A Quest for Prog 29: King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King

I found this as a draft from 2012.  Didn't publish it because I didn't finish the Review of Leftoverture  by Kansas Which Iis 28.  Seeing as I am restarting this blog here it is.

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)

Produced by King Crimson

Robert Fripp – Guitar

Ian McDonald – Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Keyboards & Mellotron

Greg Lake – Bass & Vocals

Michael Giles – Drums & Percussion

Track listing:

Side One:

01. 21st Century Schizoid Man (7:21)

Including "Mirrors"

02. I Talk to the Wind (6:05)

03. Epitaph (8:47)

Including "March for No Reason" & "Tomorrow and Tomorrow"

Side Two:

01. Moonchild (12:13)

Including “The Dream" & “The Illusion"

05. The Court of the Crimson King (9:25)

Released in 1969 “In The Court Of The Crimson King” is the debut album by British band King Crimson.  King Crimson has suffered many line-up changes in their long career and this has resulted in a diverse catalogue.   From their English Prog early works To Lizards Jazz fusion and Larks Tongue In Aspics Avant-garde Art Rock.  The only constant during all of these line up’s has been Guitarist Robert Fripp.  Than band has released 13 Studio Albums between 1969 and 2003.

The album begins with “21st Century Schizoid Man”.  Of the songs on this album this is definitely the most direct and up tempo song here.  The riff is strong and the song has a serious groove to it.  Mixing elements of Jazz, Funk and Rock into quite a muscular track.  There have been a number of bands or songs that have been links with the creation of Heavy Metal and this song have never been included.  An oversight if you ask me.  The band is really together on this song with Greg Lake's bass and Ian McDonald’s Saxophone driving the riff along.  The song feels very live, which is quite a different feel to the rest of the album which is very layered and produced.  The vocals are very interesting for the time in that they are slightly distorted which I haven’t heard on any other album from the late 60’s.  Greg’s vocals are strong and set a really nice counterpoint to the instrumental passages.  Awesome track.

The album slows considerably on the albums second track “I Talk To The Wind”.  This track is very English sounding and is similar to the songs Pentangle, Fairport Convention and band of that ilk were producing.  The track is quite restrained and reminds me of a slowed down version of “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite” by The Beatles.  Robert Fripp’s guitars are really nice on this track but Michael Giles’ drums are a bit much.  For me the song dragged a bit because the backing is so slight.  There is an early “Duo Version” of the track on a recent re-release which features more interesting Instrumentation and an idea of what this track could have been.

The side ends with “Epitaph”.  This a very grand sounding track with the first appearance of Mellotron.  The song has touches of Latin guitars and space rocks atmospherics.  Like the title track to this record "Epitaph" is a very dense and grand track that goes from quiet verses to chorus’s and instrumental passages.  The instrumental passages on this track are sublime and really build and grow as the song progresses.  The climax of the song is similar to “A Day In The Life” but less ramshackle.  This is a great tune and a display of the best of this version of the band.

Side two begins with the 12 minute long “Moonchild”.  This track is very melancholic and lush.  The vocals on this song are strong and are processed in a similar way to “21^st Century Schizoid Man” but less aggressively.  The start of the track has a prettiness to it, then it moves into more jazzy space.  "The Passage" at the 3 minute mark, which I gather is “The Dream”, is a meditative landscape with mixture of Harp and Guitars.  As the section progresses Marimbas’ are added to the section making it sound like a mellow version of Pink Floyd “Set Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”.  The remainder of the track once the rest of the band comes back in has a jazz freak out vibe.  Similar to Frank Zappa with Jazz Guitars and Xylophone.

The record ends with “In The Court Of The Crimson King”.  The only way to describe this song is epic.  This track is very dynamic and travels from a verse of Guitar and Vocals, then explodes onto the chorus with Mellotron and a huge chorus singing “King!!!!!!”.  The breakdown in the piece is very interesting and has an almost electronic feel to it.  Similar to  the French band Air.  The verses build every time they return and bring the song to its conclusion.  This might just be one of the most important Progressive Rock songs of all time in that it is so pure and never falters in its approach. 

This album is extremely good but does lag in places.  If you are looking at getting into progressive music or King Crimson you would be hard pressed to find a better starting point.  With “21st Century Schizoid Man” & “The Court of the Crimson King” being absolute classics. 

9/10