King Crimson - Epitaph (1969) 04 CDs - 1997

Epitaph BBC legendado

Estes shows reúnem um dos line-ups mais memoráveis da banda, contém extratos de eventos lendários como Fillmore East e The Fillmore West e as sessões da BBC em 1969. As letras, como você pode conferir ainda estavam sendo escritas, diferindo um pouco da versão oficial do álbum que foi gravado no mês seguinte, pelos remanescentes do grupo. A qualidade do som é muito boa, principalmente se considerarmos a escassez de recursos de meio século atrás. O clássico "21st Century Schizoid Man" ao vivo em Fillmore East, bem como em Fillmore West, têm execuções poderosas, com linhas de baixo incríveis, solos de guitarras agressivos, execuções talvez insuperáveis. "Epitaph" nas sessões da BBC1 (as lendárias "Peel Sessions"), me parece viver um momento perfeito, irrepreensível, Lake registra algumas de suas performances mais memoráveis, mesmo com apenas 21 anos de idade, jovem como toda a banda, o nível do conjunto é impressionante, contagiando até os fãs mais familiarizados. Outro destaque em desempenho, "Mars", oferece clímax grandioso que começa do nada e eleva-se á dinâmica dramaticamente frenética (com baixo e bateria ostinatos e perturbadoras linhas de mellotron dissonantes) é algo surreal. A onipresença do Mellotron nestes shows é fundamental para o resultado soberbo aqui. Nesta fase inicial King Crimson se mostra totalmente afastado de qualquer apego a formas tradicionais,  traçando um curso que acabaria por consolidar-los em um dos raros casos de bandas trilharam seu próprio caminho com absoluta  autenticidade. Fripp que começou a tocar guitarra aos 11 anos, em nenhum momento se prendeu à algum estilo musical, desenvolveu um estilo único sem se prender ao mainstream, o que lhe gerou excelente reputação no meio especializado. Boa audição!

21st Century Schizoid Man

King Crimson
Epitaph
All tracks written by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield, unless otherwise indicated.

Disc one (72:53)
Tracks 1-2 recorded May 6, 1969 at Maida Vale Studios, London, UK for BBC Radio
Tracks 3-4 recorded August 19, 1969 at Maida Vale Studios, London, UK for BBC Radio [Track 4 includes the introduction to track 5 at the end]
Tracks 5-7 recorded November 21, 1969 at the Fillmore East, New York, USA
Tracks 8-11 recorded December 13, 1969 at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, USA

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:06
2. "The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 6:27 (preview)
3. "Get Thy Bearings" (Donovan Leitch) – 5:59
4. "Epitaph" – 7:08
5. "A Man, a City" – 11:41 (preview)
6. "Epitaph" – 7:42
7. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:16  (preview)
8. "Mantra" – 3:47
9. "Travel Weary Capricorn" – 3:15
10. "Improv - Travel Bleary Capricorn" – 2:23
11. "Mars" (Gustav Holst) – 8:53

Disc two (50:29)
Recorded December 14, 1969 at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, USA

1. "The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 7:13
2. "Drop In" (Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald) – 5:14
3. "A Man, a City" – 11:19
4. "Epitaph" – 7:31
5. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:37
6. "Mars" (Holst) – 9:42

Disc three (55:27)
Recorded August 9, 1969 at Plumpton Racetrack (at the Ninth National Jazz and Blues Festival), Streat, UK

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:14
2. "Get Thy Bearings" (Leitch) – 10:32
3. "The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 6:43
4. "Mantra" – 8:46
5. "Travel Weary Capricorn" – 3:57
6. "Improv" – 8:54including "By the Sleeping Lagoon" (Eric Coates)
7. "Mars" (Holst) – 7:23

Disc four (62:47)
Recorded September 7, 1969 at the Chesterfield Jazz Club, Chesterfield, UK

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:57
2. "Drop In" (Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald) – 6:20
3. "Epitaph" – 7:22
4. "Get Thy Bearings" (Leitch) – 18:10
5. "Mantra" – 5:29
6. "Travel Weary Capricorn" – 4:54
7. "Improv" – 4:34
8. "Mars" (Holst) – 5:37

Personnel

• Robert Fripp - guitar
• Greg Lake - bass guitar, vocals
• Ian McDonald - woodwinds, keyboards, mellotron
• Michael Giles - drums, percussion

CD1 & CD2

multiupload (276.72 MB / 320 Kbps)

4shared (283.36 MB / 320 Kbps)

rusfolder (267.72 MB / 320 Kbps)

CD3 & CD4

multiupload (258.76 MB / 320 Kbps)

4shared (264.96 MB / 320 Kbps)

rusfolder (258.76 MB / 320 Kbps)

Do encarte do álbum:

This is the second to last show of King Crimson's first American tour, and the second to last show by the original lineup, who would disband shortly afterwards.

Although incomplete, this is a wonderful segment and an excellent recording of the original lineup in action. This is also quite unique as it captures the group playing in a distinctively different framework than they were known for around this time. The first couple of songs are missing. "Mantra," which begins this recording, showcases the band's ability to play delicate, introspective music just as well as the strong and forceful music King Crimson is known for.

This song transitions into an excellent jazzy arrangement of the unreleased song "Travel Weary Capricorn," which features a distinctive Spanish-flavored improvisation in the middle. Robert Fripp had never used such a clear, unprocessed tone on his guitar and the entire ensemble plays beautifully on this piece.

As "Travel Weary Capricorn" comes to a close, Michael Giles begins very softly playing the 5/4 repeating pattern that begins Gustov Holst's "Mars." This tempo, evoking the martial rhythm of field drums, slowly builds in intensity. As the other musicians begin playing this repeating pattern, it gets progressively more aggressive and menacing. At the point where the anxiety factor is reaching an almost unbearable level, the mellotron begins playing demented improvisations over the rest of the group.

How audiences must have felt during this is anybody's guess, but the sheer intensity is pulverizing and not for the faint of heart. How any group could follow this and not be anticlimactic is left only to speculation. On this night that difficult situation was left toThe Chambers Brothers, who took the stage shortly after.