樂評來自：KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King music review by VianaProghead

、KING CRIMSON Red music review by VianaProghead

蝦米：In the Court of the Crimson King線上試聽、Red線上試聽

豆瓣：In The Court Of The Crimson King、Red

VianaProghead是PA上一個撰寫了極多樂評的大神，而且質量很高，首頁上經常看到他密密麻麻的評論，熊貓哥哥認為他的樂評非常有價值，因此抽空會翻譯出來以饗讀者！目前大神已經寫了86篇樂評，他的樂評特點是對於樂隊和專輯會有詳細的背景介紹，然後對每首歌進行細緻分析，最後有一個十分客觀的評論，對於理解專輯來說很有幫助，因此很有參考價值。

BTW，I‘M THE BIG FAN OF KING CRIMSON！

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【樂評】King Crimson《In The Court Of The Crimson King》

In 1967， guitarist Robert Fripp， drummer Michael Giles and his bass player brother Peter Giles， joined together and formed the band Giles， Giles & Fripp。 They can be considered as the genesis of King Crimson， founded two years later， in 1969。 King Crimson is considered the foundational progressive rock band in the history of progressive rock music。

1967年，吉他手Robert Fripp、鼓手Michael Giles和他的兄弟貝斯手Peter Giles一起組建了名為Giles， Giles & Fripp的樂隊。他們可以算作是King Crimson的創始人了，組建兩年之後，在1969年，King Crimson被認為是前衛搖滾音樂史中最基礎的前搖樂隊。

“In The Court Of The Crimson King” is the debut studio album by King Crimson and was released in 1969。 It reached third place on the British charts and was certified gold in the United States。 The album is a mix of symphonic and jazz elements。 It has long been considered the first progressive album of ever， and is also one of the most beloved and legendary albums that still stands the test of time， even than more of forty years have passed after its release。

《In The Court Of The Crimson King》是King Crimson的首張專輯，在1969年發行。它來到了英國排行榜的第三位，在美國則是被認證的金唱片。專輯是交響樂和爵士元素的混合物。它曾被長久地認為是前衛搖滾的第一張專輯，也是在經過時間考驗後的最受人喜愛和最富傳奇色彩的專輯，即便自它發行後已經過了四十多年的時間。

The line up on the album is Robert Fripp （guitars）， Greg Lake （lead vocals and bass guitar）， Ian McDonald （baking vocals， woodwinds （saxophone， flute， clarinet and bass clarinet）， keyboards （mellotron， harpsichord， piano and organ） and vibraphone， Michael Giles （backing vocals， drums and percussion） and Peter Sinfield （lyrics and illumination）。

專輯的創作成員是：Robert Fripp （吉他）， Greg Lake （主唱，貝斯）， Ian McDonald （合聲，木管樂器，薩克斯， 長笛， 單簧管，豎笛，鍵盤，電子琴，大鍵琴，鋼琴，管風琴，顫音琴），Michael Giles （合聲，鼓，打擊樂） and Peter Sinfield （歌詞，靈感啟迪者）。

After the album， both， McDonald and Michael Giles left King Crimson for to pursue their solo musical careers。 They also recorded an album together， in 1970， before dissolving their partnership。 McDonald later became one of the founder members of the American New Yorker rock band， Foreigner， in 1976。

這張專輯後，McDonald和Michael Giles離開了樂隊去追求他們自己的音樂事業。在他們合夥關係消散前，他們在1970年還一起錄製了一張專輯。McDonald不久後成為了美國紐約搖滾樂隊Foreigner的創始成員，樂隊組建於1976年。

