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BOOK REVIEW November 10, 2019

In the Court of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 Years

In the Court of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 YearsSid Smith616 PagesISBN: 978-1916153004Panegyric Publishing2019 When it was first released in 2001, British scribe Sid Smith's In the Court of King Crimson (Helter Skelter Publishing) filled a major need for a band that was, at that time, touring in its double duo format, responsible for the some of the music reissued, earlier this year, in the Heaven & Earth: Live And In The ...

BOOK EXCERPTS November 10, 2019

In the Court of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 Years: Level Five, VIII

By Sid Smith

On November 15, 2019, as part of King Crimson's 50th Anniversary Celebration, Panegryic will be releasing Sid Smith's significant revision and expansion of his critically acclaimed bio, In the Court of King Crimson (Helter Skelter Publishing, 2001). More than merely adding what has gone on in the nearly 20 years since the original book was published, at nearly double its size, the 2019 edition of In the Court of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 Years is a major revision ...

ALBUM REVIEW October 27, 2019

King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King (50th Anniversary)

By John Kelman

The passage of time is often defined by both forward motion and a growing collection of memories past; it's also measured by significant milestones that are either realized at the time or in subsequent years. At a recent Royal/Celebration Package event prior to King Crimson's Théâtre St-Denis performance in Montréal, Canada, guitarist and only remaining group co-founder, Robert Fripp, asked the question that he's queried more than once, in various forums: “Can music change the world?" While the ...

LIVE REVIEW September 28, 2019

King Crimson at Budweiser Stage & Théâtre St-Denis

By John Kelman

King Crimson 2019 Celebration Tour Budweiser Stage, Toronto, Canada Théâtre St-Denis, Montréal, Canada September 14 & 17, 2019 After covering six shows including two 2014 dates in San Francisco, another two 2015 shows in Montréal, and single, back-to-back 2017 performances in Montréal and Toronto, perhaps the biggest question is: Why return to Toronto and Montréal in 2019 for two live concerts during King Crimson's 50th Anniversary, globe-trotting, 2019 Celebration Tour that will, ...

LIVE REVIEW September 21, 2019

King Crimson at Paramount Theatre

By Geoff Anderson

King Crimson Paramount Theatre Denver, CO September 8, 2019 Every band should have three drummers. No, wait, every band needs three drummers. King Crimson proved that Sunday night with, not just three drummers, but three drummers right up front. Well, maybe two and half drummers; drummer Jeremy Stacey spent half his time on keyboards including the all important mellotron. But, no matter how you cut it, all that percussion right up front created ...

EXTENDED ANALYSIS June 8, 2019

Heaven & Earth: Live and in the Studio 1997-2008

By John Kelman

Yet another year, yet another characteristically detailed and chronologically contextualized King Crimson mega-box set. Except that 2019 is no typical year. And Heaven & Earth is no typical King Crimson box set. While Heaven & Earth: Live and in the Studio 1997-2008 completes (well, almost) the series of box sets documenting King Crimson's original commercial recordings (and so much more), it's far from the group's first (or only) release to go along with the current three-drummer ...

ALBUM REVIEW April 19, 2019

King Crimson: Live in Newcastle, December 8, 1972

By John Kelman

"Never say never," or so the old adage goes. When it comes to music, there are two more that should be added: “farewell tour" and, most certainly as it relates to King Crimson's Live in Newcastle, December 8, 1972, “the complete recordings." This, the 48th in the veteran group's King Crimson Collector's Club series of archival releases, turns out not just to be an unexpected addition to the group's Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Panegyric), but belies that fifteen-disc, 2012 40th ...