King Crimson performed live on The Midnight Special on October 12, 1973 Follow us on Social Media: / themidnightspecialtvshow / themidnightspecialtvshow / themidnightspecialtvshow / tmstvshow
@@Saffy-yr8voi did lol. Grew up on the midnight special. Everybody played it. Old music box Genesis was wild. Great show man saw many epic performances. You watched or you missed it. No click and repeat.
@@powell888 EXACTLY! His right hand was amazing back then. I don't know why he switched to a pick, I was sorely disappointed -- especially as a bassist who doesn't use a pick -- when he switched. His bass playing was never the same after that, sadly.
@@robertkaye5434 He switched to a pick because he developed carpal tunnel syndrome in his right hand and couldn't pick with his fingers anymore. He couldn't even hold a pick at that point, it was taped to his thumb.
Agree, funny because I was 13 when the 1st Asia album came out, no idea who John Wetton was, backtracking his career though I have been introduced to prog bands like King Crimson and U.K. I like both better than Asia now although that 1st album is still a fav. Also introduced to the many I mean many great musicians Wetton played with over the years, an almost endless list of the greatest prog/rock Drummers, guitarists, keyboardists, and electric violinists mainly Jobson in music history. A great Bass player Wetton was and singer so glad that I liked Asia enough to be interested in what other great music/bands John Wetton had been a part of , and I have been rewarded with a bevy of incredible music not only from Wetton but all the other great prog musicians that were mainly in the 70s, I rank Wetton No. 1 on my Rock God list !
John Wetton was unhappy in Wishbone Ash cause he wanted more of his songs included. So he formed Asia a band there he found his greatest commercial success but I dislike them much. Family, King Crimson, UK his most interesting stuff. I wonder what if he stayed in Uriah Heep for longer?
My all time favourite King Crimson lineup with some of the band's best music ever made from this amazing group of monster players. RIP John Wetton, one of the true iconic voices
@@bepitan I love Adrians work with them yet it was great to see them do their classic material live. No idea what happened but no telling with Fripp, he just decides the fate of the band without other people’s input.
Watch John Wetton’s right hand. Look at all the subtleties and inflections he achieves by strumming, patting, fingering, using his thumb and fingerpicking. Great left hand technique as well. I studied John Wetton for years growing up and he’s so very skilled. He’s at the very top of rock/prog rock players in my book.
He's underrated in prog. I saw this line up live when I was a kid, John's bass playing stole the show in some songs, everyone was talking about it when we left.
Yes, exactly. John Wetton also used to play his bass very hard, somtimes even breaking strings which is unusual for bass players. In my book, he's right up there with Chris Squire, Geddy Lee and Greg Lake.
John Wetton was the most powerful singer and bassist for King Crimson. The other ones were great in their own ways, but Wetton always had so much presence.
@@user-cj4df7vs7w Discipline is an absolute goddam masterpiece. Period. 80s style production sound marred those three Crimson records but composition wise they had some real gems during that era.
@@craigdamage You can't compare sounds of the 70's and 80's. The powerful wideness and creativity of the 70's with all these wonderful young musicians and creators is unique.
@@user-cj4df7vs7w I actually really liked the Levin/Belew lineup. But as someone interested in rock bass playing, Wetton was kind of my prototype. Really good balance of technique and grit.
As a musician and King Crimson fan of over 50 years, I'd like to share some observations on John's playing and overall performance. Please forgive the length but this guy is clearly exceptionally gifted. 1:08 Percussive string slap almost sounding like drums. To do this while singing lead shows he's thinking way ahead of the lyric and is connected to Bill in musical intent. 1:55 Watch John's right hand just before he sings "Easy money". He's reaching down to change the volume and or tone setting of his bass. He's using the volume and tone controls on his bass to change his tone and dynamics of his amp. This literally tells the amp when to be clean and smooth (verses) overdrive and get nasty and overdriven. That's 100% musicianship right 'chair! He does it again a couple of times entering into the guitar solo jam section at 2:09. Overall: How, in the name of all that is holy, can you sing that in perfect pitch and play that funky ass bass part at the same time...and nail it? I'm mean, the entire tune is an a screwed up time signature in the verse. John's singing over 3 bars of 3/4 (waltz time) and then 4/4. Essentially 3's over 4's cuz Bruford's playing straight time 4/4 pretty much all through the verse.
