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In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)Genres: progressive rock, symphonic rock, heavy progressive |
This is great stuff. First you are literally run over by “21st Century Schizoid Man”, a great and energetic track with screaming saxes and distorted vocals, and then you have a chance to catch your breath during the calm beauty of “I Talk to the Wind”. After that comes the majestic and mellotron driven “Epitaph”, followed by the rather experimental “Moonchild” that ends with 10 minutes of (seemingly) improvised percussion playing. A lot of people find that objectionable, but I actually like it. The album concludes with the title track, a great track with gentle guitar picking in the verses that effectively contrasts the sublime sound of the mellotrons in the chorus. Greg Lake’s voice has never sounded better and the drumming and bass playing are top-notch. I actually prefer Michael Giles to any of the other Crimson drummers, not just because of his busy style, but more importantly because of his sound. This is the way that drums should sound like; crisp and direct like a punch in the face, as opposed to the belly, if you know what I mean. The mellotron is perhaps the main instrument on the album and the sound of it is sublime, in contrast to Robert Fripp’s guitar playing. Fripp plays like an anti-hero with subtle and gentle moves between the occasional outbursts of energy (like the incredible guitar solo on “Schizoid Man”). This is the place to start if you want to explore symphonic progressive rock at its best.
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In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)Genres: progressive rock, symphonic rock |
Many reviewers claim that this is a lame carbon copy of “In the Court of the Crimson King”, and it is hard to argue against them. At least when it comes to the first half of the album where every song (the short interludes excluded) has an ancestor on the group's previous album. “Pictures of a city” fails grossly in being “Schizoid Man II” as it completely lacks the contagious vigour of the original. Gordon Haskell, who guests as vocalist on “Cadence and Cascade”, cannot bring that song to the same heights as “I Talk to the Wind”. To Haskells defence you might add that it is not entirely his fault since the song is meaningless, with or without him. He will also improve on “Lizard”, where he replaces the departed Greg Lake. The next track is the title track and it is a fairly good attempt to rewrite “Epitaph” that might work if you haven’t heard the original. For me it works anyway, mainly due to the drumming of Michael Giles (where did he go after he left KC?). The second half of the album shows that Fripp (who obviously has taken charge of the band since McDonald left) at least tried to improve and incorporate some new ideas into the sound. “Cat Food” does in fact not sound as King Crimson at all; more like Jerry Lee Lewis going jazz. Parts of the eleven minute “The Devils Triangle” point out the direction that Fripp would head in on the next release. While slightly interesting (after the seven minute intro) the song fails to engage me and I rather listen to the title track of “Lizard”. To sum things up: This is a transitional album and you don’t need it.
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Lizard (1970)Genres: progressive rock, symphonic rock, jazz rock |
King Crimson’s third album is an improvement on the second, but not a complete success. It has a jazzier sound, dominated by a variety of horns (saxes played by Mel Collins and the rest played by members of the Keith Tippet Group). Unfortunately, the effort is an extremely uneven affair. The opening “Cirkus” is a great and dynamic track with the horns and the monotonous electric guitar contrasting Fripp’s amazing acoustic guitar picking and Haskell’s beautifully eerie vocals. The next track “Indoor Games” is a happy and pleasant horn-driven piece of music. Then comes “Happy Family”, which is ruined by the poorly performed electronic manipulation of Haskell’s voice, followed by the soft and meaningless “Lady of the Dancing Water”. The second side is occupied by the title suite. It has a vocal performance by none other than Jon Anderson of Yes. If “Cirkus” represents the highs of this uneven affair, the Anderson sung part of the title track surely represents the lows. You cannot blame Anderson because he does what one might expect from him and he didn’t write the song. There is nothing wrong with the verses, but when the chorus starts you cannot help thinking that your ears must deceive you. It is too catchy for most bands and way too catchy for King Crimson. Moreover, it is repeated three times and the last time with “lalalala” and handclap. Yes, handclap. If it's a joke, it's a bad one. The rest of the suite is however great. Intricate and beautiful arrangements gradually develop into noisy, horn driven, climaxes. Classically influenced jazz rock with mellotrons. If that teases your curiousity go ahead and buy the album.
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Lark's Tongues in Aspic (1973)Genres: progressive rock, heavy progressive, dark progressive |
The beauty and the beast. It is dark, dense, heavy and ugly. And beautiful in a melancholic way that never borders on pretty. Cross’ strings usually lead the quiet parts, while Fripp’s heavy electric guitar lead the loader parts supported by some serious percussion battery from Bruford and Muir. The sinister sounding mellotron is of course lurking beneath the surface as well (it never takes the lead as on previous albums). Wetton does a nice job as a bass player, but he is not my favourite singer. His voice is dark and it almost sounds as if he is struggling to keep it that way. I must admit that it fits the music, though. It must be pointed out that this is not easy listening. Things often get ugly and the band never compromises. As a consequence it really is an acquired taste. On the other hand it will likely continue to grow on you for quite a while. Unique and essential stuff.
