What does it sound like?:
A look at two RSD releases, both double vinyl albums.
If memory serves, this Crimson set was originally part of the huge Road To Red box set that appeared around ten years ago, but this marks its first standalone release. It captures the band on top form on their 1974 US tour, with highlights being a fiery take on Larks Tongues, a nice Exiles, and best of all the closing quite magnificent pairing of Fracture and Starless. Appended as a bonus is a fine performance of 21st Century Schizoid Man captured a couple of days later at a show in Central Park. Further good news for fans is that July will see the release of a 2LP/cd set capturing the highlights of the band’s four night run in New York in September 2014. This marks the start of a new series of releases for the ‘seven headed beast’ line up that existed from 2014-2021, and will be followed later this year by a two bluray set that comprises all 19 shows from that 2014 US tour.
The XTC set is the first in a proposed series of live recordings. This one captures the band at Emerald City in 1981, not the one in Oz sadly but in the rather more prosaic surroundings of New Jersey, promoting the Black Sea album. It does state that ‘minimal audio restoration has been undertaken’, and certainly the sound, as the title suggests, is on a par with a bootleg recording so don’t expect to hear anything in high fidelity! However, what it lacks in sound quality is more than compensated for by the band’s high energy punchy performance on the night, as they mine the Drums and Wires and Black Sea records to good effect, throwing in a smattering of older crowd pleasers such as Statue of Liberty along the way. It’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of this era of this always inventive outfit, and it will be interesting to see what else they have lurking in their vaults.
What does it all *mean*?
The good news for non vinyl lovers is that both releases will appear on cd in June.
Goes well with…
Remembering it’s Robert Fripp’s 80th birthday this coming weekend.
Release Date:
Out now.
Might suit people who like…
For collectors and completists.
I picked up the KC album on RSD, even though I had the same performance on the Road to Red box. It really is a fantastic performance, and the vinyl sounds immaculate. Can’t recommend it enough. It’s good to hear about the 2014 stuff coming later this year.
The KC album is indeed disc 16 of The Road to Red. Excellent gig throughout. A couple of the best improvs from the tour…
This is why I didn’t buy the RSD version – LP or not, I don’t need to own it twice.
https://dgmlive.com/news/happy-birthday-robert-2026