IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

A whole lot of people say that this is one of the greatest albums of all time, and I disagree. It's very good, but not great. It certainly was very important and groundbreaking, but importance-bias will not get me that far. Well, here's the songs. 21st Century Schizoid Man is a really great song, and a really great way to open the album. I see what people love so much about this track, and easily give it a 5/5. I Talk To the Wind is also a really great song. It is in complete contrast from the previous track, and has some beautiful flute playing. 5/5. Epitaph is not a really great song. It's okay-- I don't much like the main chord progression, I find it a bit cliched, and as a musician, cliche is something to avoid. I like the overall epicness of the track. 3/5. Moonchild is... deserving to be split in two for the purpose of this review. I love the first two minutes or so. They are beautiful. 5/5. Then we get to the last nine minutes. These nine minutes are not painful-- my ears do not bleed or anything. But the sheer infamy of this track is not exaggeration. I find these nine minutes mind numbing. They go nowhere-- from nowhere. It's essentially a couple instruments trading bits of stuff. It's primarily silence, there are just bits of notes stuck in where you don't want them to be. 0/5. It averages out to about 2/5. The title track picks the pace back up and hurtles it across the room at amazing velocity. If you're looking for prog, sheer epicness, or ridiculously pompous lyrics, this is your song. I love the flute-y things near the end. Overall, an album that is marred but not ruined by Moonchild.