Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind is a box set of live performances by King Crimson, released on 2 September 2016. It is the first full-length release by the seven member incarnation of the group that formed in 2013.
The box set was recorded during King Crimson's 2015 tours of Japan, Canada and France, mostly in Takamatsu, Japan. The material performed is mostly from the 1969–1974 period, and most had not been performed live since the 1970s, although the songs were rearranged to suit the current line-up. Also included are some pieces from 1995 and onward, alongside new material. The title is derived from a song of the same name that the band has been playing in concert.
The set was released in two editions: a 4-disc standard edition featuring the complete concert in one Blu-ray disc and three CDs (individually themed "virtual studio albums" with no audible audience); and a 6-disc deluxe limited edition, featuring the same as the standard edition plus two DVDs with the complete concert and an expanded booklet. The Blu-ray disc has a "picture off" mode which allows listening to the music without the video.
When it comes to quality live material, there's never been a better time to be a King Crimson fan than the 2010s. In addition to the exhaustive 40th anniversary boxes, there have been multiple releases from the 2014-2015 seven-piece band culminating with Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind, a set that features every song performed on the tour in excellent audio and video quality.
The vast majority of the set was recorded in Japan, with other shows filling in on the songs that weren't performed there. Every show was recorded in high-quality audio and video with a multi-camera shoot, so there's no difference in quality. While the band doesn't improvise as extensively as they have in the past, a comparison of the solos shows that they aren't phoning in their performances, either. The Blu-Ray presents the show (mostly) as it happened from beginning to end. The cameras were in fixed positions (for minimal distraction) but they effectively capture all the action. Sometimes the superimposed shots get a bit dense as they try to show as much musical action as possible, but on the whole, the footage and direction are excellent. You even see Robert Fripp smiling at times! If you just want to experience the show without the visuals, there's an option for that on the Blu-ray version.
The CDs dispense with the running order of the show (and the audience!) in favor of slightly arbitrary thematic groupings: "Mostly Metal," "Easy Money Shots," and "Crimson Classics." These are different mixes than those on the Blu-ray set, specifically for audio-only. The different mixes and running order provide a different feeling to the sets, but both are equally powerful. This band is a juggernaut and hearing them tackle not just the '70s repertoire they hadn't performed in decades, but some '90s tracks as well, is something fans could not have dreamed of at the turn of the century. Rarely has a band that's been around for 45-plus years sounded so vital. This is essential for fans.
This latest incarnation of Robert Fripp’s touring band has been well presented via two recent live releases, yet Crimson fans should prepare themselves for Radical Action (To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind) upping the ante. For completists, the three CDs (and accompanying Blu-ray/DVD discs) here bring together every track performed live by the band since 2014, giving us about seven extra tunes absent from the previous couple of albums.
The songs include compositions written specifically for this line-up, such as Suitable Grounds For The Blues and Radical Action II, and older works in the shape of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part Two and The Talking Drum. In addition, with audience noise expunged completely, this almost becomes a lovingly recorded ‘live in the studio’ triple album, with added concert hall ambience.
The range and contrast possible with this band are also well delineated, with drummers Harrison, Mastelotto and Rieflin helping to propel the metric meanderings and menace of tracks like Radical Action II, Level Five or One More Red Nightmare, which so effortlessly give way to the languid lament of The Light Of Day or the sublime ache of Epitaph, with Mel Collins’ sax or flute flourishes.
One of the more ingenious tricks the band pull off is the manner in which challenging, fresh interpretations of so many classics are presented, while retaining so much of what made them classic in the first place. While the ‘reimagining’ of some tracks provides a jolt, there’s also comfort in hearing the strains of Mellotrons, or Jakko Jakszyk performing the vocals to songs like In The Court Of The Crimson King and 21st Century Schizoid Man with such deference to the originals.
With minimal whistles and bangs, the video components add further perspectives: honest documents of stellar musicians doing their jobs with conviction. Fripp is masterful, of course – a largely impassive, still presence, seated in his equipment-littered cockpit, just occasionally allowing himself a sly smile: moments that betray just how well he thinks it’s all going, perhaps, or just imagining how to ensure his next project will shake everything up… again
Unfamiliar twists invite exploration and expansion.
Track listing:
Disc one, Mainly Metal
01. "Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Part One" David Cross, Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Jamie Muir 10:36
02. "Radical Action (to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind)" Fripp 3:40
03. "Meltdown" Jakko Jakszyk, Fripp 4:22
04. "Radical Action II" Fripp 2:27
05. "Level Five" Adrian Belew, Pat Mastelotto, Fripp, Trey Gunn 6:46
06. "The Light of Day" Jakszyk, Mel Collins, Fripp 5:49
07. "The Hell Hounds of Krim" Gavin Harrison, Mastelotto, Bill Rieflin 3:36
08. "The ConstruKction of Light" (Part I) Belew, Mastelotto, Fripp, Gunn 6:24
09. "The Talking Drum" Bruford, Cross, Muir, Wetton, Fripp 3:48
10. "Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Part Two" Fripp 6:39
Total length: 54:07
Disc two, Easy Money Shots
01. "Peace" Peter Sinfield, Fripp 2:07
02. "Pictures of a City" Sinfield, Fripp 8:17
03. "Banshee Legs Bell Hassle" Harrison, Mastelotto, Rieflin 1:40
04. "Easy Money" Wetton, Richard Palmer-James, Fripp 8:26
05. "VROOOM" Belew, Bruford, Mastelotto, Fripp, Tony Levin, Gunn 4:56
06. "Suitable Grounds for the Blues" Jakszyk, Fripp 4:51
07. "Interlude" Fripp 2:23
08. "The Letters" Sinfield, Fripp 6:30
09. "Sailor's Tale" Fripp 6:41
10. "A Scarcity of Miracles" Jakszyk, Collins, Fripp 6:52
Total length: 52:43
Disc three, Crimson Classics
1. "Red" Fripp 6:31
2. "One More Red Nightmare" Wetton, Fripp 6:03
3. "Epitaph" Greg Lake, Ian McDonald, Michael Giles, Sinfield, Fripp 8:44
4. "Starless" Bruford, Cross, Wetton, Palmer-James, Fripp 12:17
5. "Devil Dogs of Tessellation Row" Harrison, Mastelotto, Rieflin 3:00
6. "The Court of the Crimson King" McDonald, Sinfield 7:00
7. "21st Century Schizoid Man" Lake, McDonald, Giles, Sinfield, Fripp 10:56
Total length: 54:31
