Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43157 in DVD
• Brand: Deja
• Released on: 1999-01-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Box set, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

It was the best of DVDs, it was the worst of DVDs..
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.)

Awe inspiring
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.

Just GREAT
I love King Crimson, and any oppurtunity to see them performing live (they haven't been to Oklahoma in 30 years!!) is something I won't turn down.
Where to start? The concert is from a performance in Japan during the 'Thrak' tour of 1995-1996, and is one of their best live performances that have been commercially released. The concert previously appeared on video as "King Crimson: Live in Japan", but trust me, even if you do have that video, or if you don't even have a DVD player....get a DVD player for crying out loud! It's 2003....get with the times!(..)
The band members performances are really the key ingredient here. The ability to change angles and put the individual instruments prevalent in the mix during 3 of the songs is great, and well worth it for those interested in how the group achieves its sound. Trey Gunn, who plays a two-handed 'Warr' guitar, is a treat to watch perform, as he approaches the tunes in such a practical and inventive fashion. He was primarily covering the bass parts at the time, but I just really enjoy watching the two handed approach. The band altogether is not really very showy, and focuses mostly on playing the music, although Tony Levin does have commanding stage presence at times!
I've only mentioned the bass players....Adrian Belew, the lead singer/guitarist is on key the entire show, and watching him during his wilder guitar solos is something that shouldn't be missed. Robert Fripp, the groups leader and self-proclaimed 'Venal Leader', sits in the shadows most of the show, barely flinching or moving a muscle, with the exception of his fingers, which move rather fast and furiously at some points. He is an incredibly disciplined performer (heck, he even named his own record label and an album of 1981 'discipline), and is wonderful as a leader/guiding force in the group.
NOW the drummers. Bill Bruford is much more restrained and relaxed here than in concerts during the group's 70s-80s concerts. He is of course a fantastic musician, and is most visually entertaining during his percussion breaks and his exciting drum solo during the first moments of 'Indiscipline'. Pat Mastelloto is primarily a percussionist and provides support and various tasks during this period in the groups career (he is, of course, the band's drummer now, and plays a much wider variety of percussion instruments, electronic and otherwise). He stays on the beat, with the exception of a funny goof during the bands first tune of the show.
This was of course, a 'double trio' (two players covering the parts of guitar, bass, and drums)....I can't say much more about the band, really, just wanted to cover the basics.
I would like to comment on the extras. There are a ton of them! The disc itself is double-sided, and in order to access the entire concert and all of the extras, you have to stand up and change the disc out. That may be a problem for some of the more lazy people (including me), but it's no big deal. There are a ton of sound options, writings about the band, video shot by Tony Levin off-stage and during rehearsals....some of the footage is fun, others are incredibly dull (the band, with exception of Bob Fripp, playing at an arcade?), and much of the footage has no speech, but is colored by music from the 'discipline global mobile' catalog. There is also an interesting, but rather clumsy feature where you can mix and match performances and individual parts from the tune "21st Century Schizoid Man" recorded live over the years. It's pretty fun, but the novelty runs out pretty quick....pictures of the group through its history appear in rhythm to the music, as well....
Did I miss anything else? It's a disc that is packed with features, but the music is the thing, and it has plenty of it. There have been some rumours, just TALK of a re-issue of this DVD happening sometime later in the year or next year, but I can't possibly imagine there being much more that can add to the quality and quantity of the disc.
I conclude that the band is on top of their game, and you shouldn't miss it, because if you've happened to wander to this review, i'd imagine that you have at least a small interest in this band....just trust me that it's worth it!