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 - UK - vinyl LP - £395.00, $477.95, €458.20 (New Item) (arrived 26-Nov-2022 12:33)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970 UK first press 10-track stereo vinyl LP with A1/B1 matrices on the pink with white 'i' logo Island label, featuring their big hit single [!] 'Cat Food' and vocal duties on 'Cadence And Cascade' handled by Gordon Haskell. The original front textured heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve has the lyrics printed within and has only some very light edgewear, the labels have minimal spindle wear and the vinyl itself remains in stunning near mint condition. Almost impossible to find in this kind of condition - Recommended! ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - Beat - Steven Wilson & Robert Fripp Stereo Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.24, €28.99 (New Item) (arrived 27-Oct-2022 14:00)
KING CRIMSON Beat (40th Anniversary Edition UK 8-track LP Stereo mix by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp of King Crimson's sparkling 1982 album, pressed on 200-gram super-heavyweight vinyl for the first time. Mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering from original studio masters. Picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed)
- King Crimson - Three Of A Perfect Pair - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $30.25, €29.00 (New Item) (arrived 06-Oct-2022 15:03)
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 [VG] displays some light spine scuffing and a little general storage wear; the inner has some light foxing. The vinyl remains in excellent condition. A nice play offered at an advantageous price EGLP55)
- King Crimson - Red - 200gm - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.24, €28.99 (New Item) (arrived 06-Oct-2022 15:32)
KING CRIMSON Red (2013 UK issue of the 1974 5-track LP pressed on 200-gram Super-heavyweight vinyl, featuring the original stereo mix newly cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp. Housed in a picture sleeve with expired download card. This copy remains in near as new condition KCLP7)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - 200 Gram - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.24, €28.99 (New Item) (arrived 06-Oct-2022 15:39)
KING CRIMSON Larks' Tongues In Aspic (2013 UK 6-track LP pressed on 200 Gram Vinyl, featuring the original 1973 stereo mix newely cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp, picture sleeve with expired download card. The sleeve shows some light edgewear, whilst the vinyl is near as new KCLP5)1
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 3rd - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $30.25, €29.00 (New Item) (arrived 11-Oct-2022 13:57)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (Mid-70s issue UK 5-track vinyl LP, on the Sunrise Island label design, with gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve shows very little wear and the vinyl looks barely played. An absolute prog masterpiece that no record collection is complete without ILPS9111)
- King Crimson - Discipline - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - UK - vinyl LP - £19.99, $24.19, €23.19 (New Item) (arrived 26-Oct-2022 12:24)
KING CRIMSON Discipline (2018 UK/EU limited edition 7-track LP, remastered & newly cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp, pressed on 200-gram Super Heayyweight Vinyl. This classic 1981 album now includes the bonus track MatteKudasai [Alt. Mix]. Housed in an embossed picture sleeve. The sleeve has only light edgewear and the vinyl looks barely played KCLP8)
- King Crimson - Three Of A Perfect Pair - Steven Wilson & Robert Fripp Stereo Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.24, €28.99 (New Item) (arrived 27-Oct-2022 13:51)
KING CRIMSON Three Of A Perfect Pair (40th Anniversary Edition UK 9-track LP Stereo mix by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp of King Crimson’s dazzling 1984 album, pressed on 200-gram super-heavyweight vinyl for the first time. Mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering from original studio masters. Picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed)
- King Crimson - Discipline - Steven Wilson & Robert Fripp Stereo Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $30.24, €28.99 (New Item) (arrived 27-Oct-2022 13:56)
KING CRIMSON Discipline (40th Anniversary Edition UK 7-track LP Stereo mix by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp of King Crimson's innovative 1981 album, pressed on 200-gram super-heavyweight vinyl for the first time. Mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering from original studio masters. Picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 1st - VG/EX - UK - vinyl LP - £175.00, $211.75, €203.00 (New Item) (arrived 31-Oct-2022 15:56)
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.