King Crimson - "Starless - Live in Europe" box set confirmed

That’s great. Hopefully they get more in!

 

Their e-bay site has 9 available, but at around $135. I ordered it from their website.
Hopefully it'll get back in stock soon.

 

Larks Tongues also on back order.

 

Mine shows shipped, with a date of Tuesday the 21st as a delivery date.

 

The box set version of the Mainz concert is 4 minutes longer than the KCCC cd of Mainz. What is the extra 4 minutes?

 

Thick air?

 

EDIT: ok, I have found more reliable sources of the detailed tracklists:

Stand-alone releases ("KC Collectors' Club Vol. 15" & "Collectable KC Vol. 1"):

1. Improv: The Savage 2:12
2. Doctor Diamond 5:48
3. Improv: Arabica 2:29
4. Exiles 7:01
5. Improv: Atria 6:14
6. The Night Watch 5:07
7. Starless 12:27
8. Lament 4:20
9. Improv: Trio 4:36
10. Easy Money 7:51

Boxset edition (new mix):

1. Walk On: No Pussyfooting 1:16
2. Improv: The Savage 2:49
3. Doctor Diamond 6:13
4. Improv: Arabica 3:38
5. Exiles 7:17
6. Improv: Atria 6:22
7. The Night Watch 5:04
8. Starless 12:26
9. Lament 4:22
10. Improv: Trio 5:07
11. Easy Money 7:46

 

So the KCCC Mainz cd had edited versions of the first few tracks? Why? That's interesting.

 

Also, the 1974 Paris ORTF tv footage exists on the Blu-Ray of the "Starless" box as well as the CD/DVD 40th set of "Red." But the Blu-Ray lists 5 tracks, while the 40th "Red" DVD only lists 4 tracks.

What gives?

 

The biggest addition for me is the now seamless run of Walk On--> The Savage--> Dr. Diamond (one of the best segments of live music ever, IMO). You can hear in the boxed set version someone saying "Hey Bill!" (Bruford?) just as the Savage is starting, so that bit is newly-added along with Walk On. Anyway, the simple answer to your question is that whomever started the tape used for the KCCC edition started it a bit late and that's all they had. The unusual (is it?) thing for me is that someone else with access to the soundboard was also recording that night, so we get the boxed set version too.

 

But the weird thing is that the Walk On opening is only an extra 1:20 at the beginning of the cd. There is now apparently an additional 2.5 minutes to be found during The Savage-Dr. Diamond-Arabica sequence as well.

 

Yeah, I haven't A/B'ed them; once I got the box I shelved the 3/30/74 Mainz KCCC CD (but can't bear to part with it as for years it was my favorite Crimson release). Dr. Diamond has a very abrupt ending, so maybe there's some dead air at the end of Dr. Diamond and/or Arabica and the "gap" between that and Arabica may be in a different place, giving a false perception that it's longer than we once knew it to be. I don't recall hearing more musical material during Arabica as compared to the KCCC version, although it's been a while since I listened to the older release and having all those other early '74 European shows may have distracted me just a bit.

 

I had luck getting a replacement blu ray disc from the pressing plant.

 

Awesome! Shipping update on something that came out over 3 years ago. Major props!

@Shvartze Shabbos

 

Naw! The Islands box lol. I got Starless on the same day from another vendor.

 

Oh man, the short improv before Night Watch on the ORTF Melody Tv Broadcast from France is one of the greatest things I've ever heard from live Crimso. Any other improv sections like this one? Just love it. Fripp so languid and heartfelt on guitar with Cross adding the perfect electric piano accompaniment.

 

I'm listening to the UK Vinyl Transfer on Disc 24, and I've noticed that the L/R channels are swapped.
I don't own the original vinyl, so I can't double-check myself if that's a mistake...

Also, I'm still wondering why the tracklists for Zurich and Glasgow are different between BR and CDs.
The CD tracklists seem more faithful to the original setlists, is that the case?

 

Are you familiar with Trio?

 

I love this too, but for me, the standout during both the improv and the song here is John Wetton--the quiet little bass accompaniments to the improv are particularly exquisite, and his vocal tone is just otherworldly.

 

I think I've found an answer to this. It seems the CDs are faithful to the original setlists and the BR is based on the tracklist from The Great Deceiver. It was on the booklet, sorry!

Now listening to the bonus tracks on Disc 21 (same as the DVD of the 40th AE). The tracks from Zurich are mastered much better here than in discs 3-4 and BR 23, IMO. On the discs with the full concert, there's less hiss but a bit more compression and they are also brighter...

 

On eBay import cds store using 15% off 2 items, plus eBay have 15% off orders today - Saved 28%
Starless U$100.77
Sailors take U$116.85

Without discounts
Starless U$139.48
King Crimson - Starless [CD New] | eBay
Sailors tale U$161.73
King Crimson - Sailors' Tales (1970-1972) Limited Edition Box Set [New CD] Ltd E | eBay

 

Just been digging into the box - cant believe it took 4 years to ship

A few comments.

I haven't heard the Glasgow download of NW but if it isn't perfect, I could see how they wouldn't want to give a 'bad' first impression in terms of quality - Glasgow is the first cd and blu ray concert in the set. 'Warts and all' on a super deluxe may have been more of a distraction.

As for the 'mincer' re-inclusion in 'Law of maximum distraction' in Zurich. I first heard the bootleg edit without vocals on the 40th anniversary sets,which I thought worked well. Hearing the S&BB vocal version on the blu ray did throw me a bit. I'm guessing that at blu ray resolution it may have been more noticeable.

Concertgebouw SW mix is also great.

 

Anyone got a favorite show???

 

So I'm a little ashamed to admit that I do not yet own the Starless box. I know that there's tons of great stuff here, though I already own a lot of it in one form or another. I've been noticing lately that it seems to be unavailable from a lot of retailers now. Is this going out of print? I did see one listing from Amazon UK. Should I be jumping on this while I have the chance?

Edit: Amazon UK says that it ships in 1 to 3 months. So I guess they're out of stock too?

 

It's a good package and if you're a fan of both that edition of KC and hi res audio I would say yes. As you may have read up thread the original boxes had a defective disc that needs to be replaced and one of the other high res discs has a menu that's a bit funky. I'm not a huge KC fan but I don't regret buying this.