IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

First, I'd like to say a word about King Crimson, the band, as a whole. No band embodies progressive rock like Crimson, no band has reached the status of Crimson, and no band will ever be as innovative, creative, genuine, or influential as Crimson; it's a fact, an absolute fact. Although I personally prefer Genesis, King Crimson is easily the most important progressive rock band, and their magnum opus is this 1969 chef d-'oeurve, which, in essence, created progressive rock as we know it nowadays. With the creative hurricane Robert Fripp leading the band, they created this testament to rock music, this jazz-influenced, guitar and keyboard-laden opus which remains to this very day the most influential record in the genre. Drawing influence from jazz, classical, and even mainstream psychedelic rock, King Crimson developed this nigh-perfect record, featuring several grim, dystopian recordings and a very expressive, modern sound.

Each track is an inventive, original work, and each is representative of progressive rock as a whole; the heavy "21st Century Schizoid Man" has remained Crimson's most well-known song, and it is, like the record's other pieces, a depressing, scary, joyless melody that presents the world as a place of suffering and discrimination. "I Talk to the Wind" is certainly a change of directions, showing more of a folk influence than a bombastic jazz one, as the previous track did. Following is the horribly somber "Epitaph", which, like most Crimson songs, labels the world an uninviting place. The melody itself is really quite funereal, featuring grim atmospheric elements through Robert Fripp's acoustic guitar and Ian McDonald's keyboards. The fourth track, "Moonchild", is an interesting affair; it begins as a seemingly innocent ballad, but develops into an intense, jazzy jamming session, a la the Allman Brothers. The album closes with the beautiful "The Court of the Crimson King", which, to this very day, remains one of King Crimson's masterpieces. The heavy mellotron riff fits the melancholy mood excellently, and the result is absolutely brilliant.

This record is an absolute must-have for any fan of the progressive rock genre.