The Complete 1969 Recordings

Firstly, apologies to those who have read my review of the 50th Anniversary edition. There is some duplication! At almost 70 I have been to quite a few gigs. If I were to name the one which I enjoyed the most it would probably be when I saw King Crimson at Mother's Club in Birmingham on 16th August 1969. I went along to see Blodwyn Pig as I had seen Mick Abrahams with Jethro Tull and enjoyed his playing. King Crimson were the support band and although I found out later that this was their third visit to Mother's since forming in May 1969, I had not heard of them. They were absolutely mesmerising and Blodwyn Pig were flat in comparison. I had to wait till October until "In The Court Of The Crimson King" was released. I bought it on day of release and what a day that was! I played it relentlessly. I don't think that KC have ever bettered it. I have bought all the incarnations of the album since so I had to buy this set even though it involved me duplicating some of the recordings.This set is certainly for completists only but I suspect that anyone shelling out over £150.00 wouldn't be buying the set on a whim! For me it is absolutely fantastic to finally have all the known recordings for the first incarnation of KC in one place. It is also great to have the remastered versions of the album. I have been playing the Sessions discs today. There are six of them and I doubt I will play them a lot but it is great to hear work in progress. I can only compare them to the 18cd Dylan Cutting Edge set and the Zappa Hot Rats Sessions where it is like being there whilst masterworks are created. The live discs are fantastic. Sound quality is, as you would expect, variable but some superb restoration work has been done. I haven't had chance to play the Blu Ray discs yet and will probably update this when I have done so.As far as packaging is concerned I am perplexed by comments about fingerprints on discs etc. Mine arrived in great shape. The discs are in gatefold sleeves and all are contained in a very stout 12" square cardboard box together with the booklet and artwork. The whole lot is then within a slipcase so, to my mind, presentation is excellent. My only minor carp would be that the booklet could have had hard covers rather than soft. A small point though. The booklet itself is very informative with some great illustrations especially a copy of the ad for Mother's when I saw them!It is clear that a huge amount of work has gone into putting this set together. A labour of love for which I am very grateful! Although over 50 years have passed I remember that night at Mother's vividly. Fripp sitting on his stool under the strobe lights playing superbly and the band creating a soundscape which was unique. Truly outstanding!

A lot already have been said by previous reviews so I will just stick to the DTS HD / Dlby Atmos remixes off this albums. This was after all why I was so curious about this box. Steven Wilson went once again over the original recordings and remixed the Dolby Atmos especially for this box (the other BR's are available;e in the other smaller box that was released last year) and created something that was absolutely worth waiting for all these years. All the other 5.1 remixes were already phenomenal. This one tops them all. You will hear ITCOTCK like you have never heard it before and how it was undoubtedly always meant to be heard. The Mellotron now is something to behold to believe and for the rest. Go experience this yourself. If you have the sound system for it, you won't be disappointed.

Had to return this as the slot for disc 6 included a second disc 9. No, I'm not holding it the wrong way up!Hopefully the replacement will have the correct discs.

Like all the previous box sets, this is a great set, but I recommend checking the DVD discs. My initial copy had pressing defects, greasy marks and fingerprints. Loving the 2020 Atmos master. Anyway it’s a real treasure trove!Islands still 1st then Starless 2nd in regard to box set favs thoWish I’d sold my original Court Box set last year lol & I also wish the books were hardback

Perfect album, every King Crimson fan should own a copy of this box set.

I love Crimson and have most cds and box sets and to me one of the most creative and stunning bands I have seen and heard but....26 cds that basically rearrange themselves to no real purpose.6 either DVD or blue Ray doing much the same.Who really wants to look at a blank tv screen.I know it was 1969 and recordings not intended to be used 50 years down the line but most live cds are almost unlistenable.Makes Earthbound sound crystal clear by comparison.I know I didn't have to splash out £120 on it and it's my own fault but all a bit of a horrid screech.Oh wellBe warned.Stick to my original scratchy vinyl copy instead.

Great box set featuring a ground breaking album release

king crimson yyds！！！！！！！