October 10, 1969 - King Crimson and In The Court Of The Crimson King

Just two weeks after my last release, another new band is making their debut in 1969. On October 10, King Crimson released their first album titled "In The Court Of The Crimson King". But who are King Crimson? They began as a five-piece progressive rock band from London, England and are one of the pioneers of the genre, consisting of founder Robert Fripp (guitars), Michael Giles (drums, percussion), Greg Lake (bass, lead vocals), Ian McDonald (saxophone, flute, clarinets, keyboards) and Peter Sinfield (lyrics). Sinfield marks the only time I've ever seen someone be a full-time member of a band, and not contribute to any of the actual music. Let's see what kind of music this interesting line-up will make!

Side 1 kicks off with what is probably their most famous song, "21st Century Schizoid Man". It's lyrics talk about neurosurgery, napalm fire, and having more than you need: a dystopian take on the 21st century. The song begins with an epic riff that features everyone but is led by the alto saxophone of McDonald. It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before, and once Lake's voice hits I think it sounds amazing. Giles has some nice drum fills as well, and after the first two verses it speeds up into an instrumental section. An excellent rhythm section from Lake and Giles carries it while Fripp goes off for an awesome guitar solo, followed by some trippy sounding guitar. The band performs a well executed stop-and-go part where all members seem in tune with each other, and after a little drum flourish, it returns to the slow epic opening riff. It has an awesome ending with everyone going nuts, and just just when you think it's over, they go nuts again! What an amazing song! Track 2 is much more calm, titled "I Talk To The Wind". Lake sings much more softly and McDonald plays flute as well as clarinet on this track. The light flutes mesh well with the the lyrics, about talking to the wind, and it carrying your words away. Giles still performs some tight drumming and there's a slow guitar "solo" as well. The flutes are definitely my favourite part, and they get their own solo to close out this peaceful song. Side 1 is ending already (as no track was shorter than 6 minutes) with "Epitaph". It has McDonald on Mellotron in the background while Lake leads with a slow bass riff and some more great singing. I really like his voice. There's even a slow Mellotron solo and for the last few minutes there is a bit of everything, with Giles playing timpani drums and McDonald playing Mellotron, harpsichord, piano, flute, organ, clarinet and bass clarinet! That is a lot of instruments and Ian McDonald seems to be one talented musician. This multi-instrument ending sounds fantastic and it fades out to end the first side of the record. 

Side 2 begins with the 12-minute "Moonchild", a song about a girl growing up in nature. It starts with a slow guitar riff and some precise cymbals from Giles, but this opening part with lyrics lasts only about 2 and a half minutes; the last 9 and a half are all instrumental. It gets very quiet and we hear guitar by Fripp and vibraphone by McDonald. It moves to some cool trippy guitar with Mellotron in the background, also by McDonald. The song remains very quiet, but their is still some great guitar being played, it's just not the same volume as a typical rock song. It's very erratic and all over the place and reminds me of "A Saucerful of Secrets" by Pink Floyd. Around the 8:30 mark the drums return and the guitar and Mellotron are all over the place, making some weird awesome stuff. The final minute has bells and chimes and sounds very peaceful. Certainly a slower song, and odd that it was quiet for so much of it, but it was a cool progressive song nonetheless. The album ends on the fifth track with another 10-minute epic, "The Court Of The Crimson King". It's led by a Mellotron riff by McDonald and also has some great drumming throughout by Giles. The lyrics are very medieval and talk of jesters and queens and of course the namesake court of the Crimson King, on which they based their band name. After the 2nd verse there is some awesome bass and guitar with Mellotron almost soloing on top;it sounds great! There is a 3rd verse followed by a cool flute part by McDonald, who just plays so many different instruments so well. A fourth verse rings in and then the song seems over. The Mellotron returns by itself for a spell and it's an interesting little bit. The whole band returns for a few bars before a sudden ending. Definitely another cool song.

That is the end of "In The Court Of The Crimson King". Each song is different on this album, and I believe they are all great in their own way. "21st Century Schizoid Man" is the highlight for me, as all the other songs have a much slower feel to them. While they are all still great songs, the first one is just absolutely phenomenal and one of my favourites by King Crimson. I'm very excited to hear more music from these guys next year. Until the next album...