King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King (40th Anniversary Edition)

Year of Release: 2009
Label: Inner Knot Records
Catalog Number: KCSP1
Format: CD-DVD
Total Time: 00:00:00

The first incarnation of the legendary King Crimson was Robert Fripp (guitar), Ian McDonald (reed, woodwind, vibes, keyboards, mellotron, vocals), Greg Lake (bass, lead vocals), Michael Giles (drums, percussion, vocals) and Peter Sinfield (words and illumination).

With a prolific cover and the music to match, In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) was destined for immortality and I think it's safe to say that the recording has reached that lofty status. To think for a moment that this cornerstone of progressive rock was a debut boggles the mind. Now when you hear it in dazzling 5.1 surround, or any other mix you prefer actually, it will most certainly reconfirm how important this work was. They decided to cover all bases on the special 40th Anniversary Edition offering several different audio versions, alternate versions of tracks and video footage along with an enjoyable booklet to accompany this well packaged set. I do not think you will find a better version this great album at this point.

I found once again with this series of releases that the DVD was nothing but full of frustrations and with many issues. I was able to listen to the tracks in 5.1 surround sound at one point, but beyond that it gets to where I don't want to bother, so I ended up listening to the CD several times. Listening to In The Court of The Crimson King time after time is never a problem, just a joy. Greg Lake?s voice is distinguishable amongst world class musicians and it always has been. I think people tend to forget that before he became a superstar with his mates in ELP he did a few other things including being a founding member of King Crimson.

"I Talk To The Wind" and "Epitaph" show how Lake?s vocal style and the backing instrumentation echoed the Moody Blues' dramatic orchestrated classic sound. In this case familiarity did not breed contempt; in fact the opposite effect took hold and this album received elevated international recognition. "The Court Of The Crimson King" is a majestic and unforgettable amalgam of rock and progressive variations, ranging from beautiful flute interludes that stop and jump back into cascading guitars, bass, and keyboards while Lake?s significant vocals tell the story, and oh so well. This music and all its trappings took you to places that live in only the mind?s eye. Even if you were never one that had a good imagination songs like ?The Court Of The Crimson King? would allow passage to a wonderland that is normally reserved for preschool children that have yet to be corrupted by outside influences. That kind of innocence and purity is lost all too soon these days. The music found on this outstanding debut challenges the infinite possibilities of the mind. Yes, it is that good and anyone that enjoys progressive rock fused with elements of jazz and classical will appreciate one of the bookends of the progressive rock genre. Even a ?21st Century Schizoid Man? could find a place to live inside this music.

[There are multiple versions of this reissue - a 2CD version, where the second disc contains the "2004 remaster of the original album drawn from the original master tape plus bonus tracks including the Morgan studios instrumental take of '21st Century Schizoid Man,' 2 tracks from 1969 BBC John Peel sessions, ('21st Century Schizoid Man' & 'I Talk To The Wind' (the latter previously unreleased) and de-clicked vinyl transfer of the original mono a b side single edits of 'In The Court Of The Crimson King;" a 5CD/DVD-A version where disc 3 contains "The Alternate Album", which includes "alternate takes mixed for the first time from the original studio recordings" and includes "de-clicked vinyl transfer of the original stereo first Island Records issued pink label UK pressing run. Sourced from two vinyl LPs - one of which is Robert Fripp's personal archive copy." Disc 4 includes a "restored bootleg, recorded live at Hyde Park, London, July 5th, 1969" and a "restored bootleg, recorded live at Fillmore East, New York, November 1969." Disc 5 includes a mono mix of the album that was used for US radio promotion as well as a single edit of "In The Court?" also used for US radio promotion; this latter track delicked from original vinyl source copies. (Data quoted from info at Burning Shed -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Disc One: 21st Century Schizoid Man / I Talk To The Wind / Epitaph / Moonchild / The Court Of The Crimson King / Moonchild 2009 Mix (Full Version) / I Talk To The Wind (Alternate Take - Duo Version) / I Talk To The Wind (Alternate Mix) / Epitaph (Backing Track) / Wind Session (From Album Session Recordings)

Disc: Two: DVD-Videos/5.1 Surround Sound Mix/Alternate Mixes: Moonchild (2009 Mix Full Version) / I Talk The Wind (Alternate Take - Duo Version) / I Talk To The Wind (Alternate Mix) / Epitaph (Backing Track) / Wind Session From Album Session Recordings / 21st Century Schizoid Man (Instrumental Mix) / I Talk To The Wind Studio Run Through) / Epitaph (Alternate Version) Moonchild Take 1 1 / The Court Of The Crimson King Take 3 / Bonus Video Of 21st Century Schizoid Man As Performed At Hyde Park July 1969

Musicians:
Robert Fripp - guitar
Ian McDonald - reeds, woodwind, vibes, keyboards, mellotron, vocals
Greg Lake - bass guitar, lead vocals
Michael Giles - drums, percussion, vocals
Peter Sinfield - words and illumination

