King Crimson - "Earthbound" (1972)

I have to say that my interest in this album arose from the Acid Mothers Temple album "Electric Heavyland"... a tribute to "Earthbound" in its harsh, raw sound and cover art (with an obvious nod to Jimi as well). I actually like its jumbled, lo-fi sound, I think it works well with these early KC tunes (The Sailor´s Tale being one of my favorites). I prefer it to the later stuff (post Starless & Bible Black). And what wouldn´t you give to experience 21st Century Schizoid Man live?................................

King Crimson - Earthbound
Island, 1972

















from Wikipedia:
"Earthbound is a live album by the band King Crimson, released in 1972 as a budget record shortly after the line-up that recorded it had broken up. It is notable for containing the band's first official live release of their signature song "21st Century Schizoid Man," and an extended live version of their 1970 non-LP single "Groon." It also contains two improvised tracks with scat vocals from Boz Burrell.

The album's sound quality is poor, due to its being recorded onto cassette tape (a low-fidelity recording medium by 1972 standards) by live sound engineer Hunter MacDonald. The liner notes to recent CD reissues of the album state that it was "captured live on an Ampex stereo cassette fed from a Kelsey Morris custom built mixer ... in the rain from the back of a Volkswagen truck." Atlantic Records, King Crimson's original North American distributor, declined release of Earthbound due to its poor sound engineering. Current CD reissues of the album do not significantly improve its overall sound quality, due to its cassette origins."

The sound quality is admittedly not good. But it is very affecting, adding a psychedelic layer of fuzz and distortion that to my ears is very powerful. Fripp plays a mean guitar. The only negative point I would bring up is that "vocal scatting" by Boz Burrell...

The lineup for these shows was:

Robert Fripp: Electric Guitar
Boz Burrell: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Mel Collins: Baritone Saxophone, Mellotron
Ian Wallace: Drums
Hunter MacDonald: VCS3

FILL YOUR EARS

For comparison purposes, Acid Mothers Temple´s "Electric Heavyland" cover: