(An Observation by King Crimson)
Rating 5 Stars
Audio CD (paid link)
When this album was released in 1969, it was to change the whole face of rock music as it was then known. “In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson almost single-handedly invented what was to become known as Progressive Rock, and with first track ‘21st Century Schizoid Man‘ had a fair hand at putting heavy metal music on the map.
The strange thing is that “In the Court of the Crimson King” started life as a bit of a curiosity. I bet that half of the first lot of people to buy this album did so due to its cover alone, relying upon the intuition that anybody who would put such a face to their music, inevitably had to have quite some spirit of adventure. They were – of course – correct.
King Crimson had a very auspicious beginning. Their first few rehearsals were held in January 1969; their debut live performance was at the Speakeasy in London, April 9th, followed by a support slot at the Rolling Stones free concert in Hyde Park in July. Their debut album was released to great critical acclaim in October and reached #5 in the British Charts and #28 in the American Billboard.
This led to touring America in November and December prior to splitting up before the end of the year. (After the American tour, McDonald, Giles, and Lake left Fripp, claiming the standards he required were impossible to maintain. Greg Lake was persuaded to return for the recording of the follow-up album “In the Wake of Poseidon” (1970), and McDonald did eventually play with Crimson again on “Red” in 1974.) There is always plenty going on in the Crimson household.
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Today, after over 53 years, King Crimson is still very active and highly regarded, producing some of the most creative music in existence, just as they always have, under the collective banner of King Crimson and always led by main man Robert Fripp, who is now in his eighth decade. The man in black still commands the stage from his seat at the back of the stage, grim-faced as he plays his guitar one minute with the violence of an axe, the next with the gentleness of a feather, but always with determined concentration.
There have been thirteen studio albums, every one reaching the upper regions of the charts all over the world, countless live albums, and compilations. Twenty-one people have been in the recordings and live works ranks (not counting guest musicians), many returning for repeat trips. They even had a hit single with ‘Catfood’ back in 1970.
As the lineup has changed, many have gone on to more fame and fortune. From the first lineup, vocalist Greg Lake went on to form supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Ian McDonald was an original member of Foreigner, whilst Mike Giles went on to be one of the most respected drummers in the session world.
Other groups and genres came and went, but Robert Fripp just carried on in his own sweet way, oblivious to anything that did not concern him, demanding only perfection from his fellow musicians. During its lifespan, King Crimson has gone from this lineup, which had vocals with the basic trio of drums, bass, and guitar, with additional saxophone, flute, keyboards, mellotron, synthesizer, and harmonium, to the latest lineup of vocals, with two guitars, banks of keyboards, saxophone, flute bass, and three drummers. That’s quite unusual in itself.
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But with the breakthrough album, it all opens up with the brutal ‘21st Century Schizoid Man,’ which was actually this dog’s first introduction to King Crimson, as this track was released on a compilation album by Island Records to showcase all the artists on their roster. This was an album set called ‘Nice Enough to Eat’, containing twelve tracks from various bands on the label, all for the price of fourteen shillings and sixpence, just within range of this, at the time, 13-year-old dog’s pocket money.
After the loud entrance of the ‘Schizoid Man’ (although it became a bit of an albatross round the old King Crimson neck, it was only dusted down and rehashed as an encore number by Robert Fripp from time to time to the audiences’ delight), you are swept away by four more rock epics. The shortest, called ‘I Talk to the Wind,’ clocks in at just over six minutes, while ‘Moonchild‘ – with all its beeps, boops, and whistles still intact – comes in at a massive 12 minutes. Hardly surprising then that Crimson was never really considered a singles band.
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Musical standouts, if you had to pick some from this faultless album, would have to be (apart from all of Schizoid) Ian McDonald’s flute playing in ‘I Talk To The Wind‘, Greg Lake’s singing in ‘Epitaph,’ Ian McDonald’s groundbreaking keyboard work in ‘Moonchild,’ and Robert Fripp’s simply staggering guitar work in final song ‘The Court of the Crimson King‘. If you think that it is only studio trickery that lets them play this immaculate music, think again. The proof is the live album ‘Epitaph’ recorded on this lineup’s tour of America at the Fillmore East. The encore recording of the band rollicking through ‘Mars’ from Holst’s ‘Planet Suite’ has to be heard to be believed.
this is what you get! Sadly I spend all my time rifling through trying
to find the original songs.
There have been many re-releases of this album, but take my word for it; all you need is the original. The five CD 50th Anniversary edition, even with the magnificence of the original album, does get a bit tedious wading through different edits, etc.
After fifty-odd years, this album is still King Crimson’s biggest selling album, a true all-time classic. But do not worry, my friends, old Robert Fripp is still trying to top it. He nearly succeeded in his efforts in 2003 with ‘The Power to Believe,’ the band’s last official studio release. If you have never heard this album, go out and buy it; if you have fond memories of it from before, I hope this little epistle will remind you.
Musicians:
Robert Fripp – Guitars and Keyboards
Greg Lake – Bass Guitar and Lead vocals
Mike Giles – Drums and Percussion
Ian McDonald – Many Keyboards, Saxophone, Flute and Vocals
Peter Sinfield – Who did not actually play anything, but wrote all the lyrics
Tracks Listing:
Epitaph
Written by Mott the Dog
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