In The Court Of The Crimson King

Hello, Red Screamy Man, my old friend… You’ve certainly got a reputation, haven’t ya? The “first progressive rock record”, the “greatest prog album of all time”, a “game changer”, “an album everyone should own on vinyl”…so on and so forth. Here’s thing…You are good, no one’s denying that. You were more or less the first and ushered in a new era. I’m just not sure that makes you immune from criticism, though. Good news first, “21st Century Schizoid Man”: an absolute classic. 53 years on, it’s still an undeniable heavy-duty tune. Great, great, great. Now, “I Talk to the Wind”…I get it, gotta calm down the chaos after the sonic assault of “Schizoid Man”. 6 minutes, though? A little excessive, right? Even in a genre known for excess, this one feels like a bit much and kind sucks the energy out the room after a blistering first track. (Red Screamy Man tries to interject and defend himself) Now hold on, this is for your own good. You’ve been coasting on your reputation for too long and sometimes we need to hear the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable. And besides, you haven’t even heard everything I had to say… “Epitaph”…another classic. An absolutely gorgeous song and easy front runner for greatest Mellotron performance ever committed to tape. Yeah, it’s 2 and half minutes longer than “I Talk to the Wind”, but it does a lot in that time frame, where “Wind” just kind of rehashes the same musical ideas and tacks on a flute solo as an outro. Epitaph is dynamic, it flourishes, has swells of emotion…takes you on journey. See? It’s not all bad. You’ve done some wonderful things here. That said…“Moonchild”. Bro, not sure why you have the tendency to suck the life out of the proceedings right after you strike gold. This thing starts off like a trip to the Renaissance Fair and then devolves into minimalistic free jazz tedium. Again, too damn long and honestly, you’re starting to wear out your welcome at this point. I think even you realize that, because what do you follow it up with? “In the Court of the Crimson King”, which borrows some of the heaviness from “Schizoid Man”, inserts the spacey Mellotron soundscapes of “Epitaph” and makes for a fitting finale, even if it ends…weirdly. Well done. More good than bad, Red Screamy Man. A commendable effort, indeed. We both know you were the template and templates get improved upon and fine tuned…You walked so Lark’s Tongues in Aspic and Red could run. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, you’re the perfect gateway to King Crimson, but you’re not the be-all-end-all of the discography or even the genre and certainly not beyond reproach. Ok, sorry we had to hash that out…are we cool? (Red Screamy Man nods in agreement, but is unable to remove the screamy look from his face) Cool…good talk, bud. Seriously…“Epitaph” is amazing. You’ve got a lot to be proud of.

A progressive rock landmark. Influenced so many things that came later, including Yes, The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Genesis, ELP, and many more. I never realized before that Yes pretty much stole the riff from 21st Century Schizoid Man for their song Heart of the Sunrise. Amazing debut album, it's like King Crimson emerged fully formed and mature. Classic. 5 stars.

YES. YES. YES. How have I gone my whole life without knowing about this album? This album is testament to how valuable this project can be. By doing this, I discovered a 5/5 album and a gateway to a piece of music history I once never knew.

