UAWIL #202: On First Listen - King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

The Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast

We've developed our On First Listen series to give us a chance to explore albums that we didn't know but had heard about for years. Maybe a friend recommended it, perhaps it was popular at a time in our lives when it slipped past us or maybe we'd seen in on all-time lists. King Crimson's debut fit into the third category as many progressive rock fans hold In The Court Of The Crimson King in very high regard. And with many talented line-ups over the years including Greg Lake on bass & vocals, Ian McDonald on keys and many other things, and Robert Fripp on guitar on this album (with future versions featuring John Wetton, Boz Burrell, Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, Adrian Belew, Mel Collins and many, many more) we figured we'd give it a go.

However, while the musicianship is off the charts and they experiment with many keys, times and toys (the new mellotron was driving much of their experimental sound), sometimes it's not terribly listenable. 21st Century Schitzoid Man is abrupt and in your face as a protest to the Vietnam War but isn't a toe tapper. The wistful I Listen To The Wind is 180 degree turn as a lovely ballad but is more than 6 minutes long. And Epitaph, Moonchild (nothing like the Iron Maiden song) and The Court Of The Crimson King though they have moments of beauty and style fail to land in the fun zone. While many will appreciate the music for it's complexity and degree of difficulty, it's not an album you put on in the background of a party. Perhaps our blues based rock brains aren't mature enough to understand but we find 70s era Yes and Genesis far easier to digest and enjoy.

Note: We recorded this a year before releasing it as we planned for it to be our first On First Listen but scheduling necessities caused us to leave it on the shelf. We mention that it's 54th anniversary is coming up but as we release this it's the 55th anniversary of original release. And it was before we interviewed director Toby Amies about his fabulous documentary King Crimson: In The Court Of The Crimson King for episode 158.

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