This is the arguably the contender for the oddest download ever released by DGMLive.
Sometime between December 1973 and March 1974 King Crimson came up with a number called Guts On My Side. This was during the same writing sessions from which Starless emerged. Guts and Starless were premièred on this night but whereas Starless went on to become an integral centre-piece of the KC canon, Guts was only ever played once in concert - as far as we can tell - and totally forgotten about until 2006.
The track first came to our attention in January 2006 and although the last three tracks of the show existed on quarter-inch reels, the first reel which would’ve contained the rest of the show was tragically missing from the archive.
Later in 2006 and early 2007, better quality boots were sent to DGM HQ and Alex and David worked on restoring the show so it could be made available. Sadly, the SADIE equipment died under their very fingertips and the work was lost. The curse of Guts had struck! Undeterred, Alex has worked on the show when time permitted and eventually thanks to his efforts we now are able to make this one go live!
Clearly there’s a big health warning attached to this recording in terms of the overall sound quality - so buyer beware.
The bootleg sources went up to Fracture however, Mister Stormy has appended the remaining sound board versions of Exiles, Fracture and LTIA 2 by way of a bonus.
Aside from some first night nerves where various fingers fall to the right chords and notes but not always at the right time,or in the right order, this is not only a cracking performance but in light of the rarity of the Guts track, also a significant one. Our thanks to Alessandro Pizzin and also Mauro and Renzo in Uppotipo for their help in bringing this full concert into the DGMLive archives.
This is the arguably the contender for the oddest download ever released by DGMLive.
Sometime between December 1973 and March 1974 King Crimson came up with a number called Guts On My Side. This was during the same writing sessions from which Starless emerged. Guts and Starless were premièred on this night but whereas Starless went on to become...
Guts on My Side -- "Caesar's Palace Blues" prototype?
The March 19,1974 concert includes the unique "Guts on My Side." Someone on DGM FaceBook said it, but I honestly had the same thought too. It sounds like an early prototype for UK's later "Caesar Palace Blues"---the rhythm (and shape) of the melody line in the verse especially. To catch the similarity, sing the "Caesar" lyric over the melody "...creamed up kitten screaming for a last injection...dead dog in the driveway, protein for infection..." etc. A bit more of a stretch but for the musician...
The March 19,1974 concert includes the unique "Guts on My Side." Someone on DGM FaceBook said it, but I honestly had the same thought too. It sounds like an early prototype for UK's later "Caesar Palace Blues"---the rhythm (and shape) of the melody line in the verse especially. To catch the similarity, sing the "Caesar" lyric over the melody "...creamed up kitten screaming for a last injection...dead dog in the driveway, protein for infection..." etc. A bit more of a stretch but for the musician, the muscle of the song essentially seems a fancy1-4-5 blues (with a tritone sub?) to add to the "Blues" similarity. (I liked Paul S Kent's review above for the nod to Led Zep.) Sound quality marginal but an extra star for the rarity.
Written by Saverio Pechini
udine, march 19 1974
I was there and I agree with gas mrv:I remember a flat performance (bar the improvised intro): I was mildly disappointed.
Written by Paul S Kent
Guts
Sound quality is ok for a DGM bootleg, Robert and David’s lines can be easily heard. Guts on My Side is a fun tune that sounds like the Islands bands’ kind of groove, with a number of twists. On the one hand, it does live in the land of the 70’s rock band funk groove, with the verses sung over dom 7 chords, and the guitar often doubling a bass line that leaves plenty of room for for an active vocal line or violin fills. Think the foundations of ea...
Sound quality is ok for a DGM bootleg, Robert and David’s lines can be easily heard. Guts on My Side is a fun tune that sounds like the Islands bands’ kind of groove, with a number of twists. On the one hand, it does live in the land of the 70’s rock band funk groove, with the verses sung over dom 7 chords, and the guitar often doubling a bass line that leaves plenty of room for for an active vocal line or violin fills. Think the foundations of early Zep tunes when Page would double JPJ and develop a strong rock groove, but with more of a funk feel than Zep used. On the other hand, it is the 74 KC band, distinct with Wetton’s voice (and hard attack on bass) and Cross’ violin. A fun four measure unison (guitar and violin) ascending 16th note run connects a couple of verses (fast unison being something not heard much since Pictures of a City), like a rock version of Mahavishnu’s Open Country Joy. The solo break is Fripp and Cross in canon using scorching tone, followed by Cross playing a much more bluesey/country/rock solo than usual for KC material. I would have liked to hear the band after a year of playing this tune, this performance is the bones and very straightforward, and we know what this band did to Easy Money every night (even injecting humour at times in the guitar parts). As mentioned by others, the band returns to Guts’ basic groove and the turn-arounds as improvs later in tours, but the song works, too. An interesting exercise would be to imagine this song done by the 1974 Elton John band, or even the Boz band.
Written by Clint Bahr
This band had
This release is worth it if just for the track "Guts on My Side".A very interesting tune from the Gents.Cheers!Clint
