'' is the title of a
1969 Album by the British
Progressive Rock group
King Crimson .
The album was enormously important and influential on the development of
Psychedelic ,
Progressive Rock , and
Heavy Metal music. It combines exceptional musicianship, poetic lyrics, and a dark vision. While other bands (notably
Pink Floyd ) had used long form songs, and still others had pushed the rock song to take in jazz freeform (including
Frank Zappa ), ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' has a whimsy about its poetry and a nightmare to its visions. The band has often been called "intelligent heavy metal" (helped by
Robert Fripp himself saying that his goal in forming King Crimson was to make such), and the first album by King Crimson defies genre and forges new ground on several fronts.
The album opens with a track called "21st Century Schizoid Man", which features heavily distorted vocals, a driving mechanical rhythm and piercingly loud saxophone and guitar. The pace then abruptly changes with a gentle melodic piece called "I Talk to the Wind". "Moonchild" is an ethereal psychedelic piece which closes with a quiet freeform improvisation. Both "Epitaph" and the title track, "In the Court of the Crimson King", feature sweeping
Mellotron orchestrations.
The album was remastered and re-released in the late
1990s .
# "21st Century Schizoid Man" (
Fripp /
McDonald /
Lake /
Giles /
Sinfield ) 7:20, including:
- "Mirrors"
# "I Talk to the Wind" (McDonald/Sinfield) 6:05
# "Epitaph" (Fripp/McDonald/Lake/Giles/Sinfield) 8:47, including:
- "March for no Reason"
- "Tomorrow and Tomorrow"
# "Moonchild" (Fripp/McDonald/Lake/Giles/Sinfield) 12:11, including:
- "The Dream"
- "The Illusion"
# "The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald/Sinfield) 9:22, including:
- "The Return of the Fire Witch"
- "The Dance of the Puppets"
