Gonzo rock critic Lester Bangs labelled it a mix of ‘myth, mystification and mellotrons’. Poor old codeine guzzling Lester thought this was a bad thing. He was wrong, of course. Although routinely lumped in with the excesses of progressive rock, In the Court of the Crimson King remains one of the most defiantly adventurous, rigorously experimental and downright strange records ever made.
King Crimson originally formed from the remains of Giles, Giles and Fripp, a folky trio who had cut one poorly selling album (The Cheerful Insanity of…) in 1968. Briefly boasting ex-Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble in their ranks, the band gelled with the arrival of multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald and bass player/vocalist Greg Lake. Assisted by suitably portentous lyrics courtesy of band roadie and light show operator Pete Sinfeld, the band made their debut before 650, 000 people on the bill of the Rolling Stones’ free concert in Hyde Park in July 1969.
The warm reception their appearance gained no doubt inspired them when it came time to record the album later that month. Self produced in an era when such artistic freedom was still relatively rare, it was an immediate success, catching the emergent vogue for progressive music and resonating perfectly with the darker mood beginning to cloud the end of the 60s.
From the crashing chords and distorted vocals of 21st Century Schizoid Man to the eerie textures of Moonchild, In the Court of the Crimson King is a million miles away from soothing flower power homily. Occasionally the music seems to break free from structure altogether, flowing into jazzy improvisation and jarring chord and tempo changes. Sinfeld’s lyrical flights have enough lysergic bite to keep them on the right side of pretentious, perfectly matching the musical foreboding on the doom laden title track.
Unfortunately the strength of musical personalities was too much to sustain. Even as the album was becoming a head favourite, the line-up was splintering, with McDonald and Michael Giles baling out first, disenchanted with the band’s musical direction. McDonald would later re-surface in that renowned band of avant-garde adventurers Foreigner. Greg Lake hung around long enough to record vocals for the band’s second album before following his own particular road of excess into ELP.
Fripp, meanwhile, has kept the Crimson flame alive through the years, continuing to record challenging and exciting records with a variety of line-ups (1995’s Thrak was a powerful return) while collaborating with other maverick talents such as Brian Eno and David Bowie. In the Court... was recently re-mastered by Fripp, restoring the sonic clarity missing from earlier CD pressings.
No comments:
Post a Comment