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
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- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 200gm - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.49, €28.99 (New Item) (arrived 28-Sep-2023 16:17)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (2010 UK limited edition 5-track remastered LP comprising the original 1969 stereo mix pressed on 200gram Vinyl, newly cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp. Comes housed in a deluxe replica gatefold picture sleeve. Although not sealed, the sleeve & vinyl appear Near Mint. This seminal Prog album never sounded better! KCLP1)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £20.00, $24.40, €23.20 (New Item) (arrived 01-Sep-2023 15:54)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (1977 UK issue of the classic 1969 5-track debut LP by the Crim, gatefold picture sleeve reproducing the original iconic artwork. The sleeve has just a little light edgewear and spine scuffing whilst the vinyl shows few signs of play - an essential addition to any collection)
- King Crimson - Lizard - glossy p/s - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $30.50, €29.00 (New Item) (arrived 19-Aug-2023 13:34)
KING CRIMSON Lizard (70s UK issue of the 1970 5-track LP on the pink rim 'palm tree' label, housed in a light glossy gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics inside. The sleeve shows very little of its years with some minor creasing & the vinyl is Excellent with merely a few faint signs of play. A nice copy! ILPS9141)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - VG + inner - UK - vinyl LP - £75.00, $91.50, €87.00 (New Item) (arrived 19-Aug-2023 14:08)
KING CRIMSON Larks' Tongues In Aspic (Scarce original 1973 UK 6-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label, pinched spine picture sleeve complete with lyric inner. The sleeve for this copy remains in Excellent condition with nice clean panels & only minor signs of its age. The vinyl is clean & grades Very Good - there's a distinct hairline throughout Easy Money - which has no effect on play. Now tough to find complete & in serviceable condition ILPS9230)
- King Crimson - Earthbound - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $30.50, €29.00 (New Item) (arrived 26-Aug-2023 14:40)
KING CRIMSON Earthbound (1972 UK first press 5-track LP of live recordings on a black Island label with pink 'i' logo, matt title sleeve with original jet black die cut company inner. Due to the unforgiving nature of the design, the sleeve showssome light edgewear & noticeable ringwear with some scrapes, whilst the vinyl shows a few signs of play - a respectable play copy for a great price! HELP6)
- King Crimson - Islands - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £150.00, $183.00, €174.00 (New Item) (arrived 29-Aug-2023 13:20)
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 & some 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 - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £40.00, $48.80, €46.40 (New Item) (arrived 29-Aug-2023 13:33)
KING CRIMSON Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1973 UK 6-track LP on the pink rim 'palm tree' label, pinched spine picture sleeve. The front of the sleeve has general storeagewear and is graded as VG+. The vinyl has just a few light paper hairline scuffs not upsetting play and remains in EX- condition. A very respectable copy offered at an advantageous price ILPS9230)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 2nd - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $36.60, €34.80 (New Item) (arrived 31-Aug-2023 16:39)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (Early 70s UK second issue of the 1970 10-track vinyl LP on the pink rimmed palm tree label, housed in a textured gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve shows some light edge scuffing, whilst the vinyl shows few signs of play ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $30.50, €29.00 (New Item) (arrived 01-Sep-2023 15:34)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (1981 UK Polydor issue of the 1970 11-track LP, housed in a gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve displays some light edgewear whilst the vinyl looks barely played)
- King Crimson - Larks Tongues In Aspic + Inner - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $30.50, €29.00 (New Item) (arrived 01-Sep-2023 16:52)
KING CRIMSON Larks Tongues In Aspic (1977 UK issue of the 1973 6-track vinyl LP, complete with lyric inner, picture sleeve. The sleeve shows some light storage/spine wear and the inner has a little foxing; the vinyl has a few light scuff marks, butremains in excellent condition)
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.