Album Club: In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
Discussed on July 11, 2026. Picked by Jim.
Song Ratings
| # | Song | Jim | Chris |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21st Century Schizoid Man (including Mirrors) | Starter | — |
| 2 | I Talk to the Wind | — | — |
| 3 | Epitaph (including March for No Reason and Tomorrow and Tomorrow) | Cut | Bench |
| 4 | Moonchild (including The Dream and The Illusion) | — | — |
| 5 | The Court of the Crimson King (including The Return of the Fire Witch and The Dance of the Puppets) | Bench | Starter |
| Legend: Starter = would start a playlist | Bench = solid | Cut = would skip |
Jim’s Notes
- Glad we listened to this but unlikely to come back to it any time soon.
- Chaotic jazz sections give 21st Century Schizoid Man a sense of the craziness the track is trying to convey.
- My bench was a bit of a toss up between Moonchild and Court of the Crimson King. I ultimately went with Court. As much as I like Moonchild, the instrumental 2nd half of the track becomes a tedious listen for me.
- Not a big fan of the flute with lead lines in rock but I felt was well done in Court of the Crimson King.
- You can hear the similarity in the orchestra heavy sections to what The Moody Blues had been doing for a couple of albums.
Chris’s Notes
This one was hard to get into. The jarring start doesn’t help. It took me 3-4 listens before removing “21st Century Schizoid Man” from my cut pick. It grows on me, and I can appreciate it more knowing when the album was released. Had to have sounded unlike anything ever made when it was released. Other thoughts:
- Hard to cut a song, so I didn’t
- I like the flutes more in this album than I typically do.
- Robert Fripp was ~22 years old when writing these songs. Before this album he was giving guitar lessons to Al Stewart.
- Did not know member Ian McDonald went on to co-found Foreigner