Reviews (page 6 of 13)
This is a really good album. Its got some moments which feel self indulgent and tedious(most notably the hammy jammy section of the opening track and whatever was happening at the end of Moonchild), but the powerful moments make up for it IMO. Especially I Talk To The Wind (one of the best songs ever maybe) and the closing track's epic washes of mellotron and vocals. I'm pretty averse to prog but I think this album does a good job not fully succumbing to the genre's penchant for melodrama and nerdy wankery. Lyrically it can get a bit bardy at some sections but it's still relatable and poetic. The vocals are good. Good album
Epitaph 10/10 Court of the crimson king 10/10
Didn't fully click...yet
Epitaph y Moonchild fueron mis favoritas. Me parece un poco divertido el switch entre 21st Century Schizoid Man y I talk to the wind. Me gusto bastante este álbum, aunque para escucharlo tendría que estar en un mood bastante específico
חריף
After the generally 'meh' feeling inspired by previous albums in the 1001 albums book, this one blasted through my ears and made me feel a thousand things. Firstly, I felt a little bit of awe. I never realised that genres could fuse together so... majestically. I didn't quite know what to make of the first track apart from "woah". Then I Talk To The Wind came on and calmed it all down. The flute (was it a flute?) and then the brass (was it brass? I wish I actually knew something about music!) were mind-blowing. Epitaph is a bit more meh, and the reason this album is getting 4.5 stars. Moonchild feels a little like a lost out-take from an early Pink Floyd album, but I guess that's the genre. I know this is going to sound w***ily pretentious, but I... like it? The Court of The Crimson King feels faux grand with a merry go round interlude before the drums kick in. It sounds like a prog rock version of the Pentiment soundtrack (again, sorry to all music-knowers out there. This comparison is a bit meh). Will listen to the whole album again tomorrow because I need to meditate a little more on it.
Unsure about the first song. I appreciate it and think it's super cool, but it's not something I'd listen to it repeatedly. The rest of the album however is fantastic.
Awesome. Have it
it's super long for only having 8 songs. it's definitely an album that's perfect for background noise when you're working or cleaning. it's nothing too crazy but also sounds good to the ears. overall i'd give it a 7.9/10.
Very beautiful to listen to. I had no idea Kanye West sampled ‘21st century schizoid man’ for his song ‘power’. Some songs did feel a bit too long, because of the fact that there isn’t much versatility in jazzy instrumentals nearing the end of certain songs. Other than that, so damn good!!
Best!
A Czech friend made me discover this 29y ago, and it is still very good, there is so much happening in this music, it transports you places. I absolutely loved it! But, its not as good as I remembered it was. Hence, 4*.
Fun and somehow always finds a way to surprise you. Fantastic album.
Brilliant album Varied and interesting Listened to years ago but happy it was included in the list
10/10 album cover. Album is an all time classic, although I think I enjoyed Lark's Tongue in Aspic more. King Crimson are incredible!
A very solid album
The generator had a proggy classic Monday in mind for me and I'm pleased with it's decision. The ambient, empty ass middle section of Moonchild was probably my personal highlight, but the whole thing lived up to its rep.
The instrumentals are pretty good. Some of the songs sound like the soundtrack to a detective movie.
Very good, reminds me a lot of Pink Floyd which is one of my favorite artists
Listened and loved before, didn't listen for a long time. Not perfect but still great. Favorite track: Epitaph.
yeah, classicy classic for drinking beer and pretending to be smarter than you actually are 4.5
Never listened to this whole record. Much more jazz than I was expecting.
Fun album musically, but does not give the listener nearly enough to chew on to justify such a long tracklist. Album is bloated beyond belief, and holds bland instrumentation throughout
i like it. as much as it was a really old album, the beats of the songs gave me an old cartoony vibe idk why and some songs we honestly good. this an album i would listen to like once in a while tho to.
Ah, screaming man. You see this in every vinyl collection. It's grand and ambitious, but it's not consistently engaging enough for a 5. Epitaph is definitely a top 3 KC song though. Their heavier and more experimental expression through 1972-74 overshadows the years prior by a long shot. Best song: Epitaph Worst song: Moonchild Cover check: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Excellent album. I have heard it several times before but this time I feel like I really gave it a chance and it finally clicked for me. There is a lot going on with the music, many different instruments are used to create a really interesting maybe a little whimsical at times work. It feels really cohesive too with the songs leading nicely from one to another even though all the songs have a unique vibe to them. This would be something I will put on at home when I have time to chill out and listen to a record.
What a wild ride. So weird, yet still approachable. Jazz elements...pop...rock...psychedelic. Big energy
I've seen this album on many top 10 lists and have given it a chance before. I didn't before reviewing but gotta say I don't particularly get their hype, not bad but again not a fav.
Brilliant, essential prog rock album.
talk to the wind epitaph the court of the crimson king
The album has a really good sound, needs to be listened to at a decent volume to really get into it
Really enjoyed this. Thought it was a good mix of interesting, intense, drama, and weirdness.
It's a big Proggy boy. Everyone knows the art. I had never listened to the entire thing before, even though I like Proggy boys. Some parts are too faffy and it lacks the emotional connection of Pink Floyd's best work, but it's good.
1. 21st Century Schizoid Man Kinda interesting almost silence at the beginning, I like the opening, ooh this is nice. Reminds me of like messier Cage the Elephant stuff. Dunno how I feel about the double time part, but the breakdown is really cool. Interesting squeally guitar part. I would like it, but it's almost a little too fast for the feel, just sounds a little rushed. I love the slower tempos a lot more. Very cool ending though, can't complain about the cacophony. 7.5/10 Mostly good, just a couple things that were a miss with me 2. I Talk To The Wind Don't know if the transition between the two songs is quite perfect, it feels like it could have been executed slightly differently, but still nice. But I like the this song, it's kind of floating, very contrasting to the 21st Century Schizoid Man. Beautiful double solo, very in-style and love the flute. Oooh the ending flute solo is absolutely peak. 7/10 I didn't have any above average feelings about this song, but it was still really beautiful and cool 3. Epitaph Okay I like the transition on this one, Epitaph is seeming really cool. This song is really soulful and I love it, nice and a little romantic while still being experimental and interesting. Love the little build in the middle of the song, gives a cool start to the change in it. I like the way it turns back to its original melody after the break, honestly this song is really cool. I like the drums near the end, seems fun for the drummer, maybe would like a slightly different tone on the kit, but eh. 8/10 Really cool song, soulful, love it's build, the middle section was a little less noticeable but still really cool 4. Moonchild Nice beginning to the song, very somber, I like it, tasteful. I really want this song to build like all get out. I like the time the King Crimson has taken with this song, it doesn't happen too fast, but there is always something that is happening, it's great. Love the random ride hits, they give the song a nice little bit of color, the slow guitar build is also great. Just beautiful. I try to like the random noise sections, but usually I just can't get behind them, they're too arrhythmical and just like some sort of noodling, with no clear purpose. Like the return to normalcy though, it's very refreshing actually, it's interesting how even though I don't like the arrhythmical stuff it still can add to the story of the song. 7.5/10 This song was really cool for the most part, it's just like the extremely progressive parts that get me, I'm never quite in the mental space to listen to stuff like that 5. The Court Of The Crimson King This is also a cool song, very good counter to the previous song, I like the feel too, dark, kind of feels medieval. The double(ish) time feel is much more applicable in this song, and I like it a lot more. Like the consistent use of flute throughout the album, makes the whole thing more cohesive. Honestly, I can see how all of these songs kind of go together, all the songs are very distinct but go together so well, in their own weird way, it's really cool. Pause, after that the little organ is kind of interesting, but I can kind of see how it fits? But I do like the little reprise after that, it's very triumphant. The little finish I feel was unnecessary, and a little random, but it does give a little bit of nice closure. 7.5/10 Really brought the whole album together and finished it strong, but I can't say that I was that extremely into the song, it was still great though I was honestly really scared that I wasn't going to like this album, but it surprised me and I thought it was great. The back half was definitely stronger to me than the front, but both were amazing. I liked the back half because it helped me see the picture of the whole album, and that was really cool to see. Overall the album wasn't revelatory to me, but that might just be the way I am. Solid 4/5, definitely a little more, but not quite perfect.
Enjoyed it way more than I expected! The fusion between jazz and rock was fenomenal
Listened on my laptop while reading/browsing Pinterest in the evening after a long-ish day of hanging out with Leo. This is one I've been putting off for ages, and have just gotten round to listening to thanks to this site. I'm enjoying it so far (about halfway through as I write this). Finished the album, loved it! Found the quieter pieces much more engaging than the noisier ones, but I guess that is just my taste.
