IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

Well, I'm getting a feeling that this album does not need another five. This rating simply reflects my opinion about the album, which is not to say that no amount of 'Moonchild' could change that.

I will try to drop my firm focus on the concise delivery of my point here (and I hope you will understand why) and simply state that 'Schizoid Man' is a blast. One night I just couldn't sleep till 3:00am because I had the track in my head all these hours. Mike Giles is drumming his kit off, making it sound on occasions like a helicopter. How about that? OK, enough said.

'I Talk to the Wind' is very nice, with those enamoring flute parts played in harmony. But what (for the lack of a better word) bites me the most is the part where Greg Lake sings "The wind does not hear, the wind cannot hear", and the combination of his vocal timbre and the outstanding flute melody - God!

'Epitaph' did not strike me hard at first, but some time went by, and I understood the essence of the dense textures on this song. Greg Lake sings the same lyrics in different places on different levels of dynamics, and by the time the song is almost finished, you are surrounded with a sonic storm of a Mellotron, drums, and (I think it is) an electric guitar.

'Moonchild' gets a point (assume it to be different from a star) for originality, a point for the presence of the gloomy classical-folky feel to it, and a point for Lake's vocal. Yes, I'm talking about 'The Dream' section. If you enjoy 'The Illusion', remember this: I like John McLaughlin and Miles Davis' work on the 'In a Silent Way' section of the eponymous track better than what the Crims have to offer on that second part of 'Moonchild'. If you enjoy the absence of structure and ecstatic melodies and harmonies, the work of Wes Montgomery, and Miles Davis' bizarre 'musical' approach on "Bitches Brew", then 'The Illusion' is for you. Don't forget that there are some people who actually enjoy this kind of stuff, and so might you.

The closer of the album is just the thing that got me into this whole prog rock mess. God bless this mess. All I needed were these first two-three seconds of the sound of the Mellotron, and here I am, with about four-five years of prog rock listening experience behind my back. I've never heard anything quite like this before, but you might have heard this line about a thousand times by now. That thing is such a mad "sucker", if you know what I mean.

Ratings/comments (if you have to ask):

1. '21st Century Schizoid Man' - *****

2. 'I Talk to the Wind' - *****

3. 'Epitaph' - *****

4. 'Moonchild' - **

5. 'The Court of the Crimson King' - ***** (It's still my personal favorite, not the 'Schizoid Man'. Sorry if I by chance had bruised your ego.)

Stamp: "I like it", not "Highly recommended" because I would not recommend it to mainstream-music buying folks, whatever generation of the 20th or 21st century you would pick. The songs and jams are long and instrumental, so why is this not on the radio? If there was a record I would highly recommend, it would be ELO's "New World Record". (Yes, I might have some strange criteria. Whatever.)