King Crimson has had a long and illustrious career over which the band, in its many incarnations (Robert Fripp is the only member who has participated on every album), has released some of the most challenging and thought-provoking rock music known to man. Although often relegated to a cult following, King Crimson is still respected as one of the original "big six" of progressive music's early days, along with Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, EL&P, and Gentle Giant. Moreover, they're the only band from progressive rock's golden years that has retained their artistic vision to this day, never placing a desire for commercial success over the integrity of the music, never allowing critics to affect whatever direction the band chose to take at each step along its career.

Although King Crimson has been around since the genesis of progressive rock (some would say that KC's In the Court of the Crimson King was the first progressive rock album ever released), and although the group is still active today, many fans of progressive music have not kept up with this extraordinary group or may have neglected the band's early releases. In this two-part article, I hope to rectify both of these cases, by providing an album-by-album overview of this groundbreaking group's studio releases. (We won't discuss live albums, of which King Crimson has released more than just about any other artist outside of Frank Zappa.)

In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)

I'm often amused by people who look down on so-called neo-progressive music (such as Pendragon, IQ, etc.). Why? Because so much of King Crimson's first album -- considered by many to be a groundbreaking progressive-rock work -- would today fall into the neo-progressive category. Sure, "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a savage number that opens the album with distorted guitars, tortured vocals, and uncanny virtuosity, but songs like "I Talk To The Wind" and "Epitaph," not to mention parts of the tracks "Moonchild" and "The Court Of The Crimson King," feature lovely melodies and simpler song structures, two of the characteristics of neo-prog. Of course, back in 1969, no one had ever heard anything quite like these songs or anything quite like the mellotron that drenches much of this album -- thus was born progressive rock.

Although the final two tracks, "Moonchild" and "In The Court Of The Crimson King," have their melodious moments, they are, at times, every bit as experimental as "21st Century Schizoid Man." In the case of "Moonchild," the centerpieces of the song are the ambient, almost avant-garde, subtracks "The Dream" and "The Illusion," which feature eerie guitar and vibes noodling, backed by inventive percussion. "In The Court Of The Crimson King," too, has its artsy moments, especially when, near the end, the song's main, regal theme collapses into a complex stew of creative dissonance.

Of historical interest is the fact that Greg Lake, who would go on to be the vocalist and bassist for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, handles the vocal duties on this album. Lake does not, however, play bass.

In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970)

This album, which still features Greg Lake on vocals, is a continuation of what Crimson was doing with In The Court Of The Crimson King. That fact notwithstanding, Poseidon is still, I think, a step forward as far as composition goes. The first track (not counting the very short "Peace - A Beginning," which, along with "Peace - An End," acts as a one of a pair of bookends for the rest of the album), titled "Pictures Of A City," opens the album in a strongly progressive vein, providing the same function as "21st Century Schizoid Man" did on the first album. Although a jazzier, less harsh, piece than its cousin, "Pictures Of A City" does feature the same lightning fast, unison stop-and-go phrases that were the trademark of "Schizoid Man," and so acts as a stylistic tie to the first album. The second and third full-length tracks, "Cadence And Cascade" and "In The Wake Of Poseidon," too, link to the first album, filling the roles of the tracks "I Talk To The Wind" and "Epitaph."

From this point on, In The Wake Of Poseidon, heads in a different direction than the first album. The track "Cat Food," an almost humorous piece that foreshadows the type of novelty song Lake would soon be singing with EL&P, is nothing like Court's "Moonchild." And, the last full-length track, "The Devil's Triangle," marks Crimson's first step into the dark, nightmarish themes that most people now associate with the group. This Bolero-like, mellotron-based masterpiece is not a track you want to listen to alone in the dark. The grim themes here build to such an intensity that they are guaranteed to generate goose bumps and make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You have been warned! The return of the gentle theme started in "Peace - A Beginning" -- now titled "Peace - An End" -- helps to calm nerves shattered by "The Devil's Triangle." This would be the last time Greg Lake's voice graced a King Crimson composition.

