Album
In the Court of the Crimson King
In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut album by English band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969. It is often regarded as the first true progressive rock album, blending rock with jazz, classical and symphonic influences. Its songs deal with the damage done by war, social alienation and disillusionment, and the sense that ordinary people stand little chance against powerful, corrupt authority. The subtitle is An Observation by King Crimson.
It remains the band's most commercially successful record, reaching number five in the UK and number 28 on the Billboard 200, where it went Gold. It sits at the start of a studio catalogue that runs through In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Red and on into the 1980s and beyond. In 2015, Rolling Stone placed it second on its list of the 50 greatest prog rock albums, behind only The Dark Side of the Moon.
In the Court of the Crimson King on Riffology
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In the Court of the Crimson King: tracklist, credits and charts
5 tracks · 41:59Tracklist
- 121st Century Schizoid Man (including Mirrors)Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield6:52
- 2I Talk to the WindIan McDonald and Peter Sinfield5:40
- 3Epitaph (including March for No Reason and Tomorrow and Tomorrow)Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield8:30
- 4Moonchild (including The Dream and The Illusion)Fripp, Giles, Lake, McDonald, Sinfield12:09
- 5The Court of the Crimson King (including The Return of the Fire Witch and The Dance of the Puppets)Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield8:48
- Produced by
- King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Steven Wilson
- Recorded at
- Wessex Sound Studios (London)
- Recorded
- 7 July – 13 August 1969
- Mixed by
- Robert Fripp, Steven Wilson
- Engineered by
- Robin Thompson
- Labels
- Stateside, Island, Atlantic, E.G.
- Length
- 41:59
Line-up
- Robert Fripp · guitar
- Michael Giles · drums (drum set), percussion, background vocals
- Greg Lake · bass guitar, lead vocals
- Ian McDonald · reeds, woodwind, vibraphone, keyboard, mellotron, background vocals, vocals
Singles
- “The Court of the Crimson King” · October 1969
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1969–70 | 5 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1969–70 | 28 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2022 | 3 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2022 | 6 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1969–70 | 7 |
| UKProgressive · 2019–20 | 9 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1969–70 | 27 |
| Scottish Albums · 2022 | 39 |
| German Albums · 2022 | 73 |
| Italian Albums · 2019–20 | 89 |
All 11 charts
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1969–70 | 96 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1981 | Platinum |
| France · 1982 | 2× Gold |
| Italy · 2016 | Gold |
| Japan · 1971 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 1977 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
86.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
367k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
50k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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More from King Crimson
Full discography →
In the Wake of Poseidon
1970
Lizard
1970
Islands
1971
Earthbound
1972
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic
1973
Starless and Bible Black
1974
Red
1974
A Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson
1975
USA
1975
Discipline
1981
Beat
1982
Three of a Perfect Pair
1984
The Compact King Crimson
1986
The Abbreviated King Crimson: Heartbeat
1991
Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
1991
King Crimson The Great Deceiver 1992
The Great Deceiver
1992
Sleepless: The Concise King Crimson
1993
VROOOM
1994
THRAK
1995
B’BOOM: Official Bootleg – Live in Argentina
1995
THRaKaTTaK
1996
Epitaph, Volumes One & Two
1997
The Nightwatch: Live at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw November 23rd 1973
1997
Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal 1984
1998
Live at the Marquee 1969
1998
Live at Jacksonville 1972
1998
The Beat Club, Bremen 1972
1999
Live at Cap d’Agde 1982
1999
Cirkus: The Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson Live
1999
On Broadway 1995
1999
The Deception of the Thrush: A Beginners’ Guide to ProjeKcts
1999
The ProjeKcts
1999
A Beginner’s Guide to the King Crimson Collectors’ Club
2000
Live at Plymouth Guildhall May 11, 1971
2000
Live in Hyde Park July 5, 1969
2000
Live at Summit Studios, Denver March 12, 1972
2000
Live in Central Park, NYC 1974
2000
The ConstruKction of Light
2000
Live at Moles Club, Bath – April 30, 1981
2000
Heavy ConstruKction
2000
Live in Mainz: March 30, 1974
2001
Live in Berkeley, CA – August 13, 1982
2001
Live in Detroit, MI, December 13, 1971
2001
Level Five
2001
VROOOM VROOOM
2001
Live in Nashville, TN: November 9 & 10, 2001
2002
Live at the Zoom Club
2002
Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With
2002
Ladies of the Road
