King Crimson’s 1969 debut album In the Court of the Crimson King was not the first progressive rock album from an English group, but it may be the best and most influential album of the genre. This project has been reissued many times over the years, but the new 50th anniversary edition from Panegyric also released on vinyl may the best yet.
The new box set includes four discs. Disc 1 includes a new stereo mix of the album and instrumental mixes of all of the tracks. Disc 2 includes an alternate version of the album in an expanded edition. Disc 3 includes the original master edition and additional material. The fourth disc is what has King Crimson followers so ecstatic about this reissue. It includes a brand-new 5.1 mix by Steven Wilson.
Wilson is the premier 5.1 surround mixing engineer in recording today. His new mix has been lauded by fans and audiophiles alike, and is considered a dramatic improvement over the 40th anniversary mix.
The Blu-ray also contains new stereo mixes in DTS-HD MA and PCM Stereo 24/96. All of these new 5.1 and stereo mixes were done using the original analog multitrack tapes. Also on the Blu-ray, the instrumental mixes are presented in the stereo formats. The original master edition is presented in two stereo mix formats, as well. There is a slightly shorter version of the alternate album in the two stereo mix formats and a treasure trove of additional material.
Bonus material throughout the four discs includes new mixes by Steven Wilson (and some mixes by David Singleton and Robert Fripp) and various alternate takes from 1969. Both sides of the original mono single from 1969 of Part 2 of the title cut are available on compact disc and Blu-ray.
Perhaps the most unique track, again available on CD and Blu-ray, is an alternate take of “21st Century Schizoid Man” from 1969 with new overdubs by Mel Collins (who is currently with King Crimson and also played with the group from 1970-72) and Jakko Jakszyk (who has been in King Crimson since 2014 and who, prior to that, played in the group Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins). Jakszyk was also in a group called the 21st Century Schizoid Band, which was comprised of King Crimson alumni including Collins, along with Ian McDonald, Peter Giles, Michael Giles and Ian Wallace.
The only visual material included here is a snippet of “21st Century Schizoid Man” in shaky black and white from the Rolling Stones’ free July 5, 1969 concert, held at Hyde Park in London in memorial for Brian Jones. Also on that bill were Third Ear Band, Screw, Alexis Korner’s New Church, Family and the Battered Ornaments.
In the Court of the Crimson King brought together guitarist Robert Fripp and Michael Giles from the Giles, Giles and Fripp group. In 1968, they recorded their one and only album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp; it barely registered any sales and is now, of course, a collector’s curio. At the invitation of Fripp, bassist and lead vocalist Greg Lake joined Fripp and Giles in forming King Crimson, after playing with the Gods as well as some forgettable groups.
Also on board was multi-instrumentalist and secret weapon Ian McDonald. He had been in the army and had – along with Judy Dyble, who recently split for Fairport Convention – had some contact with Giles, Giles and Fripp. McDonald brought poet Peter Sinfield into King Crimson to write lyrics. The group originally began recording with Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke, but the pairing proved incompatible.
With the members essentially producing themselves, In the Court of the Crimson King was not too far from the emerging prog bands of the day, or the trippy psychedelia that was still happening two years on in England. While Robert Fripp was the de-facto leader of the group and remains so to this day, it really was more McDonald and Lake’s show musically. That is to take nothing away from Fripp – or for that matter Giles’s tasteful, yet forceful drumming.
Lake’s lovely vocals were the centerpiece of this record. Nonetheless, McDonald, playing no less than 11 different keyboard and wind instruments, created the enchanting, yet at times dissonant, musical moods and textures that would make songs like the majestic title track and the wistful “I Talk to the Wind” staples of the burgeoning underground and progressive FM dial on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.
This remarkable assemblage did not last long, with only Fripp and Sinfield remaining all the way through for the group’s next studio project In the Wake of the Poseidon. McDonald and Giles formed a new duo, releasing their one and only album in 1971. McDonald went on to a long career in Foreigner and many other projects, and Greg Lake joined former Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster to form Emerson, Lake and Palmer. ELP would explode on the rock scene, fashioning a long, commercially successful career out of the ashes of the original prog scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s along with Yes, the Moody Blues and Genesis.
The sound of these discs, particularly the Blu-ray 5.1 mix, is nothing short of miraculous. The Blu-ray interface and varied format mixes make for a multi-layered experience. It’s hard to believe an album recorded 50 years ago can sound so good. While the opening track “21st Century Schizoid Man” is a somewhat difficult and dissonant song that foreshadows the future sound of King Crimson, the rest has more in common with the early Emerson Lake and Palmer sound and the Strawbs.
How far ahead of its time In the Court of the Crimson King was and how thrilling it still sounds today are the product of the meeting of an extraordinary collection of artists at a time in music when mixing and creating new styles with no boundaries or compromises was not only welcomed but expected.
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