Court Of The Crimson King - Your First Listening
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=80885
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Topic: Court Of The Crimson King - Your First Listening
Posted By: marktheshark
Subject: Court Of The Crimson King - Your First Listening
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 09:40
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I finally went and bought the recent 5CD+1DVD box set for this and yes, now that they finally have the original 8 track multi-channel masters it does sound incredible. I can't believe those masters have been lost all these decades.
I was 12 when it first came out. I was a record-buying fanatic at the time and for weeks whenever I was hanging out at my favorite record store, a huge store called Giant Music, I kept seeing on the new release display this album with that weird face staring out. No title, no artist's name, just that surreal face. I finally asked one of the clerks what the heck was this album about. He said something about a new group that came out of nowhere and that the album was a real mindblower. Being an aspiring drummer at the time, I asked how were the drums on it and he said amazing. So, I eventually coughed up the 4 bucks for it and took it home. I was immediatley blown away by Schizoid Man. But being more into the hard driving sounds of Hendrix, Cream, The Who among others, I was pretty bored with the rest of the album. For the next few years, Schizoid was pretty much the only track I would repeatedly listen to. I can't say that this was the album that hooked me into prog. That really didn't come until later with Yes's Fragile. But over the years I would revisit the rest of the album until eventually it became one of my favorites. So what do you remember of your first exposure to this landmark album? Was it the one that hooked you into prog? Or was it something else and you backtracked to it? |
Replies:
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 09:44
| Actually I can't remember when I first heard it but I was around 12 when I first heard the live version of "Tarkus" from Welcome Back My Friends..., and it was a long time before I knew why the audience cheered when Lake sang the bit from Epitaph. |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 09:55
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14 yrs? 15 yrs? I don't remember, but for sure it was dad trying to give me a lesson in prog, KC and Fripp badassery altogether. He even sat with me through the whole, pointing out things, such as the second part of "Moonchild" ("So special! Nobody pulled something like that back then!"). Thanks dad! Alas, I wasn't impressed by it. I found "21st Century Schizoid Man" beyond repugnant. My first KC eargasm was easily the next in line ITWOP (heard a few days later). Overall, it took me 5 more years to finally come to think of it as a flawless masterpiece. ------------- 
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Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 10:00
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Listened to it about a year ago, I was underwhelmed. Schizoid Man is pretty cool though. ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: Adams Bolero
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 10:13
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It blew my mind especially the title track and 'I talk to the wind'. It opened up musical horizons for me that I didn't know existed. ------------- ''Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.'' - Albert Camus |
Posted By: Kotro
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 10:14
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I must have been 8 or 9 years old. My dad had been "feeding" me stuff like the Moody Blues, Led Zeppelin, Barclay James Harvest and Jethro Tull. He then showed me Tubular Bells and I was blown away. "I want more of this", I said. He looked at me, then went to the shelf and came back with that frightening face on his hands. He put it on and told me to listen closely. "I can't hear a thing, dad!" "Get your hear closer to that speaker." "Oh, yeah, I can here some noises there, but they're so quie... DA DA DARAN DAN DAN... Ahhh! My ears!" Sudenly the album cover made sense. And my dad was a sadist. Bless him. During days after school I would neglect homework and just listen to the thing over and over again. Side One was probably more played than Side 2, it took me a while to get into Moonchild and In the Court of the Crimson King. Probably not the album that definitly converted me to prog (I dabbled a lot in classic hard rock, blues rock and pop before really pledging allegiance to prog), but definitly one that helped my future embracement of the movement. ------------- Bigger on the inside. |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 10:20
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i actualy bought In wake of the Poseidon before i bought In Court of the Crimson King, so i was was awear of the sonic booom i was waiting for, so i liked it emidietly, it can be why i like In Wake of the Posiedon so much as i dooooooo
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Posted By: tdfloyd
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 10:49
| I was in my early teens when I heard the title track on FM radio. Was totally floored. I did not know who did it and it wasn't until later when I found out. My first KC album was The Young Person's Guide to KC and that when I first heard Epitaph. Incredible! I then got ITCOTKC. Fantastic cover especially on an album. I'm not a big fan of 21st century and Moonchild can drag a bit, but the 2 big songs are unbelievable!! |
Posted By: Formentera Lady
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:05
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Genesis brought me into prog, not King Crimson. I bought all KC albums in a very short succession end of the 80s/beginning of the 90's, most on vinyl. And, honestly, I don't remember which I bought first. Back then I listened to all albums in a row and decided, that the Wetton era would be my favourite KC era. My favourite track of their debut is the title track. What struck me of this album was the release date. I thought, 1969 and it was already so mature and contained already all the elements that Genesis and Yes much later adopted...