2/14/2022 Today's Album: "In The Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson - Finally, I am able to talk about an album from this generator that I know very well and can review top to bottom with ease. This album is incredible. This album defined what would become essential parts of 70s psychedelic rock, progressive rock, noise rock, and art rock. The production is top notch and the choice to split the music into 5 tracks makes listening to it an incredibly deep, yet digestibly experience. The first song, 21st Century Schizoid Man is one of the best openers to any album ever. The blaring saxophones, the blasted out vocals, the booming bass and top notch drumming make this track feel incredibly powerful and chaotic. There's many time switches, screeching saxophone solos, and dizzyingly polyrhythmic drumming. The band keep incredible co-ordination while having random pauses, impacts, and entrances in a way I haven't seen perfected again until Black Midi. The horns, bass, guitar, and drums play off each other so well and the vocals all throughout the track ranting about the terrible condition of this hypothetical 21st century man match the manic and unpredictable tone of the instruments perfectly. It's hard to tell when the track is going to end because of how noisy and scattered all of the instruments get. I Talk to the Wind follows this track up in an almost unexplainable way. It is such a calm and beautiful track that it gives the listener musical whiplash. The vocals are so smooth and dazed, lamenting the condition of the world and the way the vocalist simply talks to themselves and the wind around them. There are clarinets and flutes in the mix that add to the flowing and sedated nature of the track. The flute solo about halfway through the song followed by the pedaled guitar just sounds so pristine and clear they're memorizing. The outro solo from the flute is even more technically impressive and leaves the track off on such a groovy and impressive note. There is then a huge drumroll transition into perhaps the best track on the record, Epitaph. From the hypnotic guitar riff to the drowning bass and snappy snare hits, this album puts the listener into this cage as it drags you through the universe it creates. The singer illustrates a terrible dystopian environment that one might compare to today. The chorus on this song is powerful, insightful, and incredibly saddening. There is just an incredible weight to this song that leaves such an impact after what was such a laid back song in I Talk To The Wind. The whole album feels like it's set in this "world of the crimson king" which just so happens to be medieval Europe. There's instruments like harpsicord that add to this effect. Moonchild follows this epic piece with a haunting and atmospheric track called Moonchild. The lyrics are incredibly well mixed and produced, telling of this moonchild that yearns for a sun-child and dreams in the shadows of a willow. Each song feels like it holds lore to this mysterious land and this song just hugs your ears while doing so. There's a wailing guitar that accompanies drowning synth chords and cymbal clashes until the album completely tapers off into nothing. The 10 following minutes of this 12 minute track contain some of the wildest improv percussion and it really just needs to be listened to to believe. The 10 minutes of psychedelic ambiance is completely smashed with the intro of the final track, In the Court of the Crimson King. This song is the perfect finisher to the album, leaving it on a similarly noisy and chaotic note as it began and with many ending fake outs too! It's a great track to end off this absolutely incredible album. I have to end this off short due to text limits, but please listen to this album. It's something that has to be experienced and in the 3 years I've been listening to it, it hasn't gotten old. Score: 10/10 Period. Highlights: 21st Century Schizoid Man, I Talk To The Wind, Epitaph, Moonchild, ITCOTCK

"In the court of the Crimson AHHHHHHHH AHHHHH AHH AHHH! AHH AHH AHHHHHHH!" So damn good. I was lost during some of the quiet free-form jazz shit, but I am here for all of the rest. And one of the best pieces of album art of all time!

Psychedelic rock and progressive rock are always kind of hit or miss, and this album is no different. There were a lot of places where I felt like I was just getting impatient for something interesting to happen and other places where I was wowed by what I just heard. No doubt this was influential and I think this might get better on repeated listens but on this listen it was just a little above average overall. 3.5 stars

"Confusion will be my epitaph." A central line of the album, I defy you to think of anything more succinctly pompous. The reference to death, the deliberate ambiguity, the fact that the band hasn't realised the lyric makes balls-all sense: this album wants to be taken seriously, but there is nothing whatsoever that makes the listener contemplate (fuck the standard claims that cannabis opens up this album; that's no better than saying the album sounds better when you're drunk). Is there a more pernicious album in the canon? This is the album that invented prog rock, after all. Prog rock, my dear sugarplums, is the worst music genre of all. Prog rock is a perversion of all of rock's wonders. The smuggest, most conceited genre, prog rock bands wilfully failed to clock that their music was completely empty, that for all their virtuosity and Tolkien references (a children's author, for fuck's sake!), they had nothing to say at all. Every Roger Waters era Pink Floyd album has no deep message other than, "it's grim up north". Do you need further proof than the title of Yes' Tales of Topographic Oceans? I'll give it to you: Tales of Topographic Oceans was supposedly based on a series of Hindu texts, yet when pressed, the band admitted that they'd never evn read them. Or how about literally any lyric from Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Greg Lake was the guitarist and vocalist on ITCOTCK, and recycled the line "Confusion with be my epitaph" for their cyborg armadillo concept album Tarkus (yes, cyborg armadillo))? By the by, if you rearrange ITCOTCK, you get TIT COCK. As far as I can gauge, TIT COCK doesn't have an overarching concept. That is, I can't discern a central theme, even though the men involved (and it is only men) may claim that the album outlined the gulf between man in the hypothetical state of nature and man in the hyperthetical modern world of concrete and electricity. Horrifically, as I typed that, I realised that some trainspotters will assert that as the authentic reading of TIT COCK. Do you not comprehend that you can read anything into any old cryptic claptrap? Did you think "I Talk to the Wind" was a sagacious insight of a guru at one with Arcadia? If you're talking, you're technically talking to the wind except if you're in space. Hitler giving his speeches at the Nuremberg Rally was talking to the wind. And that inprovised section of Moonchild (a title condensed to utter painfulness) isn't improvisation, it's just hitting instruments at random. All this would be tolerable if the album had a sense of fun, a sense of theatricality, a sense of camp. But no, this is a serious contrivance, a work purporting to reveal the depths of humanity. But this album lacks the gravity for me to truly hate it, but instead I dismiss it like a wasp landing on my forearm. To give a contrast, I went and listened to Joy Division's Closer, an album I take seriously. I felt my eyes moisten during the third track. TIT COCK only made me mock. It shouldn't be a scream on the cover, it should be a boo. 21st Century Schizoid Man is one of Tony Blair's favourite songs.

