King Crimson Shares 50th Anniversary Tour Highlights

King Crimson are in the middle of the North American leg of their 50th Anniversary Tour. The legendary prog-rock band posted official audio of four highlights from the past few weeks that can be downloaded for free in MP3 format via their DGM Music website or purchased in lossless FLAC format for $.99 a piece.

Up first is “Islands” from KC’s August 24 performance at Teatro Metropolitan in Mexico City. “Gigs in Mexico are always a special occasion for King Crimson and it’s somehow fitting that we get a special version of ‘Islands,’ one that in this tender ballad’s most intimate moments you could almost hear a pin drop such is the attention to the song paid by a rapt audience,” reads a note accompanying the track. “A beautiful vocal and superb accompaniment from Jeremy Stacey and Mel Collins.”

Next comes “Circus” from August 26 at Teatro Diana in Guadalajara, Mexico. “Bordering somewhere between the manic and the majestic, on the first night, Guadalajara is treated to the thunderous might of the Gavin [Harrison] and Pat’s [Mastelotto] rolling exchanges sweeping beneath a swirling, almost orchestrally psychedelic rendition of this classic track from 1970,” as per DGMLive.

The U.S. portion of the tour is also represented in the four-track collection. There’s “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part 1” from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 3. DGMLive notes, “2017 was the last time King Crimson played the Greek. Back then ‘LTIA’ opened the second set of the evening but tonight it’s the second number after the Drumson’s introductory salvo. Mel Collins’ rendition of ‘Tequila’ goes down especially well with the packed crowd in a rare instance of audience participation. Who says ‘humour is not permitted’?”

Finally, from King Crimson’s September 5 show at Oakland’s Fox Theater comes “Easy Money” off Larks’ Tongues In Aspic. “The first of two nights in Oakland and the ever-popular and deeply groovacious ‘Easy Money,” notes a description on DGMLive. “There are some gorgeous micro-climates to encounter within what is always a hot track – [Robert] Fripp’s opening solo is especially beguiling here. Amid the reed-biting atmospherics from Collins, Jakko’s [Jakszyk] guitar and vocalising emerge to take centre-stage in what sounds like a new fiery development within the track.”

The tour continues on Thursday night at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. Click on the links for each song title above to download the track as MP3s for free or to buy FLACs.