It is often said that when it comes to innovation and discovery, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum but by standing on the shoulders of giants. That is to say most creations in the present wouldn’t happen without the presence of some prior creation. The progressive rock genre, known for its incorporation of unrelated musical genres and experimental soundscapes, is a prime example of this process in action. However, despite this sentiment, all genres have to start somewhere. There must be one album, one artist, that lights the metaphorical match and ignites the entire keg, leading to that explosion. In the case of prog rock, this crown ironically goes to the debut album of King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King. But how did this album come to be and what came as a result of it? That’s what we’re here to talk about today.
The history of this album starts all the way back in July of 1969, approximately 55 years ago from this year. At this point, King Crimson had formed only 9 months beforehand, not having a single studio album to their name yet. In terms of the greater rock scene, they were truly an unknown. No one had any idea of just what their career trajectory would be. The band was originally formed as a group called Giles, Giles and Fripp, consisting of brothers Michael and Peter Giles, along with guitarist Robert Fripp. After their initial band dissolved, Fripp and drummer Michael Giles teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, lyricist Peter Sinfield, and bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (who would later go on to co-found Emerson, Lake & Palmer). They eventually settled on the name King Crimson, though there were some internal debates between whether that name was a reference to Beelzebub, prince of demons, or if it was a reference to tyrannical monarchies, but regardless the band had finally been formed. All they needed now was an album.
That brings us back to July 1969, right after their performance opening for The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, where the first recordings of the album finally went down. The first recordings were originally supposed to be produced by Tony Clarke; however, those sessions ultimately did not pan out. In his place, the band decided to produce it themselves, assisted by the engineering of Robin Thompson and Tony Page. In order to achieve some of the orchestral sounds found in this album, Ian MacDonald was said to have gone through 5 tape generations just to attain the level of layering they all wanted. After a month of recording and an iconic cover art designed by computer programmer Barry Godber, the album was ready to release.
It doesn’t take a genius to predict the critical reception that this album ended up receiving, by virtue of this post even existing in the first place. Whereas most albums had to wait years or possibly even decades to receive the acclaim they deserve, In the Court of the Crimson King received acclaim from the minute it had hit the aisles of British music stores. Even at a grand total of five songs, their legacy was sealed. The album that Pete Townshend of The Who would call an “uncanny masterpiece” and that would be listed amongst the greatest progressive rock albums of all time was finally out in the world, spawning a whole new genre steeped in unusual genre mixes and progress in its wake. Innovation happens standing on the shoulders of giants, but the giants have to come from somewhere, right?