'I Talk To The Wind' is right. This is farting around, plain and simple. They put in a lot of work in place of inspiration, but for what? A seven and a half minute opener with half a hook to show for it. And they don't get any closer than that in the subsequent 36 tedious as fuck minutes.

screamy man screamed and I screamed wittem

Yes, that sounded like they just invented prog rock.

One of my favorite albums of alltime, that's for sure - and the easiest 5/5 I gave here so far. This album is pure perfection and I am convinced it's one of the most important artistic statements in human history of music. Hey, I might be just a King Crimson glazer, but they were one of the pioneers of my favorite, most beloved progressive genres, so how could I not love them? In The Court Of The Crimson is one of the best choices to put on this list - it's also quite sad that the cover is so well known while I think not everyone who knows the cover listened to this album in full. King Crimson's debut has everything a prog album needs, and it was so ahead if its time. It has heaviness, melancholy, grandiose finish, it's just a perfect experience listening to it everytime.

Fuck you if you think Frank Zappa is better or weirder than King Crimson. This album is basically perfect. Normies should not even begin to consider thinking about attempting to try listening to this without the proper headgear. All necessary precautions must be taken, not to be limited to the usage of thick wall padding, a straitjacket. This album is legally and medically considered a highly effective (if extremely unsafe) method of boosting one's IQ to beyond normal human range. Severe volume is recommended for maximum dilation of the third through fifth eyes and/or other sensory organs. Do not attempt while primitively confined to any arbitrary set of three dimensions; alternately, if confined to less than the necessary number of dimensions: use quickly, far too much, and in any way not recommended. Seriously, this is some heavy-duty shit, man

A real pinch in the hourglass for the genre; all the influences and fledgling prog ideas beforehand really came together into this album, and no prog rock can look back without tracing some roots to it. A true influence, and a true masterpiece.

Godlike

Even in albums I enjoy, there's always one or two songs that just don't live up to the rest of the album. In The Court of The Crimson King is an exception. It's an album where I genuinely cannot pick my favourite song (Sure, there's only 5 on the tracklist but they're divided into parts so technically there's more). Even the improv part of Moonchild, which fans tend to dislike and which I found boring at first listen, is amazing once it transitions to the title track, and I can't imagine the album without it. That's really one of the many strengths of ITCOTCK: each new song part ends up complimenting the last one. The majority of the album is actually quieter and more peaceful than 21st Century Schizoid Man and the title track might make one think; it starts off with the angry but anthemic first song, then becomes more mellow and introspective, gradually building up to the climactic final track. That's not to say any of the 3 tracks in the middle are in any way worse; they're just as perfect as the opener and closer. I'd like to point out the absolutely fantastic instrumental work on this album (just like all future King Crimson albums, of course). Michael Giles' drumming carries the entire album and the whole thing would be significantly lesser if the band had a less talented drummer. Ian McDonald's (rip) flute parts are simply perfect too. In conclusion, listen to this album. Or I will find you.

Superb, sounds like a real anachronism coming out at the time it did. King Crimson often sounded more expansive, grown-up and frankly more sinister than their peers - probably because they were. Nice to see a band that was (kind of) from my hometown represented on here!

I really wanted to hate this Album, but it was pretty neat. Apart from the middle part, where they forgot to stop the recording and we got like 10 minutes of random noises.

My feelings on prog are well known. I am not, generally, a fan. Too clever clogs, widdly-widdly, pretentious, ridiculous time wasting, and not nearly rock and roll enough. I do, however, make an exception for King Crimson, largely because they rock hard. I have a number of albums from across the breadth of their career, although I have never become a devotee (i.e., I have never been even mildly tempted to buy any of their encyclopaedic and hideously expensive box sets). If ever you were going to identify the ground zero for prog rock, it really would have to be In the Court of the Crimson King. But let's not hold the subsequent sins of others against it. I was turned onto this record, especially 21st Century Schizoid Man, by some uni mates in the early 90s who had an instrumental jazz rock band (Trout Fishing in Quebec, check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEeU3rFSO6c You can hear the King Crimson influence). I still think 21st Century Schizoid Man is the bomb. It excites me every time I hear it. If all prog was this good, I would listen to prog (but it isn't, so I don't). Observations: - I am sure that that Fripp and MacDonald are playing each other's solos. The guitar solo sounds like a sax solo, and vice versa. - The fast start-stop section is awesome. As my drummer son pointed out, the timing is not precise. They were playing that tight in the room together, because they could. If you listen to the live recoding on Earthbound, you can hear that they could replicate that on stage, too. A testimony to Robert Fripp's band discipline. - This is the first evidence of Robert Fripp's propensity to play at right angles to what any other guitar player ever would. His note choice is consistently weird, but I love it. I will listen to him play on anything. (I particularly like the album he did with David Sylvian in the early 90s. And the Bowie records. And the Eno records. And Talking Heads and Blondie and Peter Gabriel and hundreds of other records). The title track is majestic, and memorably featured in Children of Men (2006). The use of mellotron has never been bettered. Really, all the pastoral stuff in the middle of those two tracks are dull with a tendency to go widdly-widdly on occasion. Personally, I could live without everything but 21st Century and the title track. But those two tracks alone rate 4 stars.

