Flac tracks| Rock | 02:39:39 | Discipline Global Mobile | 970 MbKing Crimson is a decidedly unwieldy band.

Spanning more than 35 years (as of this writing) and at least seven distinct lineups, and complicated by the studio vs.

live dichotomy (not to mention no hits to speak of), this is a band that almost refuses to be anthologized.

Anything less than a box set doesn’t really do the band justice, but anything more than two discs may seem like a grand investment to someone who just wants to get acquainted with them.

Since King Crimson completely ceased to exist in the mid- to late ’70s and early ’80s, that seems a logical dividing point in examining the band’s output.

And that’s exactly how Robert Fripp approached it when he assembled the 21st Century Guide to King Crimson in two volumes.

Volume One covered 1969-1974 with two studio and two live discs, and Volume Two covered 1981-2003, also with two studio and two live discs.

These were aimed at the uninitiated as “a comprehensive overview for new ears of all that is necessary in the Crimson corpus,” and despite minor quibbling about what wasn’t included, they served the purpose very well.

Trouble is, the uninitiated might not be willing to drop the dough for such a lavish introduction no matter how thorough a portrait it paints of the band.

Tracklist:CD11. 21st Century Schizoid Man2. Epitaph3. In the Court of the Crimson King (Abridged)4. Cat Food (Single Version)5. Cadence and Cascade6. Ladies of the Road7. Sailor’s Tale (Abridged)8. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Pt; 1 (Abridged)9. Book of Saturday10. Fracture (Abridged)11. Starless (Abridged)12. RedCD21. Fallen Angel2. Elephant Talk3. Frame By Frame4. Matte Kudasai5. Discipline6. Heartbeat7. Waiting Man8. Neurotica9. Three of a Perfect Pair10. Sleepless (Abridged)11. VROOOM12. Coda: Marine 475 (Abridged)13. Dinosaur (Single Version)14. Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream15. The Power to Believe I16. Level Five17. Eyes Wide Open18. Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (Abridged EP Version)19. The Power to Believe III20. The Power to Believe IV