King Crimson - Music Is Our Friend (3 LP)
- LP
- 3 piece(s)
- 2021
- 19 tracks
- 2 uur, 15 min
- progressive rock
Music Is Our Friend
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2.7
Average of 3 reviews
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I'm let down, the audio capture is nowhere near as good as Radical Action, Meltdown, or even their movie In The Court...It feels like they were a bit exhausted, not a stellar show. Nice cover artwork, solid pressing.
I was initially planning to pre-order this on 3x LP, but I opted to try the CD first. The sound quality is alright for a live recording, I suppose. I'm not usually one to leave negative reviews, but... it's taken me two sessions just to get through Disc 1, and it's truly awful. They've completely ruined "Larks' Tongues." "Pictures of a City" and "In the Court of the Crimson King" are passable, I guess. "Red" is just terrible. Another nightmare track... the 'singing' (or whatever you'd call it) is dreadful. "Neurotica" isn't good, and the 'vocals' are just as bad. "Indiscipline" is so poor that I had to skip ahead. There's way too much messing around with two or three drummers. They slow down the songs during the vocal parts so Jakko can mumble through the lyrics. If I ever manage to listen to Disc 2, I'll update my review. Just so you know, I own over 70 King Crimson releases, and I rarely leave negative reviews. But this album and "Live at The Orpheum" with Jakko Jaczcyzk on 'vocals' are simply terrible.
This is an Authorized Bootleg, meaning in King Crimson's terms that the sound quality isn't as refined as, say, Meltdown or Radical Action. Plus, it mostly features tracks from a single concert (though here, it's two). I must admit, while I wasn't overly keen on the tracklist—some standout pieces from 2018 to 2021 missing (Frame by frame, The sheltering sky, Cadence and cascade, Bolero, Fallen angel, Exiles, and another take on The ConstruKction of light could've been awesome additions ;-) )—the performance itself is phenomenal. Intense, full of energy, it's Crimson at their peak. Plus, some songs already on Toronto or the 4-song EP (like LTIA 1 and 2, Level Five, Schizoid man, Pictures of a city) are presented here in even better versions, making the repetition worthwhile. Capturing and mixing such a band, with three drum kits, sax-flute, bass, and guitars, is no easy feat, but it feels like the engineers have gotten better at conveying the band's raw power over the years. This is the Crimson orchestra, arguably at their best (alongside the 2018 tour, perhaps). The record sides are quite long, so there's some distortion near the end due to the loudness and vinyl's limitations. Aside from that, it's an essential recording in my opinion, with a fantastic cover and packaging, excellent print quality, and solid musical content.
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