While I love some aspects of prog rock, my brain craves structure. This experimental stuff led to some of my favorite bands (Rush, for example) but most of this album is a bit too off-kilter for me. Also I hate the album cover. Ugh.

This is #day280 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… as much as I'm not a fan of prog rock a la Yes or Rush (I find this music too showy technically), I do, however, like Pink Floyd. But, I'm not sure I've ever actually "been" In the Court of the Crimson King before. Maybe it's the gloomy, rainy weather in my hometown today, or it's simply that this album is crafted with such intricate attention to detail… The way it weaves jazz, folk, classical, and symphonic elements into late '60s rock is mesmerizing. It's like reading good literature. Also, the lyrics complement the music so poetically. I'm in awe. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day281.

Kingly? This mournful, dramatic big synth and murmur of this took me back to memories of the folks playing the Moody Blues in the car: it carries the impression of huge brooding skies and romanticism that’s an unappreciated tradition in English art.

ok WOAH! -OMGGGGGG THIS IS WHERE THE KANYE WEST SONG COMES FROM "POWER" ??????? ohhhhh i didnt even know that was a sampleeee bro 21st century schizoid mannnnn -talk to the wind lyrics are GOOD - great album 5/5

this was a lot I think I liked it? not at first, but it really grew on me

Ah the classic r/vinyljerk album cover. Love it. I've listened to this before but never really paying as much attention to it as I should've Only know 21st Century Dude and the Court of the Crimson King. Leggooooooo No one man should have all that POWER! What an awesome sample. 21st Century Schizoid Man rules. Just some finger-lickin' jams. I have gained such a respect for my favorite of the woodwinds, ze flute (thanks Stu Mac). Dude fucking kills it on this track with it. Epitaph would be a great song to use in a film. Thinking Tarantino. Fun fact Space Jam got its name from Moonchild. Wiggly is the word I'd use. I really like that every song seems to have a different instrument that sticks out. Saw Claypool Lennon Delirium cover The Court of the Crimson King and have been in love with this song since. That fucking flute and the drums are so fucking good. This is some baller ass prog rock. I'll be back

21st Century Schizoid Man gets this an automatic 5 star. Amazing song, great album.

That feeling when one of your favourites pops up on the 1001.........😊 I've listened to this for many years and it is quite simply in the Top 10 of all albums ever produced. Barry Godber's haunting artwork inside and out, Peter Sinfields mystical lyrics, Fripps inspired guitar, McDonald's multitude of wind and Keyboard instruments (that Sax is a killer), Lake's vocals and powerful bass (so dominant) and Giles's drums (i've never heard anyone play the drums that well since)....... .......and finally to the Vision: to create something that stands alone in it's own world, untouched and eternal. There are haters that like to label everything and disdainfully call this 'Prog' then close their minds. Of course it's their own choice but I think they're missing out.

Nunca había escuchado nada de King Crimson y vaya que es un viaje. Disco de 1969, es la pura psicodelia progresiva. Arreglos complejos, van de 0 a 100 y de 100 a 0 una y otra vez. Epitaph fue mi favorita del disco, lúgubre y grandiosa. Desafortunadamente después de disfrutarla tanto viene Moonchild y si fue tortuoso bajarle de revoluciones tanto durante tanto tiempo, pero en general es un discazo. Songs: Epitaph, 21st Century Schizoid Man

Una obra mestra atemporal. Cinc petites joies d'orfebreria tan ben engastades que no es desgasten per més escoltes que es facin. Quina millor manera d'acabar el 2021 que escoltant un álbum 5 estrelles!

