King Crimson "Sailors' Tales" Mega Box (November 2017)

from the DGM forum guestbook (Oct 26):


Connor Hammett:
Got the Sailors' Tales boxset preordered! Am I safe to go ahead and get rid of my 40th Anniversary Editions? At first it looked like all the material was duplicated in the boxset but I see a couple of things (like the rehearsal take of Pictures of a City from the Islands 40th) that don't appear to be in the box. Thanks!

Alex Mundy replied:

Dear Conner, Sid posted a full track listing about a week or so back on the site, which I think you must have seen? From memory, everything on Lizard & (I think) Poseidon from the 40th anniv editions is included. On Islands, a couple of things that were fine in context on the DVD-a from the "Routes to Islands" section weren't essential as we have the scope on the box to offer a far greater variety of live material - so The Letters from Plymouth isn't included & better rehearsal material, so Pictures of a City was dropped also.. I think we kept everything else though.. It's over to you for the final decision on whether to keep or not.

 

I didn't previously notice it was gone, but the Islands line-up's rehearsal of "Pictures of a City" from Routes to Islands was very rough indeed (must have been one of Boz's very first tries at it on bass, he messes something up in just about every measure and during the quiet breakdown you can hear the other guys coaching him through it). For true completists, or to play once only... not a great loss dropping it from the new box

 

There are a couple of tracks on the Poseidon CD that aren’t on the Poseidon Blu-ray.

 

DGM should dedicate a special KCCC CD to such unwanted tracks as The Letters and Pictures of a City - and title it DisKcarded...

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the discards showing up on the 2018 or 2019 Elements Boxes.

 

This may be veering too far off topic for most, but I went to rip the '80s lineup box and realized that there's a huge disconnect between the material available on CD and what's on the DVDs and Blu-ray discs. With the Sailor's Tale box set, ripping the blu-ray discs alone gives you everything on the CDs and then some, but is that the case for the other "early" lineups' boxes or is this one alone in that?

And yes, I can check the books for each - I'm curious if anyone else has done the math here.

EDIT: I'm assuming all of the "early" boxes will work like Sailor's Tale but the On and Off the Road and Thrak boxes won't.

 

This is the first box that includes everything on the BluRays. All the other boxes have lots of material that is only on the CDs.

Nothing is unique to the DVDs (except for the 'Court' box, because that one doesn't contain a BluRay), however, except on the 'On (And Off) The Road' box, where the video material is only presented in its correct 1.33:1 aspect ratio on the DVD and is reframed for widescreen on the BluRays.

 

Ah, my bad...sorry for being confused (my normal state!!) and thanks for clarifying!

 

No. Neither Starless nor Road to Red (or LTIA) boxes have all the content on Blu Ray. Some of the life shows make it onto the BF discs, but I believe this is the first time the blu rays in a Crimson box contain everything on the other media and more...

 

Thanks for the info. My hard drive has already started sobbing in anticipation of what's to come.

 

Did anyone else's ephemera come damaged? When I opened mine the little Cat Food ad was all crumpled at the edges, and there's a weird dent at the top of the Lizard art print. The Devil's Triangle poster was bent at one corner as well. I reached out to ImportCDs to see about a replacement but who knows if they'll let me send it back.

 

It's all good....it would be even better to see a blu-ray release of itcotck!!but....heck why not....suggest it?!!I am pleased as can be to have the big boxes of both "itcotck" and the great 80''s spanning "on/off the road"!!!

 

My Cat Food ad was also crumpled (obviously that paper is super flimsy) - otherwise the rest of my ephemera was fine. (also got mine from ImportCDs)

 

Yes, my Cat Food ad was crumpled also - from top to bottom about three inches in all the way. It was the only issue with the set.

I got mine from Amazon Italy but am not trying to get a replacement.

 

My cat food ad was also crumpled but the rest of the contents was fine for me.

 

Wow, I guess it's not surprising that so many other boxes had crumpled Cat Foot ads considering how thin the paper is. If ImportCDs can't do a return maybe I'll write to DGM and see if they have any spare Lizard prints.

 

There are some tracks from the Poseidon CD I can’t see on the Blu-ray.

 

Are you sure? I'll have to check the 'Alternative Album Selection' segment of the BluRay, but I believe everything's there, though possibly under different subtitles and with longer edits.

 

Still waiting for the vinyl edition...

 

Good luck with that one.

 

I'm young, I can wait.

 

You are looking for what, a 50+ LP box set of this material?

 

Are there download codes for some extra material? I saw that on a Vlog but not sure if it is true or where they would be.

 

Yep, everything is on the Blu-ray, just under a different title.

 

There is a download code for the Hyde Park concert printed on the back of a ticket in the black folder.