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Highlighting in album tracklistings denotes 'contains Mellotron'. On 'multi-part' tracks I've tried to indicate which parts contain 'Tron, although this isn't always possible.
Ratings:
The * rating (½-5) is my personal, entirely subjective and completely partisan rating of the music.
The 'T' ('Tron, of course...) rating (0-5) is an only slightly more objective indicator of an album's Mellotronness.
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In the Court of the Crimson King (1969, 43.54) *****/TTTTT21st Century Schizoid ManI Talk to the Wind Epitaph Moonchild The Court of the Crimson King |
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In the Wake of Poseidon (1970, 41.10) ****/TTT½Peace - a BeginningPictures of a City Cadence and Cascade In the Wake of Poseidon Cat Food The Devil's Triangle Merday Morn Hand of Sceiron Garden of Worm Peace - an End |
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Lizard (1970, 41.28) ***/TTTTCirkusIndoor Games Happy Family Lady of the Dancing Water Lizard Prince Rupert Awakes Bolero - the Peacock's Tale The Battle of Glass Tears Big Top |
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Islands (1971, 40.35) ***/TT½Formentera LadySailor's Tale The Letters Ladies of the Road Prelude: Song of the Gulls Islands |
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Earthbound (1972, 45.10) **½/T21st Century Schizoid ManPeoria The Sailors Tale Earthbound Groon |
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Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973, 46.46) *****/TTTLarks' Tongues in Aspic, Part OneBook of Saturday Exiles Easy Money The Talking Drum Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two |
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Starless and Bible Black (1973, 46.47) ****/TTTTThe Great DeceiverLament We'll Let You Know The Night Watch Trio The Mincer Starless and Bible Black Fracture |
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Red (1974, 40.09) ****½/TTTTRedFallen Angel One More Red Nightmare Providence Starless |
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USA (1975, 41.04/67.18) *****/TTT½ (TTTT½)Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part IILament Exiles Asbury Park Easy Money 21st Century Schizoid Man [CD adds: Fracture Starless] |
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The Great Deceiver (1992, recorded 1973-74, 295.25) ****½/TTTTT |
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| (Walk on... No Pussyfooting) Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two Lament Exiles Improv - A Voyage to the Centre of the Cosmos Easy Money Improv - Providence Fracture Starless 21st Century Schizoid Man (Walk Off From Providence... No Pussyfooting) Sharks' Lungs in Lemsip Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One Book of Saturday Easy Money We'll Let You Know |
The Night Watch Improv - Tight Scrummy Peace - a Theme Cat Food Easy Money ...It is for You, But Not for Us (Walk on... No Pussyfooting) The Great Deceiver Improv - Bartley Butsford Exiles Improv - Daniel Dust The Night Watch Doctor Diamond Starless Improv - Wilton Carpet The Talking Drum Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two |
(Applause & Announcement) Improv - Is There Life Out There? Improv - The Golden Walnut The Night Watch Fracture Improv - Clueless and Slightly Slack (Walk on... No Pussyfooting) Improv - Some Pussyfooting Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One Improv - The Law of Maximum Distress, Part One Improv - The Law of Maximum Distress, Part Two Easy Money Improv - Some More Pussyfooting The Talking Drum |
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THRAK (1995, 56.39) ****/TT½ |
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| VROOOM Coda: Marine 475 Dinosaur Walking on Air B'Boom THRAK Inner Garden I People |
Radio I One Time Radio II Inner Garden II Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream VROOOM VROOOM VROOOM VROOOM: Coda |
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Epitaph - Live 1969 (1997, recorded 1969, 123.34/241.59) ****/TTTT½ |
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| 21st Century Schizoid Man In the Court of the Crimson King Get Thy Bearings Epitaph A Man, a City Epitaph 21st Century Schizoid Man Mantra Travel Weary Capricorn Improv - Travel Bleary Capricorn Mars |
In the Court of the Crimson King Drop in A Man, a City Epitaph 21st Century Schizoid Man Mars 21st Century Schizoid Man Get Thy Bearings In the Court of the Crimson King Mantra Travel Weary Capricorn |
Improv By the Sleeping Lagoon Mars 21st Century Schizoid Man Drop in Epitaph Get Thy Bearings Mantra Travel Weary Capricorn Improv Mars |
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The Night Watch (1997, recorded 1973, 84.46) *****/TTTT½ |
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| Easy Money Lament Book of Saturday Fracture The Night Watch Improv: Starless and Bible Black Improv: Trio Exiles |
Improv: The Fright Watch The Talking Drum Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II) 21st Century Schizoid Man |
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Live at the Marquee, 1969 (1998, 71.29, Collectors' Club 1) ***½/TTT½21st Century Schizoid ManDrop in I Talk to the Wind Epitaph Travel Weary Capricorn Improv Mars Trees |
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Live at Jacksonville, 1972 (1998, 60.30, Collectors' Club 2) ****/TTTPictures of a CityCirkus Ladies of the Road Formentera Lady The Sailor's Tale 21st Century Schizoid Man |
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The Beat Club, Bremen, 1972 (1999, 44.36, Collectors' Club 3) ****/TTT½Improv: The Rich Tapestry of LifeExiles Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I) |
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Live in Central Park, NYC, 1974 (2000, 74.05, Collectors' Club 10) ****½/TTT½ |