What an opening track. A total ripper that feels so ahead of its time and still wows today. During its release, to have been a fan of both Black Sabbath & Yes only to then hear this must have been a surreal and exciting experience. Strangely, I always found a lot of this album sleepier than I would have liked. That said, there are some EPIC moments besides the opening song like what you find in “The Court of the Crimson King” as well as the truly ethereal moments of “...” which for me make this album truly enjoyable. Moments on this album also feel like the permission the Mars Volta (and many others) needed to do what they do today.

Pre-listening thoughts: I’m really curious about this one. I feel like it’s super popular among classic rock fans but I’ve just missed it. Also I get this band mixed up with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard oops Post/during listening thoughts: this was actually really good. I understand why people glaze the shit out of this. HOWEVER. Every single song went on at least a minute too long. Moonchild was like insane. I thought we had transitioned to another song but there were still SEVEN minutes left. But the good parts of the songs were really good. 7.5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: nah Fav tracks: honestly all of them except MoonChild Least fav tracks: moonchild

Overall pretty good. When he is singing the instruments back him perfectly but the long instrumentals are nowhere near as enjoyable. Moonchild is really not a great listen because of this.

Screamy red man album. This one is the stuff of legends, it's up there with Dark Side of the Moon as the album that your pretentious music nerd friend won't shut up about. Memed to oblivion, but I haven't heard it in full yet, so let's see if it's worth the hype. Of course, it's got "21st Century Schizoid Man," infamously sampled by Kanye West on "Power." That's a cool song, sounds nothing like "Power," which is why sampling is so fun. A few other great tracks on here too. I'm into this prog stuff, I'm not entirely sure if I like this album or Larks Tongues in Aspic more, but safe to say I'm a fan of these guys. That said, I also don't see this as "best album ever" by any stretch, so it doesn't quite live up to the pedestal in the way Dark Side of the Moon absolutely did. But it's still a great ride, and knowing this is one that I'm sure would grow on me too, I'll give it the half-star bump. Glad we finally got this! Favorite tracks: 21st Century Schizoid Man, Moonchild, The Court of the Crimson King. Album art: Screamy red man. This poor guy looks like he just noticed the door of the room he's being wheeled into is labeled the "Penis Explosion Chamber." 100% iconic, no notes. 4.5/5

This is a classic album that aptly represents the times. Always worth and end-to-end listen.

I've been on Reddit long enough to see endless memes about the Red Screamy Man, but I had never listened to it until now. It is a pretty good album but I will continue to laugh at the memes about it.

Starts strong. The textures were weird and bold and I liked that they weren’t afraid to get a little messy. Somewhere close to early Floyd but less refined. Still worth a spin. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - 21st Century Schizoid Man - Epitaph - The Court Of The Crimson King

Quite a wacky album, if you know what I mean. There were plenty of highs and lows. I'm glad I heard it, but I doubt I'd seek it out again.

Har godt hørt navnet King Crimson før men tror ikke jeg har lyttet til det. Det er lidt flippet musik Hov jeg har hørt “i talk to the Wind”?? Ved ikke hvor. Men den kan jeg meget godt lide. Ikke fantastisk. Men den ville jeg lytte til. Det er faktisk meget godt. Kender åbenbart også deres sang “Matte Kudasai”? Den er i hvert fald på min playliste

Algo completamente distinto y experimental. Muy curioso

”it’s fine”

sympatoche sans plus

Some good tunes in there, not entirely my cup of tea. I think the cult following of this album does a lot of carrying in it’s ratings

I loved parts of this. Other parts were so self indulgent it became unenjoyable. Really not sure how to rate this actually in a simple 1-5 rating. Kind of album that I think would be amazing on the 100th listen and is pretty good on the first. Given it a 3. In hindsight Duran Duran should have been a 2 as this is taken from a list of classic albums. The voting system is not granular enough imo.

I like prog rock and I cannot lie! This dipped to a 2 "Just musicians noodling around with no real plans" to a 4 "transported to a fantasy world" No real suprise I ended up in the middle (again)

First off - top contender for iconic album covers. Don't know much about King Crimson other than it is an early progressive rock band whose members have expanded and left incredible marks on modern music through the musical prowess and creativity of its various members. As with many other prog artists, I have no idea what the heck they are talking about - it is more about the music and vibe. The first few songs are beautiful, of ourse The Court of the Crimson King is familiar and an epic listen. Really like the voice of the singer, although I know he didn't last long in the group with John Wetton (another great prog singer/bassist), but the vocals really hit on this one. Enjoyed the album much more than I anticipated and support weird, good music when I can.

