IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

First of all, excuse my english. I´ll try to make miself clear though. ....Whenever I think of prog rock and ever need to discuss about it with a friend, "21st century" is the first and best reference I can come up with. Thinking of the music around, back in ´69 and listening to this song is something beyond my inteligence. This song was really a groundbreaking moment in rock history. The sounds, the overwelming complexity, the impressive playing and the fresh and original concept and style was something no one could have ever imagined. It really was. There was not even anything like this among prog rockers (If there were any by then). Regardless of the year when this song was written, it is as a song, a wonderfully addictive piece of music. Those sudden stop-and- go, perfectly coordinated moments and the implicit energy throughout, is what makes of this song something we all prog fans make us feel proud for liking this genre. I could really not tell if this should be considered the best prog rock song ever. In the end, what is prog, really?. One thing I know for sure though; This song will impress anyone who can tell good music from the rest.

About the album as a whole, I wont and couldn´t say it´s a 5 star album. I´ve read some comments in this site and most people seem to feel uncomfortable about the evident inconsistency of this album. Yet, most of them seem to disregard "moonchild" and the excesive minutes on "Epitaph", "In the court" and "I talk to the wind" in order to be able to rate this album with 5 stars. This may be or may be not be the start of progressive rock. It is very exciting to create idols, wonders and dogmas. Calling "In the court" the first, essential, masterpiece of progressive music and most quintessential prog-rock album ever may be a statement a little bit too extreme. After 35 years of repeated opinions like that, any album may get to be all that, and more ¡¡.

This album is 16:40 minutes of prog rock ("21st" and "In the court"), 6:00 minutes of Pop ballad with "I talk to the wind", "Epitaph" could be called .what?, power ballad? And is a 8:47 minutes song. And the remaining 12:11 minutes is crap. It is¡. 3 decent minutes, out of a total of 12:11 don´t make this song a good song. There really is not much prog in this album. And that fact alone doesn´t make it any less worse. But wouldn´t that jeopardise this album´s status?.

"I talk to the wind" and "Epitaph" are very enjoyable to listen too. Whatsmore, they may be heard with more enthusiasm after the 30th time than "21st". Because of the large amount of "feeling" within their lines and textures. But that same thing could happen with any song, prog or not. These ones are not prog. And I insist, that doesn´t make them any less enjoyable, but the fact that they are so highly regarded may be an indication of people overrating them. It seems like the amount of real artistic ideas in this album was so little, and the ghost of that crappy "Moonchild" so overwhelming, that King Crimson´s fans felt the need of creating a dogma around this album, so big that no one ever questioned the real quality within.

Now, "In the court of the crimson king" (The song) is an interesting song, with catchy moods all around. The sounds are definitely something that catches your senses and attention. But in my opinion, the song lacks of diversity, mainly due to the poor songwriting abilities King Crimson had at the time and kept showing onwards. ..This may look like a very absurd thing to say, but it was true. This song was made out of no more than 3 musical ideas (chorus, tones, sounds). It´s way too long for the amount of diferent passages and atomospheres shown here. I do like like it and can listen to it from the very beginning till the very last second with no harm. But in the end, it´s not a song that would make any difference in a better album. It would even be a low point.

Making a critic on this album as a fan, I adore it, I may even find the funny side in "moonchild". As a serious (And maybe a fool one, why not?) listener, I can´t grant this album the provilege of receiving all the very best considerations when the only real great song here is "21st". And it´s wonderful and amazing but it cannot handle the weight of a whole album by itself alone. I would rate this albut with 3 stars. I´m giving it 4 only because of what the rating stands for: "Excellent addition to any ....". In my opinion, it is "good and essential", like a 3.5 rating. It could not be otherwise. But it definitely is not a masterpiece.