------------- http://theprogressiveweb.blogspot.de" rel="nofollow - Visit me in Second Life to talk about music. |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:08
That pretty much mirrors my first KC experience. I was about 14, and I went to a mate's house, and he had the Young Person's Guide. He put Epitaph on, and I was blown away. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
tdfloyd wrote:Posted By: marktheshark
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:15
Almost the same with me, even though I already had ITCOTKC, I didn't revisit them until I heard that Bruford joined them. Then the Wetton/Bruford era really hooked me. He was always one of my favorite drummers. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 11:49
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Honestly can't remember, it came at me along with a bunch of other prog at the time. So much good stuff that it didn't make a particular impression. Love the album. How is the surround mix? Worth the price of admission? ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: thehallway
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:20
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Prog interest + Internet = you're bound to come across King Crimson at some point. ------------- http://www.thefreshfilmblog.com/" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Henry Plainview
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:29
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I think it was about 5 years ago. To be honest, I didn't care much about it then, and I care about it even less now. I actually sold my copy...
------------- if you own a sodastream i hate you |
Posted By: A Person
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:36
Same, but I can't remember when I first heard it. |
Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:43
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I must have bought the album a full ten years after its initial release, if not more, but I had been familiar with the cover for a long time before that. Since it came relatively late in my King Crimson collecting, it was just one of many to me, a good album to be sure, but it was not my favorite of theirs and never has been. INTWOP was my first Crimson purchase (or was that LTIA?), and by the time I bought it I had a good half dozen of their albums from a variety of eras. Nothing really prepares you for Schizoid Man, though, and that song knocked my block off. The rest of it though, reminded me so much of INTWOP that its impact was greatly softened. It is kind of weird that the sequence of my experience is the reverse of the actual release dates, but there you go. ------------- The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty" |
Posted By: marktheshark
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:43
I would say yes it's worth it. Some albums should be remixed in 5.1, while some don't. This one is very enveloping, especially the mellotron which gives the rears a good workout. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:46
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Dunno when I heard it first, so I assume that means it did not impress me much. I had a cassette version many moons ago and ofcourse it wore out, not sure why cause I did not play it much. Tape just gets dry and eventually cracks away and turns to dust.....
I bought a used vinyl copy last year, which is in amazing condition, I was shocked!! As close to mint condition as you can get.....I guess the owner did not play it much either.
Side 2 for me is better.....to me sounds just fine since it is from 1969..the album cover gatefold is pretty cool for sure.
I would like to know about the remastered sound also......although I doubt I would buy a CD version...albums like this which are held in such high regard should be enjoyed in their original format.
