IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

i think this is a msterpiece of prog if you cut the massive lump of pointless crap at the end of moonchild. It is just noodling, and lets face it, improvisation doesn't sound very musical when its play by 3-4 blokes at the same time! I honestly don't blame Greg Lake for walking out at this one.

21st Century Schizoid Man is an extremely good jazz piece, not necessarily prog, but it is an awesome piece and deserves merit. The middle jamming section is very influential and needs to be recognised more. I Talk to the Wind is a memorable ballad with one of the best flute solos I've ever heard at the end, and some lovely jazz-esque guitar work from Fripp. Epitaph is a very dark, depressing song, but nonetheless genius and musically enjoyable: it probably was and still is the main building block of gothic chord progressions in modern music. Moonchild brings the album down one notch. They should have left the song alone imho, and i think this song is the foundation of Fripp's insanity used for the wrong reasons. 10 solid minutes of directionless improvisation is too much for me. In the Court... is the highlight of the album. Truely a great song, and a masterpiece in the way that it kicked of the whole prog legacy. Without its world class musicianship, dark lyrics and inventiveness, would prog still be the same today? I doubt it somehow, so all progheads have a lot to owe this song i think.

21st Century Schizoid Man - (10/10) I Talk to the Wind - (8/10) Epitaph - (8/10) Moonchild - (5/10) In the Court of the Crimson King - (10/10)