Technically brilliant and way ahead of anything in its time. Very doomy in feel but with excellent production. A bit too noodly for me though. Favourite tracks are “Court of….” and “Schizoid”. 3.5 *
Pretty fun
Wicked album
Certainly did not knock my socks off but there was some really high quality jazz in here in between some sadly more mediocre songs. Favorites were A Man A City, The Court of the Crimson King, Epitaph, and 21st Century Schizoid Man
Enjoyed this way more than I expected. I’d only ever heard the first track, and I’m glad I finally sat through the rest. Great background vibe album
326/1089 - When working with slower rhythms it's usually hard to keep interest. One way of doing this is changing things up very slightly from phrase to phrase (an extra cymbal hit here, remove or shorten a note here, add an instrument for a second, etc.). You can also play random shit on vibraphone, guitars and drums for 10 minutes and sound like every BMus Composition Senior recital piece too which isn't as enjoyable. In the Court of the Crimson King does both.
Solid 4, ahead of its time and dripping in proggy goodness.
Enjoyed that one.
Good stuff. Court of the crimson king single is a belter of a song
One of those cases where I know it's five stars before the needle drops (editing from later: I guess I forgot about Moonchild). Just a joy to have an occasion to break this bad boy out. Though man that album art is a lot. Anyway, we'll see if I have further comments. Listening notes: -The start of this album is about as good as it gets. -We get a lot of the prog riffing where the band just does nonsense for way longer than makes sense. but here it works because they're just so good. Also I feel like I like prog more every year. -I think the first and last tracks here overshadow it, but Epitaph is dope as hell. -Apparently I totally forgot about Moonchild. Such wasted space in an otherwise perfect album. Can I give five stars when like a third of the runtime is this wet towel? -Love the fantasy allusions in the final track, prefiguring the centrality of fantasy lit in metal and prog that Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin would feature much more prominently. Review: This rocks, but I think I'm obligated to remove a star for Moonchild, a senseless wandering that wastes 12 minutes. No harm when I'm not paying close attention.
Very good songs. Short album. Would listen multiple times.
Loved "I talk to the wind" and "Epitaph". And the popular "21 Century Schizoid Man" is a recognisable classic. A great album, 4 stars.
Good album. I’d never heard a King Crimson album before, but I am familiar with Robert Fripp. This album surprised me. It’s apparently considered the first prog rock album, and it’s definitely in that genre. There’s a lot of instrumentation here outside the normal guitar/drums/bass ensembles of rock music. It’s very jazzy at times, and there’s a lot long instrumental, free-form jazz interludes. Having said that, most of the tracks don’t feel like they overstay their welcome. Short album, every song is worthwhile, although, some I’d prefer not to hit on shuffle on my drive to work.
zwüsched grandiose 5er track und 'chli zu weird'-2er tracks hets alles debi gha, aber willi epitaph sicher 7 mal glost han und de track fast scho d entdeckig vom november isch, gits im Durchschnitt guet gmeinti 4 ritter-schläg vom King Timson
It’s such a mood. I can see myself listening to the album again. The only right way imo to listen to this is listening to the whole album. I can’t see myself adding just one song to a playlist. YAY!!
I only recently started listening to more King Crimson (saw BEAT live and really dug it)... I'm no expert, but this is definitely a candidate for my favourite album of theirs.
Wow! Very cool album. Not sure I'll revisit immediately, but an enjoyable listen.
La naissance du prog apparemment. Donc le moment où c'était encore un style parfaitement acceptable.
For some reason, I had never listened to this project in full before. I really liked 21st Century Schizoid Man, but I think I was afraid of the other songs on the album being even weirder than that one if that makes sense. Or maybe I was afraid of the other songs not being on par with the opening track. Weird reasoning, I know, but I’m so glad this album was chosen for me and I finally gave it a listen. I’m not really a jazz or a prog rock girl, but DAMN, this album caught and kept my attention. These are some talented musicians and the songwriting is amazing. These lyrics are great too and are just full of imagery and meaning that resonates with me, especially during these crazy times. I love how this project can go from crazy to something magical and ethereal. I’m really glad I gave it a chance. I’m not even a fan of songs that have a long runtime, but I can easily sit through Moonchild even though it’s really weird. The ending is so pretty 😅. Idk, they did something right with this album. One thing is that maybe some songs are a little too long, but like I said, I can still sit through and enjoy them. Standout songs: opening track, Epitaph, and The Court of The Crimson King.
Menn som vase rundt på gitaran sine i halvanna evighet e sikkert gøy for folk, men kanskje ikke for mæ.
Enjoy this fragmented album. The concepts in this are undoubtedly experimental and they land some major influences here to my ears. Even the jollier instrumental sections with flutes and plinky plonks I enjoyed for its skill. It was a mastery of erratic yet melodic. It always maintained a composure which allowed the music to remain engaging and fluid while also having different tempos and themes. Really hard to rate as there are times that you feel you are listening to a backing sound rather than a set of music tracks. Then each track has its oddities and large length which make listening to distinct tracks an irrelevance. For its extremely interesting concept, I went back to for at least 4 times I have to bump it up to 4. Clearly so much to it. Very interesting find I have never heard of before.
This a little gem of an album is a slightly less mainstream but still well regarded English prog rock album that, although I was aware of, I'd never given a critical listen. It's really good and right up my street. Yeah it's got some pretty experimental bits that are a bit left field ('Moonchild' could be half as long without losing anything at all), but overall it's a great example of the genre that lots of people probably pass over to their detriment.
A proper prog rock album. This feels ahead of its time and a lot better than the 70s guff associated with prog rock. Only in the noodling of Moonchild does this become over indulgent. The rest of the songs are a good mix of slow and rockier tunes.
Good
For years and years, I've listened to "21st Century Schizoid Man." I knew it before Kanye sampled it. I've loved that song for its in your face size of sound, its inventive recording methods, and its insane, manic instrumental interlude. It's an absolute thrill ride of a track and is an incredible way to open an album. I actually thought to myself as I was listening to the opener that the next track would sound nothing like it. I was so glad to be right. It's almost a complete turnaround, honestly. No vocal distortion, no grand or in your face sound. Just a happy sounding, jazz flute, summer of love type sound. It's really pretty, and immediately shows this band's range. "Epitaph" is sort of in between. It doesn't go nearly as far as the opening track, but it does elevate the sound in terms of size and scale from "I Talk to the Wind." "Moonchild" is overly long. It's a pretty song, but the instrumental half is meandering and unnecessary. I really didn't need it and the album isn't better for it, in my opinion. The title track, though, is where it's at. What an incredible piece of music. It reminded me a little of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd, which would come in the middle of the following decade. The chorus on this song is almost hypnotizing. I want to hear it over and over again and still have it feel new. It's at once soaring and almost triumphant while also being haunting and dizzying. I really liked this album. I can forgive the second half of "Moonchild" but "Epitaph" is a snoozer for me. That brings it down to a still very solid four stars. What an album. And for the year in which it was released? I don't think anybody was doing anything quite this big or expansive in the late 60's. I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Standout Tracks: 21st Century Schizoid Man, I Talk to the Wind, The Court of the Crimson King
I was raised as a Moody Blues fan since my mom was obsessed with them (im named after one of them afterall) - I swear "Epitaph" fits perfectly in "Days of Future Passed" and a lot of the rest of it sounds very Moodys too.
Interesting, exciting, and well composed. Not my favourite King Crimson album, but I can see why this works the best for many.
The Good: We are in the presence of royalty! The Bad: We aren’t sure if the kingdom is worth visiting… The Ugly: This rating having taken 1 month to write… Yes, it was a month ago that this album presented itself, and seeing as I’ve started paying closer attention to Prog music lately, I thought that I should give this album a critical listen so that I could hand with the cool kids… Thus, on the first spin, I was paying close attention and thinking that this wasn’t that bad at all… On the second spin, I don’t recall what I was thinking as I wanted to experience the album while cleaning my office… By the 5th spin I was starting to get confused… Yesterday, partially thanks to a weird jazz album, I thought I would give King Crimson another go… so here’s my thoughts: 4 songs that comprise the album of 35 minutes… I wasn’t able to finish the first song, and by the first minute of the second song I decided to play Stevie Wonder’s Song’s in the Keys of Life… For now, I know that I will have to listen to this several more times… which means that I need to give the damn album a 4*
I thought this album would be really boring based off the first two songs of it. The next thre were icnredibly cool in that boring prog rock way but they were super interesting too. I vibed supremely with epitaph, moonchild, the court of the crimson king, and the melody in 21st century schizoid man was very good. 4/5 stars.
8.7 - I was very impressed. I wasn’t expecting such a solid album. Very good musically and very good voice. Best: I Talk to the Wind (9.6), Epitaph (9.3). Worst: 21st Century Schizoid Man (8.2), The Court of the Crimson King (8.2)
Grand and experimental. Epic in both scope and execution, if not altogether perfect. Something as intricate and complex as this is must’ve blown people’s minds when they heard it for the first time in 1969.