Discography:
In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970)
Lizard (1970)
Islands (1971)
Earthbound (1972)
Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973)
Starless & Bible Black (1974)
Red (1974)
USA (1975)
Young Person's Guide To King Crimson (1976)
Discipline (1981)
Beat (1982)
3 Of A Perfect Pair (1984)
The Compact King Crimson (1987)
Frame By Frame, Vol 1: 1969-1974 (JP) (1991)
Frame By Frame: The Essential King Crimson (1991)
The Great Deceiver, Vol. 1 (Live 1973-1974) (1992)
The Great Deceiver, Vol. 2 (Live 1973-1974) (1992)
The Concise King Crimson (1993)
Vroom (1995)
Thrak (1995/2002)
B'Boom: Official Bootleg - Live In Argentina (1995)
Thrakattak (1996)
Epitaph, Vols. 1-2 (1997)
Epitaph, Vols. 3-4 (1997) Night Watch (1998)
Space Groove (1998)
Absent Lovers: Live In Montreal 1984 ()
Live At The Marquee, 1969 (1998)
Live At Jacksonville, 1972 (1998)
Live At The Jazz Cafe (1998)
Live Groove (JP) (1999)
Live At Cap D'Agde, 1982 (1999)
On Broadway: Live In NYC 1995 (1999)
West Coast Live (JP) (1999)
Masque (JP) (1999)
Live In San Francisco: The Roar Of P4 (1999)
The VROOOM Sessions, 1994 (1999)
21st Century Schizoid Man (JP) (1999)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol. 1 (JP) (1999)
Essential King Crimson (1999)
The Deception Of The Thrush (UK) (1999)
The Projekcts (UK) (1999)
Live At Summit Studios: Denver, 03/12/1972 (JP) (2000)
Live In Central Park, NYC '74 (2000)
The Construkction Of Light (2000)
Discipline: Live At Moles Club, Bath 1981 (2000)
Heavy Construkction [Live] (2000)
Live At Plymouth, 1971 (2000)
Nashville Rehearsals, 1997 (2000)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 2 (JP) (2000)
A Beginner's Guide To Projekcts (JP) (2000)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 3 (2000)
A Beginners' Guide To King Crimson Collectors' Club (2000)
Live In Mainz 1974 (2001)
Live In Berkeley, CA 1982 (2001)
Projekct Two: Live In Northampton, MA July 1, 1998 (2001)
Live In Detroit, MI 1971 (2001)
Vrooom Vrooom (2001)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 4 (JP) (2001)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 6 (2001)
Shoganai (2002)
Live In Nashville, TN 2001 (2002)
Live At The Zoom Club, 1972 (2002)
Earthbound [Live] (2002)
Live In Hyde Park: July 5, 1969 (2002)
Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With (ep) (2002)
Ladies Of The Road [Live] (2002)
Champaign-Urbana Sessions January 17-30, 1983 (2003)
The Power To Believe (2003)
Projekct One: Jazz Cafe Suite (2003)
Live In Orlando, FL 1972 (2003)
Official Bootleg Volume One (2003)
Live In Guildford, 1972 (2003)
Elektrik (2003)
The Power To Believe Tour Box (2003)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 7 (2003)
Live At Fillmore East, 1969 (2004)
Live In Philadelphia, PA 1982 (2004)
Projekct Three: Live In Austin, TX March 25, 1999 (2004)
The 21st Century Guide To King Crimson, Vol 1: 1969-1974 (2004)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 8 (2004)
Live In Heidelberg, 1974 (2005)
Live In Warsaw, 2000 (2005)
The 21st Century Guide To King Crimson, Vol 2: 1981-2003 (2005)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 9 (2006) Live In Mexico City 1996 (JP) (2006)
The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 1 (2006)
Live In Munich, 1982 (2006)
Live At The Wiltern, 1995 (2006)
Cirkus (2006)
Cirkus: The Young Person's Guide To King Crimson (2006)
Collectors' King Crimson, Vol 10 (2006)
The Condensed 21st Century Guide To King Crimson: 1969-2003 (2006)
Live In Alexandria, VA 2003 (2007)
Live In Denver, CO 1972 (2007)
Live In Kassel, 1974 (2007) The Collectable King Crimson, Vol2 - Live In Bath 1981 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 1: 1969 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 2: 1971-1972 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 3: 1972-1974 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 4: 1981-1982 (2007)
Collectors' Box, Vol 5: 1995 & After (2007)
Live In New York, NY 1982 (2008)
The Collectable King Crimson, Vol 3: Live In London, Pts. 1-2 1996 (2008)
40th Anniversary Tour Box (2009)
Collectable King Crimson, Vol 4 (2009)

The Noise: Live At Frejus '82 (DVD) (1985)
Live In Japan 1995 (DVD) (1996)
Deja Vroom (DVD) (1999)
Eyes Wide Open (DVD) (2003)
Neal And Jack And Me: Live 1982-1984 (DVD) (2004)
Inside: 1972-1975 (DVD) (2005)
In Concert, Tokyo 1995 (DVD) (2009)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: April 25th 2010
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.king-crimson.com
Hits: 3052
Language: english