Is there a remastered vinyl version coming out also? -------------   
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Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 12:49
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I first heard 21st Century Schizoid Man listening to Alan Freeman's Saturday afternoon radio show during the 70's. Liked that track instantly but it's a rather patchy album at best (Pivotal to Prog certainly, but there's a lot of fluff on it) ------------- 
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Posted By: JJLehto
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 13:09
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Backtracked in. I was the stereotypical teen that every old member hates on this site, the one that liked prog metal first and got into "regular" prog through there. Because we all suck It was one of my very first forays into prog rock though, being such a big name. I liked it a lot then, now....eh it's decent and an important album but not really much to whoop about. 3.25 stars for me. |
Posted By: akamaisondufromage
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 13:27
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I was probably pretty late about 17. A friend leant it to me (vinyl). Great cover except my friend had coloured one of the teeth in. I thought 21st C Schizoid Man was fantastic. The rest of it I thought was listenable and vaguely interesting - but no more than that. I still have the record but haven't played it for years and have never got the CD or have any desire to now. Oh well! I think its an important prog record in a historical way but ..... ------------- Help me I'm falling! |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 13:34
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Hmmm...is the truth finally coming out? Have we been brainwashed all these years..........ohhhh no! -------------
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Posted By: marktheshark
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 13:43
Right here: http://www.amazon.com/Court-King-Crimson-vinyl-LIMITED/dp/B0042EJD5I/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1314902463&sr=1-6" rel="nofollow - LINK |
Posted By: silverpot
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 13:55
| I was a huge Moody Blues fan at the time, so when In the Court came out I immediatley liked it. |
Posted By: refugee
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 14:20
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Interesting stories told here. I must have been 16 and a rabid fan of Genesis when a friend of mine lent me a cassette with music by KC (probably The Young Person’s …). I’m afraid I wasn’t very impressed at the time. About a year later I borrowed a bunch of records from another friend. Among those where Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Lizard and Islands. Because of that ItCotCK was the fourth KC record I bought, and I was well prepared. Even so I soon found out that the whole record was much more than the sum of it’s parts. It’s really amazing (though I still have a problem with the noodling part of Moonchild). Btw, among the records I borrowed was also Pawn Hearts, so I discovered two of my favourite bands at the same time. ------------- He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill) |
Posted By: Barah86
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 14:38
| It must have taken me 5 or 6 listens to comprehend the whole piece... i thought they were f**king maniacs the first time i heard it (: |
Posted By: GypsyJoker
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 16:48
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Dear ProgArchives Forum, You're not gonna believe this story. I can hardly believe it myself! I guess everybody's first time is memorable, but mine was epic. All the kids at school were amazed when I told them about it. I was 14, I think, and a real loser. (Not like I am now.) My cousin had a mind to set me up with this one, I think her name was 90125. Didn't float my boat much; she was pretty but kind of empty headed and seemed too easy. So he introduced me to another one, Three of a Perfect Pair. God, you know what they say about psychotic chicks--man, she was full-on crazy. I took her home to get to know her better, but I couldn't get past third base. She was one scary chick. Every time I'd put a move on her, she'd start howling like Kim Cattrall in Porky's and would start trying to jam ice-picks into my skull. I hung out with her for a while and we reached an impasse--I wouldn't try turning her over and she wouldn't try to melt my speakers. Then I met her older sister. She was kind of hot, really; from the neck down, she was smokin'. (Her face was a bit of a turn-off, at first, but I got used to it.) She was pretty schizoid, but damn was it love at first... uh... conversation. She was pretty gloomy, but man, was she deep. We were hot-n-heavy for a long while. I let her seduce me at her leisure, and she knew a few things that blew my mind. It was love at first listen. I still see her around a lot, and she's as amazing as ever. I married a girl named Relayer a while ago, but she isn't really the jealous sort. Don't know that I could handle a three-way, though. My brain would implode.
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Posted By: Andy Webb
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 16:57
------------- http://ow.ly/8ymqg" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: marktheshark
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 17:40
 When I started this thread, I was thinking along the same lines. Like that parody ad Larry Flynt did in Hustler mag about Falwell reminiscing his "first time" that got him into court.