“In The Court Of The Crimson King” has five tracks。 The first track “21st Century Schizoid Man” written by Fripp， McDonald， Lake， Giles and Sinfield is the heaviest song on the album and is very close to the hard rock style。 Lyrically， it consists of a short metaphoric poem that makes references to the Vietnam War。 Musically， it’s a notable track with great musical improvisation and great jazz influence。 The song is also accompanied by a Lake‘s notable distorted vocals。 It must have been quite a shock for the listeners in those days， because it was unlike any of the music they had heard before。 This was the track that became so important and influent to the future birth of the progressive metal style。 The second track “I Talk To The Wind” written by McDonald and Sinfield is the most melodic song on the album and makes a complete musical contrast with the previous one。 It’s a serene， simple and peaceful song commanded by McDonald‘s flute， very well accompanied by Sinfield’s lyrics and sung beautifully by Lake， in a very quiet mood。 The third track “Epitaph” written by Fripp， McDonald， Lake， Giles and Sinfield is a notable and beautiful track， which would become one of the best and most beautiful symbols of progressive music。 It‘s one of my favourite progressive songs， and the band also used its name as a live album’s title。 The fourth track “Moonchild” written by Fripp， McDonald， Lake， Giles and Sinfield is the lengthiest song on the album。 It starts as a peaceful ballad， but after a few minutes， it changes completely to a free instrumental improvisation by the entire group， which lasts until the end of the song。 It‘s probably the most progressive song on the album and it’s also one the most difficult to listen to。 This is a very experimental track。 The fifth track is the title track “In The Court Of The Crimson King”。 It was written by McDonald and Sinfield and is the second lengthiest track on the album。 It became， with “Epitaph”， one of the best and most beautiful symbols of progressive rock。 It represents a really hymn to the symphonic progressive music。

《In The Court Of The Crimson King》有五首歌。第一首歌“21st Century Schizoid Man”是由Fripp，McDonald，Lake，Giles和Sinfield寫的，是專輯中最重型的歌，非常接近硬搖滾的風格。歌詞上來說，它由稍短的隱喻式的詩歌組成，來源是越南戰爭。音樂上來說，它的重要性在於偉大的音樂即興表演和偉大的爵士影響。歌曲還伴隨著Lake的顯著的扭曲的嗓音。在當時必然對聽者造成了很大的震撼，因為它不像他們當時聽到的所有音樂。這首歌變得如此重要，影響了未來前衛金屬的誕生。第二首歌“I Talk To The Wind”由McDonald和Sinfield所寫，是專輯中旋律最優美的歌，和前一首形成了完全的音樂上的比照。它是安靜、簡單、平和的歌曲，由McDonald的長笛掌控，非常好地伴隨Sinfield的歌詞以及Lake的美妙演唱，表達了非常寧靜的心情。第三首歌“Epitaph”由Fripp，McDonald，Lake，Giles和Sinfield創作，是重要而美麗的歌曲，它成為了前衛音樂中最好的和最美麗的象徵符號。這是我最愛的前搖歌曲之一，樂隊也用之當做了一張現場專輯的名字。第四首歌“Moonchild”由Fripp， McDonald， Lake， Giles和Sinfield創作，是專輯中最長的歌。它也許是專輯中最前衛的歌曲，也是最難以聆聽的。這是非常實驗的歌曲。第五首歌是主題曲“In The Court Of The Crimson King”。它由McDonald和Sinfield創作，是專輯中第二長的。它和“Epitaph”一起成為了前衛搖滾中最好的和最美麗的象徵符號。它代表著對交響前衛搖滾的真正的聖歌。

The art cover of the album was painted by Barry Godber， an artist and computer programmer。 Unfortunately， it would become his only album cover。 He died in February 1970 of a heart attack， shortly after the album‘s release。

專輯的封面由Barry Godber繪製，他是一個藝術家和計算機程式設計師。不幸的是，這成為了他唯一的封面藝術。他因心肌梗死死於1970年二月，就在專輯發行後不久。

Conclusion： “In The Court Of The Crimson King” is one of the most important and influential albums in the progressive music， contributing to the development of the psychedelic rock， symphonic rock and heavy metal。 The album combines an exceptional musical quality with really great poetic lyrics。 I want to say three more things about this masterpiece work。 In the first place， I want to detach the beautiful and massive use of the mellotron orchestrations on the album， especially on two of their tracks， “Epitaph” and “In The Court Of The Crimson King”。 In the second place， we have the quality and the originality of Sinfield’s visionary lyrics。 He also contributed with some other future musical works of the group。 Finally， the clear， beautiful and distinctive Lake‘s voice， which is， in my humble opinion， one of the best， most striking and unmistakable voices in progressive music。 “In The Court Of The Crimson King” was universally very well received by critics and public， and it has also the respected compliments of Peter Townshend。 The Who’s guitarist， called the album “an uncanny masterpiece”。 Concluding， I must confess， that “In The Court Of The Crimson King” and “Red” are， for me， the two best studio musical albums from the group， and they are also two of the best and most important progressive albums ever made。

