Central Park

“Looks like Larks’ Tongues In Aspic first,” says an enthusiastic fan next to the microphone of this specially restored audience recording. However, as the strains of Fripp and Eno’s, The Heavenly Music Corporation fade away, the band burst forth with a heavy-sounding Doctor Diamond. Not for the first time, King Crimson has wrong-footed the boisterous, sell-out crowd who nevertheless give a piece they've never heard before a standing ovation. Not a bad way to get the gig underway.

The group is 42 dates into a lengthy and gruelling North American campaign with only another three to go. Given this, you might expect the band to sound somewhat road-weary but there’s plenty of energy in evidence on stage. The second improv that oozes out of Exiles has Wetton’s bass set at stun with some of the most malevolent roars ever to be summoned on the bass guitar. Afterward, David Cross’s violin solo on The Talking Drum is bordering on unhinged as he weaves in between the howling surge of Fripp’s lead guitar. Following a brutal Larks’ Two they charge off into a bulldozing 21st Century Schizoid wherein Fripp’s solo is ‘off the fricken charts,’ as someone in the audience might well have said.

Sourced from a rather grainy bootleg tape, Alex ‘Stormy’ Mundy has worked his sonic magic on it and deftly inserted the audio from the TV footage from the same gig for Easy Money and the following improvisation - part of which would later be recycled by the band for Guts On My Side - thus making this the very best version of this particular concert.

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