Dec 20 2022
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3
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.
👍
Feb 23 2022
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5
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.
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Feb 24 2024
View Author
5
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.
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Feb 16 2022
View Author
5
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
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Jan 10 2022
View Author
4
"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!
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Mar 31 2023
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3
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
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Aug 27 2022
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1
"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.
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Jun 20 2022
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1
'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.
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Oct 04 2023
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5
screamy man screamed and I screamed wittem
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May 06 2023
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3
Yes, that sounded like they just invented prog rock.
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Sep 13 2022
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5
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
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Mar 14 2022
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5
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.
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Mar 30 2022
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5
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.
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Jan 10 2022
View Author
5
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!
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Sep 24 2024
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4
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.
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Feb 17 2025
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2
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.
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Apr 11 2025
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5
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.
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Apr 11 2025
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5
Godlike
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Sep 09 2024
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5
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
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Jun 10 2023
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5
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
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Nov 12 2022
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5
21st Century Schizoid Man gets this an automatic 5 star. Amazing song, great album.
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Feb 03 2022
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5
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
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Jan 01 2022
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5
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!
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Oct 30 2024
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4
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.
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May 24 2024
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4
this
was
a lot
I think I liked it?
not at first, but it really grew on me
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Apr 20 2024
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4
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
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Feb 02 2024
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4
This is a classic album that aptly represents the times.
Always worth and end-to-end listen.
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May 05 2023
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4
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.
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Dec 09 2023
View Author
3
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
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Jun 20 2022
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2
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.
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Dec 16 2022
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1
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.
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Jun 20 2025
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5
A bit crazy to listen to but I really enjoyed
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Jun 20 2025
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5
21st century schizoid man is probably one of the best songs ever written
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Jun 20 2025
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5
Heard 10+ times. Axe Moonchild's noodling and this is the best prog album of all time. Always wish it leaned more into folk instead of the symphonic shit. Greg Lake shouldn't have left to go do ELP wankery, he slaps that god damn bass. (Red is still better.) 10/10.
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Jun 20 2025
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5
As a 21st century schizoid man, I always enjoy the dreamy vibes of this record. I feel like a fuedalistic peasant having an acid trip. The album is both ahead of and behind the times. Middle of the album is underrated.
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Jun 17 2025
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5
Masterpiece. The standard for all the followed.
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Jun 17 2025
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5
I'm blown away. 1969? Why did we keep making music after this? How did they have this fully formed ready to go as a debut? Why is Moonchild just another version of The Nightman Cometh??
Its not perfect but it's fuckin cool as hell and I had a whale of a time. Long live the Crimson King.
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Jun 15 2025
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5
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good
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Jun 14 2025
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5
I have loved this album for a long time, so it’s hard to disconnect it from youthful memories. This art-rock is so creative, fun, and of its time; I still love it. The musicians are exceptional, deftly and cohesively weaving together jazz & rock & elements of klezmer — the overall effect is serious, humorous, very sad, and often beautiful. Most importantly, they only got a little carried away with themselves & self-indulgent (on “Moon Child”) and were not gawkily theatrical like many art-rock bands get sometimes.
This is a five for me.
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Jun 10 2025
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5
Moonchild is a bit of a snoozer but the rest is basically flawless and obviously the most influental prog rock album ever
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Jun 05 2025
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5
Fantastic in every sense, need to fully embrace moonchild though in a quiet environment to get a better experience
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Jun 05 2025
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5
Un classique chez moi
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Jun 05 2025
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5
I'm not even bothered by the prog stuff. It's still an excellent album even if you only consider it in the context of psychedelia. There are layers and dimensions here. Sounds great on headphones.
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Jun 03 2025
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5
This album is a masterpiece of Progressive Rock. It's particularly ahead of its time, it sounds great for a 1969 album.
The performances are absolutely amazing, the drumming is excellent, the guitar sections are super interesting, the saxophone work is exceptional and the vocals are also perfect for the genre. I loved the saturated vocals on "21st Century Schizoid Man". The production is also fantastic, the effects work so well and are so well done. The composition is also one of the strongest parts of the album, each song is a long, well constructed piece.
My favourite song I think is "21st Century Schizoid Man", because it's a masterpiece of a song. But really, all the songs are excellent on their own, "The Court Of The Crimson King" is also super good, "Moonchild" is great. Honestly, they're all excellent, even the songs from the expanded version.
The best thing about the album for me is how cohesive it is though, just 5 very long songs that share a similar sound and style, but also work on their own. The mix of rock, jazz at times and the negative space of the quiet moments make this record a great experience.
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Jun 02 2025
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5
Pure genius, originality, timeless, powerful, subtle, a journey.
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Jun 01 2025
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5
Weird proggy goodness
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May 31 2025
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5
The proggiest of prog. So fun. Loved moonchild
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May 30 2025
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5
Ovo nije samo album koji je bio ispred svog vremena, ovo je album koji je izmislio svoje vrijeme i svako vrijeme poslije, otprilike svu muziku koju ja volim. Likovi što daju lošije ocjene nemaju sofisticirano progasto uho i tačka. Remek-djelo.
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May 30 2025
View Author
5
오 이건 굉장히 새롭고 연주가 멋있다.
다양한 장르가 크로스오버됐고 독특한 분위기가 연출된다.
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May 29 2025
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5
Everything Pink Floyd fans claim PF to be, but isn't.
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May 29 2025
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5
The end of Moonchild was a little long for my taste but apart from that oh man this was good
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May 27 2025
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5
yeah this is a 5
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May 27 2025
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5
Ez dump
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May 26 2025
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5
Just an absolute magnum opus. One of the most stunning albums, so well done.
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May 26 2025
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5
The mouth of madness.
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May 24 2025
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5
Weird as hell, I love it. Not something to just add to playlists, but a lil masterpiece of a thing. Contains a lot of divergent energies, but still somehow cohesive. Can get a bit strung out in places
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May 20 2025
View Author
5
In the Court of the Crimson King is not a debut, it is an arrival. From its very first note, it presents itself as something complete and untouchable. “21st Century Schizoid Man” bursts open with a ferocity that still sounds dangerous. Saxophones wail, guitars rip through time signatures, and the lyrics howl like prophecy. Then, as if to prove it can speak every language of music, the album glides into the serenity of “I Talk to the Wind,” where flutes drift and Greg Lake’s voice becomes a soft, drifting thought. It moves effortlessly from chaos to stillness without losing intensity. This is not a band searching. This is a band revealing.
The emotional peak comes with “Epitaph,” a slow-burning elegy that feels like it was written on a crumbling cathedral wall. The mellotron swells like mourning itself, and Lake sings with the weight of someone trying to hold the world together. “Confusion will be my epitaph” is not just a lyric, it is a cold, clear truth. The drums sound like distant thunder, the atmosphere is thick with dread, and yet it never feels hopeless. It simply stares into the dark without blinking. Even “Moonchild,” with its drifting, sparse second half, has a purpose in its refusal to conform. It exists in the space between composition and dream, pulling you into a place where time is irrelevant and sound becomes thought.
The final track, “The Court of the Crimson King,” brings it all together with grandeur and weight. It feels ancient and futuristic at the same time, with layered mellotrons and marching drums evoking a myth that was never written but always remembered. This album doesn’t just play music, it creates atmosphere, history, gravity. Every choice feels earned. There is no filler, no fluff, no compromise. It asks a lot from the listener, but what it gives back is a reminder of what music can do when it refuses to settle. This is not background sound. This is music that stops you, holds you, and stays with you long after the final note.
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May 19 2025
View Author
5
In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut album from King Crimson, and is considered to be one of the first "progressive rock" albums. It is thought to be the band's best recorded work, and one of the best prog rock albums of all time.
King Crimson combined the instrumentation and technical skill from jazz and classical music, with folk rock songwriting. The result is challenging, complicated, and incredibly influential. These songs helped to blur the lines between rock, jazz, and classical music
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May 19 2025
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5
Amazing in every way. To me this album feels like wandering through a inconceivably large forest and stumbling upon all sorts of magical creatures. Some of these creatures are beautiful and others are hideous but they are all awe inspiring.
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May 19 2025
View Author
5
Classic prog rock
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May 16 2025
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5
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.
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May 12 2025
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5
Epic
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May 08 2025
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5
Ahhh I love this one!
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May 07 2025
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5
Love it. 5 stars.
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May 06 2025
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5
Det var en del af de første progressive rock. Blandede avantgarde, jazz classical og rock. Intense majestætisk
Og mørkt. Virkelig godt inspirerede pink Floyd bl.a.
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May 06 2025
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5
Increible album
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May 05 2025
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5
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.
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May 03 2025
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5
god i love prog albums. 5 songs, 45 minutes, 0 filler
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Apr 29 2025
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5
This is a great album. Except for that bit in Moonchild where the band got up to go to lunch but forgot to stop the tape. Then a bored sound engineer apprentice walks round the studio, idly tapping drums, twanging strings and fiddling with other instruments to pass the time until the band comes back.
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Apr 28 2025
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5
No notes, perfect album.
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Apr 28 2025
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5
An all time classic, pure 60s psychadelia
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Apr 26 2025
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5
You see, most albums have a vibe. The vibe for this one is, fuck you, we are vibing
Flute solos were a surprise but not unwelcome
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Apr 26 2025
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5
epitaph resurrected my grandmother
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Apr 22 2025
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5
Shame the volume is so low
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Apr 22 2025
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5
One of the all time classic progressive rock albums. Honestly each song here is a standout.
