford were mostly performing material from their previous two LPs (Larks Tongues in Aspic and Starless and Bible Black). Yes, the track list remains pretty much the same from one show to another, but the group approaches each night from a different angle, changing the arrangements on the fly to suit the prevailing mood -- check out the chameleon-esque "Easy Money," presented in four guises, for tangible proof. Most importantly, the group performed unpredictable improvisations that embodied the struggle between order and chaos that Fripp thrived to express in penned songs like "Starless" and "Fracture." The live tapes have been beautifully mastered so that the music hits hard without losing the subtle nuances of Cross' violin. At the time of its release, The Great Deceiver filled a gap in the group's discography (the live album USA had not been officially reissued yet), but even after tons of additional concerts from that period were released by Fripp's label, Discipline, this box set still stands as the definitive argument to consecrate the 1973-1974 Crimson as its most exciting incarnation. -- François Couture (allmusic.com)
King Crimson
Things Are Not as They Seem...
Discipline
KC DIS 1
(1992)
Rock/Pop
CD, 9
Tracks, 76:37
Length
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01 |
Walk On ... No Pussyfooting |
Robert Fripp; Brian Eno |
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00:48 |
02 |
Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two |
Robert Fripp |
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06:24 |
03 |
Lament |
Robert Fripp; John Wetton; Richard Palmer-James |
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04:38 |
04 |
Exiles |
David Cross; Robert Fripp; John Wetton; Richard Palmer-James |
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08:57 |
05 |
Improv - A Voyage To The Centre of the Cosmos |
David Cross; Robert Fripp; John Wetton; Bill Bruford |
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15:03 |
06 |
Easy Money |
Robert Fripp; John Wetton; Richard Palmer-James |
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07:12 |
07 |
Improv - Providence |
David Cross; Robert Fripp; John Wetton; Bill Bruford |
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10:18 |
08 |
Fracture |
Robert Fripp |
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11:14 |
09 |
Starless |
David Cross; Robert Fripp; John Wetton; Bill Bruford; Richard Palmer-James |
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12:03 |
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Packaging |
Jewel Case |
Live |
Yes |
Spars |
DDD |
Sound |
Stereo |
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Guitar |
Robert Fripp |
Bass |
John Wetton |
Violin |
David Cross |
Drums |
Bill Bruford |
Musician |
King Crimson |
Producer |
Robert Fripp |
Engineer |
David Singleton |
|
Index |
#
1785 |
Owner |
Dave |
Tags |
Art Rock, Experimental, Free Improvisation, Prog Rock |
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Four CDs full of live King Crimson from 1973 and 1974, an era that many consider their best. Although some songs are repeated, they're never played the same way twice. If you're a King Crimson fan, that's enough of an incentive for purchase; if you're not, the musical expertise of the band might convert you, providing you have the money for a box set. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)