In the Court of the Crimson King
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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In the Court of the Crimson King (subtitled An Observation by King Crimson) is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influential of the progressive rock genre, where the band combined the musical influences that rock music was founded upon with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music.
The album reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and number 28 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was reissued several times in the 1980s and 1990s using inferior copies of the master tapes. After the original masters were discovered in the Virgin archives in 2002, the album was remastered again by Simon Heyworth and reissued in 2004. A 40th anniversary edition of the album was released in 2009 with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson. In 2019 there was a 50th Anniversary 3CD/1BD box set, which contained remasters, remixes, instrumentals and expansions of the original album.
Track listing
| headline = Side one | title1 = 21st Century Schizoid Man | length1 = 7:24 | writer1 = Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, Michael Giles, Peter Sinfield | title2 = I Talk to the Wind | writer2 = McDonald, Sinfield | length2 = 6:04 | title3 = Epitaph | writer3 = Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield | length3 = 8:49 | total_length = 22:17 }} | headline = Side two | title4 = Moonchild | writer4 = Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield | length4 = 12:13 | title5 = The Court of the Crimson King | writer5 = McDonald, Sinfield | length5 = *9:26 | total_length = 21:39 }}
- After the end of The Court of the Crimson King, there is a hidden track run from 9:41 to 10:00.<ref>Template:YouTube</ref>
- The timings on the inner sleeve of original pressings, giving a total album time of 41:59, are incorrect.
Personnel
King Crimson
- Robert Fripp – electric and acoustic guitar, production
- Michael Giles – drums, percussion, backing vocals, production
- Greg Lake – lead vocals, bass guitar, production
- Ian McDonald – saxophone, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, Mellotron, harpsichord, piano, organ, vibraphone, backing vocals, production
- Peter Sinfield – lyrics, illumination, production
Production
- The original album featured the following credit: "Produced By King Crimson for E.G. Productions – 'David & John'." David Enthoven and John Gaydon were the founders of EG Records, both of whom left the company during the 1970s. CD reissues from the 1980s removed "David & John" – the credit was restored in 1999 at Fripp's insistence.
- Robin Thompson – recording engineer
- Tony Page – assistant engineer
- Barry Godber – cover illustrations