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Apr 22 2025
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5
One of my favourite albums of all time. Every song in this album is a masterpiece. Loved listening to this one again. Epitaph is my favourite track on here and it is one of my favorites songs of all time.
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Apr 22 2025
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5
Inquestionável, uma das jóias do prog
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Apr 21 2025
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5
Another classic! Heard before, always love
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Apr 18 2025
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5
5 stars
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Apr 18 2025
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5
one of the best prog rock albums ever, quality
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Apr 16 2025
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5
Makes me feel like im 17 again :)
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Apr 15 2025
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5
AMAZING!!!
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Apr 15 2025
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5
Didnt realize some of th emost popular hip hop/ rap songs take samples from this album
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Oct 05 2024
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5
5
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Apr 14 2025
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5
Amazing prog rock album! The wonderful Robert Fripp's guitar sound. Ballsy and with so much variety. A favourite!
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Apr 09 2025
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5
To the court of the Crimson KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG
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Apr 08 2025
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5
one of my favorite prog album of all time. I remember listening to a vinyl copy with my friends a couple years ago.
Yes "Moonchild" is a bit too long and empty in its second half but I don't care.
more of a 9/10. but rounded up.
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Apr 07 2025
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5
i can't quite explain the mindspace this puts me in
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Apr 07 2025
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5
Vinyl relisten. Took me forever to find the right moment to do so despite knowing ahead of time it’s a five. It has been since at least summer 2017. Put it on over dinner and drinks with a dear friend. I love you Gabe, I love you Oliver.
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Apr 07 2025
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5
Levynkantta myöten klassikko. Uskomattoman kova taiderockpaketti. Just ehkä 13 vuotiasna oma prog-vaihe lähti PF:sta ja tästä.
5/5
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Apr 06 2025
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5
I’ve seen this album cover quite a bit and never knew what it was. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but wow. This album is truly awesome. The flute, the bassoon, the timpani, the strings, etc. are all such beautiful and warm additions. I loved this album.
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Apr 05 2025
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5
This is high on my favourites list, yes, even though "Moonchild" exists. Those guys easily made the best album of all time contender and then decided to stick their own version of "Revolution 9" in the middle. Nevertheless, if we pretend the last 10 minutes of "Moonchild" don't exist, this thing is packed with nothing but 10/10 tracks (although I found that it's okay-ish to listen to with your headphones on).
Sometimes when it comes to prog rock I'd get annoyed with the musicians going overboard, but this never happens here. I genuinely think that "I talk to the wind" is one of the most beautiful songs ever made, I feel like I'm floating in a magical forest when I listen to it. "Epitath" sounds like if someone took the best of Leds and Floyd and combined it into one. "21st century schizoid man" is an instrumental masterpiece and the closer ties the album up perfectly.
5/5 for me.
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Apr 05 2025
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5
Easily the best record in King Crimson's "whimsy" era, which is pretty much anything before 1973. It really is a whimsical, fantastical record, not progressive rock in the typical sense. Maybe it's the mellotron and flute all over this thing, or the dream-like imagery ranging from the titular Crimson King himself to the "Moonchild". The closest we get to a traditional hard-rock track here is the opener '21st Century Schizoid Man', and it is quite the opener, though not quite a tone setter, I'd say. I'd argue it's quite deceptive and misleading. It's just a much faster, blood-pumping, electric rock take on King Crimson's core sound of this time - the vocals are drenched in distortion, giving them a sense of urgency which perfectly complements the track's dystopian imagery. You obviously have those jazzy elements and the unconventional 6/4 breakdown in the middle. It's just a proggy masterpiece all in all, though I'd argue it even sticks out in the prog scene of its time. It's just super aggressive, high-octane with an almost punk-esque fury. It's crazy that the band was firing on all cylinders on the very first song in their discography.
While no other song matches the sheer energy of this opener, the album's subsequent patience, I'd argue, rounds out the experience in a way very few albums can pull off. But it never gets boring, well, mostly. Songs like the title track and especially 'Epitaph' are some of the best sounding songs in the band's catalogue. They're so huge sounding, like on the song 'Epitaph' when that mellotron increases in volume so drastically before exploding and opening up right before the instrumental interlude. It's a moment of utter drama in an already really dramatic album. And it's warranted drama, given the global destruction depicted in the song's lyrics and the tragic emotion behind Greg Lake's vocals. The two slower cuts are just as effective, especially during their ballad segments. The flute of 'I Talk To The Wind' just hovers alongside the track like a butterfly guiding a lost soul through these treacherous woods at night. And 'Moonchild' has maybe my favorite vocal melody on the album, that is before it breaks into its, quite visionary, 10-minute Miles Davis-esque jazz-fusion ambient segment. I can take it or leave it, but I'd say overall, the album experience benefits from it. Just wish there was a version of this song without the ambient segment so I could listen to that ballad portion casually.
