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King Crimson — Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal 1984
(Discipline DGM9804, 1984/1998, 2CD)

by Paul Hightower, Published 1999-01-01

Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal 1984 Cover art

This, the latest in the series of King Crimson archival live recordings that began with The Great Deceiver set, captures the 80s incarnation of KC near its end on the last night of Three of a Perfect Pair North American tour in Montreal (oft bootlegged from its original FM broadcast). As usual with DGM live releases, the recording quality on these two discs is impeccable and the musicianship flawless. King Crimson has had an annoying habit of disbanding right as they began to really hum, which this recording clearly demonstrates. They simply burn through "Thela Hun Ginjeet," "Red," and "Indiscipline," while nailing the gamelan guitar gymnastics of "Discipline," "Frame by Frame," and "Three of a Perfect Pair." The voices are tight, Bruford is god-like, and the 'Crimsonettes' are locked into that space which I've rarely seen other bands begin to approach. The liner notes contain the now oft reprinted standard Frippian rants on The Injustice of the Music Industry as well as other material cribbed from various earlier releases including Great Deceiver. However, there's more than enough wonderful photography as well as a choice essay by Fripp on the subject of Progressive Rock to offset the redundancies. It probably goes without saying that this one is a must for serious proggers though I suppose those who never got into this incarnation of KC might want to take a pass on it. Their loss.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 16, 1998 releases, 1984 recordings

Related artist(s): Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford / Earthworks, Robert Fripp, King Crimson, Tony Levin

 

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