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 - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £295.00, $415.95, €342.20 (New Item) (arrived 12-May-2021 23:57)
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, textured heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve, featuring their big hit single [!] 'Cat Food' & vocal duties on Cadence& Cascade handled by Gordon Haskell. The sleeve is Excellent with just a little wear creeping in to the corners/edges, but the easily worn sleeve still boasts bright panels, whilst the vinyl is graded as somewhere between Excellent and Near Mint, clearly well cared for and seldom played - you'd really be hard pressed to find a copy better than this one! ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - 200 Gram - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £19.99, $28.19, €23.19 (New Item) (arrived 14-Apr-2021 15:47)
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 - Three Of A Perfect Pair - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £40.00, $56.40, €46.40 (Back In Stock) (arrived 26-Feb-2021 12:38)
KING CRIMSON Three Of A Perfect Pair (1984 UK 9-track vinyl LP, the final part in the trilogy from the newly vamped Adrian Belew period, picture sleeve with lyric inner. The sleeve displays some light scuff marks across the front and remains excellent, whilst the vinyl has only light signs of play, otherwise a really nice example priced advantageously EGLP55)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $49.35, €40.60 (New Item) (arrived 26-Feb-2021 14:22)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (1989 UK issue of the 1969 5-track vinyl LP, barcoded gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve shows minimal shelfwear with just a little edge scuffing & the vinyl remains in near 'as new' condition with few signs of play EGLP1)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 1st - VG/EX - UK - vinyl LP - £195.00, $274.95, €226.20 (New Item) (arrived 26-Feb-2021 16:38)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970 UK first issue 10-track stereo LP on the pink with white 'i' logo Island label, textured gatefold picture sleeve. The cover is graded as VG with some spine wear and paper scuffing around the edges, but the easily worn sleeve retains rich & vivid colours. The vinyl is graded as EX with only a little spindle wear to indicate play ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $49.35, €40.60 (New Item) (arrived 26-Feb-2021 19:42)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (1989 UK issue of the 1969 5-track vinyl LP, barcoded gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve shows minimal shelfwear with just a little edge scuffing & the vinyl remains in near 'as new' condition with few signs of play EGLP1)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of - 2nd - Palm Tree - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £65.00, $91.65, €75.40 (New Item) (arrived 12-Apr-2021 10:56)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (1970 UK second issue of the debut 1969 5-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label, housed in the iconic gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve is Excellent & shows just some corner & edge wear. The vinyl remains in Excellent condition with only a few minor paper hairlines to show play. Essential for any Progressive Rock collector ILPS-9111)
- King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black + Inner - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £75.00, $105.75, €87.00 (New Item) (arrived 13-Apr-2021 11:33)
KING CRIMSON Starless & Bible Black (1974 UK first issue pink rim 'palm tree' label 8-track LP, complete with rare lyric inner, textured gatefold picture sleeve. The cover [VG+] has some foxing & age related discolouring, not uncommon with this all white design, with no seam splits, likewise the inner has just a little light wear and is free from tears or splits. The vinyl is nice & clean & in Ex- condition with only a few minor signs of play ILPS9275)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 200 Gram - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £19.99, $28.19, €23.19 (New Item) (arrived 14-Apr-2021 15:58)
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 requestedhigh quality vinyl reissues, is finally returned to the LP format. Gatefold picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed from new)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 1st - VG/EX - UK - vinyl LP - £195.00, $274.95, €226.20 (Back In Stock) (arrived 12-May-2021 23:51)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970 UK first issue 10-track stereo LP on the pink with white 'i' logo Island label, textured gatefold picture sleeve. The cover is graded as VG with some spine wear and paper scuffing around the edges, but the easily worn sleeve retains rich & vivid colours. The vinyl is graded as EX with only a little spindle wear to indicate play ILPS9127)
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.