Cirkus: The Young persons Guide to King Crimson Live

With the imminent release of “Music is our Friend (Live in Washington and Albany, 2021)”; a recording of King Crimson's final US tour date 52 years on from the band's US debut, it seemed a good time to reintroduce “CirKus; a 30 years retrospective of KC live, originally curated and compiled as part of the band's 30th anniversary celebrations in 1999.
Featuring Robert Fripp & practically everyone else who has ever been a member of King Crimson up until 1999.
While there have been many line-ups of King Crimson, each of the different performing groups of musicians has made its contribution to the band’s consistent and ongoing reputation as one of the best live rock bands of any era. Every decade from the 60s to now has had at least one and sometimes more Crimson live line-ups and CirKus – originally
issued in 1999 as a 30th anniversary celebration of the group’s live output – offers an effective introduction to Crimson
as a touring outfit.
From the Fillmore West in San Francisco in 1969, via the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in 1973, to the Spectrum Montreal in 1984, and on to Nakano Sun Plaza Tokyo in 1995 & various other points in between, all eras of Crimson to the point of the album’s original 1999 release are represented, and a variety of the band’s most enduring music is featured.
Crimson live has always been a very different beast in the concert hall compared to the studio recordings and CirKus reflects this. It’s the ideal starting point for any curious listener who might be interested in the broader live Crimson
catalogue.
But make no mistake; CirKus is no mere sampler. Carefully chosen, cunningly sequenced and with the audience
sounds/ambience cross-faded to sound like two continuous concerts CirKus makes for a complete and fascinating listen in its own right.