King Crimson - 1969-07-05 London, UK (2012)

A gig that is not only an iconic moment of the sixties but one that announced Crimson’s presence on the international stage.[endtease] If you think about the rest of the music on the bill at Hyde Park that day, you get a sense why tracks like Schizoid Man and the solos on Get Thy Bearings were so powerful and utterly shocking. This is a band playing far beyond their years; nothing and nobody else sounded like it. Faced with a daring display of vibrant styles and influences compacted into a hurtling musical express, the assembled hippies had to make a choice and make it quick; get on board or get out of the way. If the boys sound a little hurried in places or the vocals a touch brittle at times, who can blame them; gigs don’t get much bigger than this one. When RF wrote in his diary “Mammoth success, of importance which will take time to appreciate. We’ll look back to see this day in years to come and fully realise its significance.” He was right on the button.