Currently ranked #7 on progarchives.com's top 100 prog albums of all time, In The Court of the Crimson King is nothing short of a masterpiece. The year was 1969, and progressive rock was just starting to take off. It's no wonder that the genre gained so much popularity with albums like this one leading the way.
The first track is simple in composure, but a wonderful opener to the album. The main riff is a slow, concise guitar and sax part. This gives way to the megaphone-style vocals of Greg Lake (yes, THE Greg Lake). The vocal distortion was a perfect choice for the song, as it really gives it a unique flavor. Mixed in to the song are some free-form instrumental solos, and my favorite part: a few bars of a soli phrase where the bass and snare drum pound out the rhythm as the guitar and sax perform a noodly unison line. It's a really cool effect to put in the middle of a song which is dominated by rigid structure during it's verse.
Next is my favorite track on the album, "I Talk to the Wind". Taking away that pounding sensation of the first song, they replace it with very delicate, undistorted instrumentation (including some gorgeous flute parts). Just close your eyes, lean back and take this one in. After that, "Epitaph" kind of combines the two styles. It starts delicately, but with a firm and rigid drum part. Eventually, though, it passionately builds into fabulous ballad. I'm not sure why, but the use of synth backgrounds really makes this one come together; keep an ear out for them.
"Moonchild" is very psychedelic. It has a simple vocal part in the beginning, but soon becomes nearly 10 minutes of musical experimentation. I didn't really like it the first time I heard it, but now I LOVE it. I like to close my eyes and really see the music. Let the sounds transform into splashes of color in your mind. It's very "out-there", but you should give it a try.
Finally, it wraps up with the title track. This song, as the name implies, has a lot of majesty to it. It winds and weaves through sections and solos, but always keeps coming back to the broad refrain that always reminds me of Pink Floyd's "Eclipse".
I could listen to this album end-to-end over and over and never get tired of it. It's one of those enduring classics that you can always come back to when you get weary of whatever new kind of music you're listening to. Check this one out, and I guarantee you'll thank me for it. Happy listening!
This one's not available on Napster, but Amazon has a sampler for you:
http://www.amazon.com/Court-Crimson-King/dp/B00065MDRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1244093316&sr=8-1
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