I genuinely am torn on how to rate this. On one hand, it’s so ahead of its time. Never would’ve guessed it’s a summer of love era album. And Basically created Prog Rock and manages to still hold its own and not be overshadowed by later prog albums. I love the way the vocals are mixed in particular, and I’m a big fan of some psychedelic nonsense lyrics. On the other hand, it’s very artsy in a way I don’t really like. Moonchild in particular reminds me too much of an art museum, which is my least favorite kind of museum. It’s what’s playing in one of those dark isolated corner rooms. I get nothing out of the instrumentals and solos except a sense of impatience for something else to happen. 21st Century Schizoid Man and Court of the Crimson King would be easy 10/10 for me without the 5 minute solos (the latter of which, while too long, is probably the best one as I feel it goes somewhere and has appropriate thematic elements to it). Ultimately I think this is one of those best listened to while on drugs albums, but I’m an anxious man and can’t really do that. 5/5 with less improv solos, 2/5 with them. The strong elements are really strong but how am I supposed to enjoy this in the car? Gonna have to be a 3 from me. What’s a man gotta do get an abridged version of this album?

Too many random noises sprinkled throughout and silence / nothing musical happening in Moonchild to be Great for me. "In the Court of the Crimson King" is a great track though. I can see peoples' minds being absolutely blown by this when it came out, seeing as they're contemporaries with the likes of the Beatles and the Carpenters. Too experimental and abstract in many sections for my liking though.

Cover: 4 It's ok. It took several listens for me to even pay attention. Not my style of music but it was ok for what it was.

LOVE 21st Century Schizoid Man Like I Talk to the Wind, Epitaph, and Court of the Crimson King, A Man A City Not a big fan of Moonchild Probably would not listen again but 21st century did get added to my playlist

This album cover always looked cool but I was afraid the music wouldn't live up to the imagery. Once I started reading H.P. Lovecraft and The King in Yellow (which Lovecraft referenced, maybe even co-opted) the image in my head turned even darker. 21st century schizoid man kind of fit the expectations and was cool. The rest just made me think classic rock about fantasy things. Basically, more flute than I expected or wanted. But preconceived notions aside, it was alright.

Based on the album cover I had no idea what I was getting into... I don't hate it, overall parts are actually really interesting and enjoyable. My criticisms are that its kind of all over the place and I am not always seeing everything connecting with the songs being really long. It kind of feels like each song is its own kind of mini album or piece, that don't necessarily all go together but on their own they are mostly nice. Moonchild just kept going and I am not really sure why

No. 61/1001 21st Century Schizoid Man 2/5 I Talk To The Wind 4/5 Epitaph 4/5 Moonchild 2/5 The Court Of The Crimson King 4/5 Average: 3,2 Epitaph and the title track are really good, other Songs are too out there for me. Adding evidence to the discovery I made on the Taylor Swift album: I'm a basic bitch

Overwrought and outdated. I was never a big fan of prog-rock, even when it was current and I was young. Always felt like a bunch of young men being way too introverted for their own good. There are some fun tunes but ultimately I just can't get on board.

Ugh, this thing. I first heard this album in ninth grade. I had an English teacher who tried to display that he was a "cool teacher" by decorating his classroom with various Rock albums. I asked him about this one, as it had the most distinctive art. Encouraged by my curiosity, he offered to let me borrow it, guaranteeing that is was "heavy" and "so cool." I took it home, played it on my parents' stereo, and quickly realized that the music was incredibly tedious, annoying, and painfully uncool. Forty years later. my opinion remains unchanged and my distrust for authority, and my English teacher (we'll call him Mr. P.) in particular, remains unchanged.* The single star is granted solely for the quality of the album's cover art. * This sentence was poorly written as a protest against said English teacher.

Goddammit I hate this album. This is like the 3rd time I've listened through it. I don't get it overall. The rock moments overall are fine, but the songs get BORING, go on for WAY too long, and like sometimes I'm like "these guys had way too much money to want to record THIS." I do not get the hype. Sometimes there is just silence and random noise going on and I am like what is this. It lowkey gives me anxiety. Also WHAT THE FUCK was "Moonchild"? Not good is what it was. Kinda funny that Kanye sampled "21st Century Schizoid Man" for "Power"....what a much better song. I think I was a little harsh on my first review ever of it. I gave it .5 stars. This isn't worse than "Dub Housing" so it gets 1. "Liked" songs: "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "Epitaph"

I just couldn’t get behind this album. I don’t know how this is talked about on level with Dark Side of the Moon.

I think this album forces me to confront my own guidelines for rating. Is this the best Prog album ever? Probably not. Is this my favorite Prog album? No, probably not. Should everyone listen to this album at some point before they die? Absolutely, even if only to inform those who will continue a path down the genre. This albums popularity isn't a stain on its reputation, it's a marker of appreciation.

a perfect album - it keeps growing and growing - sum exceeds its parts

I wish I would have a trial in the court of the crimson king.

