There’s no getting around the fact that the music on this audience recording is having to compete with a tape hiss that sounds like a bracing gale-force wind coming in off a stormy sea. And yet, being Crimheads we persevere and stoically turn our faces, and by association, our ears to the wind and listen as hard as we can.
Is it worth the effort? Emphatically, yes. The quality picks up a notch midway through Easy Money enabling us to enjoy one of Fripp’s more atonal scramblings around the fretboard during his solo and into a build that’s truly astonishing.
It’s interesting to hear what the vagaries of the taper’s position do to the music. For example in Fracture, David Cross’s embellishments on the main section take on a decidedly abstract demeanour. The blowing section of Fracture, rendered adrift from its chordal anchor due to the poor sonics, is transformed into some malevolent elemental force.
After an extended improv section, when the grinding guitar curtails the aleatoric explorations, Cross’s distorted pianet is again transformed into a wild electronic texture. The racing, ascending sections to the coda, with some dramatic Mellotron additions, sounds as though its on the verge of exploding. Which it duly does albeit a controlled explosion.
As a side note, it’s interesting hearing Exiles introduced in the same manner as when the 1969 group played that opening chord sequence back in the day when it was titled Mantra. Featuring an incandescent Fripp solo the audience shows their approval by giving it extended applause.
A good show overall but one for dedicated Crimheads rather than the merely curious.
There’s no getting around the fact that the music on this audience recording is having to compete with a tape hiss that sounds like a bracing gale-force wind coming in off a stormy sea. And yet, being Crimheads we persevere and stoically turn our faces, and by association, our ears to the wind and listen as hard as we can.
Is it worth the effort...
This was my second KC show, about a week after turning 18. I had excellent seats, dead center about 15 rows from the stage, and remember it like it was yesterday! The sound quality is as awful as advertised, almost as if the mike was on the floor of the auditorium, but no matter. It was a profound experience and the sound, like all shows at the Academy of Music, was excellent. I remember being blown away by the opening LTIA Pt 1 and amazed with Fracture later in the show, despite it being new m...
This was my second KC show, about a week after turning 18. I had excellent seats, dead center about 15 rows from the stage, and remember it like it was yesterday! The sound quality is as awful as advertised, almost as if the mike was on the floor of the auditorium, but no matter. It was a profound experience and the sound, like all shows at the Academy of Music, was excellent. I remember being blown away by the opening LTIA Pt 1 and amazed with Fracture later in the show, despite it being new material. Book of Saturday provided a soothing, familiar respite after 15 minutes of intensity from the band. Easy Money was incredible, especially with the guitar solo starting off like the album version, then going off into uncharted territory. Thanks DGM for making this show available.
Written by Chris Inguanta
Not for the faint of heart
A bit muddy, and maybe for die hard fans only. I did enjoy listening to this show.
Written by Richard Reina
Awesome show from 1973
I was at this show; I was 19 years old; it is one of the few KC shows I've seen (time span 1973 to 2019) for which I don't have a ticket stub. This 9/73 show is especially memorable because there was a HUGE amount of downtime between the opening act and KC's appearance on stage. Of course, this is 50 years ago so memory is dim, but I seem to remember that we waited well over an hour, maybe close to two, for the band to appear. Everyone in the audience just patiently sat there and waited. When th...
I was at this show; I was 19 years old; it is one of the few KC shows I've seen (time span 1973 to 2019) for which I don't have a ticket stub. This 9/73 show is especially memorable because there was a HUGE amount of downtime between the opening act and KC's appearance on stage. Of course, this is 50 years ago so memory is dim, but I seem to remember that we waited well over an hour, maybe close to two, for the band to appear. Everyone in the audience just patiently sat there and waited. When the band came out, nothing was said, but I suspect there were technical difficulties with the PA. I was new to KC; this was only my 2nd time seeing them (first was same venue in 4/73) so much of the material was still unfamiliar. I'm miffed that Fracture, my all-time favorite rock instrumental, was still a tune unfamiliar to me as the record (SABB) wasn't released until March '74. I've only listened to the free samples; yes, the quality ain't great, but this 4-piece lineup, especially the rhythm "flying brick wall" powerhouse of Wetton/Bruford, was unstoppable.
