USA was recorded towards the end of King Crimson's final US tour of the 70's in June 1974. It was issued as an epitaph for the band in Spring 1975 as a single album – at a time when doubles or even triple live albums were more considered the norm for live releases. Deleted towards the end of the vinyl era in the mid-80s, it remained unreleased in the CD era until the expanded edition was finally issued in October 2002.
In common with much of Crimson's output, it was not well received at the time by critics, though its critical reputation has grown immeasurably in the intervening years to the point where a review of the 21st Century Guide to King Crimson boxed set in 2004 identified the album as the point "...where Fripp maps out the guitar blueprint for the entire post-punk movement."
The reputation of the 1972/1974 King Crimson line-up is now revered by critics and fans alike with the material very sought after. USA is the seventh in a series of audiophile King Crimson vinyl reissues. Manufactured on 200g super-heavyweight vinyl and housed in a reprint of the original sleeve. The first pressing run includes codes for an MP3 download of a transfer from the original 1975 vinyl.
