Hugh’s Archive Deep Dive 4.
At time of writing Robert Fripp and David Singleton are on board the Norwegian Gem cruise ship bringing their Englishmen Abroad speaking event to the 5 day music-themed Cruise To The Edge. Also on the packed bill of performers taking part in the voyage to the Caribbean is former Crimson violinist David Cross and his band who are sure to be bringing their versions of Starless and tracks from Larks’ Tongues in Aspic to delight the ship full of fans. What better time then to head over to Asbury Park to recall another time when those songs were played in close proximity to the ocean, albeit with feet on dry land, when Cross, Fripp, Wetton and Bruford rolled up one wet and windy night in June 1974 to play at the Casino Arena.
King Crimson on stage in Asbury Park June 28, 1974 (photos by Mike Dowd)
Asbury Park is a town on the Jersey shore an hour’s drive outside of New York City, known for its music scene centred around clubs such as the Stone Pony and the Fast Lane. It was there, back in the day, you might have run across a young John Bongiovi setting out to make a name for himself, following in the footsteps of local heroes Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, with their exuberant blend of rock, soul and rhythm and blues, and tales of blue collar life.
It’s also a name that is closely associated with King Crimson thanks to its adoption as the title of the opener on side two of the 1975 live album USA, released as a final farewell after the band had split up, in addition to being the recording location for all of that album except for 21st Century Schizoid Man (taken from the next-but-one date on the tour in Providence, Rhode Island).
The Casino (in this instance a place of entertainment, not gambling) sat on a pier over the sand adjoining the boardwalk and the Atlantic ocean waves rolled right up to and underneath the venue. King Crimson had been given the honour of playing the premiere concert when the repurposed roller-skating hall opened for business as a concert arena, with supporting act Golden Earring.
From the glory days at the Casino in Asbury Park (photos by John Margolies).
Even by the time Crimson played there, Asbury Park had seen better days. At its peak of popularity in the early 20th Century when it was a favoured beach getaway from the nearby cities of New York and Philadelphia, it had all the typical entertainments of a seaside resort with fun palaces and carnival rides, several indoor venues, with two major complexes designed by the same architect at either end of the boardwalk, the Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre complex at the northern end, and the Casino to the south with its ice skating rink and merry-go-round. Things began to change when new transportation routes opened up allowing easy access to alternatives such as Atlantic City, as well as the wider changes brought about by affordable air travel and the greater choices in holiday destinations that it afforded.
The opening night at the Casino Arena.
King Crimson had first visited Asbury Park in 1972 when they were on the Earthbound tour, the final outing by the Mel, Boz and Ian lineup. On that occasion they played at the Sunshine In, a club on 1st Avenue a block from the beach. They returned to the same venue the following year with Wetton, Bruford and Cross now in the lineup and it would continue to be a stop on the touring circuit in 82, 96 and 2000, on these occasions at the larger Paramount Theatre.
At 50 years remove it’s easy to take a romanticised view of life on the road. Instead the reality could be: uncomfortable travel, substandard hotel accommodations, inevitable frustrations with other band members, poor food, exhaustion - all of these painfully in evidence from Robert’s diary entries of the time.
On June 28th 1974 the band had left Washington DC in the morning and flown to Newark, New Jersey, via Philadelphia, then taken ground transportation to reach their destination in the middle of the afternoon. Finding themselves mistakenly booked into a residential hotel for senior citizens there was a band revolt. Writing in the notes to The Great Deceiver Robert observed:
“As soon as we hit the lobby, we knew this was not a hotel for travellers. Even if it were, we weren't those travellers. But we had to go through a facade of checking in and carrying all our bags to the room.
The muscular roach pumping up, feasting, and jogging in the elevator was the next clue: it was in better shape, and certainly a lot fitter and better nourished than either the residents or King Crimson. Then, reaching our floor, we were surprised to discover there was no-one on the floor other than us. In my room a newly painted table stood in the middle of the floor on newspaper, with paint still tacky. Our floor was unused, and had been especially ‘renovated’ for our arrival.
We met right back in the elevator going down, still carrying our heavy suitcases. We simply told Dik Fraser [tour manager] that we wouldn't stay there. Dik said he would, although actually he came with us along the front to a cheap motel. It was ugly at the front and it was ugly at the front. And although its air of simulated welcome had faded over the years, it was welcome to us.”
Greetings from the Empress Motel in Asbury Park, NJ
Even after finding alternative accommodation at the Empress Motel, which sits mere yards from the venue, Robert remained unsettled, and his diary records: “Pessimistic about the gig; tired; uptight a bit. Nadgers about BB again.” But as anyone who has endured the rigours of the road will know, once making it to the stage something extraordinary can happen, and post-gig Robert’s mood was markedly different, “I enjoyed playing. Some v. fast solos, rather into my own trip. Good crowd. Starless had me again.”
Reviewing the show for DGM Live Sid Smith shared this view: “the power of this gig is tangible. Despite the internal politics and tensions of the period, the band taps into a ferocious energy that never stops burning. Wetton is especially inventive, infusing the material with a brutal force. At the other end of the sonic spectrum Fripp’s sparkling clarity produces a consistently powerful performance that must rank amongst his very best. From the grumbling rasp of Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part 2 through to the ecstatic demands for an encore, this is a classic Crimson show in every respect.”
For this enduring musical document we have to be thankful to the Record Plant mobile truck and George Chkiantz the sound engineer who recorded a string of shows from the latter part of the 1974 tour. Understandably some confusion exists around the several different recordings that have been made available from this concert.
The Record Plant recording truck.
Back in England in 74, Wetton and Fripp had convened at Olympic Studios to listen to the tapes from the tour to select a suitable recording for release as a live album. Eddie Jobson was drafted in to repair some of the departed David Cross’ parts, overdubbing violin and piano. This was released on a single LP. When reissued on CD for the 30th anniversary there was room to add tracks missing from the original release while still retaining the overdubs and Schizoid Man from Providence. It wasn't until 2006 that the full concert from Asbury Park could be heard (without the edits to the improv and Easy Money made on USA), mixed by R. Chris Murphy and released on The Collectable King Crimson Volume 1. The 40th Anniversary CD/DVD edition of USA brought together all these versions in one place for the first time plus a further mix by Fripp, Singleton and Tony Arnold made at the time of The Great Deceiver boxed set. And as if that wasn't enough, in 2013, at the time of The Road to Red boxed set, the George Chkiantz rough mixes for USA were discovered on one of the tapes in the archive.
Faded glory. The remains of the Casino entrance.
Nowadays the Casino complex can only be described as a ruin, with the tunnel area that straddles the boardwalk still standing but in an advanced state of dilapidation. The Arena has completely gone, abandoned for many years and finally demolished in 2007. However there are signs of a resurgence happening in Asbury Park, with its musical heritage being at the centre of this. Although the Casino is not set to be restored, the Convention Hall remains a regular stop for touring bands and the smaller clubs have a healthy turnover of visiting indie artists.
And summing up King Crimson’s 1974 Asbury Park concert Sid Smith had one word for it, indispensable.
CD/LP
USA 50th Anniversary 2LP Blue Sparkle
USA 40th Anniversary Edition CD/DVD
Download
Asbury Park, June 28, 1974 complete concert
