Is "In the court of the crimson king" over-rated?

micky wrote: ahhh.. guess I've found my topic for the night too important to be written off as overrated... but hahhaha... Moonchild brings that album down in a big way for quality.  The importance is without question.. the album itself... I thought ITWOP a better album.

For me, ITCOTCK was a case of love at first hearing - at the ripe old age of 15. Since then, I've never stopped considering it as one of the real masterpieces of prog - even though perhaps a flawed masterpiece in the same way as, for instance, SEbtP or BSS. Personally, I love the way the band explored different styles - jazz, hard rock, folk, experimental, symphonic prog  - in the space of only five tracks.

ITWOP is also a much better album than it is usually given credit for, but I still think it is not on a par with its predecessor. The title-track is, in my humble opinion, probably the best vocal performance ever by Greg Lake.

fuxi wrote: Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: Overrated: How can all this millions of idiots don't agree with me that this album is crap if I say it's crap? Please explain.

ITCOTCK, Close to the edge and Pawn hearts. the holy trinity of prog. IMO. So the anwser is simply: Hell, no !

It's not called "Best ever" by many, but "(One of the) greatest ever". There's a difference here, between a work of art being "best" and being "great". "Best" at what? There are extremely few cases where the one who sets the rules in a discipline is also the best in accomplishing it's potential (so it's usually "best at something some other guy invented"), and there are many cases when the someone starts a genre, a discipline, without being able to go all the way - but it's the vision that counts. There may be many others who did better in the line of "ITCOTKC". But "ITCOTKC" had the originality that had the influence needed to develop such a wide spectrum of artistic activity... and it was all hidden inside it, there was no random course of action. That's what makes it a great work of art, namely one of the greatest. I couldn't agree more with this kind of rating.

I have never been so dissapointed by an album as i was by "In the court.."
 
I can still remember listening to it the first time, thinking to myself during moonchild that.... well, probably about the same thing Rick Wakeman thought about Tales from topographic oceans.
Not because it was bad, no, but because i was totally blown away by "21st century schizoid man", and i was hoping for more of the same, but instead i got... Moonchild, haha..
Since then, i've come to apreciate it a lot more, and it's a great album. Not Moonchild, though. And i'll fight to the death whoever claims it is a masterpiece, hahaha!

Progger wrote: If compared to true masterpieces it would only be a *** album. Defineatly no more than that as that is being generous.

What, in your view, are true masterpieces then?

As far as I'm concerned it's the most overrated Prog album ever along with Close to the Edge and Dark Side of the Moon. That doesn't mean it's bad, I just can't see how people can rate it as the quintessential Prog album. 

Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: progismylife wrote: Progger wrote: If compared to true masterpieces it would only be a *** album. Defineatly no more than that as that is being generous. What, in your view, are true masterpieces then?   Knowing Progger, erase Genesis from your list  he admits liking some of their older stuff but not outstanding.   Let me guess, probably Fragile or Close to the Edge would be his choice.   Both great albums anyway CTTE reaches the status of masterpiece ALSO IMHO.   My great question is the meaning of the phrase "TRUE MASTERPIECE".   Masterpiece is a status with whuich each one of us rates some albums, my masterpieces are different from the ones Progismylife has and of course different from Sean Trane's, even my teammates BHIKKHU, ClemofNazareth or my good friends Raf and Micky have different tastes and they may qualify as masterpiece an album I honestly find average or can't stand, and so they can do with my list.   Why somebody's masterpieces have to be true and ours false?   That's the problem with arts, there are no exact truths in matter of preferences, for me ITCOTCK is a 100% masterpiece, and remember, I'm far from being a fan of King Crimson, I can't stand albums as Thrak or Bboom and hardly can listen Larks Tongues in Aspic to be honest, but the touch of the genius is something you can feel in your soul if not in your brain, the genius has own light, even if it's too bright or too low for you or me, you can notice it.   And believe me I can feel the touch of the genius in King Crimson even if I don't like lets say 80% of their work.   Iván

pshhhhhhhhh. no, i dont think over-rating it is possible.

Absolutely not. IMHO, it was the first album to break free of psychedelia and stands as the first concrete prog album, though the Moody Blues, Floyd, The Doors, and latter day Beatles all gave prog a head start. Also, the music, though not flawless, is some of the most thought-provoking instrumentality I've ever heard. Normally, lyrics win me over, but the genius displayed here cannot be denied.