My appreciation for King Crimson has continued to grow over the years. I’ve never been a super fan like many of my musician friends but I’ve always enjoyed occasionally diving into one of their albums. This is the one I’m most familiar with and so far has proven to be my favorite. An early prog album that really paved the way for the genre. “21st Century Schizoid Man” and “I Talk To The Wind” are my favorites on this one but really the whole journey is incredible. 4.5
La chanson d’ouverture est excellente! Ça rock fort. Beaucoup aimé la « ballade » Epitaph. Par contre Moonchild n’allait nulle part. Bon prog! J’ai mieux aimé que Yes.
This album was definitely an experience. My favorite had to be "The Court Of The Crimson King" because a) it had really cool melodies and b) it made me feel like I was in Alice and Wonderland or something like that. And then that whole part where it stops and then starts again at around 7 mins literally felt like I died and then was in the process of being recreated with little pixels coming back together. Then there was also "I Talk To The Wind," which just felt like a world of its own. That song is actually beautiful. For whatever reason, it makes me feel like being in a mystical version of Central Park (maybe it's the oboes??). When this album wasn't being a fantastical journey, it was just very strange and honestly kind of bipolar (sorry)...just because it would go from being very calm to literal alternative progressive hard punk rock that makes it very hard for me to believe this was released in 1969. But all around, a pretty cool album.
okay yea!! surprisingly yea!!!
'21st Century Schizoid Man' - Already pretty lost for words. Pacing is spot on, drumming is so chrisp, sax is wild, guitar is cool. That was fucking dope. 'I Talk to the Wind' - Took me by surprise, nice slow pace after a crazy awesome opener. Flute and percussion work well together. 'Epitaph' - Pink Floyd vibes, duh. Thumbs up for the foghorn stuff. Damn this ending is cool as fuck. Oooh Tinglessssssssss ok this is sick. Thought I was bored in the middle then it smacked me with that ending dayummmm. 'Moonchild' - Annoyingly I read already this was the 'worst' track so I hope im not swayed cos of that. I should be working rn dafuq. For now I am liking the 'interlude' kind of vibe. 2 minutes in thumbs up. I am listening to this on my laptop so I feel like the quality is hindered here. Babadumdum dingle dangle. I feel like listening to this in a forest would be so sick. As much as this writing appears to be ADHD asf, I feel like people who find this sort of stuff boring (when listening to an album) just have adhd. Ok tbf wtf is going on now hahahahaha. I must have adhd - wtf are they doing. They really put a cattapiller on the drums and told it to cook. Im fucking w it. Am I? Idek. Yeah I am now bored. Imagine analysing this lol. "Yo dude chill this conveys the crimson king's mindset its genius" sybau. OK.... its going places. Oh lmfao, it in fact did not. 'The Court of Crimson KIIIIIIINGGGG' - We are so back! this is fun. Harmonies are rousing. This fast hihat bit is cool. Flutes back. building... nice. I do think the lyrics can be a bit annoying - but then it hits that kingggggahhhhhh bit and all is forgiven. Hmmmm interesting album - definitely willl have to listen again to enjoy more. First track is totally awesome. Some bits are a bit samey but wow its highs are really high. I understand why it is regarded as such an influential classic. "greetings my lord - AAARRGGGHH"/10
Why do songs have to be 8-10 minutes long? It starts making me nervous and I could have done without Moonchild. Despite that....this album is pretty cool and super diverse. The whole jazz element colliding with rock, and then they bust out the flute?! Ain't that fun. Talk to the Wind is a very beautiful song.
Robert Fripp á mögulega bestu gítarinnkomur allra tíma, þá árin 1977 og 1980. Hér er hann, og bandið með honum, oftar en ekki í ljómandi góðu formi. Moonchild er svolítið langt og stefnulaust, en hin lögin eru öll alveg solid og stórgóð.
I can see why so many bands wanted to do this. This was a real musical journey. So many moments would suck in a vacuum. But in the context of the whole album they work in their place. For the most part, a good listen.
This is my second listen to this album, if you are a prog rocker this is a great piece. 21st Century Schizoid Man is a masterpiece. The rest of the album is a great blend of jazz rock fusion
8/10 At it's dynamically varied, inventive and virtuosic best, this album is absolutely magnificent. The smoothly pulsing ebbs and flows of the work take you on a real journey as the songs rush, stride and drift by. The drum work in particular is so strong. I just kept having my attention grabbed by little adornments and rhythms that were there for a moment and then gone, and it's all delivered with such control over the timing. In general, the musicianship is just wonderful and, with one particular exception, doesn't ever descend into self indulgence. That one exception is Moonchild, which does drift a little too much into avant garde farting around. That would be more forgiveable if the track didn't account for over a quarter of the runtime. Perhaps with a few more listens, loud, in a dark room, this would start to enchant me a little more, so I will give it that time at some time in the future. I can hear so many other bands who would follow in various parts of this, from Black Sabbath to Pink Floyd that it's influence is undeniable. I've heard this album a number of times before and it still manages to delight and surprise, something I'm always happy to experience. 21st Century Schizoid Man - This has got riffs for days. It varies between heavy and jazzy, driven and frantic. The speed and tightness of the playing is so good all round and they can so smoothly change tempo, it's super satisfying. Some of the ride cymbal rhythms really jump out at me as being of such high technical quality, in particular. And that cacophony that they wind everything up into is fantastic. I Talk To The Wind - There's more of a folky edge to this one and the flute work is just lovely. It's far more of a straight down the line song, but it's a great palate cleanser after the opener. It's such a nice vibe, but the drums keep the little hint of frantic yet restrained mania to provide a slight edge to things. Epitaph - This is a great song. It soars with a fantastic grandiosity and there's a deftness to the dynamic flow of the sections as parts come and go and the chord structures ebb and flow. But it's all narratively held together by the focal that anchors at all. Really nice. Moonchild - Back to something with a bit more of a folk edge, at least to begin with. It does drift quite a lot into very sparse, noodly sections that lose a bit of momentum. I think with focused listening in a dark room there's probably more in there, but it's not as engaging in passing as the rest of the album up to this point and it does drag on for quite a long time. It does, however, all come together into something very pretty by the end. The Court Of The Crimson King - This gathers up the highlights of everything on the album up to this point and blends it into a really satisfying journey of a song. The grandiosity, the dynamic and tempo ebbs and flows, and the virtuosity of the playing, it's all there. At points it's subtle, at others epic, but it's all woven together in a satisfying narrative arc
I really liked some of the trance-like passages in this album
Un poco sandwich inverso... La primera y la última son clasicazos históricas cojonudas, las canciones del medio un poco menos sustancia
I enjoyed it. It sounded very much of the era in a good way.
TWENTY FIRST CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN
Good songs, long but good. Some more boring than others
Nicht meine Musik, aber durchaus nicht schlecht.
Boy I hate this album cover. Great album though
A classic which I have never heard, plus a horrific album cover, there is a reason I haven't listened to this fuck knows what it is! Great first song, years ahead of it's time! First song reminds me of some of the more progressive Sabs
Epic. Crazy. Wild. Especially for its time. It has all sorts going on and it does it all so well. All of the tracks are grand and ambitious in their own ways. I love the way the transition from the brutal, distorted, screaming of the opener to serene, melodic, melancholic of the second track. The flute is up there with some of the best ive heard in popular music. I didnt enjoy the second half of Moonchild, but aside from that this album is a stone cold classic. Favourite track - Epitaph. 8.5/10
Classic album from an amazing group of musicians
I love 70s prog so much. 60s prog was still getting there. This album obviously gets a ton of credit for laying the foundations for prog rock, and it deserves it. That being said, it leans a little hard on this sort of epic, cinematic balladry and loses me a bit in “Epitaph” and “Moonchild.” The first track is the best one and it’s a damn masterpiece, and my corny heart can’t help but embrace “I Talk to the Wind.” Beautiful hippie shit. The last track is pretty cool too but still doesn’t reach the heights of “21st Century Schizoid Man.” I love this album’s influence and what it represents but it’s not as good as what came after. Still, must-listen #229.
I like this record
This is an iconic album, despite the disturbing cover.
Prog rock, good variety
Superb prog psych rock classic
I like this. A bit on the progressive nerdy side for me but enough blazing rock in there to get the juices flowing. Richie and Margot seemed to like it.
Þetta kom á óvart og var bara drulluflott. Er þessi plata bara soundtrack manneskju með geðklofa?
Awesome album a pity they could not maintain the intensity.
So much novelness! And some real standouts, and - as ever - wonderful to hear the first time music did something. But to interrupt all that skill and bomnbast with some random improv noodling????!!! Really detracted from me, and is probably to blame for a lot of the prog out there that doesn't vibe with me
Fantastic, caught me by surprise having only known 21st century prior to my listen, loved it, but the bits(you know the bits) kinda sucked the air out a little too much for a full 5
I went in blind with this one, came out pleasantly surprised. Reminded me of the Morning of the Earth soundtrack.
