What a curious, fascinating Frankenstein’s monster King Crimson’s 1969 debut album was and still is. Divided between outrageously experimental twists of sound and structure, and wispy, willowy ballads; it was technically all but impossible to record at the time, a circumstance that resulted in distortion and the loss of some high frequencies, (a quirk which in turn has ever since prompted various “realignments” and “corrections”). It was an album that spiralled as far out as any 60s music, while providing a prescient glimpse of both the excesses and exuberance of the early 70s. It’s the landmark that both Genesis and Yes have cited as greatly influential, and inarguably one of the foundation stones of progressive rock.
“It’s one thing to do something nobody’s done before. It’s another to do that while creating something that will endure half a century on.”
Yet unlike most unimpeachable, carved-instone monuments, it remains an unsettling, provocative listen. Whereas someone hearing, say, Sgt Pepper or Pet Sounds will find their legendary status comprehensible, In The Court Of The Crimson King is a more jittery, sometimes wilfully off-putting musical edifice. On top of the switches from jazzy discord to mellow ease, this album defies you to find its magic amid forests of misdirection.