King Crimson - Deja VROOM

Year of Release: 1999
Label: Discipline Global Mobile
Catalog Number: DGM9810
Format: DVD
Total Time: 90:00:00

I've been fortunate enough to see King Crimson in concert five times over the years (my record is still Yes, which I've seen 14 times). But for those who haven't had this great privilege, video technology comes to the rescue in the form of Deja VROOOM, a DVD that documents the band's tour as what has been called the double-trio format. The double trio -- consisting of two guitarist, two bass players, and two drummers -- is one of the most adventurous ensembles that our guitar hero Robert Fripp has put together, and the performances on this DVD are guaranteed to tickle the fancy -- and even raise the goose bumps -- of most any King Crimson fan.

Most of the songs here come from the albums KC recorded with Adrian Belew, who has been with the band since the early 80s when Fripp put together the KC incarnation that recorded the albums Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair (love that title!). That Belew is one of the best song writers on the planet does much to boost this collection, and his plaintive voice wrings magic from the music. The newest songs on this DVD come from the Thrak album, which was recorded with the same double trio and is the album that the group was supporting with this tour. There are a few tracks from pre-Belew Crimson, represented by "Red," "Talking Drum," and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II," all of which are instrumentals and so relieve Belew from having to copy other KC singers.

Beyond the wonderful performances documented here, the DVD features enough extra features to drive any 21st century man (or woman) schizoid. First, several of the tracks feature multiple camera angles, enabling you to choose to focus on a particular musician's performance rather than viewing the band as a whole. There's also a song construction set that enables you to assemble your own version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" from a set of rhythm sections, instrumentalists, and vocalists that have performed with King Crimson over the years. As the DVD booklet says, "What if you could have the rhythm section from 1969, the vocalist from 1974, and the instrumentalist from 1996?" Other features include Tony Levin's "Road Movies" (clips of the band on the road), Robert Fripp commentaries, and more.

This is a must-have package for all KC fans. In fact, this DVD is good enough to warrant the purchase of a DVD player if you don't already have one. Those of you who don't have DVD players, and don't want to spring for one, should check out the VHS tape Three Of A Perfect Pair Live, which documents a much earlier Crimson tour.

Tracklisting:
Circular Improv / VROOOM VROOOM / Frame by Frame / Dinosaur / One Time / Red / B'BOOM / THRAK / Matte Kudasai / Three of a Perfect Pair / VROOOM / Coda: Marine 475 / Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream / Elephant Talk / Indiscipline / Talking Drum / Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II / People / Walking On Air

Musicians:
Adrian Belew - guitar
Bill Bruford - drums
Robert Fripp - guitar
Trey Gunn - bass
Tony Levin - bass
Pat Mastelotto - drums

