King Crimson's little success?

I'd say KC's forte was the instrumental and I don't think the vocals attracted people. Also they were more experimental than other successful bands.

Very simple, the music of KC is not accessible at all, nor do I think Fripp intended it to be that. It took me years to get into KC, but that is because I like progressive rock music, had I not been a prog rock listener I would not be into KC.

Catcher10 wrote: It's ok

I adore KC, but one of the whole points about the band is that Fripp’s vision was entirely, after the first, more successful, album, his. His vision did not include commercial success. It was based completely around the music he wanted to make.

One of my deterrents to KC in the early days was the disconnect of the band, so many lineup changes it was like major league draft day every year, you never knew what the lineup would be. So I ended up looking at each album as a new band release every time, that helped.

TexasKing wrote: Why is King Crimson the least successful out of greatest classic prog bands? Prog albums by Yes, Rush, Genesis, Tull and ELP sold better than Crimson. Only an album ITCOTCK is certified Gold in both the US and UK. Does it mean that those bands have a wider appeal to music fans than KC and if so, why?

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - March 29 2020 at 12:10

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Also, I think next to Pink Floyd and Rush they are in my opinion(based on my online observations)the most respected prog band among the younger generation of prog fans(approximately 35 and under).

TexasKing wrote: AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Also, I think next to Pink Floyd and Rush they are in my opinion(based on my online observations)the most respected prog band among the younger generation of prog fans(approximately 35 and under).  I was quite surprised to see their debut being ranked at 6 on RateYourMusic's album chart with average score 4.31 (nearly 35 000 ratings). Also an album Red is rated very high - 4.22 (over 18 000 ratings) and Larks' Tongues in Aspic has an average score over 4.

And that's from their general all genres music chart, which makes it more impressive. In the progressive rock chart, In the Court of the Crimson King ranks at number 3, Red at number 5, Larks' Tongues in Aspic at number 12, Discipline at 16, Starless and Bible Black at 57, Islands at 65 etc.

Pink Floyd on RYM's Prog chart does better, having the I, 2, 4, and 8 position. Rush has four in the top 40 with moving Pictures at number 17 being the highest rated, and Hemispheres at number 30 being the second highest rated. Yes' Close to the Edge, its top-rated is at 6 and Genesis top rated, Selling England by the Pound, is at 13. Interestingly, Can has three albums in the top 10 there (does better there than at this site). Next to Pink Floyd, Can is the most popular there in the top 10 progressive rock chart (someone once said it has something to do with the people there being more hipsterish).

While King Crimson hasn't been one of the most successful in terms of overall album sales (the break/ dissolution didn't help when they might have had more real break-out success), but it has remained obvious at this site and in other Prog communities that it likely is the most respected Prog band. It's won contests here. For me it is the king of Prog, and I would argue that the band has had lots of success: artistically, critically, and commercially, but I don;t know the numbers as well as others (and other bands, as said, have had more commercial success). I don't think the music on the whole would be nearly as accessible as many other Prog bands. KC is more experimental than many, dissolved when it might have become much bigger, and tried different things which could alienate audiences.

Edited by Logan - March 29 2020 at 14:56

If you're only basing the term success on album sales you may be limiting things a bit. Most art rock bands defined success by how well they do playing live gigs and i would guess if you factored in KC's numerous live albums and countless concerts, they could very well be one of the most successful prog artists of all time. Having a gold album isn't everything. Artists like Frank Zappa and KC found success with a niche market and milked it for all it was worth by releasing dozens of albums and even more live releases, compilations, archival sets, DVDs etc. Add to that KC has stood the test of time and i'm also not sure if sales of newer releases on different labels are included in the Billboard charts.

King Crimson sells out venues today, 3 nights in Seattle last tour 2 yrs ago, albeit first night was a F&F event but still.