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| Walk on... No Pussyfooting 21st Century Schizoid Man Lament Exiles Improv: Cerberus Easy Money Fracture Starless |
The Talking Drum Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 2 |
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Live at Plymouth Guildhall, May 11, 1971 (2000, 95.36, Collectors' Club 14) ****/TTT |
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| Cirkus Pictures of a City Sailor's Tale The Letters Lady of the Dancing Water Cadence and Cascade Get Thy Bearings In the Court of the Crimson King |
Ladies of the Road 21st Century Schizoid Man Mars |
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Live in Mainz, March 30, 1974 (2001, 58.11, Collectors' Club 15) ****/TTTT |
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| Improv: The Savage Dr Diamond Improv: Arabica Exiles Improv: Atria The Night Watch Starless Lament |
Improv: Trio Easy Money |
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Live in Detroit, MI, December 13, 1971 (2001, 91.51, Collectors' Club 18) ****½/TTT |
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| Pictures of a City Formentera Lady Sailor's Tale Cirkus Ladies of the Road Groon 21st Century Schizoid Man Mars |
In the Court of the Crimson King Lady of the Dancing Water |
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Live at the Zoom Club, October 13, 1972 (2002, 115.11, Collectors' Club 20) ****½/TT |
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| Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I) Book of Saturday Zoom Improv: Zoom Zoom Easy Money Improv: Fallen Angel Improv: Z'Zoom Exiles |
The Talking Drum Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II) |
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Live in Hyde Park, July 5, 1969 (2002, 62.11, Collectors' Club 12) ****½/TTT21st Century Schizoid ManIn the Court of the Crimson King Get Thy Bearings Epitaph Mantra Travel Weary Capricorn Mars Band reunion meeting 21st Century Schizoid Man (instrumental version) |
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Ladies of the Road: Live, 1971-1972 (2002, 103.06, Collectors' Club Special Ed.) ****/TT |
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| Pictures of a City The Letters Formentera Lady (abridged) The Sailors Tale Cirkus Groon Get Thy Bearings 21st Century Schizoid Man |
In the Court of the Crimson King Schizoid Men 1-11 |
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Casino, Asbury Park, New Jersey, June 28, 1974 (2006, in The Collectable King Crimson, Volume One, 77.26) *****/TTT½Walk onLarks' Tongues in Aspic Pt II Lament Exiles Improv: Asbury Park Easy Money Fracture Starless 21st Century Schizoid Man |
Current availability:
Mellotrons used:
In 1968, a trio of young men from Dorset snappily named Giles, Giles and Fripp recorded a rather strange album called The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. Possibly the first album ever recorded by a firm of solicitors (?!), it's best described as psychedelic vaudeville, sounding vaguely like a cross between The Bonzo Dog Band and Sgt. Pepper. 'Of its time', is, I believe, the expression. Surprisingly, one of its less notable features is the presence of a Mellotron on a few tracks, apparently played by Robert Fripp himself.
King Crimson were, of course, many older listeners' route into the world of the Mellotron, along with the Moody Blues. Crimson formed in early 1969 from the ashes of the previous band, with their initial lineup consisting of Robert Fripp on guitar, Greg Lake (later the 'L' of ELP, of course) on bass and vocals, Michael Giles on drums, the multi-talented Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield on 'words and illumination', presumably both the visual and spiritual varieties. Fripp obviously hadn't forgotten using a Mellotron the previous year, and Crimson purchased a MkII, to be played by McDonald when he wasn't playing sax or flute. Fripp is rumoured to have contributed 'Tron to the line-up's sole album, but there is no actual evidence to back this up (see interview segment further down).
After gigging for a few months, they were signed by Island through their production company, EG, later to cause the band no end of trouble, and they wasted no time in recording In the Court of the Crimson King. From its terrifying cover in, this is a stunning debut album; five tracks, three of which have become absolute classics with Crimson (or 'Crimso' to aficionados) fans. 21st Century Schizoid Man should need no introduction whatsoever, with its roaring guitar and squalling saxes, closely followed by the pastoral I Talk To The Wind, a gentle hippy throwback with drifting flutes and 'hello trees, hello flowers' lyrics. As it fades, an ominous rumble of tympani heralds the awesome power of Epitaph, one of the finest progressive pieces ever, not to mention an enduring Mellotron Classic. This track makes the album worth buying on its own, featuring a staggering overdubbed 'Tron section in the middle with one of the best examples of Mellotron pitchbend ever. Moonchild starts as another pastoral ballad, but shifts into eight minutes of rather unfocused improv, but it ends on a high note with the classic The Court Of The Crimson King, with more swathes of 'Tron. Ripping. Unsurprisingly, the classic 'strings' patch (three violins, to be irritatingly exact) is the most heavily used, and remained so throughout the first phase of the band's career. Despite Ian McDonald's fine flute playing, the band obviously wanted the polyphony of the Mellotron flutes on Moonchild (the 'song' part, before the fairly excruciating eight or nine minutes of improvisation). Interestingly, on 1991's Frame by Frame box set, Fripp included almost the entire album on the first disc, but faded Moonchild before the improv section. Good move, Robert...
