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  Oxford Dreaming September 1, 2011
Written by petersenior
Superb playing and great sound for an audience bootleg. After a great Larks 1 followed by some amusing comments from RF there is a sublime Daily Games drifting via a DC solo into a pastoral improv which quietly builds into a crescendo before dissolving into the improv to a lovely Exiles. It’s a shame there isn’t an entire show but if you like the Jamie Muir era band get this little gem and the Hull Technical College download which is a complete but grittier show. Uncle Rev
A quality download July 29, 2008
Written by HarrySpade
The sound quality is very good for a bootleg cassette. Most of the instruments are audible throughout, especially David Cross’ violin.
The performances are outstanding. The version of "Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part 1" included here rivals the studio version, maybe even exceeds in intensity. The improv is very enjoyable, one of the best I’ve heard from this lineup.
If you enjoy the Larks’ quintet, (really, who doesn’t?) this is worth purchasing, and if you’re new to these downloads or this lineup of the band, this is a very good one with which to start.
The gig that changed my life May 22, 2008
Written by mramnesiac
Yes, I know hyperbole is the common argot of the web, but just consider... I was an18 year old rock fan, into Yes, Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, The Bonzos. I’d heard improvisation before, but always within a context. I’d never heard truly free improvisation, jumping out into the void and seeing what happens. This gig was truly revelatory. And what’s more, of all the free improvisation I have heard since then, from Henry Cow through Lol Coxhill through Evan Parker through to the bunch that I even get to play with myself, Oxford Improvisers, King Crimson, the 1972 Jamie Muir including incarnation in particular, remain the exemplars. Had any rock band ever done anything like this before? Had Crimson done anything like this before? If so, please dear internet egghead, enlighten me. I’ve just recorded my first album, of mainly improvised rock music. For some of us it takes a long time to realise who we are (indeed, some of us never realise it). Were it not a collaborative project I would have called it 25.11.72. How strange that I should wait over 35 years to hear this music again, and how moving to hear it afresh. To everyone involved in its preservation I offer my heartfelt thanks.
it all comes flooding back.... May 16, 2008
Written by antmanbee
I saw this line-up one magical night at Liverpool Empire about a week after the Oxford show - caught the entire performance on my trusty Philips cassette recorder only for some light-fingered removal man to swipe it (along with half a dozen other tapes) when I moved flats about ten years later. Nevertheless, large sections of that fabulous Liverpool show are still imprinted on my brain - in particular a gloriously majestic mellotron wash that led out of the lengthy improv and sequed into what we would later come to know as Exiles. Complete with Jamie Muir’s bird noises and David Cross’ violin intro, this moved me to tears at the time and did so whenever I heard it afterwards. What is so remarkable about the Oxford show is that the improv is almost nothing like the one they would lock into a week later (and quite possibly entirely different to one they might have played even the following night) yet both - and all - are filled with extraordinary touches of magic, lyrical beauty and excitement. How I wish I had that Liverpool show again (anybody out there please ???). There don’t seem to be any complete shows featuring the five-piece, but this Oxford half-performance certainly doesn’t let us down. I don’t think any of us who saw the band on that tour will ever forget the thrill of hearing this stuff for the first time.
Return of the Beast March 18, 2008
Written by DeVito
With all due respect to Boz et al., in my view Crimson didn’t exist from January 1970 to mid-1972; the recordings and bands assembled by Fripp during that time seem to me to be more a series of proto-ProjeKcts, none of which developed into anything self-sustaining. After the working group dissolved in spring ’72, Fripp assembled the first true King Crimson lineup since Dec. 1969 (as I subjectively view it -- but like the man said -- "It’s just my opinion of course. But I am right.") The Larks’ Quintet was a unique group, and one of the most original and powerful "rock" bands ever (fuck off rock press!). Listening to the most recent Crimson lineup (Quartet 2000-2003), and the lineups in between (Quartet ’73-’74, Quartet ’81-’84, Double Trio ’94-’97), I hear essential elements of the ’72 Quintet in all of the lineups that followed, greatly extended and expanded and transmogrified of course. It’ll be very interesting to see/hear what the upcoming 2008 Quintet does. Any recording by this lineup is essential. With this concert, on first listen David Cross’s violin stands out to particularly good effect. I’ve found that the audience tapes of this group make it a bit difficult to appreciate everything that’s going on, but repeated and concentrated listenings are rewarded -- put on the headphones and just listen, as deeply and totally as possible. It’s worth it. --Chris DeVito
It makes me smile March 18, 2008
Written by pyython
The "balls to the wall" approach to the music this group has here simply makes me smile when I hear it. After 2 good listens, I still find LTIA 1 and the Improv to be spectacular pieces of music brought forth by these people. These players were finding cohesion quickly and with purpose and drive. For not playing long together, DAMN!
I know this review doesn’t offer great detail, but when something hits you between the eyes, does it really matter what color it was?
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