(2021) King Crimson – Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With / Level Five / EleKtriK
Review: Released at the end of 2002, Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With: Featuring mostly short tracks this song-centred mini-album acted as an appetiser for ‘The Power To Believe’ (2003) in much the same way that the mini-album ‘VROOOM’ preceded and anticipated ‘THRAK in the mid-1990s. Recorded a year earlier, ‘Level Five’ (2001), was issued as a tour CD and only available to concert attendees, with subsequent limited editions available from the band’s website and in Japan before being released more widely in 2008. A live album consisting of three lengthy previously unrecorded instrumentals alongside ‘The ConstruKction Of Light’ and ‘Deception Of The Thrush’ plus what was, originally a hidden bonus track is a wonderful document of that line-up’s live power. A further example of that live power came with “EleKtriK” – With ‘The Power To Believe’ released and greeted enthusiastically by fans and critics alike, King Crimson spent much of the next four months of 2003 performing the material with lengthy tours of the USA, Japan and Europe. One of the Japanese concerts was filmed and recorded for DVD release. Crimson delivered in abundance on that particular tour with John Bungey of The Times calling it “.. their best live set” since the band had re-emerged in 1994. Japanese fans demanded a live CD release of the DVD concert recording and EleKtriK (2003), the stereo audio mix of the material was issued exclusively for that market initially prior to a wider release.
Track Listing: 1. Bude (0:26)
2. Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (3:54)
3. Bude II (0:19)
4. Mie Gakure (2:00)
5. She Shudders (0:36)
6. Eyes Wide Open (4:08 )
7. ShoGaNai (2:54)
8. I Ran (0:40)
9. Potato Pie (4:33)
10. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Pt. IV (10:59)
11. Clouds (0:32)
12. Einstein’s Relatives (3:18 )
13. Dangerous Curves (5:38 )
14. Level Five (8:36)
15. Virtuous Circle (10:00)
16. The ConstruKction Of Light (8:23)
17. The Deception Of The Thrush (6:46)
18. Improv: ProjeKct X (5:24)
19. Introductory Soundscape (5:02)
20. The Power to Believe I: A Cappella (0:44)
21. Level Five (7:24)
22. ProzaKc Blues (6:01)
23. EleKtriK (8:02)
24. Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (4:15)
25. One Time (6:01)
26. Facts Of Life (5:29)
27. The Power To Believe II: Power Circle (8:46)
28. Dangerous Curves (6:03)
29. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Pt. IV (10:33)
30. The World’s My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum (6:30)
Media Report: Genre: prog-rock
Country: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits