Features

King Crimson: Sheltering Skies (Live in Fréjus, August 27th 1982)

One of the most, if not the most, revered versions of King Crimson is represented on this live album, out for the first time both in its complete form and on vinyl, this Friday, September 6, 2024.

Sheltering Skies (Live in Frejus, August 27th 1982) has Robert Fripp (guitar), Adrian Belew (guitar and lead vocals), Tony Levin (stick, bass guitar and backing vocals), and Bill Bruford (drums and percussion) tackling material from this Crimson lineup's records - 1981's Discipline and '82's Beat - as well as the older warhorses 'Red' and 'Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Part Two' in a show originally recorded for video release.

Seven of the tracks issued on this set have been available on the aforementioned video release, which has surprisingly been the only official live recording representing the 1980s version of Crimson (though bootlegs abound).

In addition to the facts of the album itself, it is incredible to contemplate that the tour this release is derived from was a double-bill of Crimson and Roxy Music - and that in the half-decade preceding this concert, Adrian Belew went from playing in a cover band in Nashville, to touring and recording with Frank Zappa (in Belew's words going "to the Frank Zappa School of Rock"), doing the same with David Bowie, the Talking Heads, and then Crimson. Over the course of five years.

The vinyl track listing for Sheltering Skies (Live in Frejus, August 27th 1982) is:

Side A:
1 Thela Hun Ginjee
2 Matte Kudasai
3 Indiscipline

Side B:
1 Red
2 Heartbeat
3 The Sheltering Sky

Side C:
1 Elephant Talk
2 Neal and Jack and Me
3 Waiting Man

Side D:
1 Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Part II
2 The Sheltering Sky (Cap d’Agde, the night before this show)

With the single CD version having the same running order as above.

Two-time Spotlight On guest Markus Reuter has worked in several King Crimson-adjacent projects, Learn more: