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 Wake Of Poseidon - 2nd - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $37.50, €35.40 (Back In Stock) (arrived 18-May-2022 15:38)
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 - Starless And Bible Black + Inner - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £125.00, $156.25, €147.50 (New Item) (arrived 01-Apr-2022 11:54)
KING CRIMSON Starless & Bible Black (1974 UK first issue 8-track vinyl LP on the pink rim 'palm tree' Island label, the sixth studio album from the legendary English progressive rockers. The textured gatefold picture sleeve shows just a littleage yellowing & minor surface marks [light foxing] which is common for white sleeve of this release but displays no seam splits or tears and comes complete with the rare flipback lyric inner which also displays no seam splits. The vinyl remains in superb EXcondition with only a couple of light surface scuffs to indicate light use, remaining seldom played. A nice copy of an essential Crim classic - recommended! ILPS9275)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 2nd - UK - vinyl LP - £75.00, $93.75, €88.50 (New Item) (arrived 28-Feb-2022 15:41)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (Early 70s UK issue of the benchmark debut 1969 5-track LP, on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label. The gatefold picture sleeve & vinyl are Excellent to Near Mint with very little sign of wear or play. A fabulous copy of this pioneering prog album! ISLP9111)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 1st - G - UK - vinyl LP - £95.00, $118.75, €112.10 (New Item) (arrived 02-Mar-2022 15:02)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969 UK first press 5-track stereo LP on the smooth pink Island label with white 'i' logo, housed in the iconic matt gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics inside. The sleeve is strictly graded VG-, with some notable scuffing and a little paper loss on the spine. The vinyl is graded as G+ with a few light scuffs (one in I Talk To The Wind, which cannot be heard, and one in Moonchild which is discernible) and some spindlewear on the labels. Arespectable copy offered at an advantageous price ILPS-9111)
- King Crimson - The Young Person's Guide To King Crimson - Japanese - 2-LP vinyl set - £75.00, $93.75, €88.50 (New Item) (arrived 21-Mar-2022 09:43)
KING CRIMSON The Young Person's Guide To King Crimson (1980 Japanese 15-track double vinyl LP introduction to The Crim, including Ladies Of The Road, Red, Book Of Saturday and Trio, gatefold picture sleeve with 8-page picture insert, English/Japanese lyric insert and obi-strip. The sleeve displays just a little light edge & corner wear, whilst the vinyl shows minimal signs of being played P-4642~3A)
- King Crimson - 1969-1972 - open - UK - vinyl box set - £149.99, $187.49, €176.99 (New Item) (arrived 22-Mar-2022 10:13)
KING CRIMSON 1969-1972 (2019 UK 40th Anniversary limited edition 42-track 6LP collection, each album is pressed on audiophile quality 200 gram BLACK VINYL are newly cut from the original mastersand are mixed and produced by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp. Includes the albums 'In The Court Of The Crimson King'' [Single Disc], 'In The Wake Of Posiedon' [Single Disc], 'Lizard' [Single Disc], 'Islands' [Single Disc] and 'An AlternativeGuide To King Crimson 1969-1972 [Two Disc]. Each album comes in their own picture sleeve and presented in a slipcase style box with an 18 page replica history booklet as it appeared in the original 1975 Young Persons' Guide. This copy is open and is graded Excellent overall, the outer box shows just some very light shelfwear, a couple of the inner sleeves have seam splits otherwise in Excellent condition - the vinyl is MINT and unplayed KCLPBX502)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £195.00, $243.75, €230.10 (New Item) (arrived 24-Mar-2022 10:35)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (Rare 1970 UK first press 10-track stereo LP on the pink with white 'i' logo Island label, housed in the original textured heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve, featuring their big hit single [!] 'Cat Food' & vocal duties on Cadence & Cascade handled by Gordon Haskell. The sleeve is in superb Excellent condition with just a little faint shelf wear scuffing - the cover still boasts bright panels & rich, vivid colours with no tears or writing. A beaut. The vinyl is nice & clean & remains in superb Excellent to Near Mint condition, clearly well cared for & seldom played - you'd be really hard pressed to find a copy better than this one! ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - Discipline - German - vinyl LP - £25.00, $31.25, €29.50 (New Item) (arrived 29-Mar-2022 16:27)
KING CRIMSON Discipline (1981 German 7-track LP, the first album from the band following a seven year hiatus, featuring Robert Fripp & Bill Bruford from previous incarnations of the Crim, alongside former David Bowie guitarist Adrian Belew & former Peter Gabriel bassist Tony Levin - the newly vamped line-up refined any former prog excesses in favour of ultra tight, interlocking precision for the new wave era - this was Crim getting a cool haircut! embossed picture sleeve. The sleeve shows general light wear with the original price sticker still in place, whilst the vinyl appears barely played)
- King Crimson - The Young Persons' Guide + Booklet - EX - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £40.00, $50.00, €47.20 (New Item) (arrived 06-Apr-2022 10:50)
KING CRIMSON The Young Persons' Guide (1975 UK 15-track compilation vinyl double 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. The sleeve shows some light edge scuffing and ringwear, whilst the vinyl appears barely played ISLD7)
- King Crimson - Earthbound - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $18.75, €17.70 (New Item) (arrived 18-May-2022 15:12)
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 black Island inner. The sleeve shows some light edge scuffing and ringwear, whilst the vinyl has just few cosmetic surface scuffs - a very respectable VG copy for a great price! HELP6)
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.