King Crimson’s seminal prog debut, “In the Court of the Crimson King,” re-emerges in late October in a four-disc set.
The jubilee “Crimson King” set includes the long-awaited 2019 Steven Wilson 5.1 and stereo mixes. The set also packs in an intriguing Wilson project, a re-creation of the psychedelic/prog album in an alternate version.
While exhaustive, the “Crimson King” set’s content will be repurposed as part of an upcoming “Complete 1969 Sessions” project.
The “Crimson King” set bows Oct. 25, streeting for roughly $37. A separate double-LP edition cut by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering.
The Blu-ray includes Wilson’s surround mix (24/96 resolution), the original mix (also 24/96 resolution), instrumental tracks and alternate tracks. The alternate version of the full album is built from various studio takes, a single version of a track and backing tracks. It has an expanded duo recording of “I Talk to the Wind” and an isolated-voice version of “Epitaph.” The Blu-ray has a “surviving fragment” of the band’s performance in Hyde Park in 1969.
The CDs include Wilson’s stereo mix, another take on the alternate album and an expanded version of the original album.
The label said the 5.1 mixes were being made available in this format instead of limiting it to the more-expensive collector’s set, such as the forthcoming “Complete 1969 Sessions.”
Here is the press release info on the alternate album: It “appears, quite deliberately, in slightly different track listings on the Blu-Ray and CD (and on the accompanying double vinyl set). The aim on the Blu-Ray was to provide a fully sequenced listen that closely resembled the original album running order. This was extended on the CD, gathering many of the new mixes on one disc and revised again to make for a satisfying listen on vinyl.”
Wilson’s previous King Crimson mixes have been widely praised and the “Crimson King” project has been highly anticipated. Wilson actually did a surround version of King Crimson’s debut in 2009, but “was the one album of the many 5.1 mixes he has successfully undertaken which he wanted to revisit,” press materials say. The Wilson remixes are approved by bandleader Robert Fripp.
The 200-gram vinyl set includes Wilson’s new stereo mix as well as alternate takes and recordings, some mixed by Wilson.
The startling cover artwork by Barry Godber is said to be “meticulously restored” from the original, owned by Fripp.