COVER OF THE WEEK

# 16. Alright, I’ve been thinking of this one as a possible album cover of the week for months now, so let’s just do it. It’s a true classic, King Crimson’s 1969 release In The Court Of The Crimson King. It was their debut and it immidiately drew attention to the group. No wonder. It added a new dimension to progressive rock, partly due to the way they used the mellotron.

Many fans still rate this album as one of Crimson’s best. It can be described as epic. It pends between hard screaming rock and mellow romantic ballads and shows vocalist Greg Lake at his best. All songs are very strong, maybe with the exception of Moonchild where the long improvisation use to make some people go nuts.

The cover art itself makes it for one of the most eye catching front covers ever. The screaming face has since then become sort of a symbol for King Crimson. The cover was painted by Barry Godber. It was the only album cover he made. He died in 1970 only 24 years old. The original painting is owned by King Crimson leader Robert Fripp.

S.H