Lizard (1970)

The third and fourth albums in King Crimson's oeuvre are perhaps the most controversial. People either love them or hate them. I think that Lizard, at least, is a masterpiece, far superior to KC's first two releases. In the case of Lizard, although the basic sound Crimson developed in their first two albums remains intact, compositions become more artsy. Gone, for the most part, are the pleasant melodies rendered in songs like "Epitaph" and "Cadence and Cascade," replaced with much darker themes and more complex and often dissonant instrumentation. (The shortest track on the album, "Lady Of The Dancing Water," which is less than three minutes long, is one of the few melodious moments on this album.) Gone, also, is Greg Lake -- who left to form Emerson, Lake and Palmer -- with the vocal chores now taken on by Gordon Haskell, who also plays bass.

While the first four songs on this album have great moments (especially the spooky "Cirkus" and the complex "Indoor Games"), the album's highlight is the lengthy title track, "Lizard," which clocks in at over 23 minutes and features, in the "Prince Rupert Awakes" subtrack, Jon Anderson from Yes on vocals. ("Prince Rupert Awakes" is the only other melodious song on the album.) Interestingly, in spite of Lizard's overall dark focus, the chorus for "Prince Rupert Awakes" is (perhaps not coincidentally, considering Anderson's presence) upbeat and reminiscent of Yes's approach to prog rock. For the most part, the rest of "Lizard" takes on a jazzy avant-garde feel, with occasional returns to the melodious Prince Rupert themes, as well as a trip back to the dark, mellotron drenched sound achieved in In The Wake Of Poseidon's "The Devil's Triangle."

Islands (1971)

One word that might describe King Crimson's fourth album, Islands, is stark. In general, much of this album is minimalist in nature. Where the previous album, Lizard, started off with the dark and almost vicious "Cirkus," Islands begins with the laid-back, slightly avant-garde "Formentera Lady," a track featuring ghostly vocals, minimal percussion, and violin accents. The ghostly vocals, however, soon give way to "Sailor's Tale," a track that even people who dislike the Islands album tend to like a lot. With its jazzy drumming, layered guitar and mellotron lines, and driving bass (in the latter half of the song, anyway), "Sailor's Tale" is a foreshadowing of what Crimson would be doing on its next album, Larks' Tongues In Aspic, and is, without a doubt, the best track on the album, and maybe even one of the best tracks Crimson has ever done.

Track 3, "The Letters," returns the album to its stark nature. A brief tale of infidelity, lines such as "Impaled on nails of ice," sung with heartfelt agony, are sure to generate goose bumps. "Ladies Of The Road," on the other hand, is a crude, simplistic, almost humorous track, whose tone (in spite of the downright Beatle-ish chorus) matches what must be the band's disdain (or maybe reverence?) for groupies. This track is as close to actual rock-and-roll that Crimson will ever get. Finally, the fully orchestrated, classical piece, "Prelude: Song Of The Gulls," is something entirely new for KC, whereas the closing track, "Islands," is moody, quiet, and pensive, featuring a gentle vocal over piano accompaniment, garnished with soft horn and flute solos.

Lark's Tongues In Aspic (1973)

It was on this album, I think, that King Crimson managed to pull together the instrumental prowess and melodic nature of the album In The Wake Of Poseidon with the artiness of the album Lizard to produce a work that all KC fans could adore. My favorite KC album, tracks here include the roaring "Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part One" and "Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two," as well as the mystical, albeit energetic, "The Talking Drum." The melodious side of KC appears as well, on the tracks "Book Of Saturday" and "Exiles," with vocals and bass this time around handled by newcomer John Wetton, the fourth KC singer in five albums. Other new additions to the band include Bill Bruford (fresh from Yes) on drums, David Cross on violin, and Jamie Muir on percussion.

