Rating: 
Summary: Great piece, but could be improved a bit.
Review: I'm a fan of the post-70's King Crimson, so will admit to some bias. Even so, I highly recommend this DVD. The sound is excellent, and the features such as "21st Century Schizoid Band," where you can mix and match performers from the various incarnations of the band into different versions of the song really take advantage of the DVD media. It's also nice to be able to see the musicians enjoying their work. The only downside is that at times the video is fuzzy and overexposed, at other times needlessy dark. A bit of that for atmosphere would be OK, but if it's intentional I think it's overused. All in all, though, a tremendous amount of material for the money and a great addition to any fan's library.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Performance
Review: I've already seen the LD version of this tour. It was recorded in Japan, like this one. Although the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is great, I think the equalization on LD is better. I did not like the sound of Bill Brufford drums on the DVD version. But from far, it's the best concert video I have on DVD format.
Rating: 
Summary: Awe inspiring
Review: I've been a King Crimson fan ever since a Maryland AM radio station first played "I Talk to The Wind" in, um, was it 1969? Took their screaming-face album in to my high school 'Basic Musicianship' class the following week and thoroughly confounded the excellent instructor who couldn't make up his mind who was leading the band -- the drummer or the flautist. I was also lucky enough to see the Thrak tour at Berkeley's Greek Theatre, which I rate as the best concert performance I've ever seen, opening with a perfect Bruford/Mastelotto Taiko duet.It's hard for any reproduction to match a live performance like that, but this DVD comes very close. Alas, the Taiko piece is not included. But what a performance! What excellent production sound and video! Not quite as much Fripp as I'd like to see. But it's great to see, up close, what a fine guitarist Belew is. And watching Bruford pick his unthinkable rimshots in his DVD-angle in "Indiscipline" is a spellbinding study on its own. Excellent performances by all. If you like King Crimson's recent incarnations, this is an absolute must-own.
Rating:
Summary: very cool use of the medium
Review: If you like Crimson, you'll love this disc. Fripp has pulled out all the stops and created a disc full of great stuff. Of course, the music itself is great and the performances are their usual tight selves. It's the extra features that make this disc well worth the $20. You can create a "new" rendition of "21st Century Schizoid Man" with any combination of band members from 1969 to 1999. You can bias the multiple angle feature to give you a shot of your favorite musician if one is available (I just leave it set on Tony Levin). There are a host of other cool things that may take several hours to explore and discover. Full marks for taking advantage of the DVD potential!
Rating:
Summary: The First of It's Kind
Review: If you love Star Trek, Rush, Medivals Faires and the X-Files this is the music for you. Abandon all hope of ever being hip and just buy it.
Rating:
Summary: It was the best of DVDs, it was the worst of DVDs..
Review: It was a thrilling visual document of Crimson's stunning return to form after a too-long hiatus, and it was an exploration of the then-fairly-new DVD format that's much more difficult than it needs to be. My rating is an average: five stars for the performance & extras, three for the "user-tailored interactive experience" of navigating the damn thing. Deja Vrooom is probably a proposition for the already-converted, so anyone new to this band and/or this lineup would be well-advised to check out Thrak or Vrooom Vrooom first.
First the cons. Rather than listing options, the menus cycle through them as if it's a memory game. The novelty of using a KC title for each function ("The Mincer" for a short essay on critics, "Vector Patrol" for choosing custom settings) is cute but too confusing. The video quality isn't spectacular and there's an occasional lighting-halo effect around the players; it's not terrible, but could be much clearer. On the other hand, this kind of raw powerful music really wouldn't be served by a slick super-sharp video anyway.
Pros: the performance itself is a stonker. The six-man lineup injects new life into older KC material and shows a smoothness & cohesion even beyond their studio recordings. It's always fascinating to watch just *how* everybody makes all that noise with their instrument of choice (or instrumentS in the case of Tony Levin - check that electric double-bass!). The impeccable skill and grace with which it's all pulled off is of course extraordinary. Extra points for the multiple camera angles available on some tracks.
Extras: a few of Tony's road movies (nice though inessential), Robert Fripp's essays on The Evil Music Industry (informative but I'll wait for the Cliffs Notes), an extensive band history/discography up to 1997, plenty of extra photos & artwork, and a "Schizoid Man" custom-mix feature. There's a mention of 'hidden features,' but apart from a solo RF Soundscape accessed through the TV-listing page, they must be well buried indeed.
Buy it? If you like this phase of the band, absolutely. The live visual aspect always adds another dimension to this music, even if Fripp still avoids anything brighter than a 100-watt lightbulb, and I say it's still well worth dealing with the other nuisances to get to it.
(Tracklist: Circular Improv - Vrooom Vrooom - Frame By Frame - Dinosaur - One Time - Red - B'Boom - Thrak - Matte Kudasai - Three of a Perfect Pair - Vrooom/Marine 475 - Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream - Elephant Talk - Indiscipline - Talking Drum/Larks' Tongues in Aspic II - People - Walking on Air.)
