![king crimson court king crimson court](https://i.redd.it/kpmm2gyofw831.jpg)
As mentioned before, King Crimson is cited as the first prog band of all time largely because of how eruptively different their debut In the Court of the Crimson King was to other records at the time, but the notions of long-form suite-composed songs, complex time signatures, orchestral and jazz structures and virtuosic playing had been accruing for quite some time, from the early psych rock explorations of Pink Floyd to the sonic developments of later-day Beatles (especially Sgt. For starters, the basics: They were the second permutation of an earlier group called Giles, Giles & Fripp, a formation that released one album of the psych/proto-prog variety that was percolating through the sixties. So, that said, the presumption going forward will be that you have heard a bit but not much of the group. Which is wonderful as a fan of music but particularly daunting as a writer. Everyone under the sun loves the group, from progressive rock peers Yes and Genesis (the Mellotron you hear on “Watcher of the Skies” is the exact same one you hear on In the Court of the Crimson King, by the way) to math rock groups like Battles and The Jesus Lizard. Kurt Cobain famously listed Red (more on that one later, too) in his published journals as one of his favorite albums of all time while Tool have cited King Crimson as the most influential reason for their shift from the heavier end of grunge toward progressive metal. Chances are if you are on this site you’ve heard of the group already and likely own some albums even more likely is that you’ve heard a group that cites them.
![king crimson court king crimson court](https://www.trendlucky.com/11043-home_default/lp-king-crimson-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-album-633367911117.jpg)
Lineup changes commenced immediately upon the album's release, and Fripp would ultimately be the only survivor on later King Crimson records.An interesting question: How, in 2019, do you introduce King Crimson? After all, the seminal and arguably foundational progressive rock band (more on that later) is 50 years old now, just recently added to Spotify for another generation of fans to dig into and is- oh yeah-one of the most cited/influential bands in the world. And even though that Mellotron sound is muted and toned down compared to their concert work of the era (e.g., Epitaph), it is still fierce and overpowering, on an album highlighted by strong songwriting (most of it filled with dark and doom-laden visions), the strongest singing of Greg Lake's entire career, and Fripp's guitar playing that strangely mixed elegant classical, Hendrix-like rock explosions, and jazz noodling. Ian McDonald's Mellotron is the dominant instrument, along with his saxes and Fripp's guitar, making this a somewhat different-sounding record from everything else they ever did.
![king crimson court king crimson court](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/A0gAAOSwwUJeM4Yi/s-l300.jpg)
At the time, it blew all of the progressive/psychedelic competition ( the Moody Blues, the Nice, etc.) out of the running, although it was almost too good for the band's own good - it took King Crimson nearly four years to come up with a record as strong or concise. The group's definitive album, and one of the most daring debut albums ever recorded by anybody.