King Crimson Live Albums Ranked part one

[@MisterGameFreakFREAK]

My favorite of their live albums is Absent Lovers , live in Montreal 1984!

[@801greg]

One correction -- John Wetton did sing / perform Cat Food with Crimson, and thus, he did sing at least one song by an earlier Crimson incarnation.

[@stuartraybould6433]

Yes, I stop watching when people start getting things wrong, 21st Century was also played by Wetton/Bruford/Cross/Fripp often as an encore.

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

I literally said that but yeah.....😀

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

801greg- Thanks.

[@stuartraybould6433]

@@theopinionatedhippie470 Sorry, must have missed that, loss of concentration 🤦‍♂️ The large box sets are the things to have, that's were the little gems are and the studio albums in surround sound are fantastic 👍

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

Agreed on the box sets but I think they are sold out, at least through DGM, right? Sailors’ Tales was a game changer for me...

[@boburso5637]

I get what you are saying when comparing this newer incarnation to Zappa '88 and now I am wondering what I am missing in the top 10. (I only have Epitaph, The Night Watch, and Absent Lovers of the earlier ones and I know those have to be in your top 5. Guessing Night Watch as #1. The first of these newer ones I bought was Live in Toronto just because Gavin Harrison is featured on the cover and I am such a huge Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson fan - Gavin is one of my all time favorite drummers. Live in Toronto is great, but I like Meltdown in Mexico more which I also have. I have heard Live in Chicago, but haven't got it yet because to me it doesn't sound too much different than Toronto or Mexico. I have Live in Japan and like it a lot. I can't recall off the top of my head if the drum improv by Pat Mastellotto is on Live in Japan, but I have an excellent bonus track on my Construction of Light called "Rome Improv: Mastellotticus SS Blacticus" which is just amazing and led me down the Live Crimson rabbit hole. Live in Rome and Conegliano have some of that cool Drums in Space stuff going on. I love the Adrian Belew era stuff, I think Jakko Jakszyk does a great job covering all of the eras. (I don't really listen to KC for the singing, but just like with your Zappa reviews - your descriptions really help break down barriers to hear new things.) Speaking of John Wetton, are you a fan of Asia? (at least the first album).

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

Actually, I prefer the 2nd Asia album over the first, but really only like those first two....

[@1183newman]

My fav live album is Night Watch 1973 concert

[@FreeBrunoPowroznik]

What is the deal with the Collection Club live albums?

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

KC started releasing live shows through the mail in the late 90s....some rough sound quality but amazing releases. Some of these were included in the massive box sets and made redundant if you have those sets, but basically, a release series for the hardcore fan.

[@FreeBrunoPowroznik]

@@theopinionatedhippie470 Thanks for that Shaggy. I bet they're quite hard to get hold of individually are they? I'd love to get hold of some Bruford era live stuff. Mind you, I haven't checked out the official live releases yet. Can't believe I've been into KC for over 20 years and not bothered to do so.

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

If you go to Amazon and search king crimson collectors club, a bunch of them will pop up.

[@Cpayne30]

Great video...I got a lot of thoughts on these. Live Crim is the best Crim hands down. *Live at the Orpheum* - This one is pretty useless now. Bad selection and even worse mixing/mastering. *Radical Action* - Very good, but not a fan of removing the crowd noise. Plus the themed discs are weird. *Ladies of the Road* - What's on CD 1 is good but Schizoid Man is a massive waste at the expense of more material. *ELEKTRIK* - Not one of this band's better performances. *Live in Toronto* - Works better than Radical Action since it finally feels like a live show. Good performances. *Live in Vienna* - This one is one I don't go back to. The mix feels muddy to me. Not an essential one at all. *B'Boom* - This lineup's weakest performances. Was only released to "beat the boots" and has a really tinny sound. *Meltdown* - The essential one from the last band IMO. Good mix, fantastic versions of the songs. Only minus is the blu ray needlessly leaving off songs from the CDs. And Exiles is missing altogether. *Live in Chicago* - The most ferocious one from the last band. Probably shows their strengths the best but has less songs than Meltdown so that one wins. *VROOOM VROOOM* - One of the all time best IMO. The definitive double trio album. All definitive versions of the THRAK material and the best versions of Red and Larks II.

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

Thanks for the list and comments. My opinion on that side long Schizoid is completely different than yours.....😀

[@Cpayne30]

@@theopinionatedhippie470 Reminds me of the "extended monster version" Zappa videos here on youtube. I can't sit through those haha!

[@theopinionatedhippie470]

LOL. KC was actually his inspiration for those.....ThrakattacK to be exact. They definitely are only for a certain audience.

[@kevinhay7073]

I agree.The singing is the weakest thing about new Crimson..