Incidentally, there's an amusing anecdote doing the rounds concerning the apparently pretentious 'subsections' of all but one of the songs on the album. After being derided for years on the issue, the truth leaked out: due to the bizarre reckoning of album royalties in the States, all releases are judged on the 'ten tracks' rule, which appears to penalise acts whose albums contain less than this optimum number! (Don't ask; I haven't got a clue why anyone would invent such a patently ludicrous system). I've no idea how they treat albums with more than ten tracks... Anyway, as Crimson's first only contained five pieces, they invented some completely spurious 'subtitles' for four of them to ensure they got their full share of royalties. Truth sometimes is stranger than fiction... This doesn't, by the way, excuse the overall album's subtitle, 'An Observation By King Crimson'. I suppose it was 1969...
The band gigged heavily, picking up a good following at home and abroad; their MkII was a familiar sight at gigs, being used on various songs that remained unofficially recorded, as well as on the improvisations that were already becoming a staple of their live sets. One piece in particular was entirely based around it; their adaptation of Holst's Mars (from his Planets suite), varying in length from night to night, consisted of guitar, bass and drums holding down the 5/4 rhythm, while the 'Tron provided all the harmonic and melodic content, ending with McDonald running his hand up and down the keyboard with considerable gusto. The effect is cataclysmic, sounding like the Mellotron is about to explode. Unbelievably, no version of this track was officially available until the Frame By Frame box set in 1991. 1997's Epitaph box provides several versions for the connoisseur. According to Fripp (in the Epitaph sleeve notes), the band ended up using two, then three MkIIs in the States, due to reliability problems. One of these extra machines is rumoured (again!) to have been sold to Genesis a year or two later, from whence it was sold to UK band England in the mid-'70s, although I'm not at all sure about the veracity of this one.
Unfortunately, the first Crimson line-up imploded at the end of 1969, leaving the uneasy alliance of Fripp and Lake to record In the Wake of Poseidon the following year. This is one of those albums that crops up every now and again that appears to be an almost straight copy of its predecessor. It's a perfectly good album, but it copies In the Court... almost track for track. Fripp took over Mellotron duties officially on the album, with the haunting In The Wake Of Poseidon itself, which bears a distinct resemblance to its predecessor's title track, in feel and structure if not the actual notes and The Devil's Triangle on side two. The latter was close enough to Mars for Holst to sue, had he still been around to do so, but without Crimson Mark 1's awesome power. There are some new sections in the piece, with Fripp playfully messing around with some of the MkII's lesser known sounds, including the guitar, and some of the left-hand manual's rhythms. There's a small amount of subtle 'Tron in Pictures Of A City, too, but I had to have it pointed out to me...
The line-up on ...Poseidon was never going to be a touring unit, so after Lake's departure to the inexplicably vastly popular ELP, Fripp recruited a new set of musicians to record Lizard. A dense, 'difficult' album that still leaves fans divided, it's pretty hard going, to be honest, although there's some great material on it for those who persevere. It's actually one of Crimson's chief 'Tron albums, too, with all but two tracks featuring the instrument. Cirkus was played live by the subsequent Mark 2 lineup, with rasping 'Tron brass on the chorus, a delicate flute melody and layers of strings. The whole of side 2's extended title track has the Mellotron dipping in and out, too, and makes the notoriously 'difficult' album worth working on.
After vocalist Gordon Haskell 'didn't work out' (while there has been considerable acrimony on both sides, they have apparently 'made up' recently), Fripp recruited the now sadly late Boz Burrell, later of Bad Company, considering it worthwhile teaching him to play bass from scratch after being unable to find a suitable bassist. This line-up, generally regarded as 'Crimson Mark 2' toured throughout 1971 before recording Islands, with both Fripp and saxophonist Mel Collins playing new Mellotron M400s. The tapes in these machines consisted of M400 violins (re-EQ'd MkII violins)/cellos, then flutes on one machine and mixed brass B on the other. This brass sound is apparently unique to the M400 and is not the original sound used on the albums up to and including Lizard. (Thanks, indirectly, to Martin Smith for that information). Crimson carried on using these machines until the original band's demise three years later.
Of the Mark 2 Crimson albums, Islands is probably the least good, although easier to listen to than its predecessor. Formentera Lady is another rather slight ballad in the style of Lizard's Lady Of The Dancing Water, as is The Letters, and Ladies Of The Road is an uncharacteristically macho look at the, er, 'groupie scene', saved by some enormously distorted guitar picking in the chorus and a brief 'Tron flute part. Sailor's Tale is effectively a vehicle for a guitar solo (especially live), leaving the album's highest point to the mournful Prelude: Song Of The Gulls and the title track. Despite the presence of the 'Tron on a few tracks, Islands is no Mellotron Album, and is one of Crimson's least good, too.
This lineup bowed out with the extremely substandard Earthbound, a live album compiled from cassettes recorded straight from the desk. The sound quality is about as you'd expect, and little of the material shines. Peoria is a rather average improv, and Groon is a grossly extended version of Cat Food's b-side, complete with drum solo fed through a VCS3 synth controlled by Hunter Macdonald from the mixing desk, rather as Eno was concurrently doing with labelmates Roxy Music. Earthbound finally achieved an official CD release in 2002, and it sounds like... Earthbound. No bonus tracks, still sounds like crap. Oh well. There are, in fact, several far better recordings of Crimso Mark 2 available, but only through the King Crimson Collector's Club website.
