USA (King Crimson album)

1975 live album by King Crimson

USA

Live album by

King Crimson

Released| April 1975[1]
Recorded| 28, 30 June 1974
Venue| Casino, Asbury Park, New Jersey
Palace Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island
Genre|

* Progressive rock

Length| 38:48
67:18 (2002 reissue)
Label|

* Island
* Atlantic

Producer| King Crimson
King Crimson chronology
| Red
(1974)  | USA
(1975)  | A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson
(1976)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
Christgau's Record Guide| B+[3]

USA is a live album by the English progressive rock band King Crimson, released in April 1975, some seven months after this incarnation had disbanded.[4] It was recorded at the Casino, Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States on 28 June 1974, except for “21st Century Schizoid Man”, which was recorded at the Palace Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island two days later. The live recording was recorded by George Chkiantz and David Hewitt using the Record Plant Remote Truck. Violin and electric piano overdubs were added to three tracks at Olympic Studios, London in early 1975 and Chkiantz mixed the album at Olympic with Robert Fripp and John Wetton.

The album opens with a brief excerpt of "The Heavenly Music Corporation" from (No Pussyfooting), an experimental album which Robert Fripp had recorded with musician and producer Brian Eno in 1972. While it was not listed as a separate track on the original album, it is present on all releases.

Eddie Jobson, then a member of fellow E.G. artists Roxy Music along with Wetton, performed violin overdubs on “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II)” and “21st Century Schizoid Man” and electric piano on “Lament” to improve the poor sound quality of the original parts played by  David Cross, who had been fired from the group shortly after the live recordings were made.

“Asbury Park” and “Easy Money” were edited to about half their original lengths for the LP release. The unedited versions were released digitally on DGMLive.com in 2005, along with the rest of the show in its original running order.

Original vinyl releases contain audio content in both the lead-in grooves to both sides of the album, and in side two's run-out groove. In the latter case, the audience's applause following "21st Century Schizoid Man" continues through side two's final locked groove, causing the applause to continue on manual turntables as long as the phonograph needle remains on the record.

There have been four releases of the album:

1. Original vinyl release in 1975. Includes tracks 1 - 6 (although track 1 & 2 are combined) with Eddie Jobson's overdubs.
2. 30th Anniversary Remaster released 2002. Added tracks 8 & 9 to original release, credited track 1.
3. 2005 mix from the original multi-track tapes by Ronan Chris Murphy at DGM HQ. Released as download from dgmlive.com in 2005 and on CD as disc two of The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 1 in 2006. This edition is now the full Asbury Park concert, without Jobson's overdubs, and in the proper running order. Includes all tracks, with the uncut versions of "Asbury Park" and "Easy Money"; "21st Century Schizoid Man" is moved to be the last track and is now the version from Asbury Park rather than Providence.
4. 2013 mix from the original multi-track tapes by Robert Fripp, Tony Arnold and David Singleton at the Courthouse, Cranborne, Dorset. Same track order and versions as release #3. Splits the improv at the end of "Easy Money" into its own track. This mix is available on The Road to Red and the 40th Anniversary edition of USA.

## Cover

[edit]

The cover is a photograph by British fashion photographer and film director Willie Christie, who also photographed the cover of the Fripp & Eno (No Pussyfooting) album. The idea for the cover came from Wetton and was inspired by the Statue of Liberty. [5]

## Track listing

[edit]

Side oneNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)"| Fripp| 6:45
2.| "Lament"| Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James| 4:05
3.| "Exiles"| Cross, Fripp, Palmer-James| 7:04

Side twoNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

4.| "Asbury Park"| Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford| 6:50
5.| "Easy Money"| Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James| 6:32
6.| "21st Century Schizoid Man"| Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield| 7:32

2002 CD reissueNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Walk On... No Pussyfooting"| Fripp, Eno| 0:35
2.| "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)"| Fripp| 6:25
3.| "Lament"| Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James| 4:22
4.| "Exiles"| Cross, Fripp, Palmer-James| 7:24
5.| "Asbury Park"| Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford| 6:54
6.| "Easy Money"| Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James| 7:12
7.| "21st Century Schizoid Man"| Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield| 8:11
8.| "Fracture"| Fripp| 11:20
9.| "Starless"| Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James| 14:55

## Personnel

[edit]

King Crimson

* David Cross – violin, viola, Mellotron, Hohner Pianet
* Robert Fripp – electric guitar, Mellotron, Hohner Pianet
* John Wetton – bass guitar, vocals
* Bill Bruford – drums, percussion

Additional musician

* Eddie Jobson – violin overdubs (1, 6), Hohner Pianet overdub (2) on original version only[6]

Production personnel

* George Chkiantz – recording and mixing engineer
* Peter Walmsley, Chris Kettle, Tex Read, Harvey Baker & Nick Bell – road team
* Nicholas de Ville – cover design
* Willie Christie – photography
* Bob Bowkett, C.C.S. – typography
* Joe Pizzo, David Zink & Riley Jackson of Lamar University, Texas – Kirlian photograph
* Dik Fraser – special thanks

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1975)  | Peak
position

|

Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] | 52
US Billboard 200[8] | 125

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 460\. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
2. ^ Planer, Lindsay (2011). "USA - King Crimson | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 28 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
4. ^ King Crimson - USA Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 29 October 2023
5. ^ "USA - the Long View". 3 November 2016.
6. ^ "USA - The Long View". DGM Live. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
7. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
8. ^ "King Crimson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* USA at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

King Crimson

* Robert Fripp
* Mel Collins
* Tony Levin
* Pat Mastelotto
* Gavin Harrison
* Jakko Jakszyk
* Jeremy Stacey

* Peter Sinfield
* Michael Giles
* Greg Lake
* Ian McDonald
* Peter Giles
* Gordon Haskell
* Andy McCulloch
* Boz Burrell
* Ian Wallace
* Bill Bruford
* John Wetton
* David Cross
* Jamie Muir
* Adrian Belew
* Trey Gunn
* Bill Rieflin

Studio albums|

* In the Court of the Crimson King
* In the Wake of Poseidon
* Lizard
* Islands
* Larks' Tongues in Aspic
* Starless and Bible Black
* Red
* Discipline
* Beat
* Three of a Perfect Pair
* Thrak
* The Construkction of Light
* The Power to Believe

ProjeKcts albums|

* Space Groove
* Heaven and Earth
* A Scarcity of Miracles

Extended plays|

* Vrooom
* Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With

Live albums|

| Standard release|

* Earthbound
* USA
* The Great Deceiver
* B'Boom: Live in Argentina
* Thrakattak
* Epitaph
* The Night Watch
* Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal
* Live in Mexico City
* The ProjeKcts
* Live at the Jazz Café
* Heavy ConstruKction
* Vrooom Vrooom
* Ladies of the Road
* EleKtrik: Live in Japan
* Live at the Orpheum
* Live in Toronto
* Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind
* Live in Chicago
* Live in Vienna
* Meltdown: Live in Mexico City
* Music Is Our Friend: Live in Washington and Albany

|

Collector's Club|

* Live at the Marquee
* Live at Jacksonville
* The Beat Club, Bremen
* Live at Cap D'Agde
* On Broadway
* Live in San Francisco: The Roar of P4
* The Vrooom Sessions
* Live at Summit Studios
* Live in Central Park, NYC
* Live at Moles Club, Bath
* Live in Hyde Park
* Nashville Rehearsals
* Live at Plymouth Guildhall
* Live in Mainz
* Live in Berkeley, CA
* Live in Detroit, MI
* Live in Nashville, TN
* Live at the Zoom Club
* Jazz Café Suite
* Rehearsals & Blows

Compilations|

* A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson
* The Compact King Crimson
* Heartbeat: The Abbreviated King Crimson
* Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
* Sleepless: The Concise King Crimson
* Cirkus: The Young Persons' Guide to King Crimson Live
* The Deception of the Thrush: A Beginners' Guide to ProjeKcts
* A Beginners' Guide to the King Crimson Collectors' Club
* The Power to Believe Tour Box
* The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Volume One: 1969–1974
* The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Volume Two: 1981–2003
* The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson: 1969–2003
* The Elements of King Crimson

Major Box Sets|

* In the Court of the Crimson King
* Larks' Tongues in Aspic
* The Road to Red
* Starless
* THRAK
* On (and off) The Road
* Sailors' Tales
* Heaven & Earth
* The Complete 1969 Recordings

Singles|

* "The Court of the Crimson King"
* "Epitaph" / "21st Century Schizoid Man"
* "Matte Kudasai"
* "Thela Hun Ginjeet"
* "Heartbeat"
* "Sleepless"

Other songs|

* "I Talk to the Wind"
* "Moonchild"
* "Islands"
* "Larks' Tongues in Aspic"
* "Fallen Angel"
* "Starless"

Videos|

* Déjà Vrooom
* Neal and Jack and Me
* Eyes Wide Open

Related|

| Articles|

* The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp
* Discography
* Members
* Discipline Global Mobile
* In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50

|

Bands|

* Giles, Giles and Fripp
* Yes
* McDonald and Giles
* Emerson, Lake & Palmer
* U.K.
* Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
* Tuner
* HoBoLeMa
* Stick Men
* TU
* 21st Century Schizoid Band
* Crimson Jazz Trio
* Crimson ProjeKct
* The Vicar

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template