You nailed everything! I rewatched it after reading your reply. I know this sounds dumb,but I'm blown away that they were on the Midnight Special! That show rarely had bands on like this. I'm 66 a expanding audiophile, my 40 yr old son is a bona-fide audiophile and I just discovered Pearl Jam! I'm still stuck in the 60s and 70s! 😊😊😊 PEACE!
Exactly. Larks Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black (in fact mostly live album), Red their greatest releases. And countless live recordings from that lineup. Honestly I'm still frustrated that Fripp disbanded them in 1974. Their later Belew era output isn't to my liking.
Progressive rock is so confusing. I thought that was Adrian Belew singing. But, yeah, Wetton, who honestly I only knew from the band “UK.” Bill Bruford was in Yes on the great The Yes Album, but then I suppose made the move and Alan White came in. And Belew was in Crimson and all (?) the later David Bowie albums.
@@oo88oo Bill Bruford was with Yes from their beginning. He also was a part of Yes's Fragile and Close To The Edge albums which came after The Yes Album. He left the band after Close To The Edge to join King Crimson partly because Yes had done some gigs with King Crimson and Bill was enticed by Crimson's/Robert Fripp's methods.
What a great great clip! When it started I thought “geez - I wonder if this was live or mimed…?” Then there was that bit of feedback as the intro rolled into the first verse and you can see Wetton’s eyes roll and his face cringe. Yup - that’s live. Can you imagine the confidence it took to go on live TV and play Crimson music? That’s why they are legends!
The best King Crimson lineup. The three albums they recorded ,so powerful and otherworldly. All three are masterpieces, but Starless and Bible Black has it all. So intense. Larks Tongues in Aspic is sequenced perfectly. And Red is, well, you know. 🔥
I agree with you, across the board. Starless is my favorite Crimson album, with Larks' Tongues close behind. But Red is excellent, as well. Prog rock at its absolute best!
This is AWESOME! Such a powerful band at it's peak! King Crimson could shred wallpaper at 3 miles! Thank you, Midnight Special for posting this classic performance!
For any new listener...don't fall for the highly opinionated and lazy input above, this band had several other peaks and kept innovating for almost 40 years.
@@pluggotic Exactly! I would go as far as saying they never had any lows, and were always sharp as a tack, no matter what the lineup. Differences in the music, sure, but never in a bad way. It's all good. How can you peak if you were born on the summit and never descended?
@@Bob-of-Zoid expectation is a prison and the cure is pushing forward. the momentum will get music through any slope. it is true for the musician as it is for the listener, but he just loves to forget that the Krims are no crowd pleasers. at least not until the very end.
@@pluggotic I agree on all but one thing: I have been to many of their shows, and for me it was no let down, not a second went by not worth paying attention to, so in that sense I disagree. In the other sense, their STFU or get kicked out, no photo flashes or disruptive behavior... policy, I can see how it would effect some people with a lack of "Discipline", but it made for much more enjoyable shows. Audience members shouldn't be the center of attention, at least not the ones that make it so. I actually worked in the industry for a while, and got to meet them a few times, Fripp, Belew, Brufford, Levin, the next year with Mastelotto, and Gunn in addition, and not just in a "meet n' greet, now get out" kind of way, but all access, long discussions, dinner... The only one who wasn't very sociable at the time was Robert Fripp, he made short work of gracefully thanking the musicians and any crew, and disappeared rather rapidly.
Back in a time where this, listen to this, was considered prime time TV... I wish I could go back for a month, just one month and be a kid again during this time.
In the Summer of '73 I was washing dishes at the Red Lobster and when I heard this music on the radio it changed my life. Amazing, Pure, beyond the sum the of the parts.
What a band. What a performance. It really doesn't get any better then this. Phenomenal talent on that stage with John Wetton, my all time musical hero, at the very top of his game.
FINALLY! I've wanted to see this again since it originally aired. I thought it might be lost forever. If you have Lark's Tongues too that would be amazing. Thank you!
What a talented person John Wetton was. Miss him so much now!! Every band he was in from King Crimson to Uriah Heep to Asia he was the Voice and Most underrated Bass player of my time!! Got to meet him one time and such a humble guy. He loved Calif and was a huge Beach Boys and San Francisco music fan! We talked for 3hrs and I bought him dinner at my favorite Mexican food joint here in LA. We lost him the next yr in 2017. Just like Neil Peart of Rush and Eddie VanHalen, it was a kick in the nuts we lost these guys and was too soon. Outside of Rush, Asia was the most talented band I ever saw in person. Love seeing Frip and his wife now killing on U Tube with their covers!! John Wetton was The Mans Man!! See you in Heaven Sir!!