Fripp has admitted that Crimson Mark 2 was 'not so much an improvisational outfit as a jamming band', which is certainly borne out by the audio evidence. As well as Earthbound, there are to date four live King Crimson Collector's Club (see below) releases featuring this line-up. Startlingly, one hour-long CD features no Mellotron whatsoever; coincidentally (possibly...) it's also the least interesting of the three. Their early sets still featured some Mark 1 material, but apart from the ubiquitous 21st Century Schizoid Man, this was replaced by current material as time went on; surprisingly, maybe, this is the only Crimson line-up to have no generally available live recordings [note: no longer true, with the release of Ladies of the Road].
Fripp dissolved this line-up in mid-'72, realising it was going nowhere. He recruited an entirely new bunch of musicians (again), consisting of the prodigiously talented drummer Bill Bruford from Yes, bassist/vocalist John Wetton, from Family, the very strange Jamie Muir on percussion, and violinist David Cross substituting for a saxophonist, also doubling on keyboards. This line-up is regarded as Crimson's peak by many, the whole ensemble gelling beautifully, quickly writing and recording Larks' Tongues in Aspic, although as Fripp is the first to admit, the studio recordings came nowhere near the onstage power of the material. The best pieces on the album are probably the two parts of the title track, but both Exiles and Easy Money feature loads of 'Tron strings, although again, both were far more powerful live. Nonetheless, a great album, and a suitable debut for the new lineup.
Starless and Bible Black is a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest; much of it is taken (uncredited) from a gig in Amsterdam, plus bits from a couple of other gigs, with edits and overdubs added later, á la Frank Zappa, leaving the album sounding a little disparate. For all that, there's some killer material here; Trio is a beautiful bass/violin/Mellotron flute improv, and the lengthy title track and Fracture are ripping improv pieces from the gig. Songs like Lament, The Great Deceiver and The Night Watch pretty much maintain the quality of the Larks' Tongues material, although the overall feel is definitely less cohesive. Lament and Trio are probably the album's 'Tron highlights, although it's worth buying whatever. Incidentally, The Mincer tends to conjure up images of a huge, grinding machine rampaging across a war-torn landscape etc.etc. Well, it does for me, anyway. Wrong; it was named for an effeminate hanger-on Wetton encountered in LA the previous year. So much for that one.
By the end of Crimson's 1974 US tour, Fripp had had enough, and David Cross was effectively out of the band. The three remaining members recorded Red with various guests, then promptly split, leaving the album as a fitting epitaph to their genius. The title track is an insanely roaring, dissonant instrumental, misinterpreted by many contemporaneous reviewers as 'heavy metal'. Think you missed the point, chaps... Providence is a live improv piece, and Fallen Angel (with some great 'Tron) and the ripping One More Red Nightmare keep up the pressure. The album's (and, contentiously, possibly their entire career's) crowning glory, is Starless. Originally titled Starless And Bible Black, an earlier, failed attempt had been made to record the lengthy piece, and I have to say I'm glad they gave it another go. Of course, they'd already thrown the title away on the previous album and its improv title track, so a compromise was made. Judging by earlier live versions, the studio take tightened up both the melodies and lyrics, turning excellence into perfection. This is one of the all-time 'Tron Classics, with several minutes of stupendously mournful strings carrying the first section, apparently written by Wetton, then reprising at the song's climactic conclusion, repeating its earlier themes over a backing of extraordinary intensity. Terrifyingly brilliant. Incidentally, there has been some debate over whether or not the cellos in Red's title track are Mellotron, as there's no cellist credited, but it seems they're real wattle and daub.
1975's posthumous USA is a great live album, despite having been tampered with; violin and piano overdubs come courtesy of Eddie Jobson (then of Roxy Music), although Cross' other keyboard work has been left intact. Both the Larks' Tongues 'Tron tracks are present and correct, as is Lament from its follow-up. Exiles is a storming version, with an incredibly intense ending, with both 'Trons set to strings, crapping from a great height onto the studio version, while the album's obligatory improv, Asbury Park, has a string line running through much of it. The (at last! At last!) CD issue adds storming versions of Fracture and Starless, with a brief flute line and some strings in the former and the standard waves of strings in the latter.
After spending the rest of the '70s playing sessions and discovering his spiritual side, in 1980 Fripp formed a band initially known as Discipline, who quickly became King Crimson Mark 4. A brilliant band (best album, 1981's Discipline (*****)), this version of Crimso barely used keyboards, let alone Mellotron, and it wasn't to be heard on a Crimson album again until after another lengthy hiatus, from 1984-93. In the meantime, Fripp started his massive archive programme in 1991, with the release of the 4 CD set Frame By Frame (*****) featuring one disc of unreleased live material, including a stonking version of Mars from 1969, which reappeared on the Epitaph box of a few years later. This set isn't listed above, as it contains nothing that hasn't turned up on subsequent releases.
