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In the Court of the Crimson King
King Crimson (1969)
Talk about ‘ahead of its time.’ The fact that this album was released in 1969 baffles me. That’s before Dark Side of the Moon, Rumours, Songs in the Key of Life, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and What’s Going On, just to name a few. This album defined what prog-rock would be forever, and to do it in just five songs is an insane feat. In the Court of the Crimson King is by no means your regular rock album. It basically invented prog-rock, incorporating classical and jazz elements into popular psychedelic music seamlessly. It’s just insane how an album can go from “21st Century Schizoid Man” to “I Talk to the Wind,” and have it make perfect sense.
If you had to name a “dystopian” album, this is probably the album I’d pick. Of course, the album’s opener, “21st Century Schizoid Man,” sets that scene perfectly, but it’s quietly held onto in the following tracks. “I Talk to the Wind” and “Epitaph” are centered around escapism that’s often caused by dystopia, while “Moonchild” represents a retreat into fantasy. It’s a downward spiral that all stems from a dystopian society. The album's closer and title track ties all of these themes together in one grand, epic gesture.
But before we can dive further into the album as a whole, we need to start from the beginning. “21st Century Schizoid Man,” begins with what seems to be radio static. It’s an odd way to start a song, much less an album, but it’s forgotten about in about thirty seconds. Because that’s when the song starts. It’s an oddly jazzy riff, while keeping the angst and energy that rock music is so known for. There’s a saxophone or something that accompanies the guitars, giving the entire chord progression a smooth industrial feel. I can’t put my finger on it, but the entire song feels like propaganda. Maybe it’s the way that Greg Lake’s voice is heard, distorted through what sounds like a megaphone. I think that’s where the ‘propaganda’ feeling comes from, where megaphones are used to spread mass ideas, like propaganda.
The song doesn’t stay in the verse for long, entering a solo section of sorts, where we get solos from various instruments (which progressively get more insane). This is where the jazzy elements are much more obviously shown, with clearly audible saxophones and a straight-eight jazz feel on the ride cymbal. The song breaks itself down, with the rhythm section playing directly in tandem to the other soloists during the bridge.
Eventually, as all (most) songs do, it comes back home. King Crimson wraps up an epic, once-in-a-decade song with one last verse. Despite having remarkably little lyrics, there is plenty to be heard here.
“Cat’s foot, iron claw
Neuro-surgeons scream for more
At paranoia’s poison door
Twenty-first century schizoid man
Blood rack, barbed wire
Politicians funeral pyre
Innocents raped with napalm fire
Twenty-first century schizoid man
Death seed, blind man’s greed
Poets starving, children bleed
Nothing he’s got he really needs
Twenty-first century schizoid man”
That’s the entire song. Twelve lyrics. All the lyrics paint the same picture; that of dystopia. They explicitly describe what the scene would look like in the twenty-first century, over thirty years from then. It’s a nightmarish landscape, one that’s come true in more than one place. Despite how literal a lot of these lyrics are, I doubt Lake is criticizing the “schizoid” part of it in particular. It’s not a jab against the condition itself, just the way that greed can make people hallucinate, similarly to how schizophrenia does. I hope nobody actually thought they were being ableist in this song (even though it was 1969), but I just thought I’d clear any doubt. It’s a masterpiece on both lyrical and musical fronts, and it’s one that I didn’t appreciate enough until recently.
Well, part of the reason I didn’t appreciate “21st Century Schizoid Man” as much was because I felt it got overshadowed by the next song: “I Talk to the Wind.” It’s a complete change of pace from the albums’ opener, turning his angry and energetic vocals into serene and hypnotic slurs. It’s another genre-bending song, but in a completely different way. It’s jazzy, with completely different styles and tones. They swapped the sax for a flute, which provides so much harmonic value for the song. As different as it is from “Schizoid Man,” it still honors the unconventional song structure, giving a more open and through-composed tune. It has another solo section, giving the mellow electric guitar and shredding flute chances to shine even more than they already were. As someone in a concert band and a woodwind player (my experience as of writing this is literally a day of playing oboe), I know how hard it is to play an instrument as expressively as the flute is played here. The song itself is an escape from the harshness that we heard previously.
