Forty years ago this month King Crimson went onstage at Hyde Park London as part of a bill topped by The Rolling Stones. The concert propelled the band from being the “hottest new band in London” to “hottest new band in the UK” overnight.
This status was confirmed when their classic debut album In the Court of the Crimson King achieved a UK Top 5 chart placing upon release in October that year. Such chart success was quickly replicated elsewhere with the record entering the US top 30 and replacing The Beatles’ Abbey Road at the top of the Japanese International Artist chart by the end of the year.
To celebrate 40 years of the Crimson Kings, DGM & Panegyric proudly announce the release of a series of CD/DVD-A editions of the original King Crimson studio albums.
Each CD/DVD-A release features the full original album plus bonus tracks on the CD. Two of the titles – Lizard & In the Court of the Crimson King feature entirely new 2009 stereo album mixes by Steven Wilson & Robert Fripp.
The DVD-A presents each album fully remixed into stunning 5.1 Surround Sound with Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) in the producer role and King Crimson founder member Robert Fripp as executive producer.
The 5.1 mixes are accessible in full MLP lossless audio on DVD-A players & DTS 5.1 on standard DVD players/DVD Rom drives. Additionally, High Resolution stereo is also accessible on the DVD-A (24/96 DVD-A & 24/48 DVD/DVD Rom).
Selected DVD-A titles in the series will also feature era specific, rarely seen, King Crimson video footage. Each album is presented in a double Digipack, with booklet artwork featuring new sleeve notes by Robert Fripp and King Crimson biographer Sid Smith alongside archive material and photos, enclosed in an outer card slipcase.
The first three titles are set for release this year with further titles to follow throughout 2010:
Red: September 21st 2009
In the Court of the Crimson King: October 12th 2009 (various editions)
Lizard: October 26th 2009
Red – (KCSP 7 CD/DVD-A) September 21st release.
(KCSP 1 CD/DVD-A edition)
CD: Features entirely new 2009 stereo edition mixed from the original pre mix multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp, plus bonus tracks including early versions of I Talk to the Wind, the backing track for Epitaph and the session that produce the opening wind effect for 21st Century Schizoid Man.
DVD-A: Features the original album in 5.1 Surround Sound. The 2004 master edition & the 2009 new mix also appear in Hi-Res Stereo, along with several bonus tracks from the original recording sessions.
Video Footage: Newly re-sequenced archive footage of 21st Century Schizoid Man from the legendary Hyde Park concert.
(DGM 5009 2CD edition)
CD1: as per above.
CD2: Features the 2004 master edition plus bonus tracks including the Morgan studios instrumental recording of 21st Century Schizoid Man, the John Peel Top Gear recording of I Talk to the Wind (not previously released on CD) and a transfer of the original single a/b side of The Court of the Crimson King.
(KCCBX 1 4CD/DVD-A Boxed set – Limited edition.)
Full details to be arranged.
Lizard – October 26th release.
(KCSP3 CD/DVD-A edition)
CD: Features entirely new 2009 stereo edition mixed from the original pre mix multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp plus three bonus tracks: Lady of the Dancing Water (alternate take), Bolero (alternative version originally from Frame by Frame) and a studio run through of Cirkus from the original recording sessions.
DVD-A: Features the original album in 5.1 Surround Sound. The 2004 master edition and the 2009 new album mix also appear in Hi-Res Stereo, along with the three bonus tracks from the CD.