After the success of Frame By Frame, Fripp got a little bolder with his next archive release, putting out The Great Deceiver, a massive work, filling four CDs to the brim with live Crimson from '73 and '74. There are several complete gigs on offer here, plus extracts from several others, and I have to say that the music is nothing less than superb throughout. OK, so the dodgy nights didn't make it, but the sheer quality of this material is stunning; live versions of nearly everything from that lineup's two albums, plus the early Starless, with some songs having several versions. There's a rare Mark 3 rendering of Peace/Cat Food, a Schizoid Man, an unreleased song, Doctor Diamond, and no less than fifteen improv pieces, including Providence from Red. As you can see, there's Mellotron everywhere you look, including on many of the improvs. Interestingly, The Talking Drum has it on one version but not on the other, a situation that was to crop up with more frequency on the later Collectors Club releases. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend listening to this in one sitting, but it's a killer set, worth every penny. Incidentally, the sleeve notes to this box contains Fripp's witticism/truism that "tuning a Mellotron doesn't". Despite the difficulty of touring two machines, not to mention trying to keep them in tune, the original Crimson persevered with them until the band's demise in 1974.
Crimson swung back into action in '93, releasing the mini-album VROOOM (****) a year later. The following year's THRAK moved the Crimson sound on again, although unlike the '80s version, elements of various previous versions of the band are readily detectable here. Probably the last great Crimson recording (at least to date), THRAK is magnificent, although several of the Belew songs may not appeal to Crimso fans of old. To the surprise of all and sundry, Fripp dragged out one of his old MkII 'Trons (allegedly the In the Court... machine), and it graces several tracks with its presence, though after listening closely, I don't think the strings at the beginning of Dinosaur are Mellotron, although some of the other keyboard work in the song almost certainly is, as is the album's quiet intro before VROOOM kicks in. As a bonus, there are some nice oboes here and there, which earlier Crimson had never really used. There was also a promo video produced showing Fripp playing the MkII during recording, though it's almost certainly a staged shot. And that was it for new Mellotronic Crimson material, sad to say, although, of course, it was five years before another proper new studio album from the band, 2000's ConstruKction of Light (***½).
After the band slowed down again after the '96 tour (this time without actually grinding to a halt), Epitaph - Live 1969 hove into view, this time as a double CD in a box, with the option of buying another two discs of lesser sound quality directly from Fripp's own label, DGM. There's a lot less variety here than on The Great Deceiver, simply because the band were only drawing on one album, plus a few unrecorded pieces. The studio tracks that open the set have been rescued from a ropey off-air tape of the band's sole BBC session, and are worth hearing despite the background noise. Generally, it has to be said that sonically, Epitaph comes nowhere near the quality of The Great Deceiver, but the performances make it all worthwhile, even on discs 3 and 4. A quick glance at the track listing reveals the extended set's major flaw; several versions of almost everything, including five Schizoid Man's, but no I Talk To The Wind. It turns out that there could've been a version on the set, on disc 4, the Chesterfield Jazz Club gig, but apparently the Mellotron was woefully out of tune that night, with its tuning nadir being during that song. As a result, Fripp quietly removed it from the disc despite warning his listening public that the sound quality was 'less than perfect'. We'd have coped...
The next archive release was The Night Watch, otherwise known as the whole of the gig at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw gig from November '73 that was raided for Starless and Bible Black. Heard complete and without its overdubs, it's actually a better album than its offspring, but it's fairly obvious why it couldn't be released in this form at the time. Most of the material will be familiar to the average Crimson fan, but the night's third improv piece The Fright Watch, is a real stormer, well worth the price of admission. Much Mellotron all round, too - recommended. Maybe it's something about early '70s audiences, or maybe it's just the Dutch, but the crowd sound strangely muted; not in a 'not recorded properly' way, more in a 'terribly polite theatre audience' way. Applause but no cheers. Weird.
The following year, Fripp decided to dive headlong into the archive market by starting the DGM (later King Crimson) Collectors Club, a subscription-only series of releases from the band's history. I suppose it's a slightly moot point as to whether or not these can be considered 'official' releases, since they're unavailable in the shops (truncated Japanese boxed-set versions aside), but as anyone with a bit of spare cash can subscribe, I tend to fall on the side of 'they count'.
Its inaugural release, Live at the Marquee, 1969 was, unsurprisingly, an early London Marquee show (date uncertain) with a bonus track from Croydon a few months later. Despite David Singleton's sterling efforts, the sound quality is, er, 'a bit rough' (read: some of you may find this unlistenable), but the disc contains some historically fascinating performances, so quality be damned! What on earth can you expect from a thirty year-old audience tape, anyway? Opening part of the way through Schizoid Man lets you know from the off that you're in 'reconstructed bootleg' territory, with a truncated Epitaph proving the point. 'Tron rarities are (at last!) a live I Talk To The Wind, with slabs of strings and only one noticeable dropout, a few chords in the rather earnest Travel Weary Capricorn, a couple of notes in the lengthy improv piece and the Croydon track, the previously unknown (at least to me) Trees, a lovely little ballad in the same area as I Talk To The Wind, with a lengthy jam at the end which ended up as the middle section of A Man, A City/Pictures Of A City. The abbreviated Epitaph is as you'd expect, while Mars opens with what sounds like some 'Tron flute pitchbend doodlings before shifting into one of the most intense versions of the track I've heard, though maybe the inherent distortion adds to the effect...