A prog masterpiece that includes some of the best production but the jazz improvisation on moonchild is not very good 9.5/10

#51 In The Court Of The Crimson King ~ King Crimson There's a reason why this album can be so beloved to people. It's opulent, bombastic and over-the-top. Its solos are meandering and never-ending ecstasy-fests. Its arrangements are dense and rough around the edges. Its lyrics by Peter Sinfield are pretentiously abstract and delivered from lullaby whispers to howling shrieks. This is a hipster album. THE hipster album of the late 60s maybe. And there might be certain debate about whether this is the best KC album, its certainly the most fun. Cause really this album is designed to smash you with walls of sounds and you will be made to take it. 21st Century Schizoid Man is a showcase really of the band's ability to delve into excessive technicalities, especially the underrated ear of Robert Fripp's guitarwork. I Talk to the Wind a showcase of McDonald's multi-instrumentalism but also after the first track, the more mellow and sensual side of KC. Epitaph is probably the best track of this album, KC at its most dramatic: an orchestral march for mellotron and drums decorated with guitar and wind harmonics. This middle track is its most beautiful in the album. Moonchild is an interlude to the final titular track, which is basically a sum-up of the first three tracks' virtuosity, sentimentality and need for drama. The best way to approach this album is frankly just to be entirely relaxed because these tracks are all long, as expected from prog rock. Let your imagination go wild when you listen to these tracks; the fantastical titles of these tracks are not for show.

epitaph is in my top 5 best songs ever

en renodlad klassiker vad kan man säga

This album was a killer when it came out. Me and my brother would go to Dave's house and hang out because he had a Macintosh amp and Bose Speakers and a Dual turntable; this album would always be cued up and it just sounded so great with that equipment. His sister was dating a doctor and he had upgraded his stereo. Dave got the old items.( they were practically new!) Wish I knew what he upgraded to! 21st Century Schizoid Man was just so incredibly awesome.

Good

94% Best: 21st Century Schizoid Man; Epitaph; The Court of the Crimson King Must-Hear? Yes

Exceptional album

I'm not usually a fan of psychedelic rock but this album had a bit of a New Orleans vibe. I guess it was the horn section but I got really into it.

Fabulous album. One of the greatest of all time. Even the album cover is fantastic.

This is an amazing album, so creative and superbly made. Prog Rock sprinkled with a good dose of psychedelia. I especially like the drumming, very clever. The album is varied but it all fits together really nicely. An easy 5*.

even more beautiful than the previous one

Challenging and groundbreaking.

A huge sounding album. King Crimson really came screaming out of the gate with this one; that first song being responsible for one of the dirtiest riffs in music and would serve as an influence to an entire subsection of prog-rock. I think it’s safe to say they without King Crimson, there’d be no Rush, no Pink Floyd, and no Mars Volta. I know to some that would be a blessing, but they’re probably the three most pivotal bands in shaping my music tastes, and so I can only be grateful to this incredible album. On its Owen it still sounds incredibly fresh, and I know people who say them on the 50th anniversary tour for this album and said it blew them away. There’s incredible intricacy here in the movements and the way in which sections build and deconstruct. There’s classical and jazz influences as well as early signs of more complicated metal and post & math rock. King Crimson threw everything at this, and somehow it all stuck.

Very amazing prog rock album. I even love the free improv track "Moonchild." It's oddly relaxing and makes for a great calm before the closing track.

The keystone of progressive rock. Absolutely brilliant. My introduction to the genius of Robert Fripp. A luscious, propulsive masterpiece.

Great album. I assume Kanye enjoyed the first song.

This album took me by surprise and blew me away. There was some brass wind jazz noodling that I could take or leave, but outside of that there was so many inspirational sounds. I will come back this for sure

Great

😎 cool

At a time when most of the best hard rock was blending with blues, and heavy metal was just around the corner, King Crimson instead blended their hard rock with elements of jazz and orchestral music. While some later bands did improve on this progressive rock blueprint, this remains a fantastic album and 21st Century Schizoid Man in particular is still a classic. I definitely could have done without the second half of Moonchild. But all in all a fantastic achievement, and highly influential to some of my top favorite prog metal bands.

This slaps. The bass tone on 21st century schizoid man is so good

Album is king for a reason people

This album has an amazing ability to turn what feels like 20 minutes into an hour - every song on here is so fresh and different, yet adheres to the thematics of the album. Not to mention it probably has one of the strongest starts to any record ever with 21st Century Schizoid Man, and an utterly amazing closing track. Everything about this record is utterly flawless. This is definitely a record you listen to from start to finish without skipping a single second. Even the artwork is so good you can just stare at it the entire time listening. If you ask me, this is the greatest prog rock album of all time. It's not even close (I don't count DSOTM as prog rock).

