King Crimson - Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (The Complete Recording Sessions) (2023) {Blu-Ray}

50th anniversary edition of King Crimson’s classic 1973 album.

Recorded from mid-January to the beginning of February and released in late March of 1973, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic became one of the most acclaimed of King Crimson’s albums as well as establishing its reputation as a key album from one of rock music’s most significant years. After a handful of further UK concerts, Jamie Muir left the band with the remaining quartet working with ever greater success until Summer 1974 when Fripp placed the band on indefinite hiatus.

2LP - Almost half a century after its release, Steven Wilson undertook the job of mixing the album for Dolby Atmos, in the process, preparing new stereo and 5.1 mixes. The new stereo mixes are presented on the first LP of this 2LP set and are – no doubt informed by the more adventurous mix techniques allowed by the Atmos process – quite different in approach, more expansive than the earlier mixes as released in 2012, while still retaining and enhancing the core power of the original material.

While Steven was working on this aspect of the material Alex R. Mundy and David Singleton at DGM were mixing every single take of the original studio sessions. These unreleased early takes are presented not as traditionally blended pieces, but with maximum separation, mimicking the experience of sitting in the studio with the individual elements being performed around you. The “Elemental mixes” apply this same approach to the main album takes. An excitingly fresh view on the familiar, with the focus often falling in unusual places, some originally hidden, some unused. Four of the album’s core tracks feature, forming LP2 of the set with extended mixes of Larks’ 1 and Talking Drum joined by Easy Money and Larks’ 2.