Crimson are good shocker!!

many moons ago I bought "In the Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson. This, I was told, was a seminal prog album, the motherlode almost, the record which spawned a generation of wondrous prog excess.
So I parted with my cash for the umpteenth reissiue of the album and slapped it eagerly into the CD player. And....
Yawn!!!!! I found it boring, too wrapped in meandering 60s pyschedelia, too fey, too ambitious for its own good and I hated the vocals.
In short it put me off the band for good.
At least so I thought. For some reason I went back to KC of months ago, on a whim, after reading one of the reviews of Red here. I nabbed myself a copy and I am.... astounded.
What an amazing album. It's angular, grinding, angry, tricksome, smooth, clever, intricate, unwieldy, brutal and delicate all at the same time. It is a completely different band. This could have been recorded last week, so timeless are its ideas and the execution of them.
I'm amazed and slightly shame-faced for I've a fair amount of time on this site berating Crimson, all on the strength of their first album, which I still consider to be weak. I know that's heresy but after hearing Red I ploughed on through Lark's Tongues and Islands and they are both better than In tghe Court.
To the people who have listened to KC's debut and shrugged your shoulders at its dubious charms: Go and buy Red. You owe it to yourself. It's an amazing record and by band who amazed me at the thoroughness of their bold reinvention.


Edited by arcer

For me Red & Starless and Bible Black are miles ahead of any of their earlier stuff

In the Court, while a good album isn't really the masterpiece that we make it out to be. Like all incarnations, the album was better in a live setting, as shown by Epitaph volume 1&2. More energy and more intresting.

goose wrote: For me Red & Starless and Bible Black are miles ahead of any of their earlier stuff

I agree - pre Larks Tongues In Aspic Crimson has dated badly for the most part, although those early albums were massively influential and contain some real gems.

Well I consider 'In the Court of the Crimson King' and 'Red' to be massively overrated. The only reason 'Red' doesn't sound dated is because it is very much a rock album, Maybe even metal. Today there are a lot of bands that make albums that sound like 'Red', None of them are probably as good!  But you can see how a lot of new groups have been influenced by that era of Crimson. (Kurdt Cobain's favourite album was 'Red') So to me, It's a lot less progressive than most other Crimson albums, It's not breaking any new ground, It's just a collection of great songs (Except the dull 'Providence') and of course the epic 'Starless'. As for 'In the Court', Another great album but one that has a lot of weak points, And 'Moonchild' (The last ten minutes) isn't the only weak point on the album! 'I Talk to the Wind' and the title track are a little longer than they should be, But both are fine tracks.

I'd give both 'Red' and 'In the Court' **** and not one more! I think my analysis of both albums are quite fair, and for me, Crimson had better albums, Some are just much more interesting.

Interesting.  I have had several experiences like that with many albums; a yawner on the first listen, then stunning with repeated observations.  Y'all check out "In the Wake of Poseidon"....now THAT's the Crimson album that stunned me! It is almost as amazing as ITCOTCK and LTIA.  There are moments of pure beauty and fascination. A beautiful album.  To me, after Starless and Bible Black, Crimson began to be complex for complexity's sake, and entered the realm of indeciperable technobable.  How do y'all feel about the 21st Century Schizoid Band?  Made up of former Crimson members, their audio samples on I-tunes sound good to me, gonna check them out further. 

I basically have become a King Crimson fanboy since my first album by them (the power to believe). They and Dream Theater showed me the way into prog rock. And IMO they have never released a bad album in the late 60's early 70's and you can at least find 1 album you'll like by them.
 IKing Crimson

I don't think the early albums are dated either. In the Court's material is still good, though I am baffled by those few horrendous drum fills.

BaldFriede wrote: Winter Wine wrote: But you can see how a lot of new groups have been influenced by that era of Crimson. (Kurdt Cobain's favourite album was 'Red') So to me, It's a lot less progressive than most other Crimson albums, It's not breaking any new ground, It's just a collection of great songs (Except the dull 'Providence') and of course the epic 'Starless'. That's one of the best examples for a self-contradictory statement I ever saw.

Do you mind telling me how Baldy?

BaldFriede wrote: If a lot of bands have been influenced by an album, it certainly means to me the album was progressive (ahead of the time). Don't you agree? Have a look at the dictionary definition of progressive: pro·gres·sive    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (pr-grsv) adj. Moving forward; advancing. Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change. Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership. Progressive Of or relating to a Progressive Party: the Progressive platform of 1924. Of or relating to progressive education: a progressive school. Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases: a progressive income tax. Pathology. Tending to become more severe or wider in scope: progressive paralysis. Grammar. Designating a verb form that expresses an action or condition in progress. Definition number 3 would apply here.

It's not a PROGRESSIVE rock album, but it has influenced other bands. How is that hard to understand?