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Rating: Here in 1969, we see this new album emerge from King Crimson.
Just the cover alone is terrifying, the face of the man screaming face to face with the future listener is shocking. It's almost as if he's trying to say: "No, no, don't do it! Don't listen to this album!!!". In reality, behind this bizarre cover lies a masterpiece. The work that defines what the group truly is.
It is a very strange progressive rock, often delving into tight spaces, into holes from which there is no escape. It opens with a rather active track: "21st Century Schizoid Man", which has now entered the imagination of every proper rocker. It has very strange drum rhythms (and not only), and progresses almost like a hiccup.
The second track is a true poem: "I Talk To The Wind". A truly unmissable track, and of immeasurable sweetness. Indescribable.
Next is "Epitaph", another kind of ballad, a bit more lively than the previous one.
The penultimate track is the longest on the album: "Moonchild". This is also the strangest of the five because it is made up of silences and whispers. It evokes intimacy.
The last track is the perfect conclusion for the LP. "The Court Of The Crimson King (+ "The Return Of The Fire Witch" and "The Dance Of The Puppets". Choruses rise to exalt an album that will remain in history.
Perhaps many will die without knowing who King Crimson are, and therefore will not imagine what this album is. But perhaps it will just be another of humanity's incompletenesses.
ESSENTIAL Album.
Tracklist and Videos
05 The Court of the Crimson King (including The Return of the Fire Witch and The Dance of the Puppets) (09:22)
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Other reviews
By zaireeka
If you want to experience a 1000-year time jump, start this album and let it take you there.
The album can evoke a sinister or 'sick' impression, supported by its apocalyptic tones and striking cover art.
By joe strummer
"21st Century Schizoid Man" remains an epoch-making track, a sharp attack on modernity.
This album will remain in history as an excellent philosopher-musical work.
By tuisampa
It’s almost as if you can hear the scream of the schizoid man... the cover is worth the cost.
‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ will always remain a microcosm unto itself, a manifesto of Progressive.
By Miki Page
"King Crimson is a group that behaves like an organism. It works on three levels: the head, an intellectual expression; the heart, an emotional expression; and the hips, a physical expression."
"One of the most visible (or audible...) innovations is the use of the mellotron, a kind of proto-synthesizer that electronically reproduces sounds similar to strings and choirs."
By manliuzzo
"With this album, we want you to label us as progressive, because we have the aptitude, but know that we will stand out."
"That epic mellotron at the beginning is kind of a parody, and if you take it away, in a romantic key, you get the future style of the Crimson King, dry."
