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King Crimson - Cirkus - The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson Live (1997)

Track listing:
CD1
  1. Dinosaur 5:05
  2. Thela Hun Ginjeet 5:15
  3. Red 6:09
  4. B'BOOM 4:51
  5. Thrak 1:04
  6. 1 ii 2 2:44
  7. Neurotica 3:43
  8. Indiscipline 6:36
  9. VROOOM VROOOM 4:39
  10. Coda: Marine 475 2:37
  11. Deception of the Thrush 6:03
  12. Heavy ConstruKction 3:49
  13. Three of a Perfect Pair 4:21
  14. Sleepless 6:09
  15. Elephant Talk 4:33
CD2
  1. 21st Century Schizoid Man 9:26
  2. Ladies Of The Road 5:59
  3. A Man A City 9:59
  4. In The Court Of The Crimson King 6:49
  5. Fracture 11:02
  6. Easy Money 6:10
  7. Improv: Besancon 1:33
  8. The Talking Drum 6:24
  9. Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part II) 6:29
  10. Starless 12:05

Notes

Neon Heat Disease 1984-1998 (CD One)

Dinosaur (Mexico City, 1996)
Thela Hun Ginjeet (Montreal, 1984)
Red (Mexico City, 1996)
B'BOOM (Mexico City, 1996)
Thrak (Mexico City, 1996)
1 ii 2 (P1 - Jazz Cafe, London, 1997)
Neurotica (Mexico City, 1996) =>Review
Indiscipline (Tokyo, 1995)
VROOOM VROOOM (Mexico City, 1996)
Coda: Marine 75 (Mexico City, 1996)
Deception of the Thrush (P2 - Pearl St., MA, 1998)
Heavy ConstruKction (P2 - Pearl St., MA, 1998)
Three of a Perfect Pair (Montreal, 1984)
Sleepless (Montreal, 1984)
Elephant Talk (Tokyo, 1995)

Fractured 1969-1996 (CD Two)

21st Century Schizoid Man (Jacksonville, 1972)
Ladies of the Road (Orlando, 1972)
A Man A City (Fillmore West, 1969)
In the Court of the Crimson King (Fillmore West, 1969)
Fracture (Toronto, 1974)
Easy Money (Amsterdam, 1973)
Improv: Besancon (Besancon, 1974)
The Talking Drum (Amsterdam, 1973)
Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Part II) (Mexico City, 1996)
Starless (Pittsburgh, 1974)

There are now so many King Crimson retrospective albums on the market that all but the most carefully attentive fans have got to be hopelessly confused. This one, great as it is in terms of content, doesn't help matters any. Pay attention now: Whereas 1998's Absent Lovers (also a two-disc live album) documented King Crimson's 1984 tour (in support of Three of a Perfect Pair, the last album the band made before taking a ten-year break), Cirkus includes live material spanning the band's entire career, from its earliest 1969 lineup to its current double-trio configuration. That means that the material varies enormously in style; compositions from the late 1960s and early 1970s ("Ladies of the Road," "Starless," "21st Century Schizoid Man," etc.) tend toward that sprawling prog-rock bombast that we all think of as typical of the era, complete with mellotron and endless soloing. The early 1980s material is more tightly constructed and includes great live versions of "Neurotica" and the classic "Elephant Talk." There are also several performances of recent tunes, on which the 1980s lineup has been augmented by another drummer and Chapman Stick player; the resulting sound combines some of the monstrous noise of the band's 1960s incarnations with the more disciplined structures of its 1980s phase, to good effect. Overall, the result will please fans, though newcomers may be bewildered by the huge variety of styles in evidence.