Grande Ballroom Detroit United States

AUDIO SOURCE: Cassette Sound Board

DGM AUDIO QUALITY

AVERAGE CUSTOMER RATING

Drawn from the same clutch of cassettes that gave you Earthbound, this particular gig can probably be summed up in two words: Mel Collins.

From the monstrously belligerent rendition of Pictures of a City to the last frenetic scrambling of 21st Century Schizoid Man, Collins not only dominates the solo spots but pretty much everything in between!

Throughout the performance Collins is constantly adding lines between the parts as though he can barely contain himself. Even on the relatively sedate version Formentera Lady his flute work spins and glides above the backing in such spirited and energised way. Once he switches to sax, Ian Wallace moves the piece into an extended percussive shuffle with Mel hollering like there’s no tomorrow. There’s a wonderful bit of freeform rough and tumble as they work on the transition to the Sailor’s Tale.

Fripp himself appears unsettled during his solo section on Tale, abandoning an inconclusive laser beam sound for the more acerbic chord-thrash mid way through the track. It could be he’s simply under-mixed here but the gig is notable for his unusually demure presence.

There’s a priceless glimpse into the hazards of an on-stage life as Fripp gets an electric shock off the microphone whilst making his customary announcement. A rueful Burrell can be heard complaining that he’s had to put up with that all night.

There’s a more reflective start to Groon than is usual. Perhaps this reflects the tiredness of the band as a whole. Whilst Fripp comps from the sidelines Collins, Burrell and Wallace absolutely stomp this particular sucker flat, then set about building up from scratch up to a blistering frenetic hyrbid that mixes It’s not until nine minutes have passed that Wallace opens up his drum solo.

Unfairly maligned and dismissed for many years, this KC line-up - and Mel Collins especially - can be heard ripping down the barriers between jazz and rock with great gusto.
Grande Ballroom Detroit United States

AUDIO SOURCE: Cassette Sound Board

DGM AUDIO QUALITY

AVERAGE CUSTOMER RATING

TRACK
TIME
01
Pictures Of A City
09:40
02
Formentera Lady
09:27
03
Sailors Tale
07:08
04
Cirkus
08:49
05
RF Announcement
01:02
06
Ladies Of The Road
06:09
07
Groon
19:21
08
21st Century Schizoid Man
11:10
Written by Samuel Langer
Very great concert! Awesome solos!
This is a fun, great, and interesting concert. Doesn't sound that bad at all, especially compared to some other concerts from this tour. Pretty funny Robert getting electrocuted. The microphone tried to stop them from playing Ladies of the Road. Anyway, great concert!
Written by Rainer Robles
Groovy!
I like this show! The "Formentera"/"Sailor's" combo is great; and on the latter, instead of the band finishing abruptly as usual, Fripp carries on in similar fashion to the album version, an interesting detail. Despite feedback messing up the bridge of "Ladies of the road", this is one of my favourite renditions. And indeed, "Groon" has a reflective start, but around the 4:45 mark Wallace spices up the proceedings nicely.
Written by Jerry Smith
Sounds fine to me considering how it was recorded
For a cassette board tape from early 1972, this sounds fine. Granted, Ian’s bass drum could be turned down a notch while Robert’s guitar could stand to be turned up by the same amount. The performance is really good, Mel does indeed stand out and it’s a great set list.
Written by Christopher DeVito
Through sonic mud, darkly
I’ve always wondered why Earthbound was ever released . . . maybe Fripp was in a mood to commit rock ’n’ roll suicide? I agree that Mel Collins’ contributions are the highlight of this concert, but they only manage to elevate it above the level of "unlistenable" (that is, above Earthbound). For my money better versions of Schizoid Man, Sailor’s Tale, and especially Groon than those on Earthbound, but overall there’s more sonic murk than music here. Try to focus on Collins and what...
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