Don't forget a short spell, john featured in the band Family!!! Specifically, the album Fearless. I received an extended box set of this album for Christmas. I can't wait till I can devote some time and ears to this set, on Cherry Hill records.
This is probably the best footage we have of John Wetton in this incarnation of KC. The typical American TV director would automatically give the most camera time to whoever was singing, so that was John's time in the spotlight. It's great to see how he worked. Wetton's bass tone was far ahead of its time. Most of the prog bass players were playing Rickenbackers, but Wetton was playing Fender through a distortion pedal, giving him growl in the lower end, where Ricks had growl in the top end.
Thank you for finally releasing this Midnight Special performance. Please, keep the 1973 performances by the lesser known artists coming (Flash, Foghat, Savoy Brown, Rory Gallagher, Montrose, Wishbone Ash, etc.).
Wetton never called attention to his bass playing but it was truly exceptional. His underplaying style was largely responsible for that great sound, giving mixers the room they needed to produce KC’s complex sound. His bass is really an unsung hero of this third iteration of the band.
there's a recent video of Fripp (with David Singleton, on their "That Awful Man And His Manager" speaking tour), where he proclaims Wetton's bass playing as strong and unique as Jaco's. Agree or disagree on that point, that's quite a statement coming from the likes of Fripp. Video also has a touching moment where Robert has to pause to collect himself while talking about Wetton's passing. Clearly he was quite fond of his old friend and bandmate.
John was kind of in the middle of the whirlwind of Fripp, Bruford and for a short time Jamie Muir. He found his footing a made a solid impression on all the lads I'm sure
Damn...I've had this album since it came out and can thus say that this rendition is spot on "perfect" by KC standards. Love John Wetton and can say from live experience that Bill Bruford made this band too just like he helped make YES.
Pretty much any live version of the Larks Tongues in Aspic songs (other than the opening track) are always gonna be better than the album versions. Exiles, Talking Drum and Pt. 2 have a special vibe on the record, and I really love the sound effects on Easy Money, but I’ve alway found that to be the case.
Wow, haven't seen this in 40 yrs. Still one of my favourite bands. I never got to see Crimson with Wetton live, but I got lucky enough to see him with UK, opening for Tull in Las Vegas. What a Great show. Aladdin Casino 1979.
Please post Flash's performance from 1973 as well .. This performance is considered the holy grail for fans of the band Yes being the only footage of Peter Bank's post yes band live and his estate really would love to see it .. they played 2 songs .. "Psychosync" and "Dead Ahead". thank you in advance!
In early 1974 I saw them live at Curtis Hixon Hall in Tampa, Florida. One of the best and most memorable concerts I had ever seen. With no seats, and the stage being about 6 feet high, I was able to walk along the front and get a close look at this incredible band. Half of the show I was standing in front of Fripp, who was about 5 feet away and I was mesmerized by his playing. Fripp had a black Mellotron and Cross had a white one.
The Night Club venue, above The Playhouse in Edinburgh in 1980 I watched Fripp with the League of Gentlemen play an absolutely blinding set. A venue so close up you can see the performers pores 😂. Fripp was as cool as a cucumber and sizzling guitar work of incredible precision was the crowds reward. Not a prog crowd I might add but he had them on side very early on in the gig.
Elegantly turned out by then but remaining a " miserable git " as he had been through most of his career. It gives me great pleasure to see him hoot with laughter nowadays when playing in the house with Toyah on their Sunday roast slot. Bless the old curmudgeon I think I'd be grinning like him if I was sharing a house with the still hot Toyah.
I was fifteen at this time and my curfew was 11:00, soon to be changed to midnight when I turned sixteen in November (and had my first girlfriend, Penny. Sigh.), so I was always home in time to watch The Midnight Special on Friday nights. My buddy and me had been huge Crimso fans since we were twelve and 'In The Court of The Crimson King' came out, so I was super excited to watch them on TMS. They didn't disappoint, as you can see. They also did "Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Pt. II", which was equally as good. Man, I miss my youth. LOL!
A fantastic song from a fabulous Larks album ( their best for me). King Crimson between 1972 - 74 perhaps the heaviest among all classic prog rock bands.
John Wetton was an 19 years old amateur bass player from the UK, until singer Helen Shapiro bought him a Fender bass, took him to Soviet block hardliner Romania for a concert in her band in front of 60000 people and 3 years later he was in bloody King Crimson.
