King Crimson – Penn State 29 June, 1974

To coincide with the releases of “Starless & Bible Black” in March 1974, King Crimson set out on a run of shows that many fans consider to be that line-up’s peak with the late music critic John Kelman (All About Jazz) describing them as being at their “heaviest and most guitar-centric version of Crimson to date” where “even 24 hours represented a significant difference in how this group approached form-based material”.

With the rapid growth of CD in the 1980s came an equally rapid growth in bootlegging and by 1992 there were over 120 different King Crimson bootlegs – many focusing on poor quality recordings of the 1973/74 touring band whose reputation among fans and influence on a generation of musicians continued to grow. Thus prompting the band to release their own multi tracked live performances.

Long requested by fans for a vinyl release, Penn State is being made available on 200-gram double vinyl for the first time exclusively for Record Store Day in April 2026, ‘1974 Penn State University’ also includes the recording of 21st Century Schizoid Man from the band’s Central Park gig 2 days later which was to be this line-up’s last incarnation before becoming a trio to start recording the ‘Red’ album.

Live King Crimson multi-track recording of live set from June 29th, 1974, at Penn State University

Available on vinyl for the first time, exclusively for Record Store Day 2026

2LP set cut by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering and pressed on 200-gram audiophile vinyl

Gatefold sleeve with new sleeve notes from King Crimson biographer Sid Smith

Robert Fripp: Guitar, Mellotron & Devices

David Cross: Violin, Viola, Mellotron, Electric Piano
John Wetton: Bass, Lead Vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums & Percussion