{"product_id":"king-crimson-1974-penn-state-university-cd","title":"King Crimson - 1974 Penn State University CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo coincide with the releases of \u003cstrong\u003eStarless \u0026amp; Bible Black\u003c\/strong\u003e in March 1974, \u003cstrong\u003eKing Crimson\u003c\/strong\u003e set out on a run of shows that many fans consider to be that line-up’s peak, with the late music critic John Kelman (All About Jazz) describing them as being at their “heaviest and most guitar-centric version of Crimson to date” where “even 24 hours represented a significant difference in how this group approached form-based material”.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the final week of June, as the band neared its conclusion as a live act, four of these concerts – including the Asbury Park show from which much of the original 1975 release \u003cstrong\u003eUSA\u003c\/strong\u003e was derived – were recorded to multi-track tape but, with the exception of that release, lay unreleased until the 1992 assemblage\/mix and compilation of \u003cstrong\u003eThe Great Deceiver\u003c\/strong\u003e box set by Robert Fripp \u0026amp; David Singleton, which was centred around those performances. In the notes to that set, Robert Fripp described the band’s 1974 tour as a period of “balanced disarray” characterised by “chaotic and intense” performances and “powerful, almost brutal improvisations”.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith the rapid growth of CD in the 1980s came an equally rapid growth in bootlegging and by 1992 there were over 120 different \u003cstrong\u003eKing Crimson\u003c\/strong\u003e bootlegs – many focusing on poor quality recordings of the 1973\/74 touring band whose reputation among fans and influence on a generation of musicians continued to grow.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe first pressing run of \u003cstrong\u003eThe Great Deceiver\u003c\/strong\u003e sold out within weeks and was re-pressed by DGM in the same format before being split into two double CD sets in the early 2000s. The release also did much to re-establish \u003cstrong\u003eKing Crimson\u003c\/strong\u003e’s critical reputation, especially in the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOf the four multi-tracked concerts, Penn State was a last-minute addition to the schedule and required gruelling additional journeys there and back, book-ended by the geographically easier Asbury Park, New Jersey on the 28th and Providence, Rhode Island on the 30th, leaving audiences then and since grateful for the band’s willingness to use a ‘rest day’ for an unplanned performance.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite the travel complications, the Penn State gig featured two of the best improvs from this tour – \u003cstrong\u003eIs There Life Out There?\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eIt Is For You But Not For Us\u003c\/strong\u003e, which sounded, in many respects, no less fully composed than the recently released \u003cstrong\u003eFracture\u003c\/strong\u003e or the yet to be recorded \u003cstrong\u003eStarless\u003c\/strong\u003e. For most attendees, the majority of the material would have been heard for the first time, not an uncommon feature of \u003cstrong\u003eKing Crimson\u003c\/strong\u003e gigs in that period.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecently released on 200-gram double vinyl exclusively via Record Store Day in April 2026, \u003cstrong\u003e1974 Penn State University\u003c\/strong\u003e is now being released on CD from 19th June 2026.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePre-Order\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLive King Crimson multi-track recording from June 29th, 1974 at Penn State University\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailable on CD following the Record Store Day double vinyl release\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSleeve notes from King Crimson biographer Sid Smith\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTrack Listing:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"border:1px solid #ccc; border-radius:8px; background:#f5f5f5; padding:16px; margin-top:10px;\"\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"display:flex; gap:30px; flex-wrap:wrap;\"\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"flex:1; min-width:250px;\"\u003e \u003col style=\"margin-top:0;padding-left:0;list-style-position:inside;\"\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eWalk On: No Pussyfooting\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eLarks' Tongues In Aspic (Part II)\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eLament\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eExiles\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eImprov: Is There Life Out There?\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ol\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"flex:1; min-width:250px;\"\u003e \u003col start=\"6\" style=\"margin-top:0;padding-left:0;list-style-position:inside;\"\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eEasy Money\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eIt Is For You But Not For Us\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eFracture\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003eStarless\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli style=\"font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;\"\u003e21st Century Schizoid Man*\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ol\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin-top:14px;\"\u003e *From Central Park, July 1st, 1974 \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Discipline Global Mobile","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57946262176131,"sku":"DGM5032","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0766\/8118\/3506\/files\/1974PennState.001.png?v=1777569012","url":"https:\/\/sonictitanrecords.com\/products\/king-crimson-1974-penn-state-university-cd","provider":"SONIC TITAN RECORDS","version":"1.0","type":"link"}