In the Court of the Crimson King

Untitled

In the Court of the Crimson King is the 1969 debut album by the British progressive rock group King Crimson. The album reached #5 on the British charts, and is certified gold in the United States.

The album is generally viewed as one of the strongest of the progressive rock genre, where King Crimson largely stripped away the blues-based foundations of rock music and mixed together jazz and Classical symphonic elements. In his 1997 book Rocking the Classics, critic and musicologist Edward Macan notes that In the Court of the Crimson King "may be the most influential progressive rock album ever released". The Who's Pete Townshend was quoted as calling the album "an uncanny masterpiece". In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #4 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums". The album was named as one of Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".

The album was remastered and re-released on vinyl and CD several times during the 1980s and 1990s. All of these versions were based on tape copies that were several generations removed from the originals. The original first-generation stereo master tapes were thought to be lost, but were finally located in a storage vault in 2003. This led to a much improved remastered CD version (see below) in time for the album's 40th anniversary.

Once again, in November of 2010 the album was re-released on vinyl as a limited edition with newly cut masters approved by Robert Fripp.

Album cover

Barry Godber (1946–1970), a computer programmer, painted the album cover. Godber died in February 1970 of a heart attack, shortly after the album's release. It would be his only painting, and is now owned by Robert Fripp. Fripp had this to say about Godber:

"Peter brought this painting in and the band loved it. I recently recovered the original from EG's offices because they kept it exposed to bright light, at the risk of ruining it, so I ended up removing it. The face on the outside is the Schizoid Man, and on the inside it's the Crimson King. If you cover the smiling face, the eyes reveal an incredible sadness. What can one add? It reflects the music."

Content

The album consists of only five long songs. Most of these have additional titles given to sub-sections of the songs. The additional titles do not actually reflect divisions in the music. The main reason for them was to ensure that the group received the full amount of song writing royalties from their music publisher and record company. With the extra titles included the album can be seen as having a full 12 songs, as is typical for most rock albums. Since this album was recorded new rules have become standard in the music publishing business which take into account the length of the songs as well as the number of titles on an album.

Production details

Initial sessions for the album were held in early 1969 with producer Tony Clarke, most famous for his work with The Moody Blues. After those sessions failed to work out the group were allowed to produce themselves. However, unofficially it is thought by most fans that Greg Lake actually did most of the production work on the album by himself. The album was recorded on an 8-channel master tape recorder at Wessex Sound Studios in London, engineered by Robin Thompson. It took many hours of overdubbing to build up the orchestral sound of multiple layers of Mellotron and woodwinds played by Ian McDonald.

Soon after the recording sessions were completed in 1969 it was discovered that a stereo tape recorder used to mix the album had recording heads that were mis-aligned. A loss of high-frequencies and undesired distortion affected some parts of the album, most apparently on "21st Century Schizoid Man". While preparing the first American release on Atlantic Records a stereo sub-master tape copy was created that attempted to correct some of the sound problems. The first-generation stereo master tapes were filed away and forgotten for many years.

CD editions

LP and CD re-issues during the 1980s and 1990s by Polydor and EG Records were taken from tape copies several generations removed from the corrected stereo sub-master tape. This resulted in a lack of clarity and excessive tape hiss. Several different remastered CD versions were released in this period while attempting to make the best use of the tape recordings that were available.

Virgin Records released a 30th Anniversary Edition in 1999. 24 bit remaster by Simon Heyworth, Robert Fripp and David Singleton at Chop 'Em Out, 3 August 1999. Scrapbook design: Hugh O'Donnell

The first generation stereo master tapes for the album were finally rediscovered in a storage vault. A 2004 HDCD version (described as the "Original Master Edition", DGM0501) was released on Robert Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile label. This release has greatly improved sound over previous CD editions. Modern digital technology was used to repair high frequency problems caused during the original mixing sessions. 24 bit mastering was also utilised to enhance the sound. This edition also has a twelve-page booklet that includes pictures and press clippings from the period.

With Fripp's collaboration Steven Wilson remixed the original 8-channel master tapes into 5.1 Surround Sound, and a 40th Anniversary edition was released on 12 October 2009. There are three different versions: a two-CD set, a CD+DVD set and a six-disc (5CD/1DVD) box.