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Posted By: Lark the Starless
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 18:24
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It was about 2 years ago, I think. I was really impressed with 4 of the 5 tracks (yep, you guessed it! The one I was so-so on was Moonchild.) I'm between 3 stars and 4 stars with it...closer to 4, though, but only slightly. ------------- 
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Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 18:57
| my first listen started out like "wtf this is really quiet OW MY EARDRUMS" |
Posted By: zappaholic
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 19:10
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I was well into adulthood when I first heard Court. Loved "21st" and the title track (still do), was struck by the contrast between "21st" and "Wind" (still am), didn't care much for "Epitaph" and "Moonchild" (still don't). Not my favorite album of theirs, but it did start the wheels turning. ------------- "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." -- H.L. Mencken |
Posted By: The Wrinkler
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 19:49
| I heard it 5 years ago and didn't know it was prog. I thought it was cool. But when I found out they were prog, it explained why the music was so crazy. |
Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 19:49
God damn lol
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Posted By: The Neck Romancer
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 20:04
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I think I heard it for the first time sometime between 2007/2008; I think it wasn't the first KC album I heard, I probably started with Red or LTIA. I got the 2-disc SW remix, don't care about the 2nd disc. ------------- 
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Posted By: DisgruntledPorcupine
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 20:07
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I bought it at HMV. First listen was in the car with my great-grandparents. They hates 21st Century Schizoid Man with a passion. But when I Talk to the Wind came on they were like "Ohh this is nice." Anyways, I loved the whole album instantly.
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: September 01 2011 at 21:59
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I got curious....been Googling the album and found the issue I have, Atlantic Records SD19155 is a US reissue from 1978, created from a stereo sub-master tape copy to help correct some of the original sound problems.
So far I have found it sells for about US$50.00 used in VG condition......Mine is pretty close to mint like VG+++ so I am pretty pleased with my find last year of US$8.00.....I guess the seller did not know which issue he had.
I also did not know that in Nov 2010 it was released again in CD and vinyl, new cut masters approved by Fripp and remastered by Steven Wilson......I would not mind having this vinyl version. -------------
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Posted By: Jake Kobrin
Date Posted: September 02 2011 at 00:30
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It's actually possible that I discovered this album on here, but I think that's not the case. I'm pretty sure I knew about it before hand. It's possible that I found about it through an interview with someone in band, maybe Tool, maybe Opeth, etc. That seemed to be how I'd discover bands around that time. But I really liked it. I wasn't even into prog at the time that I heard it, but this was the best thing I had heard that could be labeled as such. And then eventually the more I listened to it the more I grew to love it until it was my favorite prog album to exist! It was one of the very first records I ever bought, also, when starting my record collection. I still have that old record (the original one with the hard cover) framed in my room, even though I bought the new 180 gram pressing of it. If I had to guess a year that I heard it, I'd say maybe 2007? I doubt 2006. ------------- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Neil-Kobrin/244687105562746" rel="nofollow - SUPPORT MY FATHER AND BECOME A FAN Jacob Kobrin Illustration |
Posted By: awaken77
Date Posted: September 02 2011 at 02:24
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I listened KC 1st album quite ago I was immediately impressed by first track , I also enjoyed melodic and relaxing "Talk to the wind", but the rest of the alum I didn't found very interesting, rather disappointing. and the final track, while being sort of the "epic", is kind of repetitive and monotonous (a precursor to future "Zeuhl" thing? :-) ) I appreciate singificance of the Court for influence to all prog rock, it has elements of most future prog genres ( sympho prog, prog metal, RIO, zeuhl, etc) but it never was my favorite KC album. My favs are Larks Tongues in Aspic and Red |
Posted By: The Neck Romancer
Date Posted: September 02 2011 at 18:49
nope nope nope -------------
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Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: September 03 2011 at 00:59
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I still haven't got the album... But I heard it ages ago.
------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: September 03 2011 at 01:08
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It was one among the first wave of albums I listened to from my older brothers and cousins, maybe around 1972 when I was 6 or so. So I have it pretty hardwired in my brain. They used to skip Moonchild and start playing side 2 directly from the title song, so I only got to know and like Moonchild quite later on when I myself started to get stoned for listening to music, Moonchild was great when stoned.
For the rest I loved it from the beginning, the dynamics were awesome, suddenly so quiet and suddenly so loud.
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Posted By: jammun
Date Posted: September 03 2011 at 01:15
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I still remember the first night I heard it. (See that other thread.) We were in awe. ------------- Can you tell me where we're headin'? Lincoln County Road or Armageddon. |
Posted By: imaginedmind
Date Posted: September 03 2011 at 02:08
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I first heard "I Talked To The Wind" before I even really knew what progressive rock was. In those days I was just mainly into the psychedelic rock of the time. I absolutely loved the song and looked up the band at a record store and the guy let me play the album. All I heard was the explosive beginning with "Cat's Food! Iron Claw! Neurosurgeons Scream For More!" and I was hooked. Though admittedly I wasn't as blown back by Epitaph and Moonchild at first and often skipped to the last nine-and-a-half minute epic, since it reminded me of a dark Moody Blues sound. It wasn't until Yes that I really got into progressive rock (I found them through the song Astral Traveller, a rockin' psychedelic proto-prog number.) |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: September 03 2011 at 06:15
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Posted By: Ronnie Pilgrim
Date Posted: September 04 2011 at 12:03
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Back then, rock music didn't have as many labels as it does today. It was pretty much all lumped under Rock and Roll. So much innovation was going on that you couldn't sort the debris because the dust hadn't settled. But the King Crimson debut album was something we all knew was special. That shocking cover (at the time it was anyway), those haunting lyrics, the crystal clear vocals, the force of those Mellotrons front and center; gave us all pause as The Beatles fell apart to wonder if this would be the new direction of music. They really tested the waters for bands like Genesis and Yes; Tull did an about-face, and Emerson Lake and Palmer was born. The water was fine and soon the pool was crowded. Eventually, someone took a wiz and everyone bailed. |
Posted By: Kirillov
Date Posted: September 05 2011 at 14:31
| I first heard it when I was about 16, I bought it because I'd read in Gabriel's biography that it was a big influence on the young Genesis. My first impression was that 'Schizoid' and the title track were superb, the rest of it nowhere near. My opinion hasn't really changed after all these years! |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: September 05 2011 at 23:15
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I bought and first heard this album a few years ago; by then I already knew prog was my favourite genre. I think I can still remember what I thought about it at first.
- 21st Century Schizoid Man. I really rather disliked this song, it seemed rather dissonant and the sax was really annoying. - I talk to the Wind. I found this song really boring, nothing particularly interesting. - Epitaph. Wow, a really beautiful song, very impressive singing and very emotional all along. An instant winner. - Moonchild. I don't remember about the initial part, I gues I found it somewhat boring (but not as much as I talk to the Wind), however, the long instrumental part was too much. Too long and too boring. - The Court of the Crimson King. I had already heard this one from the Asia live album "Fantasia". I did like this song (and of course, this version was easily better than the Asia version). Similar to Epitaph, but I still liked Epitaph more. Now, it is common knowledge that prog often needs several listens to grasp all the music, and I always need to hear an album many many times. So, now what I think of this album: - 21st Century Schizoid Man. Well, as a matter of fact my favourite version of this song is a live version from the Wetton-Cross line-up, and I really love it; because of that version I have come to apreciate the original one very much too, though I don't like it as much as the live one. - I talk to the wind. It's still not my favourite from the album, but it's very nice and I don't have the urge to skip it when I hear it. - Epitaph. Still my favourite song from the album, and one of my favourite prog songs. And it still has one of my favourite vocal performances in prog too. - Moonchild. I like the initial vocal part very much, but the loooong isntrumental section is still too much for me, and I don't think that will change with time. - The court of the Crimson King. Still a very beautiful song, still a bit behind Epitaph for me. And in the end, considering that the sum of the parts is better than any individual song, I would say that this is a 5 star album. The only 5 star album King Crimson released as far as my taste is concerned. |
Posted By: purplesnake
Date Posted: September 06 2011 at 00:42
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Well when I kind of first discovered prog I was still listening to lots of non-prog (classic rock, hard rock, etc.) but I kinda started searching for prog and I was getting bits here and there, and on wikipedia I saw the band King Crimson so I went to www.the-top-tens.com and downloaded the "top 10 king crimson songs" (yes, i used to download music like that unfortunately). And on the list were all the tracks from ITCCK, and I loved the title track and Epitaph especially. But really, when I SERIOUSLY got into the album was when I first picked up a flute and I was learning how to play, what the notes were and stuff, I took the main melody line/chord progression of In the Court and Epitaph and wrote it down and I would play along/solo (: The album itself should be in my mail tomorrow :D |