Discography:
In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970)
Lizard (1970)
Islands (1971)
Earthbound (1972)
Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973)
Starless & Bible Black (1974)
Red (1974)
USA (1975)
Young Person's Guide To King Crimson (1976)
Discipline (1981)
Beat (1982)
3 Of A Perfect Pair (1984)
The Compact King Crimson (1987)
Frame By Frame, Vol 1: 1969-1974 (JP) (1991)
Frame By Frame: The Essential King Crimson (1991)
The Great Deceiver, Vol. 1 (Live 1973-1974) (1992)
The Great Deceiver, Vol. 2 (Live 1973-1974) (1992)
The Concise King Crimson (1993)
Vroom (1995)
Thrak (1995/2002)
B'Boom: Official Bootleg - Live In Argentina (1995)
Thrakattak (1996)
Epitaph, Vols. 1-2 (1997)
Epitaph, Vols. 3-4 (1997) Night Watch (1998)
Space Groove (1998)
Absent Lovers: Live In Montreal 1984 ()
Live At The Marquee, 1969 (1998)
Live At Jacksonville, 1972 (1998)
Live At The Jazz Cafe (1998)
Live Groove (JP) (1999)
Live At Cap D'Agde, 1982 (1999)
On Broadway: Live In NYC 1995 (1999)
West Coast Live (JP) (1999)
Masque (JP) (1999)
Live In San Francisco: The Roar Of P4 (1999)
The VROOOM Sessions, 1994 (1999)
21st Century Schizoid Man (JP) (1999)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol. 1 (JP) (1999)
Essential King Crimson (1999)
The Deception Of The Thrush (UK) (1999)
The Projekcts (UK) (1999)
Live At Summit Studios: Denver, 03/12/1972 (JP) (2000)
Live In Central Park, NYC '74 (2000)
The Construkction Of Light (2000)
Discipline: Live At Moles Club, Bath 1981 (2000)
Heavy Construkction [Live] (2000)
Live At Plymouth, 1971 (2000)
Nashville Rehearsals, 1997 (2000)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 2 (JP) (2000)
A Beginner's Guide To Projekcts (JP) (2000)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 3 (2000)
A Beginners' Guide To King Crimson Collectors' Club (2000)
Live In Mainz 1974 (2001)
Live In Berkeley, CA 1982 (2001)
Projekct Two: Live In Northampton, MA July 1, 1998 (2001)
Live In Detroit, MI 1971 (2001)
Vrooom Vrooom (2001)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 4 (JP) (2001)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 6 (2001)
Shoganai (2002)
Live In Nashville, TN 2001 (2002)
Live At The Zoom Club, 1972 (2002)
Earthbound [Live] (2002)
Live In Hyde Park: July 5, 1969 (2002)
Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (ep) (2002)
Ladies Of The Road [Live] (2002)
Champaign-Urbana Sessions January 17-30, 1983 (2003)
The Power To Believe (2003)
Projekct One: Jazz Cafe Suite (2003)
Live In Orlando, FL 1972 (2003)
Official Bootleg Volume One (2003)
Live In Guildford, 1972 (2003)
Elektrik (2003)
The Power To Believe Tour Box (2003)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 7 (2003)
Live At Fillmore East, 1969 (2004)
Live In Philadelphia, PA 1982 (2004)
Projekct Three: Live In Austin, TX March 25, 1999 (2004)
The 21st Century Guide To King Crimson, Vol 1: 1969-1974 (2004)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 8 (2004)
Live In Heidelberg, 1974 (2005)
Live In Warsaw, 2000 (2005)
The 21st Century Guide To King Crimson, Vol 2: 1981-2003 (2005)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 9 (2006) Live In Mexico City 1996 (JP) (2006)
The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 1 (2006)
Live In Munich, 1982 (2006)
Live At The Wiltern, 1995 (2006)
Cirkus (2006)
Cirkus: The Young Person's Guide To King Crimson (2006)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 10 (2006)
The Condensed 21st Century Guide To King Crimson: 1969-2003 (2006)
Live In Alexandria, VA 2003 (2007)
Live In Denver, CO 1972 (2007)
Live In Kassel, 1974 (2007) The Collectable King Crimson, Vol2 - Live In Bath 1981 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 1: 1969 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 2: 1971-1972 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 3: 1972-1974 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 4: 1981-1982 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 5: 1995 & After (2007)
Live In New York, NY 1982 (2008)
The Collectable King Crimson, Vol 3: Live In London, Pts. 1-2 1996 (2008)
40th Anniversary Tour Box (2009)
Collectable King Crimson, Vol 4 (2009)

The Noise: Live At Frejus '82 (DVD) (1985)
Live In Japan 1995 (DVD) (1996)
Deja Vroom (DVD) (1999)
Eyes Wide Open (DVD) (2003)
Neal And Jack And Me: Live 1982-1984 (DVD) (2004)
Inside: 1972-1975 (DVD) (2005)
In Concert, Tokyo 1995 (DVD) (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: March 15th 2001
Reviewer: Clayton Walnum

Artist website: www.kingcrimson.com
Hits: 2511
Language: english