Hell yessss
I always liked King Crimson, but they were never among my favorites. I think their highs are extremely high, but they tend to struggle with consistency. Case in point, going from Epitaph to Moonchild is probably one of the most steep quality drops I've heard in any album (not because the latter is very bad, but because the former is really good), and it's 12 minutes long—more than a quarter of the album. But Moonchild, despite begin by far my least favorite song on this album, still, in my opinion, has the best lyrics and vocals (maybe on par or slightly behind the title track, though). KC kind of just like having some parts where nothing happens in their songs, of which I'm not a huge fan, and Moonchild is the most egregious example. Like, they're so good individually but for some reason don't always manage to showcase that together at the same time. If only they could combine all of their talent in one song and call it Starless or something. But that would never happen. I am also not a huge fan of I Talk to the Wind, but I can't say it's a bad song—it just doesn't fit my preferences, being too quiet and laid back. The three other songs, though, are incredible. I think this album is imperfect and at this point slightly dated, but it created what is, in my opinion, the most consistently exciting genre of music ever. This album sort of puts the music industry as a whole into perspective for me. Like, it came out in 1969. Every time I listen to a mediocre rock album released in the 70s onwards, I always think, “Seriously? This came out after prog became a thing?” The genre whose whole idea was to attempt to introduce new concepts into rock created a lot of unique and exciting music, it turns out. I’m a big proponent of the theory that art only gets better over time. It is like science, in a way. Artists discover new ways of creating stuff, and newer generations, as well as benefiting from technological development, get a bigger pool of knowledge to draw inspiration from. But although there have obviously been numerous great albums released since In the Court of the Crimson King, the vast majority of music still can’t catch up to the greatness achieved by prog musicians in the 70s. The reason why probably boils down to commercial appeal, of which prog has none. It is widely regarded as “challenging” music, although I never understood why. For me, progressive rock never forced me to think about the complexities of its composition or whatever to enjoy it and just sounded great. But I digress. I guess most people tend to stick to what’s popular and never go out of their way to find something new because of the “if it’s popular, it has to be great” mentality. And musicians, when seeing this, might be inclined to replicate that popular sound to reach a wider audience, so music ends up staying stale. It probably wasn’t that big of an issue back when people had to buy music. Now that music is virtually free and consolidated basically in a single library (with minor variations between providers), we have a very easy metric of popularity, like the amount of streams on Spotify. Using that, people may dismiss everything that doesn’t reach their arbitrary boundary of popularity, and it reduces the chance of up-and-coming musicians to discover that music too and drawing inspiration from it. Yes, music creation is also a lot more accessible now, but only 1% (if not less) gets any amount of fame, so I can't necessarily say that there are more active "big" artists when before. I don’t know how to conclude this. I’m stupid. Don’t listen to me.
Kinda good kinda odd
Great stuff. Wish this came up in the winter because I feel like it would play much better than on a beautiful sunny day (like today)
meget funny! fede taktarter og spændende dynamikker i løbet af albummet! Jeg synes helt klart det er et album man kan høre en gang imellem, men det kommer nok ikke i min faste rotation.
Didn’t get to listen to the whole thing but liked what I heard. I liked the jazz vibe it had to it. The Court of the Crimson King is definitely a favourite song on this album.
Maybe not the best prog rock project of all time but a trailblazer and excellent introduction to the genre.
Banger!!!! These songs are fricken cool as freak.
Surprisingly good, I had a preconcieved notion that this album was a hard rock album, when it really isn't. A lot softer than I expected, and good tactility to the mastering. I wish the songs weren't so long though…
Godt album, meget anderledes især for dens tid. The Court og 21st century er banger sange, altid sjovt at høre den originale sang der er blevet samplet til en af ens egne ynglings sange. Har hørt albummet før, så det har ikke samme wow faktor som det ville have hvis jeg hørte det for første gang 7/10
Never knew the lyrics to that bit in Power were ‘21st century schizoid man’. Ahh when Kanye used to be relatively self-aware. As prog-rock goes this was decent, really enjoyed a lot of it. Perhaps a basic statement though, but some of the songs were a bit lengthy lads. Although I suppose that’s the point. Simpsons: A very random yes. One of the kids in Bart’s class is named Adrian Belew who is a former member of King Crimson, although not on this album.
Goated album
The first ‘great’ progressive rock album is still revered as among the best today, a claim which remains irrefutable. Even though Pink Floyd were doing Piper years beforehand, even though King Crimson’s band members were active in London clubs and for a few releases before coming together for this album, and even though in the eyes of many they went on to do far better work with the likes of Larks’ Tongues and Red, these five tracks, these two sides, and this one record is the single barnstorming effort that propelled and funnily enough progressed rock into the spatial, encompassing behemoth that we know it as today. From the insurmountable groove of the Schizoid Man through to the tidal wave behemoth of the Crimson King, in many ways these tracks are still the benchmark, well over 50 years on. There’s a tangible reason for that: it really has everything. All of the bare-bones and all of the complexity is explored at varying levels. Schizoid Man has the guitar lick and the inspired complex midsection, I Talk to the Wind has the woodwind-fuelled soft floating ditty that is often found from prog’s tendency for mediaeval inspiration, Epitaph is the first grandiose tune to end a side, Moonchild is the alienating ‘musician’s track’, and the title track is the second grandiose tune to end a side, this time with an incredibly emphatic blow worthy of matching the opening to bookend it all. So once again, you simply cannot refute both this album’s importance and its musicianship. It may not even be many people’s favourite prog rock album, but if your favourite was released after October ‘69, these guys probably had a hand in influencing it.
Play this album through some loud speakers and watch all the old prog rockers in your neighbourhood gather and start telling one another little tidbits of information they all already know. "Did you know that's Greg Lake from Emerson, Lake & Palmer?" they each whisper to each other.
This started out awfully, but turned into something quite cool. Once again it was music I could see Tarantino using.
Is that a Jojo reference? But actually it was a pretty interesting listen
This is a good album I’ve only listened to a couple of times, and I’m not sure why. It’s overall a great record, with a few truly standout tracks, though maybe the pacing keeps me from coming back more often. Either way, it’s a solid listen and a cornerstone of prog rock.
Well, now I know the origin of Stephen King's most powerful villain. It's a solid album with one hell of a banger as the ultimate grand finale. Favorite Track: "The Court Of The Crimson King".
A little bit of the sonic waffling didn't hit, but the sweeping epic did
You'd think King Crimson was garbage the way some people talked about it! As the first prog rock album, In The Court Of The Crimson King is so unlike early genre albums because it is actually good. King Crimson created soaring, intricate songs that hook you the entire time. Lots of other progressive rock albums drone on or are sleepy jam sessions, but Crimson doesn't settle for that. Every moment of their album is different and engaging; I couldn't stop listening to it. I thought this would just be a 3, or a high 3, but the more I listened to it, the more I heard more to enjoy. 4 it is!
another album i liked as a teen but forgot about for some reason. i do know that i never liked i talk to the wind, but its a standout now. lowest 4 thus far
A landmark in progressive music, with some jazz thrown in too, though I think it is overshadowed by some of the records it inspired. Still a cracking listen though. Fave track on this listen: 20th Century Schizoid Man
Day 4 - having one of my favorite albums chosen was a treat, despite only listening to it in full a week ago, i was glad to jump back into it again. I tried going into this listen with an open mind, and was glad i did. I typically don't care for Moonchild, but got more enjoyment out of it this time round. Every other track is incredible too. Near perfect prog rock album
I love this album and wanted it to deserve 5 stars, but Moonchild being 12 minutes of nothingness is rough, and I cannot grant an album 5 stars if I prefer to skip almost 30% of it, can I?
Really nice and weird. Sets standards for its time.
I don't know why i spent my time without listening to this album, it was great all throughout, it flows nicely, tight together and all around a great listening experience.
It was a decent prog album, but not "wow"
I get it, most of this is great musicianship and all, I guess I just don’t have the attention span for songs toss long without lyrics for much of it.
King Crimson is Prog rock for people who enjoy going to Renaissance fairs. Fantastic album with a surprising variety of instruments.
Opening track is actually my least favourite, haven’t given the rest of the album enough of a chance in the past, but it’s great. Must be some of the earliest psychedelic rock. Great mixing too
I like this album, listened it many times, but.. there's something that holds me back from putting 5*. Like it still lacks something..
I really liked this. I'd never heard it
Mezcla bien interesante, me gustó la vdd pero no es algo que escucharía, demasiado largo lo dejaron
Its maybe the greatest just pure prog album of all time, the intersection of so many genres. Obviously quite a busy listen, and i haven't listened to it the whole way through in a while, but i had so much fun listening to it again. 4.5/5
Such a tremendous opening track! It might have been because we were listening in the car but the middle tracks were either 60s flowery or somewhat forgettable quiet solos, then it ended with another banger in the court of the crimson king!
in the court of the crimson king
Classic
Finally, some good fucking music.
