IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

When viewed through the lens of almost half a century, this album may seem a bit like a relic, but it contains within it a cross section of some of the most notable divergent paths of progressive rock music. From avant-garde jazz fusion and meandering experimental soundscapes, to theatrical drama and melancholy balladeering, and from freeform musicality to metronome-tick precision, there is something of special note in every track.

While I will no way concede that the entire album is a casually listenable from end-to-end (i.e. the only way to truly digest it is in a concentrated, focused listening session), as a piece of work it stands unmovable as a menhir in the henge of progressive rock music.