Second release Live at Jacksonville, 1972 features Crimso Mark 2, and opens with Fripp and Mel Collins getting their twin M400s in tune with each other before Pictures Of A City with minor 'Tron string interjections. Cirkus, on its first official live outing is phenomenal, opening with a delicate Pianet part before the crushing 'Tron brass in the 'chorus'. The brass also appears, more subtly, in the second verse, before more brass and strings in the second chorus. Strings again in the middle section, then arpeggiating flutes in verse three; basically, a 'Tron fan's wet dream, with possibly some cellos thrown in to complete the inventory of their 'Tron sound library. Stupendous. This looks like a fairly typical Mark 2 setlist, with several Lizard and Islands pieces, including a fair-sized chunk of 'Tron on The Sailor's Tale (strings and brass again), segueing from Formentera Lady, as was their wont at the time. A superb release; shame it isn't more widely available.
The series developed chronologically, with Club 3 being the very first Mark 3 gig, with Jamie Muir on board, The Beat Club, Bremen, 1972, otherwise known as the band's famous German 'Beat Club' performance, part of which (Larks' Tongues I) I've seen on TV. It'd be nice to be able to see the whole thing sometime, assuming it was all filmed. Crimso bravely open with the longest improv piece I've heard by them; nearly half an hour of The Rich Tapestry Of Life, named in honour of Muir, who only lasted a few months before disappearing to a Scottish monastery. The first few minutes of the piece are fairly funk-based, but with Mellotron strings and flutes drifting in and out, mostly from David Cross, while Fripp extemporises on guitar. About two-thirds of the way through, it becomes evident that someone is playing flute. Who? Turns out it's Cross, who also played it (uncredited) on Larks' Tongues. All in all, a pretty cool improv with loads of 'Tron. Exiles is fairly much as you'd expect, although rather than reaching a crescendo à la the USA version, it just gently peters out. Larks' Tongues I is, as always, 'Tron-free, but a great performance anyway, including the long percussion build-up as on the album. Another essential!
The next several Club releases mostly featured later lineups, although Club 9, Live at Summit Studios, Denver, March 12, 1972 (***) is a bit of a shocker, being a full-length early Crimson set with no Mellotron, although both Fripp and Collins are credited with it in the booklet. Listening to Sailor's Tale again, at one point all you can hear is guitar, bass and drums; it's possible that the Mellotrons never made it to the broadcast mix (this is from a radio show), as the lack of any Mel Collins contributions at this point seems a little strange. Thoroughly bizarre, and noted in drummer Ian Wallace's sleevenotes. Pictures Of A City is the 'Tron-free version, too; maybe they didn't have them with them that night? Christ knows. It's not the most inspiring set, either, so don't go too far out of your way for this one.
Live in Central Park, NYC, 1974 is another matter, however. Having already released Mark 3's first gig through the Club, this is their last, and is another stormer. Fripp describes it in his sleevenotes as "Angels descending from heaven on chariots of fire blowing trumpets of gold in your ear", so I think it's safe to assume he thought it was a good one too. The band are, er, 'blowing' after a lengthy US tour, especially the rhythm section, who were, by this point, rather drowning out David Cross; violin vs. Wetton/Bruford. Hmmm. Cross and Fripp were, by this point, using the white/black colour scheme (instruments and clothes) that rather pointed out their personality differences; Fripp couldn't have looked more satanic had he been sporting horns and a forked tail. While a great album, capturing this classic band on a great night, Central Park is slightly less essential from the 'Tronic point of view than most of the Club CDs, if only because most of the 'Tron tracks are available in similar versions elsewhere, chiefly on The Great Deceiver. The exception is the rocking improv Cerberus, with some ripping strings from Mr. Cross under Fripp's searing lead work (review cliché no.14), shifting into some orchestrated flute work in the 'funkier' section (that is, Crimsoid funk, which has little in common with James Brown et al.). As a result, killer performance but 'Tronically inessential.
Live at Plymouth Guildhall, May 11, 1971 is a double disc set from Crimson Mark 2's first UK dates; in fact, only their fifth gig full stop. It shows a very confident outfit playing material old and new; I was amazed that both In The Court and Mars were played at this juncture, although both had bitten the dust by the band's next tour. Arrangements are very different to what they would become; Sailor's Tale is markedly longer than later versions, with a solo flute spot in the middle, and when the Mellotron finally comes in, it's mainly brass, as against the strings of the later studio version. Actually, there's surprisingly little Mellotron to be heard on the 95-minute set; four tracks only, two of which are the previously-mentioned hangovers from Crimso Mark 1. In the Court is superb, proving (to my ears) that the MkII 'Tron fetishism displayed by some players is precisely that; a fetish. The strings sound great, with none of the supposed 'thinness' that some listeners claim to be able to hear; fascinating to hear this performed by a different band. Mars is quite cataclysmic; rather than one MkII, you're hearing two M400s, one on strings, one on brass, with the all-important distinction of two players, i.e. four hands, not to mention Pete Sinfield's rather intrusive VCS3, 'played' from the desk. So; while not an essential Club recording, well worth a listen if you can get hold of a copy.
Live in Mainz, March 30, 1974 is a slightly odd one; much familiar material, not all played familiarly. Starless, in particular, has a very odd arrangement, with electric piano and stray Mellotron chords. Actually, apart from a few flute notes in the brief improv Arabica, like the Central Park disc, there's nothing Mellotronic here that isn't available elsewhere, although it's another great performance. Oddly, Trio is still labelled 'improv', although it's similar to the previous year's Amsterdam version that ended up on Starless and Bible Black, though with maybe a little more 'Tron flute.
I've seen Live in Detroit, MI, December 13, 1971 heralded as 'the best Collectors Club CD yet', and would you know, it almost is? Crimso Mark 2 were seriously on form that night, with absolutely standout performances of Pictures Of A City and an extended Cirkus, to name but two. There's also a hysterical In The Court Blues, triggered by audience cries for 'the old stuff'; the song we all know and love put to a 'Mannish Boy' verse, and a bizarre guitar reworking of the chorus, which explains why such a famous 'Tron Track isn't highlighted... It's interesting how Crimso used to do different versions of their standard repertoire at any given point, particularly with regard to their Mellotron use. This set has the 'Tron version of Pictures Of A City, as does Jacksonville, whereas Plymouth doesn't. You'll find the same thing with the Mark 3 band, where (for example) both Fracture and The Talking Drum have 'Tron and non-'Tron versions. Anyway, other Mellotron use here is on Sailor's Tale, another cataclysmic Cirkus and the usual stuff on Mars, which I'd guess was one of that piece's last outings.
Live at the Zoom Club, October 13, 1972 documents Crimso's return to the venue where they introduced their Mark 2 lineup to... introduce Mark 3. Although only an audience recording, the double CD is a fantastic document of a new band finding its feet in public, improvising its way through much of the gig, while playing no material from its previous lineups. As it says in the liner notes, many audience members would've seen them at the same venue a mere 18 months earlier, also debuting a new lineup, but this band bore very little relation to that one. Crimson are known for building up the improvisational percentage of gigs as a lineup matures, but this release proves that the incendiary Mark 3 version of the band were in there from the beginning; in fact, once they found their feet, they settled into a more stable repertoire.
Opening with Larks' Tongues I was an inspired move, as Jamie Muir's tinkling percussion and Fripp's incidental guitar slowly build up to David Cross' violin part before all hell breaks loose. In fact, that phrase would probably describe most of the gig; the improvisation now entitled Zoom features Fripp on guitar overload, cutting loose all over the shop, although the extraordinary lengthy (over 40 minutes) Zoom Zoom is rather less focussed, although it has plenty of worthwhile moments. Don't get your hopes up on the Mellotron front with this track, though; it only has a few seconds of strings at the beginning, although Easy Money features a unique 'Tron flute intro, completely different to any other available version. In fact, the song has a completely different arrangement to the one with which we're familiar, followed by a piece retrospectively entitled Improv: Fallen Angel, backed by the guitar riff that was exhumed for the track of the same name on Red. Exiles, again, is an early arrangement, with less Mellotron, while Wetton's all over the place on Larks' Tongues II. So; a fantastic document of a formative lineup, but a little disappointing on the 'Tron front, although a few seconds of cellos on Larks' Tongues II, and its closing strings are a bit of a one-off.
Live in Hyde Park was originally scheduled as Collectors' Club 12, back in '99, but after unspecified legal hassles, ended up finally appearing late in 2002. Well, it was worth the wait. An excellent performance in front of a huge crowd gathered in Hyde Park to watch the Rolling Stones play their first post-Brian Jones gig that turned into a eulogy when he died mere days earlier. Crimso more than rose to the occasion, tightening their set up from their club appearances, letting rip particularly on Travel Weary Capricorn, which may be the best version of the piece yet released. Also, I've never noticed the riff in Mantra that became Exiles over three years and two lineups later; time to go back to Epitaph and give it another blast... Ian McDonald's Mellotron work is restricted to the three numbers on which this first lineup of the band always used it; The Court Of The Crimson King, Epitaph (great version) and an excellent, though very abbreviated Mars without most of the initial buildup, but with extra added air-raid siren 'played' from below the stage by Dik Fraser and David Enthoven. To bulk out the disc, Fripp has added edited highlights of the chat between all the original members and crew at the launch party for the Epitaph box in '97, plus an instrumental outtake of Schizoid Man from the first album sessions, both of which are worth hearing, although they mean that the actual gig is only just on 40 minutes long. Still, it's some of the best 40 minutes you'll spend all year. Buy.
Ladies of the Road: Live, 1971-1972 is a Collectors' Club Special Edition, whatever that means; I presume it's available in the shops, for once - it has a DGM catalogue number, unlike all the other Club releases. Basically, disc one consists of performances from across the Mark 2 band's career, including their lead-off gigs at the Zoom Club in '71, while disc two is no more or less than nearly an hour of superb Schizoid Man guitar and sax solos edited together to make one continuous piece, which you'll almost certainly either love or hate. None of the selections is individually credited, so it's hard to say where and when any of them are from, or even whether or not we might have heard them before, but they're some of the best Mark 2 performances I've heard, which figures, I suppose. The one exception to this is the crudely truncated version of The Court Of The Crimson King, which is basically 'Court Blues', presumably from Detroit 1971. An incendiary (that word again!) Pictures Of A City gives you a good kicking before an unusually fragile The Letters, with the faintest hint of 'Tron, er, something in the intro. I don't know if Formentera Lady and The Sailors Tale are even from the same gig, but they segue seamlessly in time-honoured fashion, with Robert's 'Tron strings and Mel Collins' 'Tron brass under the guitar solo, before the massive 'build-up' section at the end. Phenomenal. But not as phenomenal as Cirkus, which is one of the best versions of this 'Tron monster I've yet heard, or am likely to hear; at last Fripp's got some live Mark 2 stuff out in the marketplace, and not before time.