2002
February 27, 1972: Kemp Coliseum, Orlando, FL
2003
Live in Guildford, November 13, 1972
2003
The Power to Believe
2003
EleKtriK
2003
Live at Fillmore East, 1969
2004
Live in Philadelphia, PA: July 30, 1982
2004
The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Volume 1: 1969–1974
2004
The Collectable King Crimson, Volume 4 – Live in Warsaw 2000
2005
Live in Heidelberg – March 29, 1974
2005
The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Volume 2: 1981–2003
2005
The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson: 1969–2003
2006
The Elements: 2014 Tour Box
2014
Live at the Orpheum
2015
Live in Toronto
2016
Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind
2016
Live in Chicago
2017
Live in Vienna
2018
Uncertain Times
2018
Meltdown: Live in Mexico
2018
Heaven & Earth
2019
KC50, Vol. 33 – Form #1
2019
KC50, Vol. 48 – I Talk to the Wind
2019
Cat Food: 50th Anniversary Edition – EP
2020
The Complete 1969 Recordings
2020
Music Is Our Friend: Live in Washington and Albany, 2021
2021
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More on Stateside
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 10 October 1969 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 10 October 1969 | |
| Wikidata | 10 October 1969 | |
| US release | 10 October 1969 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 10 October 1969 | earliest UK or European date |
69 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GB | Polydor | other | |
| — | XW | Revolver Records | 5016681193523 | other |
| — | FR | E’G | other | |
| — | XE | E’G | 0077778648529 | other |
| 1969 | NL | Stateside | other | |
| 10 October 1969 | GB | Island | original | |
| 10 October 1969 | CA | Atlantic | original | |
| 10 October 1969 | AU | Philips | original | |
| 10 October 1969 | US | Atlantic | original | |
| 10 October 1969 | NZ | Vertigo | original | |
| 10 October 1969 | DE | Columbia | original | |
| 1970 | FR | Philips | other | |
| 1971 | VE | Atlantic | other | |
| 14 April 1971 | JP | Atlantic | other | |
| 1972 | DE | Island | other | |
| 1972 | BR | Island | other | |
| 1975 | NL | Island | other | |
| 1975 | BR | Atlantic | other | |
| September 1975 | TW | Taiwan Union Records | other | |
| 1976 | JP | Atlantic | other | |
| 1977 | AR | Atlantic | other | |
| 1978 | US | Atlantic | other | |
| 1978 | IT | Polydor | other | |
| 1980 | ES | Polydor | other | |
| 28 November 1980 | JP | Atlantic | other | |
| 1981 | DE | Polydor | other | |
| September 1982 | US | Atlantic | other | |
| 1983 | DE | Polydor | 3259180003029 | other |
| 1983 | US | Editions EG | other | |
| 1983 | GB | Polydor | other | |
| 1983 | KR | Sung Eum | other | |
| 1984 | DE | E’G | 3259180003029 | other |
| 1984 | MX | Polydor | other | |
| 16 April 1985 | JP | Polydor | other | |
| 1987 | GB | E’G | 5012985300117 | other |
| 22 January 1987 | JP | E’G | 4988006610149 | other |
| 22 January 1987 | JP | E’G | 4988006610149 | other |
| 26 January 1987 | US | E’G | other | |
| 1989 | US | E’G | 017046150224 | other |
| 1989 | GB | E’G | 0077778648529 | other |
| 1989 | NL | E’G | 0077778648529 | other |
| 1989 | DE | E’G | 5012985300124 | other |
| 7 March 1990 | JP | Virgin Japan | 4988037008243 | other |
| 16 December 1994 | JP | Canyon International | 4988013505537 | other |
| 1999 | GB | Virgin | 724384809928 | deluxe |
| 1999 | XE | Virgin | 724384406523 | deluxe |
| October 1999 | US | Caroline Records | 017046150224 | deluxe |
| 5 October 1999 | GB | Virgin | 724384406523 | other |
| 17 December 1999 | JP | Canyon International | 4988013046603 | remaster |
| 2000 | HU | — | other | |
| 10 August 2001 | JP | Discipline Global Mobile | 4988013241107 | other |
| 28 January 2004 | JP | Universal International | 4988005354839 | other |
| 15 November 2004 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367050120 | other |
| 22 February 2005 | US | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367050120 | other |
| 22 February 2006 | JP | WHD Entertainment, Inc. | 4582213910049 | other |
| 26 March 2008 | JP | WHD Entertainment, Inc. | other | |
| 18 March 2009 | JP | WHD Entertainment, Inc. | other | |
| 12 October 2009 | GB | Panegyric | 633367400123 | deluxe |
| 12 October 2009 | XE | Panegyric | 633367500922 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2009 | US | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367400123 | deluxe |
| 23 November 2009 | — | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367196927 | deluxe |
| 23 December 2009 | JP | WHD Entertainment, Inc. | 4582213913767 | other |
| 18 October 2010 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367911117 | other |
| 30 September 2014 | XW | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367880123 | remaster |
| 2019 | XW | Discipline Global Mobile | other | |
| 2019 | XW | Panegyric | 633367791313 | other |
| 25 October 2019 | GB | Panegyric | 633367791429 | deluxe |
| 19 June 2020 | XE | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367791610 | other |
| 7 June 2023 | JP | Discipline Global Mobile | 4988031567883 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 635×640 | upscaled |