I think the first "absurdly long" (oh, that was so long ago) song I've heard referenced was not Bohemian Rhapsody, but 21st Century Schizoid Man. And despite having the album on my phone for sooo soo long I've never really gave the entirety of In The Court Of The Crimson King a listen. I think having Schizoid Man be soo soo different from the rest of the album is a bad choice. It'd be so easy to listen to all jumbled mess songs or background rock, but it's a mix of both of these - and I think that's a mistake. Both parts are pretty, but together they don't fit.
really good start ngl
Fantastic musicianship, particularly the drummer! I could definitely see myself revisiting this.
Schizoid - My link to this song is Bad Religion’s quasi-cover. I’m that kid. But I also had a heavy Zorn/Knitting Factory phase. The clear immediate descendant. These days I like prog elements in my rock, but I generally like a straighter backbone. Love the voice fx and the sax on this the most. I talk to the wind - My first instinct was coiled revulsion. But then I unwound when the slick-like-that drums kicked in. There is a clear and simple, almost stoic/detached delivery of the vocal lines. Restraint. Very pretty. This would make a sick jazz-rap loop. You listening, Kendrick? Dig this dancing flute. Motherfucker is FREE. Epitaph - BIG ROLLING TYMPS deposit us before a quiet crooning doomsday poet who is gradually joined by rising gusts of somber strings and dense synth clouds painting a sonic portrait of a Goya nightmare future. Yes, I fear tomorrow I’ll be crying. Moonchild - So far the record, despite the frenzy of Schizoid, is more Floyd than Zorn. Very pretty. Chill. A bit too wizard-y for me, lyrically. But I’m digging the spaces between. My 90s indie rock brain pulling in Tortoise and Lambchop. Court - Don’t get me wrong. I love D&D. Just not in my music. I feel like I’m being forced to listen to a professional LARPer’s poetry while I’m trying to hear the spacey Pinky Floydy band jamming next door. The last three minutes are the best of the record. Ends just when it’s getting really interesting. As stated too much fantasy imagery for me. Schizoid remains my favorite, and makes me want to go listen to some Painkiller. EDIT: (Thanks for this feature!) I didn’t listen to the live tracks before I rated. I should have. ‘A Man A City’ was the operatic Zornian frenzy I wanted from this album from the start. I know this band parented much of the weirdness I love from Sonic Youth to Don Cab to Bungle ad infinitum. This is the DNA proof. And the reason I’m bumping the whole album up a star. Viva weird!
Cool Album. These long songs hit different nowadays. You learn to be more patient compared to these 2-3 minute songs from today. The jazz influences are really interesting.
Finally! My first Prog rock album! What an album to be my first prog showing, the grandfather of prog, King Crimson. This album is really good. I’ve only heard 3 King Crimson albums, this one, Red, and Larks Tongue in Aspic, and it’s between this and Red to be my favorite of them. But back to this album, it sets the standard of what prog would be like in the 70s, while also showing what King Crimson can do. King Crimson also has one of the greatest guitarists in rock, Robert Fripp, and boy does he deserve that label. His guitar work on songs like 21st Century Schizoid Man is incontestable. Greg Lake’s vocals are also an essential part of the album, and they help give the band its signature sound. Greg also plays bass, and along with Michael Giles, completes the rhythm section of the band. But we can’t forget about multi instrumentalist Ian Mcdonald, who played a crap ton of instruments on this album, and he really. contributed to giving the lab such an epic sound on songs like the title track and Epitaph. The one problem I have with this album that holds it back from a 5 is that, although it’s a prog rock album, the band can tend to just, go off in the middle of songs and go do really weird sounding stuff before coming back, this is really an issue on Moonchild, where most of the song is them tooling around, even though the main verse and chorus sound lovely. But, overall, definitely a solid prog rock album, and if you’re a prog fan who hasn’t checked it out, what are you doing?
Reminding me Bee Gees Odessa, this is a very British album.
Good stuff. Only a couple of familiar songs. I can put this on and just chill any old time. 7.4
I like this album a lot more than the first king Crimson.
This album was wild. I really liked it, but I felt like each song was different. It was really good.
Surprisingly got really into this mad album
Pretty good. Sounds like a lot of other influences from that time
Halfway through the album I stopped and realized this was rad yo.
I was ready to hate it. What a surprise this was for me.
Cool
This album was the defining moment of Prog rock and a metal. Truly a classic, some song better than others. But I want to listen more.
o que alguns chamam de "clássico total absurdo" eu chamo apenas de "tem umas pedradas surreais mas tem outras que eu literalmente preferiria estar catando bosta de porco na divisa de ponte nova com mariana/mg a escutar de novo"
intenso pra caraio hein. um caos e uma calmaria tudo ao memo tempo. ouvi no busao noturno indo pra serra do cipó e fui MASSACRADO pela primeira música. as boas sao, de fato, BOAS PRA CARALHO. de resto, eh meio medieval (?) demais. btw capa foda demais acho pica.
Good rock album. I could sense the influence on The Flaming Lips
All time prog-rock classic. Samples by hip-hop royalty and covers by rock gods only cement the importance of this album.
Gets a little meandering but still a tour de force
21st century and the title cut are certainly Prague Ground Zero. I forgot how much flute and jam things were going on in the rest of the record. Some of that held up some of it not so much definitely on the list.
8.5/10
The opening tracks is one of the greatest prog rock songs in rock history. Closer is also an amazing song. The three in the middle are fine, if not a little dragging.
I liked this album. Cool album cover. Pretty crazy this was made in 1969.
Overall: 8/10 I absolutely adore prog rock, so I obviously have a lot of love for the first fully prog album (some would argue The Moody Blues did it first with Days of Future Passed in 1967 but those people are nuts.) It opens with one of the best songs ever written, 21st Century Schizoid Man. This song blew my mind the first time I heard it and it still blows my mind years later. I Talk to the Wind isn't bad but it's a bit of a letdown after such a scorcher. Epitaph is another masterpiece. Moonchild starts off pretty good but becomes a little too minimalistic for me by the end. Finally, The Court of the Crimson King has some great harmonies and ends the album off on a high note. It's truly a great album, even if I prefer others in the King Crimson discography. Fav Song: 21st Century Schizoid Man Least Fav Song: Moonchild
i have loved this album for 3 years. Good one. A little too long sometimes so it gets a 4, but deserves a 5
Really good, not expecting it even tho the reviews said so
Overraskende bra
Yeah it’s really good, some songs go on too long but that’s just prog for you. 4 stars
Very good
overstimulation: the album
Es esch scho fascht schwerig ned metzbecho dass das Albom vo Kritiker extrem globt werd ond zom biispel of Rate Your Music bi de top Albe debi esch ond ech mues säge ech verstoh sie scho chli. Es esch zwar chli ongwont, met de längi vo de Songs, aber au wie sie Musig möched. Genau das esch de aber s erstuundleche. Mer chönnt sech jo bi dem Froge was das för komischi Grüüsch ond verzerrti Tön send, aber sie brengets äne ergend e Struktur izbaue sodass mer sech dänkt "okay speziell, aber gar ned so schlächt". För das esch aber wäg em eher experimentelle es ufmerksams lose nötig. Was mer au no sett amerke, esch dass es extrem guet gpelt esch. Es sent zom teil sehr schnelli Soli oder komplexi rhytme wo tadellos gpelt send. Trotzdem geds nome 4 Särne. Ech be zwar of de Kippi im Albom 5 z gä, aber es ged halt au so chli impro stelle wo rächt lang tuured ond mer sech de halt schnell au verlore fühlt. Au send mer gwössi songs fascht e chli sad.
4/5 interesting and catchy.
Phenomenal. I think I’m gonna love prog rock if it’s like this. Mellotron is sooo beautiful and I didn’t even know an instrument like this existed. Also drummer was seriously killing it, band was very disciplined. I love how it’s a mix of rock, classical music and jazz which are the most enjoyable genres for me. The only reasons why I would give this album 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the length…they made moonchild too long and it kind of loses its spark, and also my interest. The court of the crimson king was the perfect outro and I have never in my life heard a better intro than 21st century schizoid man. Guitar was so fun and this whole album is chaotic in the most fun way
Another prog rock winner for me. 21st Century Schizoid Man was incredible and hearing the kanye sample out of no where was a fun experience. Title track is everything I enjoy about prog rock. The way it builds, the sinister sound, just a 10/10. I don’t understand the ambition behind Moonchild’s final 8 minutes — but as the wife said, “it’s calming background music”.
