KING CRIMSON: IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING
It was released on October 1969. It was King Crimson's debut album, and is considered to be one of the albums that set the foundations for the Hard-Core Progressive Rock. It is a strong, dark and complicated album, which combines Jazz elements with Classical music at many points. It contains 5 songs, all of them over 6 minutes long. The album opens with the very strong and rather bizarre '21st Century Schizoid Man'. It also contains the very famous in Greece 'Epitaph', and it closes with the (almost 10 minutes long) epic 'The Court of the Crimson King'.
In the years that the band was active, many great musicians filled its ranks, but the original line up is together only in this record.
Upon its release, the album received many different critics. From Robert Christgau's (American music critic) 'It is absolute shit!' to the other edge of view from Who's guitarist Pete Townsend who called it 'an uncanny masterpiece!'
The album reached at No.5 in the UK album charts, but failed in the USA.
In the book 'Rocking the Classics' (1997) critic and musicologist Edward Macan wrote: 'It is maybe the most influential Progressive Rock album ever released!'
The album was remastered and re-released on vinyl and cd several times in the 1980's and 1990's, but all these releases were taken from tapes because the original master tapes were lost. A few years ago the original master tapes were found, forgotten in a storage vault. In order to celebrate the album's 40 year anniversary a new remastered version was made (from the original master tapes this time).
The remastering was executed by Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree.
'In the Court of the Crimson King' surely is not an easy album to listen, but it is a very important album, and maybe the only one you must listen from King Crimson. (My recommendation would be their second album 'In the Wake of Poseidon')
My Personal Rating: 8.00
It was released on October 1969. It was King Crimson's debut album, and is considered to be one of the albums that set the foundations for the Hard-Core Progressive Rock. It is a strong, dark and complicated album, which combines Jazz elements with Classical music at many points. It contains 5 songs, all of them over 6 minutes long. The album opens with the very strong and rather bizarre '21st Century Schizoid Man'. It also contains the very famous in Greece 'Epitaph', and it closes with the (almost 10 minutes long) epic 'The Court of the Crimson King'.In the years that the band was active, many great musicians filled its ranks, but the original line up is together only in this record.
Upon its release, the album received many different critics. From Robert Christgau's (American music critic) 'It is absolute shit!' to the other edge of view from Who's guitarist Pete Townsend who called it 'an uncanny masterpiece!'
The album reached at No.5 in the UK album charts, but failed in the USA.
In the book 'Rocking the Classics' (1997) critic and musicologist Edward Macan wrote: 'It is maybe the most influential Progressive Rock album ever released!'
The album was remastered and re-released on vinyl and cd several times in the 1980's and 1990's, but all these releases were taken from tapes because the original master tapes were lost. A few years ago the original master tapes were found, forgotten in a storage vault. In order to celebrate the album's 40 year anniversary a new remastered version was made (from the original master tapes this time).
The remastering was executed by Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree.
'In the Court of the Crimson King' surely is not an easy album to listen, but it is a very important album, and maybe the only one you must listen from King Crimson. (My recommendation would be their second album 'In the Wake of Poseidon')
My Personal Rating: 8.00
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