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On the day that the new line-up of King Crimson held its first day of full band rehearsals, this just in from Robert Fripp: "First day of King Crimson rehearsals, with Front Line of three drummers and Back Line of three players (Mel Collins arriving back today from touring in Italy, joining us tomorrow) reporting good days. This experience has made me reconsider KC as a whole, from a band whose music I liked, to an entity I should consider more deeply. "Lament", "The Night Watch" and especially "Fracture" have my full attention now. It's certainly made me think of re-appraising the Starless And Bible Black album, which never gelled with me as much as the two albums in between have. Fripp's disciplined and almost classical approach to playing allowed for zero sloppiness, but he could be equally as adventurous in taking the piece to new heights. Their improv spots are not aimless like so many jam bands now and maybe even then were by comparison. Their ability to shift and change within the framework of their material was remarkable. The thing I have been most amazed with is that I am not tired of hearing these songs over and over again. Wetton manages to be engaging in his capacity as vocalist, his thick voice a perfect match for what he and his bandmates were doing every night of that tour. David Cross manages to weave his violin, electric piano and mellotron through this storm with equally powerful and sometimes sublime playing. John Wetton and Bill Bruford were just a force of sound at their heaviest, but could execute the quieter passages with equal brilliance. Fripp's playing, even on an off night, will rip your spleen out.

Even the audience reaction, which varies from polite to rabid, has drawn me in. This is as raw and dirty as a progressive band has probably ever sounded, yet it's so appropriate to the material which has not lost it's edge 40 years later. I've never felt as strongly about every aspect of live recordings as I have about these shows. I cannot wait to listen to the shows again on Blu-ray (two BR discs feature stereo mixes of the professionally recorded shows, and also a 5.1 mix of the Red album itself) with a proper system. The music, as simply as I can say it, has blown me away.

I've spent much of the weekend listening to The Road To Red.