When the Collectors' Club started, I was a subscriber, receiving fairly expensive discs, some of which I've only ever played once (mid-'90s rehearsals, anyone?). After the format changed, I bought several 'Mellotron-era' releases, but how many King Crimson live albums do you really need? I'd like to be able to review everything relevant that Fripp chooses to put out, but even allowing for the current dollar/pound exchange rate, I simply can't keep up. As a result, although there haven't been that many relevant CDs, a yawning gap has opened up in my coverage. Just to add confusion to lack of funds, DGM have made a whole load of shows available as downloads only, but as they can still be said to've been 'released', they've been added to the list. Do you need more confusion? There are now three volumes entitled The Collectable King Crimson (we're not going to go there re. the no less than ten volumes of The Collectors' King Crimson), each of which doubles up two releases. No big deal, until you realise that Volume 1 pairs the Mainz gig and the original version of Casino, Asbury Park, New Jersey, June 28, 1974, better known as the source gig for USA. Eddie Jobson's overdubs are nowhere to be heard, Cross is back in the frame, and the whole thing's in the correct running order. Hurrah! This is, unsurprisingly, an absolute stormer; Fripp didn't choose it back in '75 for nothing... Given that it doesn't seem to be available on its own, if you don't already have the Mainz set, buy this double, especially as it's available at Amazon and other online retailers. Stacks of Mellotron too, of course. Essential.
To attempt to sum up the Club releases; all the above are worth hearing, but some are more worth hearing than others! I'd say go for Beat Club, Central Park and Detroit first, then all the others. Recently, the Club has changed its format, with individual releases all now available via the website, so it would appear it's no longer a subscription service. Fripp has said that if interest dies off, they'll have to cancel the Club, which would be a great shame, so get out there and buy some of the discs!
Oh God; where to start summing-up? Crimson have released easily the most (confirmed) Mellotron Albums of anyone on this site, and most of them are worth hearing. If you're into the whole Prog Thing you should already own most of their '70s releases, at least, but from a Mellotronic viewpoint I'd say the essentials are: In the Court, Poseidon, Lizard, Larks' Tongues, Starless and Bible Black, Red and USA, to which you can add Epitaph, The Great Deceiver and The Night Watch. All the relevant Club releases are worth hearing, which really only leaves Islands, Earthbound and THRAK as (Mellotronically) non-essential, though I'm sure some of you will disagree. Oh, bollocks to it; buy 'em all. See if I care.
Sadly, in 1997 Robert Fripp announced on his website his decision to sell all five of his Mellotrons. Bidding is still taking place on some machines at the time of writing, with ridiculous figures being bandied about, especially for the In the Court... MkII. It would seem that the individual instruments' provenance counts for more than their potential. Let's hope that they are bought by musicians rather than collectors who will probably squirrel them away as museum pieces. Note: they were never sold, as Robert apparently received no 'suitable' bids.
Incidentally, after the 1974 split, John Wetton remained a 'Tron fan for a few years, playing one with Phil Manzanera and Uriah Heep, among others. In recent years, he's been heard to play Starless on stage, often using IQ's Martin Orford, himself an ex-'Tron owner. They generally only use samples, although their appearance at Progfest '95 featured the real thing, but when push comes to shove, samples are better than no 'Tron at all...
STOP PRESS: Well, sort of... In 2005, Fripp elected to provide paid-for downloads on the DGM site, which has added mucho confusion to the band's catalogue. My friend Nick Hewitt has kindly compiled a list of the relevant titles, which has been added to the Albums list, taking Crimso's Mellotron 'albums' up to a rather shocking close to fifty. At least one download-only title has now been released on CD, just to add to the confusion. I have no idea when I may get to hear any of these, but they may be added to this page at some point in the indefinite future.
An interview snippet:
Back to the topic of 'so did Fripp play 'Tron on the first album or not?' Here's an interview segment with engineer Geoff Workman on the subject:
Asked if recording an instrument as notoriously quirky as a Mellotron posed special problems, Workman replies:
"Not really. We used to take them DI because the early models like they used in King Crimson and in the Moody Blues were so noisy. The later ones were smaller and quieter and had interchangeable racks of tapes and various other features. But these first ones were so noisy that if you put them through any kind of amp pre to getting to the console, you didn't have a signal-to-noise ratio, you had a noise-to-signal ratio! You'd hear this great, 'Shhhhhhh' all through it. 'Wait, I think there's a little string part in the background of all that noise!'"
"One of the things that was interesting about Crimson is that they often used two Mellotrons at the same time; both McDonald and Fripp would play them. The thing about the Mellotron is the tape loop [sic.] lasts just shy of eight seconds, so if a chord needs to be held down for more than eight seconds, you have to lift your hands off and let the springs pull the tape back so the loop can start again. So on songs that needed more sustained chords we'd use two, with one player holding the chord for seven seconds or so and then the other coming in to keep it going - we used to call it 'duelling Mellotron'".
So! Proof? I wouldn't like to argue with the redoubtable Mr. Workman, but I've never heard this story anywhere else. Unless you know better...