I'd argue this isn't the best representation of King Crimson. I mean, legendary guitarist Robert Fripp, who's usually the star of these albums, isn't really the draw here. That pleasure, I'd argue, is shared equally between every player on this album. It's easily their most colourful record because of that. I mean, just listen to all the different interludes of the closing title track; it's overwhelming at points, but in a good way. I mean, really, for as influential as this album is to so many other prog bands, very few manage to top it. Such a cinematic experience and one that deserves every bit of acclaim it gets.
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Apr 05 2025
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5
what a fucking trip! i’m not exactly sure what they’re trying to accomplish but i do know i love it
never a dull moment throughout the whole album. the composition alone sans-lyrics tells such a vivid story
I Talk To The Wind is so beautiful, and a perfect complement to the chaotic opener (POWER). Orchestration and harmonies are gorgeous. I’m definitely not biased from my years of clarinet playing.
sure moonchild has some very experimental, some would argue expressive, moments and while it’s not perfect songwriting i think that’s the point. they’re not trying to make tightly packaged and produced radio hits - you gotta check out ZZ top if that’s what you want. it’s jazz, baby!
5/5 album cover. can’t wait for yall to review the lyrics for me bc we all know i didn’t listen to a word with all the layers going on underneath
keeping this one in mind next time i get my hands on some boomers
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Apr 05 2025
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5
I looooooooved this album. I’ve heard so much about King Crimson, but I’ve never gotten around to listening to them. Just after the first song, I could see all of the influence that this band has had on modern bands that I enjoy today. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Primus, Pink Floyd, and Tool are the obvious ones that stood out to me prior to Wikipedia-ing the others.
The composition is so unique and interesting, and, even though most songs are lengthy, nothing ever felt like wasted space. The production of this album is so good. I could easily be fooled if someone told me that this album was released this year. Also, who tf is the drummer. My God, what an absolute beast.
Moonchild is a weird one, but for some reason, the 10 minutes of spacious instrument playing randomness feels right. Usually that type of shit pisses me off. Schizoid man reminds me of my favorite parts of King Kizzard. I Talk to the Wind has a Beatles-on-acid feeling which is fun. Epitaph might be my favorite on the album tied with the Court of the Crimson King.
I’m listening to their whole discography for sure.
It’s a 5 for me.
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Apr 05 2025
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5
This is just awesome to listen to. If there's anything this project has taught me, it's that I have a soft spot for Prog Rock, and this is primo Prog. All 5 songs do their own thing in enjoyable ways, I even loved the 10 minute song where they noodled around with the volume on 2%. I was excited to get this album and man was it as good as I hoped.
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Apr 03 2025
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5
Interesting
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Mar 31 2025
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5
It's insane that this came out when it did. 21st century might be the best prog rock song ever recorded. I didn't like all of the songs as much as that, but still this is an amazing album. Weak 5 or strong 4, it changes.
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Mar 31 2025
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5
With its iconic album cover of the red screamy man, *In The Court Of The Crimson King* is one of those albums that’s widely considered a landmark in music. I can say with confidence that I agree with that statement. The influence of this album cannot be overstated. Its fusion of rock, jazz, and classical were hardly ever seen in popular music before this album was made, if at all. Those fusions come together to make an album that truly is an experience to say the least. The opening track, *21st Century Schizoid Man*, is a stone cold classic and is gloriously erratic and deranged. Greg Lake’s distorted vocals really help set the tone of the track. The instrumentals are also amazingly well done and fast-paced. *I Talk to The Wind* is a great contrast to Schizoid Man, with its serene and dream-like woodwinds and poetic lyrics. The next track however, *Epitaph*, is the definitive highlight of the album. Its symphonic sound and progression make for a truly captivating experience. Greg Lake’s vocal performance, Peter Sinfield’s lyrics, and the instrumentals are so emotional and poetic. The crescendoes on this song though are just so cinematic and breathtaking. It all makes for a true masterpiece. *Moonchild* is mostly a dreamy improv avant-garde jazz track. I find it interesting, however it does drag a bit for being twelve minutes. The title track though is an amazing send-off. The lyricism is so immersive and the harmonic chorus is iconic. In short, *In The Court Of The Crimson King* is a monumental classic that deserves the praise it gets. I HIGHLY recommend it.
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Mar 31 2025
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5
Always loved it, still love it
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