King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

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

Genre: Progressive Rock

Often hailed as one of the greatest achievements in prog-rock history, King Crimson's debut album has become a staple of rock history and pop culture, and one that by 1969 standards, seemed ahead of its time. This album is being reviewed per request. As a reminder, I do not intend for this to be a really in-depth and complex review. I'm just sharing my quick personal thoughts on the album. As for any album review I will do, I try to be objective without letting any personal bias get too much in the way of the final grade.

After many years of this album seemingly going under my radar, thanks in part to its absence from YouTube and Spotify, I can now finally agree with the fanboys. This is an essential, prog-rock album, and anyone that claims to be a fan of the genre would be doing themselves a great disservice in skipping it. With its smooth blend of symphonic, jazz, and classical influences, I'm still amazed that this was released in 1969.

Uncommon for the era, 5 tracks are all that's presented here. This record runs nearly 44 minutes, so you can expect some pretty lengthy passages. As is obvious, you cannot hold someone's attention for that long without offering something incredibly well-crafted and interesting. For the most part, King Crimson did well in delivering some sweet guitar improv passages, pounding bass riffs and strangely enough, some of the best hard hitting drum fills I have heard on any record. 21st Century Schizoid Man opens up the album with an incredibly upbeat jazz-influenced track that crescendos into one of the most satisfying climaxes I've heard in progressive rock, a little bit after the 2 minute mark. This trails back to the original style of the track around the 6 minute mark. A lot of people consider this to be the highlight of the album, and I can see why, though it's hard to decide if it truly is.

As far as musical variation goes, 21st Century Schizoid Man probably takes the cake, but tracks like Epitaph and the title track are so full of life, so hypnotically beautiful, that it's hard for me to decide on a favorite. Epitaph especially, has a deep sense of urgency surrounding its haunting instrumentals and depressing lyrics, which bring to mind thoughts of nuclear fallout. Court Of The Crimson King is a wonderful album closer, and features some great fantastical imagery that really takes you to another world. I Talk To The Wind is the most "traditional" song on the record, presenting a colorful, lovely acoustic melody, perfectly complimented by Ian McDonald's sweetly melodic flute playing, which is also prominent halfway through the title track. 

The worst track on this otherwise perfectly constructed album would have to be Moonchild. There is nothing inherently wrong with some Avant-Garde experimentation in a prog-rock album. However, when the track is just over 12 minutes long, and most of it is dedicated to minimalistic instrumental quips, it does drag quite a bit. Granted, it's not a big deal for aficionados of the genre. I can't say that I wasn't amused upon first listen, though I wouldn't find myself hard-pressed to listen to this track in its entirety every time I go through this record. The sums on this record greatly outweigh the few cons here though.

A

Favorite Track: Can't decide

Least Favorite Track: Moonchild