KING CRIMSON — The Great Deceiver (Live 1973 - 1974) (review)

KING CRIMSON — The Great Deceiver (Live 1973 - 1974) album cover Live album · 1992 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Warthur
An embarrassment of riches, the Great Deceiver box set - whether bought in its original format or as two 2-CD sets - is a treasuring of King Crimson live material ranging from the wake of Larks' Tongues In Aspic to the cusp of Red. The set opens with a full show - a Providence set from 1974, from which the version of 21st Century Schizoid Man was extracted for use on the USA version. I actually prefer the sound here to the one on USA, since the Eddie Jobson overdubs on that one seemed to have been calculated to bring the track closer to its original studio version, whereas here the aura is more definitively of the mid-70s unit.

The rest of the set contains extracts from other shows of varying sizes - some quite substantial, some only snippets. On the whole, I'm not going to give this essential rating simply because I don't think it is essential through and through - shows and tapes inevitably vary in quality, after all, though the cream of the crop is represented here, and furthermore I suspect the package here presents rather more live King Crimson than most people will ever need. I still think that the essential Crimson live album from this era of the band has to be the incomparable Night Watch, which ought to be your first stop in any exploration of live Crimson; this one is great value, but is really for those who simply cannot get enough of them Larks' Tongues.
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

6 Eclectic Fusion
KROKOFANT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Alicante
RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
js· 1 day ago
She's Forty with Me
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Tall Tillie's Too Tight
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us