When Sailor’s Tale was first played at Frankfurt’s Zoom Club in April 1971, it was a sprawling nest of speculative musical ideas and themes. By the time it was recorded at Command Studios for the Islands record of September that year, it had been substantially refined and honed. Yet despite being codified on LP, the performances of it on 1972’s American tour between January and April saw the piece make a partial return to a more feral state.  When restored to the setlist after a 42-year absence, using the studio template, the piece delivers maximum Crimson impact despite its relative brevity. Although Fripp’s frantic chordal solo spot remains the focal point, after the Mellotron blasts back in and Jakko and Mel play the unison theme, Fripp’s heroic windmilling continues to hew out some spine-tingling gold.