The release of King Crimson's seminal 1974 album Red continues the overhaul of the progressive rock band's catalog that also — so far anyway — includes their debut album In The Court Of The Crimson King and Lizard. As was the case with those two albums, the remastering of this album was overseen by Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, along with founding member Robert Fripp.
Wilson was a great choice for this task for a couple of reasons. He's a longtime fan, and with Porcupine Tree and his other many projects, he also definitely has the necessary prog-rock credentials.
But beyond that, Wilson understands the possibilities of recording in the lossless surround sound format better than just about anybody. His remastering job here literally places you in the center of the room, particularly on the surround mixes for the DVD. This is as close to actually being there as it gets, folks.
By the time King Crimson originally released Red, they were essentially reduced down to the power-trio of Fripp on guitar and mellotron, John Wetton on bass and vocals, and Bill Bruford — who left the then-mega successful Yes to join up — on drums. Guest musicians like Mel Collins on soprano saxophone, Ian MacDonald on alto, and David Cross also make appearances.
What makes Red really stand out from previous King Crimson albums like In The Court Of The Crimson King though, is the way that the three core members create such a big noise. The fantasy inspired lyrics and symphonic sweep of their previous work had by this time been largely replaced by a more frenetic type of playing. On Red, King Crimson draw as much from heavy metal and a sort of pre-punk-rock racket as they do from prog and fusion-based jazz.
It's as though the smaller lineup — and the deceptively smaller (but no less intricate) arrangements of the songs — had finally freed these guys up to stretch themselves that much further musically. The result is music that is often difficult and occasionally even cacophonous listening — especially given the time it was recorded.
But for tech-purists and musician types, Red was, and is still now something of a wet dream. You can still hear its influence today in bands as diverse as Primus, Tool, and Wilson's own Porcupine Tree. If there is such an animal as jazz-punk-metal, King Crimson pretty much invented it on this album.
So what we have on this deluxe edition is a double-disc, featuring the entire album in both CD and the glorious sounding surround sound you get with the DVD. The latter of which is clearly the main event.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
definitely one of my favorite Crimson records, but not sure i'll be getting this...the whole surround dvd thing isn't worth the money for those of us with no surround system (and no interest in one)
2 - Glen Boyd
Mark,
It sounds good even when played on a standard DVD player...you can definitely hear the improvement even without the 5.1 capability. The extras are nice too. If you're a fan, this is definitely worth your while. There's a couple of unreleased tracks too.
-Glen
3 - Mark Saleski
yes, but can you hear the difference with the cd remaster? there's no dvd player hooked up to my main stereo and there never will be.
4 - Glen Boyd
To me, even the CD sounds better. And it also includes the three extra tracks which show the songs in embryonic stages prior to overdubs. It's mainly just the three guys doing their thing...which is how I like my KC best with this particular lineup.
I probably raved about the DVD surround too much in the review, and should have said more about the CD. The DVD is definitely the main event, but the CD recording is quite good too -- and at least for me, I hear a difference there as well. It's just quite as dramatic.
-Glen
5 - Glen Boyd
Its just NOT quite as dramatic is what that last sentence meant to say.
6 - Mark Saleski
i do see that the lossless data is available on the dvd so that's sort of interesting. i may have to get it after all.
totally love this record.
7 - Glen Boyd
I'd actually forgot how good it was. You won't be sorry if you get this, Mark.
-Glen
8 - Tom Johnson
The original album tracks on the CD are NOT remastered. It is the same audio as on the 30th Anniversary edition from 1999. (It may have been made a bit louder in volume, which can fool the brain into thinking things are significantly different, but it definitely was not remastered - this is confirmed on the Crimson site. What's not clear is if the high-rez audio on DVD is remixed or not.) I personally think the "trio versions" of "Red" and "Fallen Angel" are worth the upgrade, however, and the video is DEFINITELY worth seeing if you're a fan of this era - it's hilarious, plus how often can you say you've actually gotten to see this era of Crimson live?
Why they opted to go with the original audio on CD, I don't know. It's a little annoying since both In The Court and Lizard use the newly remixed audio. I think they should have just gone with remixed audio even if the results were only minimally different. I may have to rip the DVD's stereo track for listening to easily compare and see if there's much of a difference.
9 - Glen Boyd
I never heard the 1999 version which is probably how my brain got fooled. The difference on the DVD is dramatic, while the difference on the CD (to the 1974 release) is definitely noticeable. Like you say, its worth the upgrade.
-Glen
10 - zingzing
you guys should listen to faust or this heat.
those are both some fairly pop-leaning songs for these bands. they got way out there.
11 - zingzing
another, more typical, faust link.