Today we bring you another excellent collectors item hand-picked by the staff of eil.com. Our stock addition manager and all-round prog aficionado, Syd, has chosen an early pressing of King Crimson’s magnum opus, In The Court of The Crimson King.
“After rightfully hat-tipping the The Wilde Flowers, Soft Machine, Arthur Brown or even early Floyd & Caravan for their parts to play in making important steps beyond 60s psychedelia, and frankly transcending what The Nice, Procol Harum, and The Moody Blues brought to the table, In The Court of The Crimson King has to mark the undeniable true dawn of progressive rock.
“This is the one that had the attack, the real contrasting darkness and light, the unsettling balance of chaos and order and the ambiguity that any definitively daring piece should offer, and it’s crucial that this is the one that landed just before the main onslaught that followed over the subsequent few remarkable years from Comus to Gentle Giant to the Krautrock and Canterbury movements and can stake its claim as the archetypal pioneer of musical exploration in a rock setting.
“The artwork itself is colossal among the host of iconic cover designs from the era, no small achievement in a time where album sleeve art had the potential to become historic in music culture. Its representation of the sound of this record perfectly portrays the equally harrowing surrealist music with nothing short of suitably devil-like temptation. A formidable work of forced nature and the benchmark of breaking conventional chains, you could call it the genesis but that name was used elsewhere. These guys just took it to a whole new level.”
1969 UK first issue 5-track stereo LP on the smooth pink Island label with white ‘i’ logo [A2/B4 matrices], matt gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics inside. The sleeve has a some minor scuffing to the edges but has no splits of rips, however the striking artwork is not compromised & the colours are still vibrant. The vinyl shows only minor evidence of play with some light surface scuffs, overall a very good example and an ideal play copy ILPS-9111
Find out more about this fantastic collectors item over at eil.com
Be sure to check out the rest of our premium rarities on eil.com
Need gift ideas? Roy and Luke are here to help! WhatsApp us or use eil.com website live Chat, call 01474 815 010 or email sales@eil.com and if you have any items to sell, please call us on 01474 815099
eil.com – the world’s best online store for rare, collectable and out of print Vinyl Records, CDs & Music memorabilia since 1987
- King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $31.49, €30.24 (New Item) (arrived 18-Feb-2025 12:57)
KING CRIMSON Starless And Bible Black (2020 UK/EU limited edition 8-track LP pressed on 200-gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl, featuring the 40th anniversary stereo mixes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp, cut by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering. An experimental hybrid of live material and studio recordings, the edgy and inventive Starless sits between the landmark releases, Larks' Tongues In Aspic and Red. Gatefold picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 200 Gram - Steven Wilson Stereo Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £22.99, $28.97, €27.82 (New Item) (arrived 29-Jan-2025 11:23)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (2020 UK limited edition 200-gram vinyl LP release of the 40th anniversary stereo mixes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp. This justifiably classic 1969 album, one of the most frequently requested high quality vinyl reissues, is finally returned to the LP format. Gatefold picture sleeve with iconic cover artwork, hype sticker & factory sealed)
- King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £40.00, $50.40, €48.40 (New Item) (arrived 17-Jan-2025 12:39)
KING CRIMSON Starless & Bible Black (1974 UK first press 8-track LP on the pink rim 'palm tree' label, textured gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve is Very Good with a little minor discolouration and foxing whilst the vinyl is Excellent with few signs of any play ILPS9275)
- King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £40.00, $50.40, €48.40 (New Item) (arrived 17-Jan-2025 18:00)
KING CRIMSON Starless & Bible Black (1974 UK first press 8-track LP on the pink rim 'palm tree' label, textured gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve is Very Good with a little minor discolouration and foxing whilst the vinyl is Excellent with few signs of any play ILPS9275)
- King Crimson - The Young Persons' Guide + Booklet - EX - Italian - 2-LP vinyl set - £40.00, $50.40, €48.40 (New Item) (arrived 23-Jan-2025 16:11)
KING CRIMSON The Young Persons' Guide (1975 Italian 15-track compilation double vinyl LP - A 'personal selection compiled by Robert Fripp', gatefold picture sleeve with the rare illustrated 20-page booklet detailing the history of the band with concert dates, reviews and more. Despite the light corner creasing the sleeve shows only minor signs of wear and the vinyl grades Excellent ISLD7)
- King Crimson - Islands - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £95.00, $119.70, €114.95 (New Item) (arrived 23-Jan-2025 16:28)
KING CRIMSON Islands (1971 UK first press 6-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label, with A1/B1 matrices & original flipback 'nebula' picture sleeve complete with illustrated inner with integral lyric insert. This is a well loved example with paper scuffing around the edges of the sleeve [VG], as expected to some degree being a non-laminated cover. The elaborate inner/insert is often missing from most copies, & is found here, albeit split along the seam with a couple of other seam splits. Both inner and insert show signs of foxing. The vinyl is clean & grades EX revealing spindle wear & light paper marks with little other sign of play. A serviceable first issue starter copy always in demand ILPS9175)
- King Crimson - The Young Persons' Guide + Booklet - EX - Italian - 2-LP vinyl set - £40.00, $50.40, €48.40 (New Item) (arrived 23-Jan-2025 18:00)
KING CRIMSON The Young Persons' Guide (1975 Italian 15-track compilation double vinyl LP - A 'personal selection compiled by Robert Fripp', gatefold picture sleeve with the rare illustrated 20-page booklet detailing the history of the band with concert dates, reviews and more. Despite the light corner creasing the sleeve shows only minor signs of wear and the vinyl grades Excellent ISLD7)
- King Crimson - Islands - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £95.00, $119.70, €114.95 (New Item) (arrived 23-Jan-2025 18:00)
KING CRIMSON Islands (1971 UK first press 6-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label, with A1/B1 matrices & original flipback 'nebula' picture sleeve complete with illustrated inner with integral lyric insert. This is a well loved example with paper scuffing around the edges of the sleeve [VG], as expected to some degree being a non-laminated cover. The elaborate inner/insert is often missing from most copies, & is found here, albeit split along the seam with a couple of other seam splits. Both inner and insert show signs of foxing. The vinyl is clean & grades EX revealing spindle wear & light paper marks with little other sign of play. A serviceable first issue starter copy always in demand ILPS9175)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Steven Wilson Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £22.99, $28.97, €27.82 (New Item) (arrived 29-Jan-2025 10:36)
KING CRIMSON Larks' Tongues In Aspic (2020 UK limited edition 200-gram vinyl LP release of the 40th anniversary stereo mixes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp. With its raw tone, inspired improvisations and hard hitting odd-metered rhythms, Larks' Tongues marked a radical departure for this most forward thinking of groups and was the first to include Bill Bruford and John Wetton as band members. Picture sleeve with hype sticker, sealed from new)
- King Crimson - Red - 50th Anniversary New 2024 Mixes - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Sealed - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £34.99, $44.09, €42.34 (Back In Stock) (arrived 02-Feb-2025 11:08)
KING CRIMSON Red (50th Anniversary Edition of the 1974 classic album, featuring a New 2024 Mix by Steven Wilson and an album of Elemental Mixes by David Singleton, all approved by Robert Fripp and pressed on 200-gram SuperHeavyweight Vinyl. Housed inside a gatefold picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed. Recommended)
It’s the first two Crimson lps for me; Crimson King and Poseidon. Love ’em, have so since they came out. Inventive, musical and pleasing tonality. Fripp, Lake, McDonald et. al. And don’t forget the awareness at the time of Pete Sinfield, his delivering of the lyrics.