Track listing

Original album

Side one

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" (Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield) – 7:21

   including "Mirrors"

2. "I Talk to the Wind" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 6:05
3. "Epitaph" (Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield) – 8:47

   including "March for No Reason" and "Tomorrow and Tomorrow"

Side two

4. "Moonchild" (Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield) – 12:13

   including "The Dream" and "The Illusion"

5. "The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) – 9:25

   including "The Return of the Fire Witch" and "The Dance of the Puppets"

40th Anniversary re-issue

The 40th Anniversary re-issue comes in 3 different formats:

• The 2CD version (catalogue number DGM5009) comprising CD1 and CD2.
• The CD/DVD version (catalogue number KCSP1) comprising CD1 and DVD.
• The 5CD/DVD version (catalogue number KCCBX1) comprising all CDs and DVD.

CD1

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:24
2. "I Talk to the Wind" – 6:00
3. "Epitaph" – 8:52
4. "Moonchild" – 9:02
5. "The Court of the Crimson King" – 9:31
6. "Moonchild" – 12:15 (full version)
7. "I Talk to the Wind" – 4:55 (duo version)
8. "I Talk to the Wind" – 6:36 (alternate mix)
9. "Epitaph" – 9:05 (backing track)
10. "Wind Session" – 4:31 (extracts from the session that produced the intro to "21st Century Schizoid Man")

• tracks 1-5: 2009 Robert Fripp & Steven Wilson remix from the original multitrack master tapes.
• tracks 6-10: Alternate takes from the original studio session. Mixed & produced by Steven Wilson.

CD2

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:24
2. "I Talk to the Wind" – 6:04
3. "Epitaph" – 8:49
4. "Moonchild" – 12:13
5. "The Court of the Crimson King" – 9:26
6. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 6:47 (early instrumental recording)
7. "I Talk to the Wind" – 4:40 (BBC session, from bootleg source)
8. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:11 (BBC session, from a BBC transcription disc)
9. "The Court of the Crimson King (Part 1)" – 3:22
10. "The Court of the Crimson King (Part 2)" – 4:31

• tracks 1-5: 2004 re-master, transferred of the original 1969 vinyl mix
• tracks 7-8: BBC Radio 1 session
• tracks 9-10: A-side and B-side from the original vinyl single

CD3

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:08 (trio version – instrumental)
2. "I Talk to the Wind" – 4:21 (studio run-through)
3. "Epitaph" – 9:27 (alternate version)
4. "Moonchild" – 2:21 (take 1)
5. "The Court of the Crimson King" – 7:15 (take 3)
6. "21st Century Schizoid Man" – 7:21
7. "I Talk to the Wind" – 6:03
8. "Epitaph" – 8:56
9. "Moonchild" – 12:12
10. "The Court of the Crimson King" – 9:22

• tracks 1-5: Alternative takes from the original studio session. Mixed & produced by Steven Wilson.
• tracks 6-10: De-clicked vinyl transfer of the first Island Records stereo UK pressing run.

CD4

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" - 6:36
2. "The Court of the Crimson King" - 6:31
3. "Get Thy Bearings" - 9:41
4. "Epitaph" - 4:29
5. "Mantra" - 3:05
6. "Travel Weary Capricorn" - 5:38
7. "Mars" - 3:30
8. "The Court of the Crimson King" - 7:52
9. "A Man A City" - 12:19
10. "Epitaph" - 8:32
11. "21st Century Schizoid Man" - 7:57

• tracks 1-7: restored bootleg, recorded live at Hyde Park, London, 5 July 1969
• tracks 8-11: restored bootleg, recorded Live at Fillmore East, New York, November 1969

CD5

1. "21st Century Schizoid Man" - 7:22
2. "I Talk to the Wind" - 6:04
3. "Epitaph" - 8:52
4. "Moonchild" - 12:13
5. "The Court of the Crimson King" - 9:27
6. "The Court of the Crimson King" - 2:20

• tracks 1-5: mono album mix used for radio promotion only in the USA
• track 6: edited, mono single mix used for radio promotion only in the USA

DVD

1. 5.1 Surround Sound mixes available in DTS 5.1. Mixed & produced by Steven Wilson.
2. 24/48 High Resolution Stereo mixes of CD1.
3. 24/48 High Resolution Stereo mixes of alternative takes from the original studio session (CD3 tracks 1-5).
4. 24/48 High Resolution Stereo mixes of 2004 re-master, transferred of the original 1969 vinyl mix (CD2 tracks 1-5).
5. "21st Century Schizoid Man" - film from Hyde Park concert 5 July 1969.