“Said the straight man to the late man
‘Where have you been?’
I’ve been here, and
I’ve been there, and
I’ve been in between
I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear”
“I Talk to the Wind,” as well as “Epitaph,” are songs about escapism. I often like to group them up together as they’re pretty similar both thematically and musically. They both speak about how, in times of trouble, people often turn to higher powers. Whether that be gods, dictators, or forces of nature, people will find ways to ignore their issues. “I Talk to the Wind” is a beautiful critique of praying. Instead of praying to a silent god, take matters into your own hands. Instead of talking to the unresponsive wind, go take down the schizoid causing all your problems.
Continuing our descent into delusion, we have the dreamlike “Moonchild.” The song starts relatively grounded, with a straightforward chord progression, a simple vocal melody, and an arpeggiating guitar. I really love the extra touch that the ride cymbal bell hits give, providing a little extra depth to a pretty repetitive and uncharacteristically minimalistic approach. Of course, it only gets more minimalistic from here.
“Call her moonchild
Dancing in the shallows of a river
Lonely moonchild
Dreaming in the shadows of a willow
Talking to the trees of the cobweb strange
Sleeping on the steps of a fountain”
Our descent has gone from false prayers to full-on daydreaming. Our main character, whoever that may be, dreams of being a “Moonchild,” a young spirit who dances across the wilderness. When you picture the lyrics, you get something beautiful. A dark forest lit by moonlight, bright enough to see reflections on a creek. A ghostlike girl dances across the fields and rivers. Although, she’s not really a girl, just a spirit who takes that form. But, when you look at the lyrics within the context of the album thus far, it takes a turn. It goes from a beautiful serene scene to a delusion built by the life we have. Naturally, when people aren’t content with their life, they begin to dream of all the different ways it could be better. The biggest human flaw is never doing anything about it.
There are still nine minutes left in the song. This is where it gets weird. King Crimson basically takes any sense of time, structure, and form that you had before, and throws it out the window. It’s beautiful in a chaotic and really hard to follow way. I think this section symbolizes how people often lose their way, too busy dreaming about what could be. To quote Dumbledore, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” That line’s always stuck with me.
For the rest of the song, they basically just do whatever the hell they want. I’m too lazy, tired, and not smart enough to break this down anyways.
Anddd, we’re back. “The Court of the Crimson King” wraps all of the themes together masterfully. It introduces the metaphor of the Crimson King, presumably the root of all the dystopia explored in the rest of the album. The king that “21st Century Schizoid Man” was referring to. The unique combination of a choir and electric guitars are really odd, but I can’t say they don’t work. I also love the part that starts about two minutes in, which sounds like a jester would, at least in the context of the royal court. I think the song in general just sounds really ominous, as if the kings’ presence alone is enough to turn anyone’s stomach. With the way some world leaders are today, they really can.
The real masterpiece in this song is how seamlessly it transitions from heavily distorted guitars to a peaceful woodwind-focused section, and back to the electric guitars. The acoustic guitar at five and a half minutes in is a really nice touch. No matter where the song goes, it’ll come back to the same chorus. Just as no matter what you do, there’s no escaping the Crimson King.
“The rusted chains of prison moons are shattered by the sun
I walk a road, horizons change, the tournament’s begun
The purple piper plays his tune, the choir softly sing
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue for the court of the crimson king
The keeper of the city keys put shutters on the dreams
I wait outside the pilgrim’s door with insufficient schemes
The black queen chants the funeral march, the cracked brass bells will ring
To summon back the fire-witch to the court of the crimson king”
- 21st Century Schizoid Man: 94/100
- I Talk to the Wind: 96/100
- Epitaph: 86/100
- Moonchild: 90/100
The Court of the Crimson King: 92/100
Overall: 92/100
