Robert Fripp - guitar; Greg Lake - vocals, bass; Ian McDonald - woodwinds, mellotron; Michael Giles - drums
This show was taken from King Crimson's first U.S. tour featuring the original quartet lineup, on a night when they were the opening act on a bill with Fleetwood Mac and Joe Cocker. These three songs comprise the complete set.
This set captures the original band shortly after the release of their first album. Opening with a very early arrangement of "Pictures of a City," a song that was destined for their second album, they immediately prove that, as monumentally heavy as their studio recordings were, they were more powerful in live performance. The extraordinarily high level of musicianship combined with Greg Lakes' captivating vocals cannot be ignored.
The version of "Epitaph" is fairly close to the album arrangement, as is "21st Century Schizoid Man," which must have pulverized the audience. King Crimson was known for upstaging many popular acts of the period, and this set, although short, is good evidence why.
According to Robert Fripp, this show was recorded on eight channel multi-tracks, but the masters were stolen and have never resurfaced.