King Crimson
The Elements Tour Box 2018
(DGM)

What initially began as a one-off release for the 2014 King Crimson Tour has now grown into the band releasing its Elements Tour Box every year since 2014. The Elements Tour Box 2018 features snippets, outtakes, extracts from rehearsals, new live recordings, and full tracks from 1969-2017.

A useless snippet of noise of “Wind (Extract),” begins the first of the two CDs. Then we get updated live versions of the bands most well-known tune, here titled, “The Court Of The Crimson King (Instrumental edit section),” K.C.’s leader/guitarist Robert Fripp noodles through “Cirkus (Live 2017)” and there’s another live stab, “Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part I (Live 2016).” King Crimson ends with a read of classic Bowie-here called “Heroes Radio Edit”-featuring that distinctive overdriven single-note of Fripp’s (who, of course, played on the original version of the song) plus a funky horn backing.

The pretty synth-string runs under “Deception of The Thrush (Robert Fripp: Guitar/Soundscape extract)” and opens CD #2. Live tracks in this 2^nd set include “Matte Kudasai (Live 1984),” a plucky funk tune, and “Islands (Live 2017)” with killer horn player Mel Collins giving his all. Ending this CD, acoustic guitar and flute are isolated from the original 1969 recording of “I Talk To The Wind,” here called, “I Talk To The Wind (Original album recording session).” At the time King Crimson enjoyed the talents of another spectacular reed man, Ian McDonald; the flute here is smooth and sweet.

The Elements Tour Box 2018 includes 31 tracks, 17 of them never before released on CD, plus a booklet with notes by co-compiler Sid Smith, memorabilia photographs, info about the band’s 2018 tour, and new photos of the current eight-piece King Crimson band.