Ever buy records because you're supposed to? I mean, everyone says that this record is a game changer, a life changer, the pinnacle of the genre. Ever buy one of those? Well, I've done it, and I continue to do it today. I'm not sure if it's because I never learn my lesson or if it's because sometimes I agree and think I hit the Mother Lode.
Then I hear some stupid flute. Just merrily fluting away? No. This stupid flute is just kind of aimlessly honking. And what's so special about this flute? It keeps coming back! That's right, all the music comes to a stop so we can all hear Mr. Flute fuck around yet again.
And this record starts off so promising. 21st Century Schizoid Man is totally cool. I'm positive this is the song that got me on board with King Crimson, but somewhere along the line someone had to have heard I really liked Yes, and since that instantly made me a Prog Rocker, then this was about to blow my mind. I knew I had hit the Mother Lode! 21st Century Schizoid Man has abrasive guitars, loud drums and weird, other worldly vocals. I love it! It's the kind of thing that while I understand other people not liking it, I kind of can't understand it, ya know?
The thing is, then every other song has titles like The Court of the Crimson King including The Return of the Fire Witch and The Dance of the Puppets. It should say, The Court of the Crimson King including Some Stupid Flute Shit, then Going Back to the Song, and More Stupid Flute. Every time it seems like something good is gonna happen they wreck it with some boring shit. I know this is supposed to be a classic record by a classic group of musicians with few peers, at the peak of their game...
But outside of the opening song, I think it kinda sucks.
Mine is really nice. Probably because I've hardly ever played it. I think it may be one of the half speed mastered versions from the 80's, so I'm probably not hearing it right, and if I had another pressing or super high definition digital file I'd understand it more. The cover is cool as hell. The record is nice and flat and pretty quiet. It's the songs that I have issues with.
I first saw this record at a church sale for 50 cents. Never seen anything like this so I figured it might be worth a listen to. Beginning with the half minute calm before the chaos of 21st Century Schozioid Man, it just knocked me off my chair and of the course the old man hearing this going WTF is this mess. Oh I liked it song and all but the rest of the record is much different, although I think I liked this more than you do. Side 2 brings out Moon Child which is interesting for about a minute and half before constant wanking off for the next 10 put me to sleep before waking me up on In The Court In The Crimson King. Between that and Schoziod, nothing really grabbed my attention. I guess it deserves it's classic status despite Moonchild but if and when I want to hear King Crimson rocking out, I'll pull out Red. By then they retired the flute ;)
ReplyDeleteThis was a real chore to listen to. I've heard a lot of people say it's one of the all time greats, and I'm sure that's got a lot to do with why I bought it, but I think it's gonna go in the pile to trade in. Maybe I just don't seem to like progressive rock like I thought I used to, or maybe I always just liked Yes and thought the rest of it sucked all along? I dunno. Maybe I should listen to Starcastle or something and see where I stand on that. I know I bought Moody Blues Days of Future Passed on a mint record a few years ago and I couldn't even get through a whole side without laughing at it.
DeleteIn the Court Of The Crimson King was different back then but is it one of the all time great albums ever? No. Moonchild itself lowers the grade by a point. Red is the better choice although there are the usual quiet passages in Starless and the odd instrument of choice is David Cross' Violin. The Atlantic version of Red suffers from a bland mix but I still have my copy.
ReplyDeleteStarcastle is lot like Yes, they do make a nice tribute band if your into The Yes Album type of prog rock. Critics and Yes fans tend to poo poo them but I get a guilty pleasure hearing their first three albums, (Citadel my favorite is more pop oriented, alas my LP had a nasty scratch that the record skipped on one track). But if you can't keep a straight face on The Moody Blues, you may want to pass on Starcastle although I'm sure Tad will have a comment on Days of Future passed ;)
I may pull Starcastle out soon. I've had it since Jr. High and I haven't played it in decades. I seem to recall Tad mentioning the Moody Blues once or twice! I really liked Days of Future Passed long ago. I don't know what happened, but that guy doesn't seem to liv ehere anymore.
ReplyDeleteA final thought: In a stack of records that had no album covers but inner sleeves (I got about 20 of them free from CD's 4 Change, which the owner was going donate them or recycle them) I actually did listen to the first Starcastle record and I like them better than i did in the 70s, Of course bad music of today makes you long for the lesser known and Starcastle is really not bad. I still like Days Of Future Passed and most of the albums after that from the Moody Blues. Tad will tell you that their 1983 The Present is very good. I find it spotty.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha, great review! I keep COURT just for "Schizoid," but I DO like "Epitaph" for it's heavy-Moody-Blues sound. Title song is just a little TOO creepy for me, and there's a better version of "Talk to the Wind" than this. And "Moonchild" is waste of 10 minutes. This album did NOT change my life. Crimson's "Young People's Guide" best-of did.
ReplyDeleteI've bought albums because I thought I should -- DARK SIDE, anyone? It usually doesn't end well, I'm usually disappointed.
I can't take the whole first side of DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED seriously, but I think the second half's pretty great.
For me, the Moodies are a blog post or two, but I still love The Present and Voyager and Question Of Balance and Children.... It's a disease. Cheers guys!
Hey TAD! I've had great success buying records using whatever my method is, and considering I haven't really dissed many here, I think I'm doing mostly pretty well. But boy, this one is a real stinker! I may end up trading it in for store credit. The Moody Blues I loved in Jr. High, but the older I get the more they seem to get me to laugh at them, not with them!
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