21st Century Schizoid Band - Live in Japan DVD (5.1 Dolby Digital)

[sallymae_hogsby]

As someone raised on early King Crimson, I've been collecting the recordings put out by the 21st Century Schizoid Band (Ian McDonald, Mel Collins, Peter Giles, Jakko Jakszyk, Michael Giles). All but Jakko were members of early incarnations of King Crimson, while Jakko has a very Greg Lake-ish voice that is in much better condition that Greg's is these days, and also does a decent job of copying Fripp's guitar licks.

The result is pretty much as if Robert Fripp and Greg Lake had left the band, but the rest of King Crimson continued on in the style of the first few albums. Relying on their most popular songs, but occasionally adding new material.

Anyway, I recently bought their "Live in Japan" DVD, and was pleased to find that it's in 5.1 (Dolby Digital). I was even more pleased to discover that it's not "audience surround" but lots of (sampled) mellotron and other sounds coming from behind.

So, if you've longed to hear versions of "I Talk To The Wind", "In The Court of the Crimson King", "Epitaph", "Catfood", "21st Century Schizoid Man", etc. in their original lushness, and in surround, you might want to search out the "Live in Japan" DVD.

My copy is "Region 0" NTSC, tho the sticker on the front said it was imported from the UK.

 

[zabble]

I agree that this is a worthy title. The mixes vary from song to song, among my favorites being "I Talk to the Wind" and "Epitaph".

One weird thing is the bass on "Birdman". At first I thought the bass player was off throughout the song, but upon careful listening and comparing the sound to the visuals, the bass seems to have been somehow inadvertently delayed during mixdown. Each note is consistently late by microseconds and makes enjoyment of the song difficult.

Recommended if you are a fan of early King Crimson, though the mixes are a bit inconsistent.