King Crimson – Radical Action (To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind)

I really wanted to hate this set, I've been a collector of King Crimson recordings since the early 70s and these days I'm pissed at Fripp. Fripp has push several exstremely talented musicians out of the group that I have been following for decades. Personally I've felt That Crimson has been going down hill since Bruford left and now with Below gone I had really lost interest. Well I finally caved and picked it up, I've been listening to this week going back and forth to work. I hate to say it but I love it. These songs are ones that I had never hope to ever hear updated live and these guys have done a marvelous job. No they don't sound like the original groups that played these songs but the spirit and creativity is there.Listen to this stuff with open ears and you'll have a smile on your face.

Preface: I bought this set once before, ripped the CDs, watched the Bluray show, listened to the music files... then got rid of it all at the hock on a whim. After taking a several-month long break from the Crim', I thought about this set and figured I should pick it up again.

Well, now I know that whim wasn't a whim at all, but that old gut feeling that tells me the truth.

Because, even with all these musicians and drumkits and hushed, obedient audience members making Sunday service look like a movie matinée, it's still Progresso paint-by-numbers if you're not honeymoon-frothing for this band. It's not that this is performed badly or lifelessly. It's just so bloody... static. Sterile. Even the listening experience made me feel like I was in a European bistro, complete with professional customer service representatives, secure Wi-Fi and a sign above the counter that reads ABSOLUTELY NO PHOTOGRAPHY OF EMPLOYEES DURING BUSINESS HOURS.

To this day, the old studio recordings sound like each incarnation of the band was leaving just enough breathing room to allow in anything demonic beyond the melody and structure, capturing it like a snapshot in the dark. Note Bruford's comment about a musician's expertise expectation for the group: "With King Crimson, you were just supposed to know." And Fripp himself the only constant member of each lineup: restless, discontent, always searching.... These elements have made King Crimson the most exciting progressive rock band for me, and the fact that those albums have aged so well for more than five decades is a testament to its legacy.

Unfortunately those same elements that made Crimson so exciting are, in my opinion, sorely missing from their current incarnation. Radical Action is just copacetic, nothing radical about it. What does it say when Fripp's DGM Live experience for the internet age, with its highfalutin philosophical quotes, quaint British artwork and "words from the Vicar," results in live music that sounds one Werther's Original away from a retirement home and performs in one spot like an animatronic Chuck E. Cheese band? Are you willing to have your "hard-earned pay extracted" for that experience?

In the end I'm left unsatisfied. Actually, I feel more aggravated than anything because their very history proves they've been more than capable of music more exciting than this boomer-tier product. I suppose I ought to give them a break, given their age median and all. But this is not only what they are content with... they actually expect to be paid for this! So, screw that. Caveat emptor, people!

On the other hand, if all you expect is a job well done and a new trinket to keep polished for your unabashed idolization, well... you'll get your due here as you would figure, with the seemingly-autistic Fripp forever casting his eyes over his minions to make sure they keep the collective shoulder to the plow and dutifully fulfill the will of Sata--I mean, King Crimson himself. Short of a large red Discipline logo on the stage, TEDx-style, take note lecture enthusiasts: this is your wet dream!

I am looking to buy an individual BluRay disc. I own the version with the additional DVDs, but I had the misfortune of having my BluRay disc stolen. Please message me if you'd like to sell your BluRay.

King Crimson Radical Action Live Video

Tracks 1-10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 22, 24, 26, 27 were recorded on 19.12.2015, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
Tracks 11, 15, 20, 25 were recorded on 17.12.2015, Tokyo, Japan.
Tracks 18, 19, 23 were recorded on 9.12.2015 or 16.12.2015, Tokyo, Japan.
Track 21 was recorded on 22.09.2015, Paris, France.
Bonus tracks were recorded on 29.11.2015 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Just to reiterate what it says in the description,the Ltd edition version has two extra DVDs which have the same content as the blu ray and more photos in the booklet and you pay an extra 8 pounds. Just get the cheaper standard version which is better value for money.