Warthur Purists might sniff at the overdubs provided by Eddie Jobson - who was never even in any of the King Crimson lineups of the 1970s - to some tracks on this live album, but it's still an exciting document of the Larks'-to-Red-era version of the band. More or less all the tracks come from Larks' Tongues In Aspic or Starless and Bible Black, with an early version of Starless at the end if you have the expanded remaster. Of the major live releases of this iteration of the band, it obviously isn't as expansive as The Great Deceiver; nor does the show here seem to be quite as energetic or interesting as the one captured on The Night Watch, which features more improvisations than this one and has a more frenzied rendition of 21st Century Schizoid Man (this time around the band just do a fairly close cover of the original rather than zooming off on their own unique tangent as in Night Watch).

Still, if you already have those two and like them, it comes heartily recommended - there's a teensy bit of overlap between this set and the shows collected on The Great Deceiver, but not so much as to render the album irrelevant. And when it came out in the mid-1970s it must have been a godsend for Crimson fans to finally have a decent-quality live album as opposed to the miserable Earthbound.

Sean Trane Undefined State of Amnesia

For over twenty years, this was the only live testimony of the second KC era (and it was a posthumous release), and although much better than Earthbound, the sound was hardly great on this album too. Finally for the 30th anniversary (and along with the Japanese mini-Lp), this album got its first official Cd release (some 25 years after its release) and I could not resist because it is the only Crimson album to have received bonus tracks and this alone made a solid better value.

Although there was a nowhere-else available track, the Asbury Park improv, I had not kept the vinyl since I was not pleased with the muddy sound. Then came out The Nightwatch double-set, which had a very good sound and I had almost forgotten this album, when I had a great opportunity and did not hesitate much since it was re-mastered. However, even remastered (and well improved over the vinyl), the sound is still not excellent (there is only so much you can do to average recordings), but at least, I got them three bonus tracks.

Knowing that the sound is still not up to par with The Nightwatch, this is really a toss-up as to which you should own first, but this one has Asbury Park, Starless (with Cross on violin) but the other has the eponymous, Talking Drum and three other improvs. Since I could not make-out a clear winner I now have both. This one has got Starless as a finale now and this is certainly a great asset.

With this remastered edition, this album has now gained a full place next to their historical studio albums and it now proudly sits next to Red and before The Nightwatch.