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 - Red - 50th Anniversary New 2024 Mixes - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Sealed - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £34.99, $45.49, €41.99 (New Item) (arrived 23-Oct-2024 15:16)
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)
- King Crimson - Cat Food + Sleeve - UK - 7" vinyl - £75.00, $97.50, €90.00 (New Item) (arrived 27-Sep-2024 10:51)
KING CRIMSON Cat Food (1970 UK wide centred 7" vinyl single, also featuring Groon, complete with the limited picture sleeve with lyrics on the back. The sleeve shows only light signs of its age & the vinyl is Near Mint WIP6080)
- King Crimson - Beat - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - UK - vinyl LP - £19.99, $25.99, €23.99 (New Item) (arrived 12-Sep-2024 10:41)
KING CRIMSON Beat (Back in print for 2022, their classic 1982 LP album pressed on 200-gram Super-Heavyweight vinyl, the original stereo mix newly cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp. Beat was released in June 1982 just eight months afterthe 80s Crimson line-up's debut Discipline. It marked the first occasion where a King Crimson line-up had remained intact for a two album stretch and was also the first album by the band to employ a separateproducer in Rhett Davies. Picture sleeve and vinyl presented in 'Near As New' condition KCLP9)
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KING CRIMSON Three Of A Perfect Pair (2019 UK limited edition 9-track LP pressed for the first time on 200-gram Super-Heavyweight Vinyl, mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering from original studio masters. Crim's dazzling 1984 album is the final part of the band’s 1980s studio trilogy, also including Discipline and Beat. Picture sleeve with lyric insert)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Steven Wilson Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £22.99, $29.89, €27.59 (New Item) (arrived 24-Sep-2024 15:51)
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 - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 200 Gram - Sealed - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £29.99, $38.99, €35.99 (New Item) (arrived 24-Sep-2024 17:02)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (Limited 50th Anniversary Edition UK/EU 12-track double album 2-LP pressed on 200-gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl. Their seminal 1969 debut album featuring a new 2019 mix by Steven Wilson, andabonus 7-track album of alternate mixes & studio takes by Steven Wilson and David Singleton, approved by Robert Fripp. High quality gatefold picture sleeve replicating the iconic original cover artwork, hype sticker & factory sealed. Recommended)
- King Crimson - USA - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £45.00, $58.50, €54.00 (New Item) (arrived 25-Sep-2024 15:14)
KING CRIMSON USA (1975 UK first issue 6-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label, fully laminated picture sleeve with blue Island inner. The sleeve has just a little creasing at the spine and small nick to the front, whilst the vinylhas very little sign of play other than a few spindle marks to the label. Overall an excellent an Excellent copy of this essential album of live mid period Crim! ILPS9316)
- King Crimson - Lizard - glossy p/s - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $32.50, €30.00 (New Item) (arrived 26-Sep-2024 10:57)
KING CRIMSON Lizard (70s UK issue of the 1970 5-track LP on the pink rim 'palm tree' label, housed in a glossy gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics inside. The sleeve is in Excellent condition with little shelf wear & the vinyl is Excellent with merely a few faint signs of play. A nice copy! ILPS9141)
- King Crimson - Earthbound - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £15.00, $19.50, €18.00 (New Item) (arrived 26-Sep-2024 14:24)
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. Despite a sticker removal scuff to the top right corner, the sleeve shows some notable edge scuffing and ringwear, whilst the vinyl has just few cosmetic surface scuffs - a very respectable VG copy for a great price! HELP6)
- King Crimson - Red - 2nd - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $39.00, €36.00 (New Item) (arrived 01-Oct-2024 16:55)
KING CRIMSON Red (1977 UK second issue of the seminal 1974 5-track vinyl LP, for many fans the definitive King Crimson album and highly influential to future prog-metallers, picture sleeve. The sleeve has some notable spine wear and edge scuffing, but the vinyl shows only a few signs of play - a great play copy offered at an advantageous price)
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.