Rating:
Summary: deja vu with the great crim
Review: It's unusual to find a double sided dvd with perfect image and great sound like this. Recorded in 1995 tour, deja vrooom dvd features a few of camera angles in some tracks, and a lot of history written by Mr. Fripp with hidden videos, road movies by Mr. Levin, and a interesting 21st century schizoid game which player may create their own version by choosing a rhythm section, vocal track, and soloist from any KC lineup, mixing it, playing and showing a lot of pictures from old days. I want to say I'm very satisfied. Balance price/featuring is very reasonable, and you will play, view and enjoy the double trio in high level with Mr.Fripp on backshades, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Lástima de imágen
Review: King Crimson es, quizás, la única representación de lo que podríamos denominar rock "hecho en serio", es decir sin "ticks", sin clichés, sin "posturitas guitarreras", sin vestimentas a la moda, sin "singles" busca-top ten, etc. Lo único que interesa es la música, y ésta, como siempre, es fantástica. Pero ésto es un DVD y, por tanto, la imágen también cuenta. Es en este punto, y por dos razones, por lo que no puedo darle 5 estrellas. En primer lugar la imágen solo se ofrece en formato 3:4 (no panorámico), lo cuál, a éstas alturas resulta harto insuficiente. En segundo lugar, la calidad de la imágen es solo aceptable y, en algunos momentos, deficiente. La sobresaturación de color hace que en algunos planos sea dificil distinguir la figura del fondo.
Parece ser que Discipline quiere reeditar en un solo DVD los dos videos que ya existían con sendos conciertos del King Crimson de los años 80. Me parece bien, pero, es de suponer que, dada su antiguedad, éstos tampo ofrezcan una calidad óptima.
Por ello todavía estamos esperando el concierto definitivo en DVD de King Crimson. ¿Porqué no alguno de la gira de level 5?
Rating:
Summary: Great DVD, great performance
Review: The recording of this performance was very controlled and well engineered from both a visual and audio standpoint (care of Discipline Global Mobile). The band performs flawlessly (as expected). There's no artistic editing of camera shots and angles of the performance. The tracks are separated though, like on a audio CD. You never really see the audience. You can even mix and match sections of 21st Century Schiziod Man from different lineups of the band!
Rating:
Summary: Deja Mott
Review: This D.V.D released by the omnipresent Robert Fripp, leader of those pioneers of Progressive Rock (in this case perhaps a more apt title would be Adventurous Rock) King Crimson have at last brought out a recording that does justice to the bands musical ability and visual presence. From a musical point of view you get over two and a half hours of Crimson music from the amazing Double Trio King Crimson, a title made up as ever by Fripp where, although all six members were on stage at the same time, they were able to break off in mid-song to play as two separate units, and then all come crashing back together with the power of Thor's double sided hammer. This is used to dramatic effect on such old Crimson standards such as 'Lark's Tongue In Aspic Part II' from 1973, (come on if you haven't heard it, aren't you just a little bit curious to find out what a song sounds like with a title like that?), originally recorded when only Robert Fripp & Bill Bruford were in the band. From this line up the others in that period being Jamie Muir on percussion, David Cross on violin, flute & keyboards, plus the mega-talented John Wetton on bass & vocals, but when this 1998 version of the band come in altogether on that most famous of Crimson riffs, the wallpapers shreds from its glue. Most of the well-known songs in the life and times of King Crimson from 1973 onwards are here, with a definitive version of most songs laid down. Visually the band line up as a back row and a front row. In the back row the two drummers sit on either side of the stage as if castles on a chess board, Bill Bruford in a dapper yellow double breasted suit, whilst Pat Mastelotto effects traditional Rock 'n' Roll garb in jeans and T-Shirt. Sitting on his stool in the middle, dressed in Black is Mr. Robert Fripp, no emotion showing but firmly in command of his guitar and those all around him. The front line consists of the mercurial Trey Gunn on stick guitar, on your left, to the right is without doubt the best bass guitarist in the world of rock, Mr. Tony Levin. And slap bang in the middle is Adrian Belew, the band's lyricist for more than twenty years, lead guitarist, and focal point of the live show, with his pleasant bouncy personality. The fact that he resembles Rick Bryant more and more as time passes is neither here nor there. This version of King Crimson is a joy to behold. These days Bill Bruford and Trey Gunn have gone on to pastures new, but the nucleus of the band are still going and are in fine form as last year's offering 'The ConstrucKtion Of Light' showed (Robert Fripp always chucks on extra capital K into the title if he can). But the joy of this D.V.D does not stop with the concert alone. There are so many extras with this set it is hard to know where to start. Firstly there are seven different camera angles on which you can view this concert, zooming in on just one player, or taking an overall view. After watching the concert you can switch over and watch Tony Levin's road movies from this tour including clips of travel, hassles, rehearsals, and even some very honest 'warts 'n' all' arguments between band members. A section on the history of King Crimson called 'In The Court Of The Crimson Kings' which chronicles the life and times of King Crimson and all its different line-ups, with plenty of photographs to match. Great fun is the 21st Century Schizoid band where, with an interactive menu, you can select a choice of singers, soloists, and rhythm sections from 1969, 1971, 1974 or 1996 to perform one of King Crimson's most famous songs. There are also some surprise items slipped into the proceedings, but then if I told you about them, they wouldn't be a surprise would they. Also included are many extra D.V.D Rom features if you want to slip the discs into your computer and become a complete King Crimson Anorak. So whether you're a fan of King Crimson or not, but you own a D.V.D player and want to use it to its maximum effect, then this is the disc for you. Well done Mr. Fripp and cohorts, leading the field in innovation, as always. If you prefer to just get yourself an audio document of this fantastic King Crimson line-up, they also released a double C.D version of a concert from this tour with a near identical set list called 'B'Boom The Official Bootleg', and well worth seeking out. Mott the Dog.
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