Forging the path
Well, this is wild. This classic prog album opens with ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’ that combines an full on Fripp freak out rock guitar solo, freeform jazz, angrily political lyrics and an eerie intro produced when someone accidentally rested their arm on a malfunctioning reed organ. The second track ‘I Talk to the Wind’ calms things down a little with a flute dancing around the melody, before we get to the mellotron heavy ‘Epitaph’ to close side one. Flipping the album over, there are just two tracks - Moonchild and the cosmic weirdness of the title track which is like some sort of fever dream that builds to an epic climax. Prog-tastic!
Mi canción favorita ha sido I Talk To The Wind. Siento que es super chill y que me lo pondría para tirarme en cama un ratiño y desconectar a la vez de sentirme rara. Sí que es verdad que la voz del cantante se parece que flipas a la del de Blur Creo que también tengo que destacar que se me hacen un poco largas las canciones, pero escuchadas seguidas tienen bastante coherencia. Le doy un cuatro porque me gusta el concepto un montón. Es como si más que crear un album intentasen hacer una atmosfera y siento que eso pudo ser innovador para la época. Se que a iris le va a gustar porque es una puta radiohead lover y si que tiene un aire puta lesbiana existencial PD la portada es INCREÍBLE y me encanta
Brooo vaya puta locura de album. Es mituco album que todos los reviewers dicen que es el mejor, y nunca lo habia escuchado. Iba con espectativas bajas, porque la misma gente que le da un 10 a esto, se lo da tambien a David Arquito, asi que no me fiaba. Pero guau, tenian razón. Si que es verdad que me cuesta no ser subjetivo pq me encanta el rock progresivo. Desde pequeño siempre sonaron artistas como Deep Purple, Yes, Rush entre otros en mi casa, entonces estoy muy habituado al estilo; y justamente este album es uno de los precursores directos. Lo que destaca es que es especialmente bueno y sotisficado para ser precursor del género. Son solo 5 caciones, pero se me hace muy completo por la longitud de canciones y variedad entre ellas; basta con comparar las dos primeras entre si. Suena muy bien para ser de los 60. No vi las letras porque no me suelo fijar en eso, pero alguna frase suelta que escuché suena guay, probablemente porque uno de los integrantes del grupo era únicamente letrista, rollo no hacía nada mas, y era poeta (viva la wikipedia). No me importaría nada darle 5 estrellas pero, ya se sabe el problema: Moonchild. Mira, yo lo entiendo, el album entero gira alrededor de un estilo de musica que basicamente no existía, asi que es todo es experimental. En general encontraron una muy buena formula que definió un estilo. Pero claro que tambien se pasaron de experimentación. Moonchild son 2 minutos de cancion acompañado de 10 de silencio con ruidos aleatorios de instrumentos. Si fueran 3 o 4 min me haría hasta gracia, pero son 10 minutos de tortura, que van empeorando segundo a segundo tu opinion sobre el album. Intento ser comprensivo por lo que dije respecto a la experimentación, pero es un punto muy débil del disco. Si hubiera decimales diría que esto es un disco de 4.5 o algo por ahí. Logicamente le pondré 4 estrellas, pero son 4 estrellas mas grandes que el de Stevie Wonder. 4.5/5 -> 9/10
Llevo mucho tiempo queriendo escuchar este álbum, me han hablado maravillas de él TODO el mundo. El principio me rayó bastante porque es la canción de un anuncio muy famoso, entonces empecé el álbum un poco desorientada. Pero en general me gustó bastante. He de decir que lo escuché en un momento muy estresante de estudio (que alguien me suicide) así que a lo mejor no le di mi mejor escucha, lo repetiré otro día. Las últimas canciones fueron probablemente las que más me gustaron (ignorando la repetición de la primera canción del álbum), con ese royo jazzy así experimental muy chulo. Le daría un 3,5 pero le voy a poner un 4 porque tengo grandes expectativas de que me guste más la segunda vez que lo escuche.
Menuda pasada de álbum, había oído mucho hablar de él pero nunca lo llegué a escuchar y no tenía ni idea ni de qué estilo era ni nada así que me sorprendió un montón. Todas las canciones me parecen super buenas, aunque me encantó I talk to the wind, definitivamente voy a volver a escuchar este álbum porque me parece brutal. Todo el instrumental está genial, no está ni muy cargado ni se queda corto y la voz se integra muy bien en todas las canciones. Estoy en el dilema de si darle 4 o 5 estrellas, porque para mí este álbum sería como un 4'6/5 o así, pero no creo que sea perfecto, así que le pongo 4. 100% mi álbum favorito por ahora de los que me aparecieron en este proyecto.
Favorite Track: 21st Century Schizoid Man
In The Court of The Crimson King, by King Crimson
Is this list making me enjoy prog rock? I think the worm is turning for me, I usually dont enjoy the genre much but this was a nice surprise. The melancholic lyricism usually turns me away but this was pretty captivating. This must've blown some minds back in the 70's.
That’s some classic prog rock! What kid just getting into drugs didn’t rock out to this album?!? Still holds up.
Kind of an epic album. Some pretty great tunes and instrumentation. Definitive progressive rock.
Wow what an album!
This is so fucking good
i think i would probably give it five if i gave it one more listen. how can you hate something that sounds this good
Seminal album, hugely innovative in its day.
Kužim da je ovo kultni album o bend, to je neporecivo. Koncert je bio veličanstven. Mislim da mi je to jedan od onih bendova koji su mi značajno bolji uživo. Očekivala bih od ovako nečeg dobrog da ću se barem naježiti jednom na pjesmu koja nije The Court of the Crimson King - ne znam tko se na to može ne naježiti. Moram isto ostaviti benefit of the doubt za to što sam slušala album s Tihinim užasnim slušalicama iz kojih je zvuk ko kurac. Sve u svemu, ne mogu dati manje od 4, ali ne mogu bome ni 5. 4/5, 8.10
Very cool so far. A clear classic. Like the birth of alternative music and is just amazing.
Very interesting
ITCOTCK is a real masterpiece, but I don't love it as some others do. Sure it's a great album, but I think that Red and Larks are both better. Anyways it's still very enjoyable and a good time everytime I put it on
The chorus of 21st Century Schizoid Man is hugely famous from Kanye sampling it, but it's pretty good by itself, and Epitaph was even better. The rest of the album was decent but couldn't quite wow me in comparison. All of the songs are pretty long because they have extended outros which felt like incomplete separate songs to me. I'd prefer if they were made into different tracks, even if they were more like jam band interludes than actual songs.
I'm not sure. Will come back to it
Didn't know this was the sample Kanye used on power
I’m not sure I would seek this out again, but I do understand its draw and hype. It’s good. I love “Moonchild”. It’s weird and fun. “A man a city” has a great groove!
Some nice 60s psychedelia. I’ve heard of the band before but couldn’t name a song, but suspected that I’d recognise something from this album. Turns out I was right.
An enjoyable album.
Always an interesting listen. This album cover has captivated me since I was super young, finding it in my parents record collection. As an early teen I tried to listen, but don't think I ever full appreciated it until later in life. Still might be slightly overrated in the overall scheme of things. 4/5
Cool to hear all the samples
I'm such a sucker for this hippy shit. This album makes we want to take up jousting.
I'm feeling a bit shit today, and am in need of a warm hug. Despite having listened to this before, I thought this album was going to be too jarring and frenetic to listen to on a sad day, but pleasantly surprised. I Talk to the Wind and Epitaph, Court of Crimson King, all excellent. Moonchild I liked, the 5 mins of bleeps + bloops didn't bother me.
What happens when you get four of the best studio musicians in the same room together? Magic! The problem if this is not everyone’s magic. There is no dispute that King Crimson were the kings of Prog-Rock. Each one of them were masters of their instruments, and you can heard their influence in everyone from Genesis(early and late) through Tool (whom Danny Carey even played in their tribute last year). But there no passive listening here: you are all in or you have no idea what is going on. Key songs for me were The Court of the Crimson King, and Epitaph, partially because the bass clarinet inclusion which few bands can pull off in rock. This is definitely 1001 Level and a classic. It should come with a warning label that you will be going on a journey and you may not be returning the same or at all….
Great album but ruined by Moonchild. If you're wondering why it's not a 5.
I really liked every song on this album
Great and influential album Standout songs: 21st century schizoid man The court of the crimson king
Already a huge favourite of mine, with one of the greatest opening tracks of all time. Excellent in the pocket proto-prog. Little bit far out at times, but it's reaching for something special and catches it for the most part.
PRoggy. Not bad.
Cool to find a sample that’s used in Kanye’s “Power”
A great album. However, one or two tracks alienate me. My musical sense is apparently not good enough for Moonchild. 4/5
Such a vibey album, still sounds fresh after decades. Favorite track: 21st century schizoid man other picks: i talk to the wind, epitaph, the court of the crimson king
Very impressive album for its time. Ambitious song structures and complex instrumentation. I think this is the earliest I've heard double bass drum, which would become a staple of metal about 10 years later. I can forgive most of the far out sojourns and weird free jazz parts here and there. Alas, I have to deduct a star for pretentious lyrics and over-long songs.