Personnel

• Robert Fripp – guitar
• Ian McDonald – flute, clarinet, saxophone, vibes, keyboards, mellotron, vocals
• Greg Lake – bass guitar, lead vocals
• Michael Giles – drums, percussion, vocals
• Peter Sinfield – lyrics, illumination

• Barry Godber – cover illustrations

Production

• Arranged & Produced By King Crimson/Greg Lake
• Recorded & Engineered By Robin Thompson & Tony Page (also assistant engineer)

Cultural references

• Stephen King makes references to "Crimson King" and "The Court of the Crimson King" in his novel Insomnia and the Dark Tower series.
• S.M. Stirling's 2008 SF novel In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, featuring a plot set in an alternate universe Mars resembling Golden Age pulp fiction.
• Due to the philosophical and spiritual nature of Peter Sinfield's lyrics Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias has quoted from this album on several occasions. One example comes from a lecture titled "The Existence of God" which quotes from Epitaph, "knowledge is a deadly friend, if no one sets the rules." Zacharias's commentary usually contrasts sharply with the views expressed in the lyrics.
• Howard Stern's band The Losers has covered the title track of this album live on the air.
• The popular MMORPG EverQuest II based all of the Non-Player Characters in the zone The Court of Al'Afaz on characters in this album.
• The Finnish doom metal band Reverend Bizarre named their first album In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend in a conscious homage to King Crimson.
• Christina Ricci's character does a tap-dance to "Moonchild" in the film Buffalo 66.
• Black metal band Lurker of Chalice (a sideproject of Leviathan) have a track called "In the Court of the Crimson King Diamond" in a double homage to this album and the lead singer of Mercyful Fate; it appears on their second demo.
• "The Court of the Crimson King" is featured in a scene of the 2006 movie Children of Men.
• The prog-rock band Upsilon Acrux titled an album In the Acrux of the Upsilon King.
• "The Court of the Crimson King" LP album is featured in Katsuhiro Otomo's short story, Hair (1979).
• Madman Atomic Comics #6 by Michael Allred (reprinted in Madman Atomic Comics Volume #1) is titled "Crushed in the Court of the Crimson King" and features "The Crimson King" as a character in the story.
• Saxon covered "The Court of the Crimson King" on their 2001 album Killing Ground.
• UK Channel 4 drama titled "Red Riding" was aired on British television on 5 March 2009 and featured the song "The Court of the Crimson King" in its opening episode of the 3 episodes.
• Swedish death metal band Entombed covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" on the 1997 album DCLXVI: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth. The track was included with the limited edition Digipak release of the album, which featured a bonus disk titled Family Favorites, which also included covers of the MC5, Venom, and Black Sabbath.
• New Jersey hardcore outfit Rorschach covered "21st Century Schizoid Man".
• Canadian hard rock band April Wine covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" on their 1979 release, Harder ... Faster.
• Italian band Afterhours also covered the song "21st Century Schizoid Man" in a live recording.
• Ozzy Osbourne covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" on his 2005 compilation album Under Cover.
• Norwegian experimental metal band Shining covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" on his 2010 album Blackjazz.
• Buffalo, NY band Talas has covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" in concert, a version of which was released on their album If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now
• "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a playable track in Guitar Hero 5.
• "21^st Century Schizoid Man" was released in 2009 as a digital download by The Human Experimente, featuring performances by Jeff Fayman, Robert Fripp, and Maynard James Keenan, in a mix resembling a movie soundtrack.
• The album was mentioned (and briefly pictured) in a fourth-season episode of The Venture Brothers, "Perchance To Dean".
• The Song "21st Century (Digital Boy)" by punk rock band Bad Religion includes a lyrical passage borrowed from "21st Century Schizoid Man".
• Author Alastair Reynolds has named characters and at least one alien race in his SF novels after lyrics from this album.
• The Canadian progressive metal band Voivod covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" on their 1997 album Phobos.
• London based hip hop producer Beat Butcha sampled parts of the instrumental section of "Moonchild" in his production for Australian emcee Brad Strut, in the song "looking at you" featured in the EP "fallout shelter" by Brad Strut
• Kanye West sampled "21st Century Schizoid Man" for his 2010 single "Power".
• English indie rock band Let's Wrestle named their first album In The Court Of the Wrestling Let's.
• Genesis former member Steve Hackett played "The Court Of The Crimson King" and "I Talk To The Wind" on his live solo album The Tokyo Tapes (which also featured Ian McDonald).
• In the movie Pinball Summer (also known as Pickup Summer), a button displaying the album art from In the Court of the Crimson King is pinned to a hat, worn by the character "Whimpy".