Live at Cap D'Agde, 1982 - Reviews

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Entire Release

Date Submitted: 31-May-99
By: Domenico Solazzo (packard.goose at infonie dot be)

"Well, the album Discipline was a long time favorite of mine ; i think it's on this one that KC came off well with a good balance between all those landscapes that defines the band : great mastery, brilliant skill, great sensibility and enough roughness to make you jump from your seat. In this case, the title "Indiscipline" was part of those immortal classics in the tradition of "21st schizoid man", "Devil's Triangle", "Sailor's Tale", "Lark's II", and later "Requiem", "Industry" and "THRAK"...

"On this superb live outfit, we may find in its entirety the "Indiscipline" performance from "The Noise video" wich has been precedently edited on the Volume 4 of the "Frame by Frame Box Set". Let me tell you, boys and girls, that's the most awesome performance of this tune i ever heard, especially at the end when our lone Rhino mistreat his axe and make it scream in front of his amplifier. That's it : furious, dense, obsessive...I wish you were here to hear it !"

Date Submitted: 31-May-99
By: Nick Bradey (nick at bradey dot freeserve dot co dot uk)

"I received this disc about one week ago . The quality is excellent . I consider that both this disc , and the " Absent Lovers" set , represents this incarnation of KC to far better advantage than the studio albums . Generally this is true of all the live KC releases to date."Indiscipline" is particularly excellent here , but all tracks really hum.This disc represents one aspect of the Coolectors club that has been well represented to date - ie good historical live recordings . In passing , I would add my hope for some more current releases in the second year of the club. This disc however is superb , and in my opinion , would have made a good mainstream DGM release.Keep up the good work !"

Date Submitted: 1-Jun-99
By: Geoff Chaplin (geoff.chaplin at oberlin dot edu)

"Admittedly, my immediate reaction was not favorable. No real surprises from the list, save "Sheltering Sky" and "Neil and Jack and Me," which haven't appeared in live audio before. I already have _Absent Lovers_, I thought, why another disc. I mean, the eighties Crimson is hardly known for the sort of show-to-show variations as other incarnations. Sure, the Frejus "Indiscipline" is great; but _Frame By Frame_ has it already.

"Then I listened to the disc. Still nothing special, I thought, as it served as background music for a cleaning-spree.

"Later, though, I listened closely, and -- surprise surprise -- actually started to hear. This was certainly an "on" night for an already intense band. Each song crackles with energy, and many have become favorite versions. "Waiting Man" seems a bit sloppy, moreso than the showpiece from _Absent_; still, the sloppiness is the function of the song overflowing its boundaries and really starting to burn. "Thela," even with taped conversation, has several remarkable moments, particularly the Bruford-Levin groove that is explored for a few measures. Even "Matte Kudasai," which I rarely enjoy, has, in addition to some sharp flourishes by Adrian near the end, a luminescent quality, by means of which the song lives up to the potential at which other versions (such as that on _Discipline_) only hint.

""Elephant Talk" is really a highlight, in a version which, like "Matte" explores the potential of this Crim-cum-dance band tune. And "Indiscipline" loses nothing with the inclusion of the full drum solo; in fact, Bruford's shenanigans during the solo highlight the intricate games he plays with time later on in the piece.

"The crowning moment, though, is "Larks' II," which contains several instances of tension-release playing so intense that they must be experienced "full-on."

"Truly a great show, by any standard; I'd hate to be Roxy Music on

• those* nights!"

Date Submitted: 7-Jun-99
By: J.W. Stigter (j.w.stigter at dlg dot agro dot nl)

"The King Crimson Collector's Club CD's seem to get better and better. Though I like the third CD best, this one is good too. The concert given in Cap D'Agde includes a very, very entertaining Waiting Man. And wow: Neil and Jack and Me; a track that wasn't available yet. I always liked it and this live-version is great (nearly as good as Neurotica on Cirkus). Maybe is twelve minutes of Indiscipline a little bit too much??? The Frame by Frame version from Frejus was 7 minutes! I play it over again and over again ... no sleep no sleep no sleep no sleep and no mad video machines to eat time..."

Date Submitted: 7-Jun-99
By: Sean Hewitt (seanhewitt at yahoo dot com)

"The 4th DGM Club is a different beast to the previous volumes: no unheard compositions, eruptile jams or mono sound here. This is more like a professional product and as straight a run-through of the material as any KC line-up is likely to get.

"But it IS great. And the more you play it, the greater it gets.

"It's interesting to hear the Cap d'Agde tracks (the bulk of the release) which, in these Fripp/Chris Murphy mixes, emphasise the muscular intelligence of Tony Levin's Stick work. Just listen to his playing on Waiting Man: he's a whole band in himself! The Sheltering Sky burns, with RF unleashing a guitar-solo tornado in the opening minutes, before Belew's guitar synth takes over in the mid-section,the two guitarists mesh, then Fripp's lead inspirations take it towards the finishing tape. There are fine, agile versions of Neal And Jack And Me (more remarkable eruptions from AB and a lovely solo from RF; unfortunate clanger by TL before the final refrains) and Elelphant Man, which opens with interesting rumblings from TL and Mr Bruford.

"Talking of Bill, he is more favoured by the mix on the three bonus tracks from Frejus: Indiscipline, Heartbeat and Larks' Tongues In Aspic II, taking a lengthy solo on acoustic and electronic drums in Indiscipline.

"Absent Lovers shows the band in more blazing, professional form, sure. But mere professionalism has never been what this group is all about. I love the 1980s band, one of the most innovative in King Crimson history, and it is to my eternal regret I never caught them in concert. Any chance to hear a live recording is therefore to be treasured, in my book at least, and this sonic snapshot captures them squarking, blasting, humming and soaring, eternally youthful. God bless 'em!"

Date Submitted: 10-Jun-99
By: Mike Pierron (pierron5 at mei dot net)

"This is an excellent representation of what the 80's lineup could do live! Nonbelievers take notice, these guys mean business. I'm really suprised noone else has commented on this release yet, I liked this one instantly!"

Date Submitted: 11-Jun-99
By: Stephen De Prospero (StephenfromNY at webtv dot net)

"I have yet to purchace Absent Lovers, so I've really never heard any live 80's stuff yet. My reaction...Amazing! Good idea throwing the bonus tracks on there, any live release by the Mighty King Crimson would have to include Lark's Tongues in Aspic part 2. Overall a teriffic recording!!"

Date Submitted: 11-Jun-99
By: Simon Burrows (simon.burrows1 at virgin dot net)

"Without a doubt the best release so far!The quality of sheltering sky alone makes this a must!!"

Date Submitted: 21-Feb-01
By: Andrew D'Amour (Andrew.DAmour at ibtco dot com)

"Pure and simple; the Sheltering Sky on this release is the definitive KC sound; utter perfection in a menacing float....."