1. wait, this fucks. can he say that. this song long as hell what's happening. they're just fucking around now. the hook is 4/5, the rest of the song is a 3. ohhh it's to reflect the main character. solid 4. 2. beatles ass song. cool harmonies. pleasant, but we gotta do something about the song lengths. 3. NINE MINUTES? song's fine. 4. TWELVE MINUTES??? this song's gonna put me to sleep. it's just pleasant ambient noise. this album is a prank on me. 5. the big one. actually pretty cool. 5/5 hook with filler. I get it, won't be adding any songs because they're too long and meandering, but decent album.
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.
Well I am clearly biased by my own random. This is how they became important, but the adventure really just started relatively conventional. Great songs, great delivery, nonetheless much more outdated then what was to follow.
HEAT, 4.4
The first 30 seconds had me worried but then it shifted and I got excited.
Jazz, rock, psychedelia and inspired musicianship with a few great melodies to boot. A prog classic with all the occasional interludes of indulgent noodling.
But I Fear Tomorrow I'll Be Crying 1001 Albums Generator 21 (05/01/2025) After graduating from Chelsea College Of The Arts, Barry Godber decided to become a computer programmer. Disillusioned with the working world, he later left this corporate job with his friend Peter Sinfield. When Sinfield asked him to paint an album cover for his band's debut album, Barry painted the only piece of album art he made in his short life, featuring a distorted representation of what he saw when he looked in his bathroom mirror. Soon after this (self-)portrait of the so called "Schizoid Man" found its way to hundreds of record shop windows, Barry Goldber died of a heart attack in 1970. He was 24 years old. While researching this album, I learned the word phantasmagorical. Don't act like you know what it means. Phantasmagorical means "full of different images, like something in a confused dream", and I think this word describes perfectly Barry's art, Sinfeld's lyrics, and the musical world that King Crimson was able to build on In The Court Of The Crimson King. Personally, this is not my favorite album by experimental English proggers King Crimson, as I believe they peaked with the proggy new wave of Discipline and the proto-prog metal of Red, but this is still a classic album for a reason. As there are only five songs here, I feel like I can go track by track. The opening 21st Century Schizoid Man is King Crimson's most well-known song, owing in part to its iconic use in one of Kanye West's finest songs, Power. Even removed from its use as a sample, this is clearly one of King Crimson's strongest songs, and may be objectively their best. I said earlier this week that Leonard Cohen starting his career with the sublime Suzanne was amazing, and 21st Century Schizoid Man is a similarly unbelievable start to an artist's career. Taking inspiration from both the psychedelic acid rock of Jimi Hendrix and the jazz sensibilities of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, this song redefined what rock music could be. In the same year that Miles Davis "sold out" to rock audiences by embracing electric elements to his jazz on In A Silent Way, King Crimson was approaching this fusion from the other side by incorporating jazz improvisation and instrumentation into a rock context. The formerly opposed rock and jazz worlds were coming together and in both cases, the results were fantastic. I Talk To The Wind is much more tame by comparison. Led largely by Ian McDonald's flute, the second song on In The Court Of The Crimson King is hardly a rock song at all. Playing more like a folk song, I Talk To The Wind was originally penned by Giles, Giles, and Fripp, the precursor to King Crimson. It's a good song and a nice reprieve from the cacophony at the end of the previous track, but not the strongest moment here. Special shoutout to Michael Giles' super interesting drumming on the chorus. The following track, the similarly chill Epitaph, is another triumph. This song also has some folksy moments, but it allows itself to rock out more, and it features some of Sinfeld's best lyrics. This song was a chilling statement against both the deadly Vietnam War and the mutually assured destruction of the Cold War. To this day, politicians play with the lives of the common man while they sit in their bunkers twidling their thumbs. As with many of King Crimson's pre-80's output, the second to last song here, Moonchild, is a piece of free improvisation, and as with many of these free improv songs, it is the weakest on the album. After a two and a half minute ballad, the song devolves into about 10 minutes of pure improvisation that goes beyond even the experimentation of free jazz that Ornette Coleman famously spearheaded in the early 60's. While that music still maintained some sort of jazz sensibility, Moonchild is something different, where even the most key elements of music, such as rhythm and harmony, are eschewed in favor of complete chaos. This is not an aggressive piece of free improv like AMMMusic, but rather a more chill, folksy take on the radical genre. By virtue of personal preference, this is just not my thing. The final song, the nearly titular The Court Of The Crimson King, is fantastic. I love the acoustic guitar arpeggios in the verses and the huge multitracked vocals of the chorus. It is also extremely jazzy and has a silly little flute part near the end. You can't go wrong with that. So, is this the first true progressive rock album? Perhaps not, as both Caravan and Soft Machine had released their self titled albums by the time In The Court Of The Crimson King released. Don't mishear me; this isn't to take away from what Fripp, Lake, McDonald, Giles, and Sinfield did here on their debut. It is a remarkable album and while its status as the first true prog rock album is shaky at best, I don't think it's a stretch to say that this is the first GREAT prog rock album. With that said, the weakness of Moonchild, which is the longest song here, puts this album at a strong 4/5 for me. Favs: 21st Century Schizoid Man Epitaph The Court Of The Crimson King Least Fav: Moonchild
A scary place to be in "The Dark Tower".
Like early Pink Floyd and Rush I always thought I would like this album/band. Unlike the aforementioned bands I actually do! This is a wonderful proggy sound in a band where Greg Lake is actually allowed to shine without having the unlistenable madness of ELP. It has a Jethro Tull feel with the flute and the songs are beautifully layered. After my first time listening this will be one to buy.
Great album. Strong start and strong finish. Love parts of the slower songs and the flutes. Parts of these songs really slow down and cause the songs to lose momentum. 8/10
Really enjoyed it, full of clever music
Man… where do I begin, this album firstly, haunt me like a phantom but I truly do feel it in my blood. I often find myself having to battle the tendency to listen to it under the stardust in the sky. This album truly makes me feel like a destined crusader on an adventure but alone it puts me in some moody blues… However listening to it with my friends doesnt do so because being close with someone keeps my spirits up due to our bonds. Which, like diamonds, are unbreakable. Overall this album has truly been a golden experience while the melody makes my conciousness fall into the ocean like a stone.
Wonderful sound, especially for 1969. In one song even reminded me the last album of Valentine Strykalo Lol this album is the same age as my mum
Solid.
Interresting. Surprisingly good. Lyrics are a bit... insane. 4/5
I like it it’s fun and jazzy rock
I don't know if I'll ever add any of the songs to a mix, but I will definitely return to listen to the album as a whole. Was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it
This is a wild album that I don't properly have words in my vocabulary to describe, but I like it.
When this album hits, it's amazing - the title track and 21st Century Schizoid Man are phenomenal tracks, and it's clear that everyone in the band knows exactly how to play off of each other. But by God, does it ever go on with meaningless noises for far too long. I've mentioned a few times on other albums how they could be about 10% shorter, but this one feels fully twice as long as it needs to be - there's so many opportunities to go and have a piss, make a cup of tea, read a book, and still come back without missing an actual song that I can't give it a better score. Which is a shame, as the two key tracks are so absolutely my jam that the rest feels like a real disappointment.
I've seen this album cover many places, but surprised I've never listened to it. Seems to be an album a lot of people get first when collecting vinyl. Way more jammy than I thought. Probably very experimental for the time.
Seems so far a head of it's time, really lush production, another new find I'll be coming back to.
Fantastic album.
329/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Meandering, but would listen again. I get why this so such a big deal. It gets a high four from me. Faves: 21st century schizoid man, the court of the crimson king.
Some good stuff in there, but some things that I just couldn't listen to more than once.
Early prog, but pretty good overall. I think the entire band fell asleep during Moonchild and just left a faucet dripping on the cymbals, but they woke up and recovered nicely.
Ganske bra. Einaste albumet eg har på 200-grams vinyl, I think
Onhan tämä mainio progelevy, ja erityisesti avaus- ja lopetusraidat ovat lajinsa helmiä. 4/5
Excited to roll this, I’ve been told forever it’s the best album ever by Twitter.com. An insane debut album, so good and so influential to all the prog that came after for good reason. I really loved the arrangements on this and how unafraid it was to be sparse at times. There are a couple moments on here where it fits its reputation of "I listen to this bc I'm a music guy, i really love music man I listen to prog rock, those time changes bro???" but I feel like even if you listen to this because you want to be cool you're gonna find out quickly that it rules. Really high 4. Isn't it crazy that the Kingdom Hearts Dearly Beloved/Kayne's Stronger mashup wouldn't exist without this album?