I don’t think it would be hyperbole to call 21st Century Schizoid man the most iconic prog rock song of all time. Hell, just that opening chord feels so iconic that I feel as though most would have heard elements of this song in one way or another. I see some critics of this album saying this song does a lot of heavy lifting for the album but I think that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love the willingness to pivot so freely in styles and weave genres together, it’s a lot cruisier of an album than the intense opener would lead most to believe. Epitaph might be my hidden contender for the highlight. Greg Lake’s singing works perfectly with the almost dream-like quality of the instrumentals on here are of the same ilk as what I have praised previously from his work on Tarkus. A fantastic album with more than one amazing song.

I've saved most of the songs on this album individually over the years, thoroughly enjoyed them all, but never listened to this whole album top to tail. 21st Century Schizoid Man, Epitaph and The Court Of The Crimson King are epic tracks that have been in my rotation for a long time. Moonchild starts very well, but after the first few minutes, it’s just too much jangling keys and other random percussion that didn’t build to anything on the track. Thank god The Court Of The Crimson King was up next with a strong start. Music ahead of its time by leagues, very impressive. GOATED debut album. No doubt influenced many of my faves.

A literally genre defining debut. Every song here is totally fresh and interesting and the fact this came out in 1969 is mind boggling. Even putting aside the standout hit that is the opening track, the sideshow here is still phenomenal. ‘I talk to the wind’ is such a tonal backflip you would think it’s a different band. Iconic in its truest sense.

Better than anything those Pink Floyd blokes have ever released 👍 9/10

The album that arguably defines prog rock is a debut effort? That's wild. There isn't a lot to say about an album that approaches perfection. Iconic album art (the only painting done by the artist who tragically died very shortly after), genre-defining hits and about as influential to music as it gets. An easy 5. Highlights: The whole thing but especially The Court of the Crimson King

Touched by the Crimson King!

I think this has to be a 5! 21st Century Schizoid Man is growing on me and Moonchild might yet, and the other three tracks are sensational.

Un lujo

Classic album, this rocks

Is this a JOJO reference? Realmente no habia escuchado el disco, algun tema suelto. Me gusto bastante, hay una de las primeras pistas que siento que podria ser tranquilamente ost de la parte 3

Lo escuche completito cuando volviamos de una excursion en Iguazú. Está tan bien grabado que temas como Moonchild se escuchan super espacial. Tiene algunos momentos medios abstractos y pasados de drogas. Pero no llegan a opacar el resto del disco. Es algo para escuchar cada tanto

10 / 10

PROG This album is fundamental to the modern understanding of wizards

Just a wild ride. Surprisingly palatable for how weird it is.

Recorded in 1969. think about that, that was over 50 years ago. It blows me away how innovative this album was for the time, so much so that it would probably be described similarly if it was released today. King Crimson took influence from the early psychedelic rock of Pink Floyd and The Beatles, mixed it together with free jazz and modern classical to create an album that would become among the most influential in rock and roll history. While Court is seminal prog rock, one can hear elements of so many modern genres like heavy metal, industrial and psychedelic rock. It is easy to see why so many musicians cite it as an influence and among their favorites. Including Hendrix who supposedly declared them to be the best band ever before this debut album was even produced. Crimson has stated that they wanted to album to be frightening, while I wouldn't describe it this was, it is deeply emotional which is something that would have been easy to lose track of through the improvisation and innovative musical elements. Part of what make this music emotionally impactful are the understated vocals (and poetic lyrics), but also the underlying structure taken from jazz and classical. Yet, other elements like the discordant woodwinds and experimental guitar riffs carry the emotional impact forward because they take you on a journey to new and unexpected places. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the fantastic sampling, with one of the earliest uses of what would become resampling. Also, it has among the best album covers ever that conveys visually what you are about experience sonically. A masterpiece in just about every way possible!

Ya lo he escuchado, pero sé que es una puta obra maestra impresionante. Lo amo.

Classic, incredible prog masterpiece. 21st Century Schizoid Man is one of my favorite songs of all time. The guitar and bass with together so well. The transition to I Talk To The Wind is quite jarring, ditching the jazzy maximalism of the opener for a very mellow, folksy song headlined by the flute of Ian McDonald. Epitaph and Moonchild are excellent songs in their own right, but they end up being slightly overlooked between the two opening songs and the title track.

Amazing prog debut. Schizoid man is a force to be reckoned with.