First four King Crimson albums

In the Court of the Crimson King

Alright, I’m on a King Crimson bender, so I guess that means we’re going to have to ride it out together. The first King Crimson record was recorded from the ashes of psychedelic group Giles, Giles and Fripp. The band even recorded an album called The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. It wasn’t very successful. The original King Crimson line up consisted of Robert Fripp (the only consistent member in all line-ups of the band), Ian MacDonald, Greg Lake and Michael Giles (but not his brother Peter from the original group). The band also recruited Peter Sinfield as a lyricist.

In the Court of the Crimson King consists of five tracks which set the sound of progressive rock. Whilst Pink Floyd and Yes had each been around for a few years earlier and there are definitely progressive elements in the later Beatles albums (Revolver and Sgt. Peppers more specifically) this is the first album to narrow it to a specific sound rather than hit and miss experimentation; although there is some of that as well. The album begins with 21st Century Schizoid Man was has a jazzier feel than the rest of the album does, particularly in the middle section, titled Mirrors on the jacket. This brings me to another point, the King Crimson naming scheme. It for the most part makes zero sense. Sure, you can infer a break in 21st Century Schizoid Man, and everyone will be able to tell you where it begins and ends. Epitaph does not have ANY of these breaks. Listing it as Epitaph (including “March for No Reason” and “Tomorrow and Tomorrow”) is somewhat dishonest. Both Moonchild and the title track do similar things, but this was cooled down a wee bit by the second record.

I Talk to the Wind is somewhat folkier, so is Epitaph although the latter has a grandness about it which is absent in the earlier track. Moonchild is the break point for a lot of people. There is nearly ten minutes of ambient free jazz noodling after a two minute song. I quite like it personally, but I can understand some of the frustration. Three minutes were cut off in the 2009 remix with the full version appearing as a ‘bonus track’. The album concludes with the title track. It’s basically idle fantasy bollocks, but there is definite imagery to it. It’s kind of like a medieval fairground or something.

The playing on the album is spot on, even Moonchild which was obviously made up on the spot seems like it turned out exactly as intended. Greg Lake is the best vocalist the band ever had, even if I prefer the compositional advantage of John Wetton. Good album, and yes the Crimson King in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is based on this album, but more the cover than the actual musical content methinks.

The 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of the album is an exercise in excess, albeit one obviously worth taking. It launched one of the best CD reissuing programmes ever, with the possible exception of the Beatles remasters the same year. It comes with 5 cd’s and one DVD. On it you have a remix, the 2004 Original Masters edition, the first CD from an original master tape. You have a first pressing needledrop, an ‘alternate’ album, a promotional mono mix and lots of alternate mixes, takes, demos and live albums. You also have a DVD with a 5.1 mix and both the remix and original masters version of the album. For the budget conscious get the cd/dvd set. For wankers get the full version like I did. The remix of the album is actually really good, although with so many mixes it’s tough to say which I like the best.

21st Century Schizoid Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBfCzhYbWBk

In the Wake of Poseidon

Upon release this was criticised as being overly similar to the debut, which was received moderately successfully. Pictures of a City is 21st Century Schizoid Man’s identical twin, which the same theme, lyrical structure and the jazzy interlude 42nd at Treadmill quotes Mirrors note for note in several instances. Cadence and Cascade is a vaguely fetishist equivalent to I Talk to the Wind and In the Wake of Poseidon I guess covers both Epitaph and In the Court of the Crimson King from the first album.

Most importantly, how good is it? The answer is: surprisingly excellent. I admit, it took me a while to get into this one, and I was full of cynicism upon first listening. The album to me is less an imitation and more an alternate take on the lyrical and musical themes established, which is an aspect which would recur throughout the history of the band in the form of the four parts of Lark Tongue in Aspic is the most prominent example. I’d say the title track is stronger here than it was last round, mostly because vocally it’s a lot closer to Epitaph, one of the highlights of the early King Crimson catalogue.

It’s amazing how cohesive the band’s sound is this time. Greg Lake only sang on the album so that he could get the band’s PA equipment in return, and even then his replacement Gordon Haskell performed Cadence and Cascade. By the time of the records release, Fripp and Peter Sinfield didn’t even have a band to take the record on tour.

It’s tough to call which is better, this album or the first. The answer tends to be whichever I listened to most recently, but I think a slight edge is given to the second side of this record, which has Cat Food, which ended up with the group performing on Top of the Pops. The Devil’s Triangle is, to me, the centrepiece of the record, and probably the most typical of what would become the King Crimson sound.

Cat Food: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Ydq-NU2Iw
The Devil’s Triangle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FneEa7F1UA

Lizard

After the various personnel issues during the sessions for, and following the release of, In the Wake of Poseidon the future of King Crimson was uncertain. Fripp managed to recruit Gordon Haskell for a permanent vocal/bass role in the group and immediately went forward with writing and recording Lizard. This is the jazziest album the group have ever made, and it’s a shame they couldn’t have made peace with Greg Lake long enough to get a studio version of Travel Weary Capricorn on record.

The strong jazz feel to the album is probably what makes it my favourite King Crimson album. The album was recorded in some pretty tense circumstances, as evidenced by Gordon Haskell’s giggling at Peter Sinfield’s lyrics at the end of Indoor Games. The second side is standing out a bit more after a few years of not having heard it. It just seems more accessible now. I don’t know, maybe after learning how to follow Bitches Brew everything’s easy by comparison.

It’s been years since I’ve heard the original mix, but the new mix feels a lot more open than I remember the old one being. I could be wrong. Thank God the DVD includes both mixes so I can check later; I wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise.

Cirkus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqGNlyMpz7E

Islands

Another year, another line up change, another album. This time Boz Burrell takes bass and vocal duties. His voice is a lot more like Greg Lake’s, I’d be interested in hearing how he does some of the old stuff live actually.

The album begins with the folky Formentera Lady. Isn’t it amazing how album art can affect your view of the album? I’m sure that’s why this feels like a night-time album. There is subtle hint of the direction of Lark’s Tongues in a couple of the tracks on the album. Ultimately, what I like the most is how all the influences are pretty evenly balanced for the first time ever. That and the sax solo in The Letters.

As far as the music goes, all of the King Crimson albums are growers, so it’s a little tough to tell exactly how I feel about it, but I like what I hear. Particularly is Boz’ bass playing on this record, which stands out a lot.

The Letters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ygjaFUI_HE
Ladies of the Road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQKp5FVslG0

There we go, all caught up.