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 - 200 Gram - Steven Wilson Stereo Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $33.49, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 17-Dec-2025 13:15)
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 requested high quality vinyl reissues, is finally returned to the LP format. Gatefold picture sleeve with iconic cover artwork, hype sticker & factory sealed)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 200 Gram - Steven Wilson Stereo Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $33.49, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 17-Dec-2025 12:14)
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 requested high quality vinyl reissues, is finally returned to the LP format. Gatefold picture sleeve with iconic cover artwork, hype sticker & factory sealed)
- King Crimson - Red - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $33.49, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 16-Dec-2025 17:34)
KING CRIMSON Red (Back in print and sounding better than ever, Red is reissued on 200-gram super-heavyweight vinyl, newly cut from the original stereo masters as approved by Robert Fripp. Originally released in 1974, Red captures King Crimson at their most aggressive and visionary - merging muscular rock textures with avant-garde sophistication. Featuring the explosive title track, the haunting "Starless," and the chaotic majesty of "Providence," Red remains one of the most revered and influential albums in the King Crimson catalogue. Picture sleeve with original cover artwork, hype sticker & factory sealed. Recommended)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 2nd - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £50.00, $67.00, €57.00 (Back In Stock) (arrived 05-Dec-2025 17:00)
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 with just the odd minor paper mark. The vinyl remains in Excellent condition & shows few signs of play. Essential for any Progressive Rock collector ILPS9111)
- King Crimson - Lizard - glossy p/s - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $33.50, €28.50 (Back In Stock) (arrived 05-Dec-2025 17:00)
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 - Lizard - glossy p/s - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $33.50, €28.50 (New Item) (arrived 04-Dec-2025 14:14)
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 - In The Court Of The Crimson King - 2nd - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £50.00, $67.00, €57.00 (New Item) (arrived 04-Dec-2025 09:36)
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 with just the odd minor paper mark. The vinyl remains in Excellent condition & shows few signs of play. Essential for any Progressive Rock collector ILPS9111)
- King Crimson - Red - 2nd - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £30.00, $40.20, €34.20 (New Item) (arrived 02-Dec-2025 17:00)
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, housed in a glossy picture sleeve. The sleeve has some notable spinewear and edge scuffing, but the vinyl shows only a few signs of play thus remaining excellent condition 2302066)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - 200 Gram Super Heavyweight Vinyl - Steven Wilson Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £22.99, $30.81, €26.21 (New Item) (arrived 02-Dec-2025 17:00)
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 Wake Of Poseidon - 200 Gram Vinyl - Steven Wilson Mix - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £24.99, $33.49, €28.49 (New Item) (arrived 02-Dec-2025 17:00)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (Back in print for 2022, limited edition 200-gram vinyl LP release of the 40th anniversary new stereo mix by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp. King Crimson's second studio album was a worthy successor to their astonishing debut. Gatefold picture sleeve replicating the textured surface feel of the original, hype sticker & factory sealed. Recommended)
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.