In the Court of the Crimson King (An Observation by King Crimson) by King Crimson

In the Court of the Crimson King (An Observation by King Crimson), King Crimson's first album, released on October 10, 1969, is here in its beautiful 2019 fiftieth anniversary version, a Steven Wilson remix/remaster that includes an additional disc with alternate takes and mixes.

The original disc, the one I'll be talking about and the first disc of this two-LP set, contains four masterpieces and is approximately 44 minutes long. It features what I consider to be the most beautiful song ever written and performed, "Epitaph."

Those unfamiliar with Prog are surely familiar with this album's iconic cover, the most beautiful ever made, but they have a kind of fear for the album's content, expecting chaos, scattered sounds, and complexity beyond the grasp of a non-enthusiast. Perhaps this is only because they've listened to the first track, "21st Century Schizoid Man," which is intimidating even with its title alone, but is instead a work of art in which rock, jazz, and fusion blend with psychedelia, where the "chaos" at the end is part of the narrative itself. A huge mistake. This album contains some of the most beautiful melodies ever written and some of the most beautiful lyrics in the world, by Peter Sinfield, and must be listened to in its entirety to be truly appreciated and understood.

"I Talk to the Wind" is a manifesto of the '70s, a song of unrivaled lightness and intensity, unparalleled (outside of this album). Pure melody, arrangements to be imitated, vocals both solo and choral of absolute beauty. It's almost as if you can hear the voice fading in the wind, a foundation of keyboards, guitar, and wind instruments...

Another manifesto, another masterpiece, is "Epitaph." When you want to tell your children and grandchildren about those years, put on this song and then begin the story. The story will be more real, and not so many words will be needed. A hint of emotion will probably enrich the story in you, the one telling it, and perhaps in those who listen. In my opinion, it's the most beautiful song ever written, the most beautiful vocal performance of the 1970s. And I'm not just talking about the beauty of the voice—Gabriel and Jon Anderson and others from the same era had equally extraordinary voices—I'm talking about the most beautiful performance, Greg Lake. In this song, Ian McDonald's wind instruments and keyboards are pure poetry. Lyrics by Peter Sinfield, music by Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, and Michael Giles.

Another melody that marked the history of music is found in Moonchild, another melodic masterpiece with a central phase of absolute lightness in near-silence, where virtuosity lies in the ability to intervene with lightness and taste, maintaining the same atmosphere in a choral manner but with hints, flashes, accents...

The Court of the Crimson King, the title track, is progressive rock in its purity, epicness, intensity, and majesty. A masterpiece of beauty indefinable in words.

In those years, we witnessed another musical miracle, as I've said many times about other bands of the same era. For this band, too, something magical and mysterious happened: artists of the first caliber, at the height of their creativity, technical ability, passion, and emotion, who met in the same place at the same time, to give life to something unique and unrepeatable, which created benchmarks for the future.

Now I should recommend it to you as I always do but I sincerely hope it isn't necessary and that you have already listened to and loved this music.