IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

The distorted sound of "21st Century Schizoid Man" must have sounded radical in 1969, and it still sounds as brutal and fresh today. Not many records from that year have aged with such grace as "In the Court of the Crimson King" (an exception would be "Hot Rats" by Frank Zappa) and it sounds as if it's not from this world. It's raw, it's mellow, it's edgy, it's soft, and it has some awesome riffs and melodies.

A quick run through the tracks:

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" A disturbing piece of exploding jazzrock. One of KC's key songs, and also one of their best. 5/5

2. "I Talk to the Wind" A mellow ballad, with some nice playing and vocals. The weakest track in my opinion. 4/5

3. "Epitaph" Epic and haunting, with nice melltron sounds and drums. I also love the lyrics of this one. 5/5

4. "Moonchild" Some complains that this track is too long. I disagree. I love the improvised playing, it's very atmospheric. 4/5

5. "The Court of the Crimson King" If "Epitaph" was epic, then this is EPIC! I love the false ending, when the song comes back in the shape of a keyboard that sounds like something from Disney's "Snow White". And the chorus, ah the chorus! LOVELY! 5/5

Of course this record is worth five points!