Live In Japan＜限定盤/Pink & Blue Vinyl＞

オリジナル・メンバーのMichael Giles(dr/per)とIan McDonald(sax/flu/key)を中心にPeter Giles(b)、Mel Collins(sax/flu/key)等歴代メンバーと、'14年よりKING CRIMSONのメンバーであったJakko Jakszyk(vo/g)が結集し誕生したバンド、自主レーベルから発表された'02年来日公演を収録した'03年作が米Cleopatraよりピンク&ブルー・カラー・ヴァイナル仕様の2枚組限定アナログ盤にて'24年初のLP化!

'02年11月日本公演に行われたファン感涙のパフォーマンスを収録。バンド名となった"21st Century Schizoid Man"を筆頭に"Catfood"In The Court Of The Crimson King"Foementara Lady"等60年代末期～70年代初期メンバー在籍期の名曲の数々を披露、本家のみならず"Let There Be Light"Progress"Birdman"等々メンバー・ソロ曲やMcDonald & Giles楽曲も披露されており、素晴らしい演奏と共に正に初期KING CRIMSONが再現されるファン感涙のライブ盤です!

The 21st Century Schizoid Band isn't doing badly for a group that's never come close to charting a record anywhere, getting out two releases in a single year, a self-titled debut plus this double-disc combined CD/DVD package from a November 2002 concert. To call this the fulfillment of a dream would be putting it mildly on several counts -- for starters, anyone who missed the original King Crimson on tour in 1969 at last has a chance to see as well as truly hear drummer Michael Giles playing in concert (welcome as the Crimso historical releases from 1969 are, they're not remotely state of the art in quality) and even bringing a new song, "Progress," to the table; Giles' more enigmatic brother Peter Giles on bass; Mel Collins, a saxman's saxman, playing this repertoire live; and Ian McDonald, the original jack of all trades in the Crimso lineup, doing what he does best (i.e., a little bit of everything). Everyone in this band plays like they're at the top of their form and having the time of their lives -- Collins is clearly the heavier-weight reedman in comparison to McDonald, but the latter gets his embellishments in as well, even on the numbers where they're both blowing sax. "In the Court of the Crimson King" is fascinating to watch just to see the amount of switching off that McDonald does between flute and keyboards. The band also does slightly later Crimso repertoire, such as "Formentera Lady," which is stretched out with a lyrical opening on bass and flute and a newly melodic treatment in the main body of the song -- the song is mostly Collins' showcase on flute and sax, while McDonald moves between various keyboards and reed instruments in support. McDonald and Michael Giles each get lead vocal showcases, the former on a newer song called "If I Was," which is a good match for the older material, although perhaps a little more obviously pop-oriented -- they also resurrect two McDonald & Giles songs, "Tomorrow's People" and "Birdman." Strangely enough, one doesn't miss Robert Fripp at all -- Jakko Jakszyk knows the sound and the style (he grew up with it) and it's his natural musical language. In addition to the 96-minute performance, which is beautifully lit and benefits from highly mobile camera work, the disc contains fairly extensive interview material totaling about 20 minutes; each of the members explains his involvement with the band and the meaning of the material. Strangely enough, Jakszyk may have had the biggest percentage of his life involved with the music of anyone present, as he discovered King Crimson when he was 11. The CD is a cut-down version of the same concert with excellent sound and perhaps a punchier mix courtesy of Jakszyk, and plays back beautifully in two-channel stereo; the DVD offers 5.1 Surround Sound, which brings out every nuance of the playing. The notes are mostly in Japanese, which is not a drawback as the music mostly speaks for itself. ~ Bruce Eder