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What a rocker! I've got nothing bad to say about this one! Okay, I could have used a little bit less flute and harpsichord in some places, but overall, In the Court of the Crimson King is a pretty banging first record. Of course, others already know the English band from its one and only constant member, Robert Fripp, but for me, it was a brand new listening experience. Even the digression into the experimental free-form improvisation of "Moonchild," which is a bit out there, is a refreshing "space jam" for the art-rock scene. It's jazzy, it's grimy, it's all things at once, and the opening track "21st Century Schizoid Man" says it all. The distorted vocals, the screaming lead, the complex rhythms, all flawlessly executed within the context of evolving genres, like heavy metal, jazz-rock, and, of course, progressive rock. And what a memorable album cover! It was painted by a computer programmer Barry Godber, who, sadly, died of a heart attack shortly after the album was released. I'm already looking forward to the next King Crimson, although I've already read that it took them a while to beat this debut.

I'm definitely happy to report that throughout his long career, this Canadian songwriter was also a poet and a novelist because... he's really not that great at singing. The ten contemporary folk songs are very simple in their harmony and very basic melody (thanks to Bob Johnston), and somewhat interesting in content. The instrumentation includes a strange choice of a jaw harp (also lovingly known as a "Jew's harp"). At some, point Cohen starts singing in French, with a female backup in a chorus, and now I can't even understand the lyrics. Later in the album, Cohen completely misses a few notes, and now I've lost all interest to go on. But I will power through this! I swear!