"Earthbound" is a live album by King Crimson, released in June 1972 as a budget record shortly after the band's lineup had disbanded. Despite its historical significance as the band's first official live release of their iconic track "21st Century Schizoid Man" and an extended version of the non-LP B-side "Groon", the album's sound quality is notably poor.
Recorded onto cassette tape by live sound engineer Hunter MacDonald, the album's sound suffers due to the inherent limitations of the recording medium, compounded by adverse recording conditions. The liner notes reveal that the performance was captured "live on an Ampex stereo cassette fed from a Kelsey Morris custom-built mixer... in the rain from the back of a Volkswagen truck." Consequently, Atlantic Records, the band's distributor in the US and Canada, declined to release "Earthbound" due to its subpar sound quality.
Despite efforts to improve the sound for later CD reissues, the album's origins on cassette tape limited the potential for significant enhancement. However, an expanded CD-DVD version was released in 2017, offering additional tracks and bonus material, including a live radio session in surround sound.
While "Earthbound" may be marred by its technical shortcomings, it remains a notable release in King Crimson's discography, capturing a pivotal moment in the band's live performance history despite its audio limitations.
