King Crimson: The Collectable King Crimson Volume 1 - Live 1974 on 2 CDs

Taken from the band's own stereo soundboard tapes, Live in Mainz presents the 1974 quartet line-up at the peak of its powers days before the end of what was its final European tour. Featuring a trio of otherwise unavailable improvs, a killer version of the rare Dr. Diamond, material from the then about to be issued 'Starless & Bible Black' & Starless from the then as unrecorded 'Red' album this is a must have item for all King Crimson fans.
The Asbury Park Casino concert is the now legendary performance that gave rise to most of the 'USA' live album. Three days later the band gave its final performance in New York. Technical problems with the original tapes made some of David Cross' violin parts inaudible when mixed in 1974, so Eddie Jobson was brought in to provide overdubs. Edits of the concert were also necessary to allow for the time limitations of a single vinyl album. At the end of the 1990s, ace engineer / producer Ronan Chris Murphy revisited the tapes. Advances in technology allowed for the restoration of all of David Cross' original performance & with the vinyl time limit also removed, a new mix of the Asbury Park concert was undertaken. Effectively - USA II, this is its debut on CD, a unique concert, given a contemporary mix.
Beginning in 1998, King Crimson released a series of 'Beat the Bootlegger' CDs via subscription to a mail order only Collector's Club. Presenting recordings drawn from the band's own extensive high quality concert tape archive, rehearsal tapes & audio restored bootlegs of historic recordings, the Club series became highly popular. Recognising that subscription / mail order does not suit everyone, The Collectable King Crimson series aims to make the best of that series available to all. Each title will have a description of the source & quality of the audio on the outer sleeve. Most of the titles will be issued for a limited period only & all will be sold at a special price.
However, given the strength of this first release, in terms of sound quality, performance & fan anticipation - it could well become part of the permanent Crimson catalogue.

Bill Bruford: Drums
David Cross: Violin, Viola, Mellotron
Robert Fripp: Guitar, Mellotron
John Wetton: Bass Guitar & Vocals

Live in Mainz, Germany, March 30th 1974
Live in Asbury Park, NJ, USA June 28th 1974