I have a great fondness for this album because I used to listen to it with my college boyfriend while properly tripping. It's not quite the same without hallucinogens, but I can still conjure up the delight of hearing it for the first time while watching the birds from his tapestry dance across the wall. They are the Kings of prog rock for sure.
The amount of people I went to high school with who were obsessed with this album put me off of listening to it for years. It's good. It's best parts are REALLY good. A bit excessive, but that's prog for you.
Great at time. Decent at others. Never bad
Think i'd tried to listen in the past and not got on with it, but this time i thoroughly enjoyed this. You can hear some Dark Side of the Moon in this but they definitely sound distinctively different. Great album, will listen again.
A goddamn masterpiece 8.5/10 fave: epitaph
21st Century Schizoid Man on kyllä nerokas kappale. Odottelin että levyllä olisi enemmänkin samanlaista sekoilua, mutta ei. Kerrassaan hieno kokonaisuus. Eipä ollut tätäkään tullut kuunneltua ennen. Parhaat: Sanotaan tässä tapauksessa heikoin, I Talk To The Wind. Muuten ihan priimaa.
This album feels like a sonic journey into a Love, Death, and Robots episode. It's absolutely full of color! You can just walk yourself into the world of the Crimson King and visualize moonlit abandoned cities of dark blue, green seas colored by a strangely mossy sky, or a violent ruby arena with crumbling moons above. It's a rich world that's brought purely by sound. This album is a masterpiece of progressive rock. For me, it's not because of its historical significance (though I'm not downplaying it), but it's on how it builds a story purely by an album so short and sonically disorganized, that it somehow arranges itself like a book with chapters. You can just sense the dystopia through the headphones. Beautiful start. Can't wait for more.
Great progressive rock album.
Very cool album, 21st century schizoid man was sampled in a Kanye West song that I knew which I was not expecting at all.
Solid rock album. I knew 21st Century Schizoid Man, but the rest was new.
A widely applauded and celebrated album. King Crimson's prog rock is not something I've been a fan of in the past but this album works well. It does occasionally creep into "noise for noise sake" which can be an issue with prog sometimes but overall an enjoyable album. 7.25/10 (3.625/5)
Progressive rock really hits.
The funny haha yelling guy album. 21st Century Schizoid is a classic and there are some good songs throughout. 7/10
Et album man bare må sitte og høre på. Litt lange partier der lite skjer drar karakteren ned.
Pretty good.
Classic brilliant ground-breaking stuff. Great to listen to but this TYPE of prog never really resonates with me in any deeper way than just enjoyable listening.
Mad for this to be a debut album, it’s completely its own thing & fully formed which I have to appreciate. Love that the album conveys this sense of a grand scale throughout by changing pace & introducing a huge variety of instruments. Makes the album feel like it’s made to be performed with a ballet or some action on stage alongside the band - though that may just be me getting mixed up with the hall of a different king. We start heavy, mellow out then finish big and operatic. Really appreciate this, even if overall half the songs did nothing for me themselves they added to the vibe of the album as an experience.
Fell asleep listening to it, lol. Good vibes
Liked it a lot more than I expected, some really cool sounds. A little bit of a drag at times but much more listenable than I thought
One of my husband’s favorite albums. His Mom painted the back of a denim jacket with the cover image. For that I’m giving it a four. Some of the songs haven’t aged well. Moonchild sort of unlistenable. Also, reminds me disconcertingly of Spinal Tap.
I couldn't listen to this album yesterday as I was in hospital. However, I did give it a listen today (Tuesday). Why many people see "In the Court of the Crimson King" as a classic is easy to understand. The songs are outstanding. This week shall be epic. 4 stars for "In the Court of the Crimson King".
This is awsome.
slaps 4/5
Overall a brilliant album. Only thing stopping it from getting all 5 stars is I thought Moonchild was quite boring.
An album I can appreciate!
I've seen this record cover so many times before, and never really been aware of what King Crimson had to offer. Turns out he can offer quite a deranged hour. It starts really strongly, despite the slightly proggy nature of the songs (and the proggy length). It dips into self-indulgence quite a bit at times, but overall, I found this to be a really interesting listen, and one I suspect I'll persevere with.
Solid album. Can see the impact this had over the years. Got a few plays
Flute very nice
a thrilling unique work of prog rock history
Man, this cover art and opening track really throw you off from what’s coming next. Glad I was finally given a reason to check out the whole album, because I could not understand why on earth people spoke so highly of this.
4.3 - This was really cool, very indulgent in parts and didn't need to be so long but liked it a lot
Can't believe I've never heard this before. Loved it. Not much to say beyond that. Kinda felt like being a band kid hearing a profound piece of classical music for the first time.
I've avoided King Crimson for years as I thought they'd be the worst of prog, but this album wasn't that. There is a lot of the rawness of rock mixed in with the more indulgent elements. It was enjoyable, the playing was good, and it was over the top without becoming cartoonish as prog sometimes has a tendency to do.
Wow, what a mixed bag. You had some moments with great riffs, interesting key changes, and a diverse instrument riff. Then you have other songs where they're just noodling for 12 minutes. Anyways, the things that were good were so good. Loved the opening track, such a solid gritty riff to keep coming back to with great instrumental bits mixed in. Nice jazz influences. Great key change in Epitaph. Would almost go 5, but some things were pushed just a bit far or a bit repetitive. But I actually enjoyed this one and relistened to a good bit of it.
This was very interesting to me as it had a Dark Side of the Moon vibe to, and was released 4 years earlier! Gonna have to listen to it again but there is a definite chance this ends up in my vinyl collection.
Enjoyed this
Prog Rock Icon!!! Favourite songs: 21st Century Schizoid Man, Epitaph, The Court of the Crimson King Least favourite songs: Moonchild 4/5
This is an band I had judged for decades by its album covers, and their name. King Crimson sounds like a band that should be playing N'Orlean's style jazz, not a 6 man Prog Rock band from Europe, but here we are. While the the album definitely jazz inspired the first song 21st Century Schizoid Man sounds like a rock band was playing at Mardi Gras. And I was pleasantly surprised at how well these genre can meld
21st Century Schizoid Man I Talk to the Wind Epitaph The Court of the Crimson King
Court of the Crimson King is an all-timer. Great prog rock album and helped cement Children of Men as my favorite movie.
Schizoid Man blasts so hard that I was able to look past all the super experimental BS in the latter tracks. I Talk isn't bad either. The drums have that awesome tempered 70s sound that I love.
Absolute classic album with some amazing songs. Some boring moments but overall you can see the vision of the album. Hugely influential too
Progressive rock? Jazz? Who cares? Crazy stuff here; really interesting. 8/10
Heck yeah
A classic. And second king crimson from 1001 this week.
A classic. A little too much music theory faffing for my liking, and I think rock has aged poorly. But there are unbeatable moments on this album.
8/10
One of the initiators of progressive rock, of course I like this album. It feels less like symphonic rock, and more of a musical based on a dystopia novel. Very dramatic and intense but not the kind of music I'm looking for in progressive rock. Perhaps that label is misplaced for me. Still, it is full of inspiring and innovative rock. 4/5 for personal preference. 4.5 for influence on future rock.
So many sounds. Not every song is a banger, a slow burn.
Okayyy I like this one - really want to listen to it again while tripping. There's so much happening and it changes up so fast. I think my favourite on second listen is 'Epitaph'
Better than expected, more variety of instrumentation and ambient sounds than I thought there would be. Enjoyed it. Moonchild could be skipped, Count of the Crimson King and I Talk To The Wind are the highlights here.
A milestone in rock albums, a standard among prog-rock albums. Honestly, not a bad album. Do I love it? No, not really, but I appreciate it for what it is and what the musicians are doing. It's worth a few listens, anyway.
I was really into this album for most of it. I usually don't like prog rock but I found this to be pretty innovative and fun even despite what massive dorks these guys are. Then came Moonchild. I don't respect what they did on that track - thought it was way too much disparate noise for the sake of disparate noise. I was actually going to give this a five but that track is going to bump this down a whole star for me.
I liked it a lot.
Side A is absolutely iconic and outstanding, probably better than anything that Pink Floyd had done up to this point. 21 Century Schizoid Man and Epitaph are both songs for the ages. Side B starts out pleasant enough but then loses me in the middle with the long directionless outro of Moonchild. I also could have done without the epilogue that doesn't really add much after the false ending of the quasi title track. But those are minor quibbles.
Amazing album. First track blew me away. All the best of prog rock! Never heard of this band before, love this find.
I still just don't like Moonchild. It's way too loose for my taste. That said, the rest of it? Gold.
I guess this is the progenitor of all the great progressive groups that would appear in the next few years. Such talented and inventive musicians would add to the canon of King Crimson and continue to produce great music up to the present day.
I think I like it! 4/5
yeah, yeah king crimson