Following the dissolution of the Islands line-up Robert Fripp decided to assemble a new band to perform the sort of music he’d been hearing in his head over recent months. In the summer of 1972 the line-up of Fripp together with Bill Bruford (late of Yes), John Wetton (from Family), Jamie Muir (veteran of the British free jazz scene) and relative newcomer David Cross was announced, although it was not until September, after first full band rehearsals, that the decision was taken to call the group King Crimson. By October the band was in Germany playing a handful of club dates and making a live in the studio recording that was (fortunately) filmed but for the most part never broadcast. An extensive UK tour in November and December followed, with unanimous rave reviews in the rock press setting up a sense of anticipation for the January/February studio recordings unmatched since that of the band’s celebrated 1969 debut. Muir played one post recording gig at The Marquee club in London and took the decision not to remain with the group.

Even by the standards of King Crimson, the line-up was short-lived, but the legacy of that band has survived and thrived for four decades. The quintet helped to define possible new paths for rock music, the notion of an intelligent form of hard rock that was neither Prog nor Heavy Metal, one that made improvisation central to performance but was neither jazz nor jazz/rock. It was a legacy that was carried on by the quartet line-up both live and in subsequent studio recordings – with 1974’s Red recorded by Bruford/Fripp/Wetton as a trio - and one that has resonated with, and influenced, generations of musicians over the ensuing forty years. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic and the concerts that preceded the album were the initial defining moments of that journey.

This release features every known recorded note by the quintet line-up, both live and in the studio.