In The Court Of The Crimson King: An Observation By King Crimson. In the middle years of the 60s the big rock talents – such as , , – had dominated the album chart, passing the top spot between them like members of a private club. But as the Swinging 60s moved through its autumn years and neared a new millennium, rock music was changing, coming of age, and entering a Golden Age that would shimmer with the dazzling luminescence of unprecedented creativity and diversity.
The year 1969 began with The Beatles in their familiar position at the top of the chart with (aka the White Album), and US troops still fighting a bloody battle in Vietnam. Rock’s old guard was also coming under fire. In April the first album from a new band called thundered into the chart.
A month later blazed into the rock firmament like a fiery comet with . , the first ever supergroup, were about to throw down the psychedelic rock gauntlet in the shape of . In mid-July 1969 a new British band called , just signed to Island Records, began recording their debut album, just weeks after playing their first official gig on April 9 and days after supporting The Rolling Stones in front of a crowd of half a million in Hyde Park on July 5.
A mere 15 days later they had finished recording a remarkable, ground-breaking album that was sweepingly original, musicianly, creative, expansive; a true rock classic that many people consider to be the first true progressive rock album. When it was released, ’s Pete Towns.