Artist: King Crimson
Album: In the Court of the Crimson King
Label: EG Productions
Release Date: 04.01.2020
Attention Prog Rock fans: the King is back. Like all musical genres, Progressive Rock became a broad category of styles and artists with varying degrees of overlap. Early Prog Rock practitioners included The Moody Blues and Pink Floyd who have decidedly less in common with the Canterbury sound of Fairport Convention and Renaissance or the keyboard-laden compositions of ELP and Yes. No one disputes, however, the place of King Crimson in the pantheon of Prog Rock royalty. Now, 50 years plus one after the fact, the band’s seminal album, In the Court of the Crimson King, is being re-released as a definitive three-disc collection featuring a remastered and expanded version of the original album along with alternative takes and mixes.
Serious Prog Rock stressed technical musicianship as much complex constructions, and King Crimson early on became known for the wizardry of its members, particularly Robert Fripp on guitar. The Crimson (as they were called at the time in much the same way as Londoners referred to “the Floyd”) made their live debut in April 1969 at the Rolling Stones free concert in Hyde Park. The appearance generated significant buzz even before the release of their first album. Fripp’s mates included Michael Giles on drums, with whom he had played in an earlier band, Ian McDonald on sax, flute and keyboards, and a young Greg Lake on bass and vocals. Most of the compositions on the album—“21st Century Schizoid Man,” “I Talk to the Wind,” “Moonchild” and the title track—were group written, with Peter Sinfield credited with the album’s dreamscape lyrics.
As I’ve said several times on this site, it takes something special to get people to buy CDs in the age of streaming, but this deluxe package has plenty to offer. In addition to enough music to satisfy the most ardent Crimson completist, the artwork (including Barry Godber’s Schizoid Man/King Crimson cover painting), photos and booklet harken back to the days of album releases with extensive liner notes that provided perspective on the music we were listening to. Perhaps that’s in part why classic albums like In the Court of the Crimson King managed to have such outsized influence on the collective psyche of those of us who grew up in the age of vinyl. This collection might not be for everyone, but it’s a worthwhile addition to the canon.
—Lou Montesano
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