Although most of this album is instrumental, John Wetton's vocals on "Book of Saturday," "Exiles," and "Easy Money" introduced the world to a great new prog voice. (He left KC long ago, but Wetton is still active in the prog scene, having turned out several solo albums.) The song "Exiles" is much like what Greg Lake was singing on the first album, In The Court Of The Crimson King, although Wetton has a coarser voice (in a good way) that you wouldn't likely confuse with Lake. With the song "Easy Money," King Crimson came close to producing (if you could remove the instrumental center part, which I, of course, wouldn't dream of doing) the kind of FM-radio prog that Pink Floyd produced with tracks like "Have A Cigar" and "Money." The sometimes moody, sometimes metalish, sometimes avant-garde, but always complex, two-part epic (over 20 minutes) "Larks Tongues' In Aspic" is among the Crim's best compositions.

Starless And Bible Black (1973)

Starless And Bible Black fits well alongside Larks' Tongues In Aspic, having generally the same sort of sound and compositions. I don't think it's as successful as Larks' Tongues, however, although it's miles above most of the music that was coming out in 1974 (or since, for that matter). This time around, Crimson went from a five-piece to a four-piece, losing the percussion antics of Jamie Muir, though Bruford takes on the extra chores just fine. Like Larks' Tongues, most of this album is instrumental, although the "The Great Deceiver" -- a cranking KC tune if there ever was one -- features John Wetton on vocals, as does "Lament," a song that starts off on the gentle side of KC, but then goes through several meter changes. "The Night Watch," too, is a vocal outing, featuring a gentle melody sung over instrumentation that boasts bells, bass-guitar harmonics, mellotron, and guitar.

The rest of the album comprises dark instrumentals that seem structured one moment and improvisational the next. The disarming and atmospheric "Trio" leads into the spooky mellotron of "The Mincer," which itself evolves into a collage of guitar played over Bruford's and Wetton's tasty rhythm section. Wetton also has a short vocal section in this track, although it's more of a melodic chant than anything like a verse or chorus. The title track, "Starless And Bible Black," starts off on the avant-garde side and sounds mostly improvisational, building as it goes into a cacophony of percussion, snarling bass, and Fripp's trademark guitar wail. Finally, "Fracture" is a cousin to the previous album's title song, "Larks' Tongues In Aspic," though it's more musically subtle, spending much of its 11 minutes on the quiet side. Things don't really kick into high gear until almost eight minutes into the track, when the boys finally work up a serious sweat.

Red (1974)

With the album Red, KC returned as a power trio, with Wetton and Bruford joining Fripp for a powerhouse set of metalish instrumentals and vocal pieces. This would be the last album that featured the dark sound that KC had been cultivating since "20th Century Schizoid Man" and that peaked with the album Larks' Tongues In Aspic. (After Red, King Crimson would go on hiatus and not return until the 80s, with a brand-new sound that would rely heavily on the extraordinary guitar and vocals of Adrian Belew.) Red's intensity is the sound that newer KC-inspired bands such as Anekdoten borrow from today and is also a favorite among KC fans.

The title song "Red" -- a concert staple for King Crimson -- is a strong instrumental that features reams of distorted guitar, snarling bass, and pounding drums. On "Fallen Angel," the pace at first slows a bit, enabling Wetton to demonstrate his vocal prowess on the song's gentler melodies, but the metal edge soon returns in the track and continues on through the second vocal track, "One More Red Nightmare." Next, the instrumental "Providence," like the closing tracks on the previous album Starless And Bible Black, seems mostly improvisational, but no less nightmarish. The final track, "Starless," at first harkens back to the gentler, mellotron-saturated songs such as "Epitaph," but the nightmare returns about five minutes into this 12-minute piece. Perhaps most curious about this final track is that, with the repeated lyric "Starless And Bible Black," it seems as if this song was originally meant as the title song for the previous album.

Coming in part 2 of this omnibus review: The Adrian Belew Years

Links: King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, Pendragon, IQ, Anekdoten

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Published on: 2001-06-21 (4676 reads)