KING CRIMSON "Court Of The Crimson King" 1969 UK ISLAND

	£		162
	$		215

KING CRIMSON "Court Of The Crimson King" 1969 UK ISLAND
BEAUTIFUL LIGHT PLAY COPY, NM EJ DAY SLEEVE, EX+ AUDIO
KING CRIMSON
In The Court Of The Crimson King - An Observation by King Crimson


HERE WE HAVE A SUPERB, UK ISLAND (ILPS 9111) PINK LABEL PRESSING (October 1969) OF KING CRIMSON'S ICONIC DEBUT LP, "In The Court Of The Crimson King" - ALL IN BEAUTIFUL, BARELY PLAYED CONDITION

PRESSED ON QUALITY HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL WHICH DELIVERS AN INCREDIBLY IMPRESSIVE CUT THIS COPY SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING
THE ALBUM HAS THE PINK ISLAND LABELS
MATRIX: ILPS 9111 A∇2 1 2 2 3 / ILPS 9111 B//4 1 1 1 1 (all stamped)
AND IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL, MATTE GATEFOLD SLEEVE "Printed and made by E. J. Day, London", COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL POLY LINED INNER SLEEVE

THIS REALLY IS AN OUTSTANDING EARLY UK PRESSING OF POSSIBLY THE GREATEST PROG LP EVER RELEASED AND THE SHEER POWER AND IMMEDIACY OF THE AUDIO DELIVERY ON THIS PINK ISLAND PRESS IS SIMPLY NOT FOUND ON LATER ISSUES

King Crimson projected a darker and edgier brand of post-psychedelic rock. Likewise, they were inherently intelligent and Fripp demonstrates his innate aptitude for contrasts and the value of silence within a performance, evident even on the scorching "21st Century Schizoid Man."
Juxtaposed with that electric intensity is the ethereal noir ballad "I Talk to the Wind." The delicate vocal harmonies and McDonald's achingly poignant flute solo and melodic counterpoint remain unmatched on an emotive level. The surreal and opaque lyrics are likewise an insight to Peter Sinfield's masterful wordplay, which graced their next three releases. The original A-side concludes with the powerful sonic imagery of "Epitaph." The haunting Mellotron wails, and Fripp's acoustic -- as well as electric -- guitar counterpoints give the introduction an almost sacred feel, adding measurably to the overall sinister mood. Giles' percussion work provides a pungent kick during the kettle drum intro and to the aggressive palpitation-inducing rhythm in the chorus.
"Moonchild" is an eerie love song that is creepy, bordering on uncomfortable. The melody is agile and ageless, while the instrumentation wafts like the wind through bare trees. Developing out of the song is an extended improvisation that dissolves into a non-structured section of free jazz, with brief guitar lines running parallel throughout. The title track, "In the Court of the Crimson King," completes the disc with another beautifully bombastic song. Here again, the foreboding featured in Sinfield's lyrics is instrumentally matched by the contrasting verbosity in the chorus and the delicate nature of the verses and concluding solos.


Robert Fripp: guitar
Greg Lake: bass guitar, lead vocals
Ian McDonald: reeds, woodwind, vibes, keyboards, mellotron, vocals
Michael Giles: drums, percussion, vocals
Peter Sinfield: words and illumination


Track Listing:
Side 1: 21st Century Schizoid Man including Mirrors / I Talk To The Wind / Epitaph including March for no reason - Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Side 2: Moonchild including The Dream - The illusion / In The Court Of The Crimson King including Return of the Fire Witch - The Dance of the Puppets

LABELS: Both PINK ISLAND labels are in superb, NEAR MINT condition. When angled under a bright light only half a dozen (mega) light spindle traces are evident indicating the LP has seen little play
VINYL Visual: The vinyl still retains its original DEEP, almost LIKE-NEW, GLOSSY SHEEN and looks remarkably well cared for. Apart from some (very) light sleeve removal hairlines the LP is UNMARKED with its original bright lustre. Visually NEAR MINT
VINYL Audio: SENSATIONAL AUDIO DELIVERY - CRYSTAL CLEAR, VERY SHARP and EXTREMELY STRONG. Apart from "Moonchild" (discussed in more detail below) the LP plays throughout with NO scratches, skips or jumps, barley any clicks or surface noise (really, hardly any) and sounds absolutely STUNNING. The very quiet and very delicate (and always problematic) "Moonchild" however, plays with a few clicks and pops but NO crackle and as I mentioned earlier I think this is more than compensated for by the SHEER QUALITY of this pressing and the STUNNING audio it delivers. Apart from the aformentioned clicks the LP plays BEAUTIFULLY throughout to an impressively high standard with NO groove-wear and NO distortion (the record has seen light play only) and must be very critically graded EXCELLENT(+) for audio with "Moonchild" a strict EXCELLENT(-) but still one of the CLEANEST (no crackle) sounding examples of this track I have heard. NOT over-graded in ANY way as I use STRICT RECORD COLLECTOR grading standards (please refer to my feedback and 'about me' page)
SLEEVE: The original Matte gatefold cover (printed by EJ DAY) is in BEAUTIFUL, NEAR MINT condition - SHARP, BRIGHT and FRESH. All the surfaces are CLEAN and UNMARKED with very little rubbing and the colours still look amazingly fresh and vibrant with no discolouration or fading. The edges are CRISP and SHARP with NO storage wear and only slight 'bumping' to the opening edge corners. The spine is straight and true with all text CLEAR and BOLD. Beautiful sleeve and easily one of the finest examples I have seen

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY PICTURES AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
THIS REALLY IS A BEAUTIFUL COPY WHICH, APART FROM THE CLICKS ON "MOONCHILD", PLAYS TO AN IMPRESSIVELY HIGH STANDARD
ONE OF THE FINEST PINK ISLAND PRESSINGS I HAVE EVER OFFERED FOR SALE AND ANY COLLECTOR WILL BE ALL TOO AWARE OF THE PROBLEMS "MOONCHILD" ALMOST ALWAYS PRESENTS AND BE WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT TRACK'S SHORTCOMINGS
OVERALL, A SUPERB COPY GUARANTEED NOT TO DISAPPOINT
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS


PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc

POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: £4.00 (Recorded Delivery)
EU: Airmail: £5.00 (Insured & Signed For: £8.50)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £8.00 (Insured & Signed For: £11.50)

UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY

REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (UK: £1.00, EU & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
I will combine postage for items purchased within any 10 day period. However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you. Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period. I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Insurance: In the unlikely event anything should go wrong I can only try to claim up to the standard compensation rate of £30. Therefore if your item is worth more than £30 I strongly recommend you take out the insured/recorded option.
Guarantee: If any winning bidder feels that the description is inaccurate I will offer a complete refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item.
ALL RECORDS ARE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED BEFORE DISPATCH AND PACKAGED WITH THE VINYL OUTSIDE OF THE SLEEVE TO PREVENT ANY 'KNIFING' DURING TRANSIT.
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, QUALITY MAILER AND STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY




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 277 (GS 5.2 (277))