“…Let’s make a hit waxing…” – studio chatter on
recording sessions, 1969
The complete audio history of one of the
most important debut albums of all time is presented across 26 discs in this
boxed set. Featuring a new Dolby Atmos mix by Steven Wilson, 6 CDs' worth of
session material on CD & Blu-Ray for the first time (fully mixed by David
Singleton), a further disc of newly compiled studio material, the box also
includes the original studio album, every alternate take known to exist, every
mix known to exist, all live recordings known to exist & a selection of
pre/Crimson 1968 recordings.
The set - as with the previous boxed seven
sets in the series - is housed in a vinyl sized box complete with a booklet
featuring an introduction by Robert Fripp, notes about the source tapes from
David Singleton, sleeve-notes by King Crimson biographer Sid
Smith, previously unseen photos from the recordings sessions, additional
memorabilia & a protective outer sleeve.
“…an
uncanny masterpiece” – Pete Townshend, 1969
It’s a quote that’s forever associated with
the album. It was used in advertising at the time of release. Unlike many
claims made in advertising it has, like the album it heralded, stood the test
of time. It’s easy to forget how quickly things moved for the first incarnation
of King Crimson: Formed January 13th 1969; by late Spring they were
regulars on stage at the likes of The Marquee and The Speakeasy clubs &
performed with Tyrannosaurus Rex at The Lyceum, during May recorded the first
of two BBC sessions, initial album recording sessions in June & then, in
early July – the big breakthrough – played to 650,000 people in Hyde Park
supporting The Rolling Stones, the album recorded in July/August, signed to
Island Records (& Atlantic in the USA), missed the Isle of Wight festival
due to illness/exhaustion, more gigs & a second BBC session in August,
broadcast in September, a Top 5 charting, unanimously lauded album in the UK,
followed by a Top 30 debut in the USA weeks later, toured the USA – with
concert appearances at legendary venues such as the Boston Tea Party, Chicago’s
Kinetic Playground, New York’s Fillmore East & another appearance on a bill
with The Rolling Stones – this time at a Miami festival & then, following a
series of December appearances at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, it was
over, as quickly as it had begun – the arc for the band from formation to
dissolution had taken barely more than 11 months, leaving behind an iconic –
both musically and in terms of cover art - self-produced debut album, a
fearsome live reputation & the sense of a band that, in its brief period of
existence, set its own agenda. This boxed set collects every existing note that
the band played - from the live gigs to the complete studio sessions, the album
itself, plus every alternative take & all mixes of the album including the
original mix, the 40th and 50th anniversary mixes in stereo & surround
sound & a brand new Dolby Atmos mix - the ultimate edition of the
quintessential debut album.
Familiar sources, fresh sounds...
Having done 5.1 Surround Sound mixes for both the 40th
& 50th anniversary editions of the album, Steven Wilson was able to take
full advantage of the opportunities offered by Atmos mixing, allowing for far
greater movement within the mix itself. As he put it: "I've definitely had
a bit more fun with the Atmos mix, watch out for solos and mellotrons circling
overhead!" While the improv section of 'Moonchild' is a particular
beneficiary of this approach, the mix is very active, with plenty of
ear-catching moments to offer to listeners.
Likewise, significant work on the multi-track tapes was undertaken by David Singleton - who mixed all of the existing multi-track sessions recordings to stereo as well as running the single track CD length 'Let's Make a Hit Waxing' - from those same tapes. "Listening to the original recording sessions was astonishing.
Time collapses and you are suddenly there in the studio with a young band, just starting out, as they experiment with recording their first album. It is not so much listening to a slick product, more witnessing a process. You are present at the birth."
King Crimson has returned many times since
that birth and in many different line-ups – each different from its predecessor
and, with two concerts at The Palladium in late 2018 & three shows at The
Royal Albert Hall in June, 2019, the current band has played to more people in
London, the city in which it began, than at any point since 1969 & in the
process, played more of the material from 1969 than any line-up since the
original. The current line-up has, on more than one occasion, been described as
“the best live band in the world” – something that also used to be said of the
original band.
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