結論：《In The Court Of The Crimson King》是前搖音樂裡最重要和最具影響力的專輯，對迷幻搖滾、交響搖滾和重金屬的發展貢獻都很多。專輯結合了卓越的音樂質量和真正偉大的史詩般的歌詞。我想對這一傑作說三點。第一，我想特別提及在他們的歌曲“Epitaph”和“In The Court Of The Crimson King”中的優美的和大量使用的合成器管絃樂。第二，我看到了Sinfield他傑出的、獨創的、充滿幻想的歌詞，他也在樂隊以後的不少音樂作品中有過貢獻。最後，清澈、美麗和與眾不同的Lake的嗓音，在我看來是前衛音樂中最好的、最引人注目的和最準確無誤的嗓音。《In The Court Of The Crimson King》在評論家和公眾中都得到了普遍的讚譽，它也受到了Peter Townshend的讚美。他是The Who的吉他手，他稱專輯為“一個不可思議的傑作”。結論是，我必須承認，《In The Court Of The Crimson King》和《Red》對我來說是這個樂隊最佳的兩張錄音室專輯，也是他們做過的最佳和最重要的前搖專輯。

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【樂評】King Crimson《Red》

King Crimson was founded in 1969 by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles。 King Crimson is probably the most innovative and experimental group that ever existed。 The band is considered the founder of the progressive rock music， with their debut studio album “In The Court Of The Crimson King”， released in 1969。 The group‘s sound incorporated various musical influences， during their long history， ranging from jazz， classical， experimental， psychedelic， heavy metal， new wave， hard rock， folk and electronic。 In my humble opinion， beyond King Crimson be the most experimental and innovator group in the progressive rock scene， it’s the most eclectic too。 In one occasion， someone even said that sometimes， the group makes a kind of an intelligent heavy metal sound。

King Crimson於1969年由吉他手Robert Fripp和鼓手Michael Giles組建。King Crimson也許是存在過的最創新和最實驗性的組合。樂隊印他們1969年的同名首專《In The Court Of The Crimson King》被認為是前衛搖滾的創始人。在他們的漫長曆史中，樂隊的音樂包容了許多不同的音樂流派的影響：爵士、古典、實驗、迷幻，重型，新浪潮，硬搖滾，民謠和電子樂不等。在我看來，King Crimson是前衛搖滾中最具實驗性和最具革新精神的，是最不拘一格的。在某些場合，有人甚至這樣說，樂隊有時製作了一種極其智慧的重金屬的聲音。

“Red” is their seventh studio album and was released in 1974。 It was their last studio album in the 70‘s， before Fripp temporarily disbanded the group， in the same year。 The album has been released later， in the same year， after their split and without the usual world live tour。

《Red》是他們的第七張錄音室專輯，1974年錄製。這是Fripp70年代暫時解散組合前的最後一張錄音室專輯（解散也在1974年）。專輯在他們分裂之後發行，也沒有進行全球巡演。

The line up on the album is Robert Fripp （guitar and mellotron）， John Wetton （vocals and bass guitar） and Bill Bruford （drums and percussion）。 The previous fourth band’s member David Cross （violin）， left the group in 1974， reducing the group as a trio。 Nevertheless， the trio recorded the album with the help of Cross， as a guest musician。 The album had also the participation of five other guest artists， Ian McDonald （alto saxophone）， Mel Collins （soprano saxophone）， Mark Charing （cornet）， Robin Miller （oboe） and Richard Palmer-James （lyrics）。 McDonald and Collins are two other ex-members of the group。 This trio is formed by three of the most brilliant musicians and instrumentalists who ever existed。 Fripp， beyond the founder and leader of King Crimson， is considered one of the best musicians and guitarists。 He also has collaborated with many other artists， all over the time。 Wetton was one of the founder members， the front man and the principal songwriter of Asia。 He was also member or cooperated with so many others bands and soloists all over the time， such as， Family， Roxy Music， Bryan Ferry， Uriah Heep， UK， Steve Hackett and Wishbone Ash， beyond his solo musical career。 Bruford， was one of the founder members of Yes， and has been a prominent figure in the progressive rock movement。 He made the live tour of “Seconds Out”， as the drummer of Genesis， and has also a solo career of great success。 Bruford is also considered one of the greatest drummers of all time。

專輯製作人員是：Robert Fripp（吉他，電子琴），John Wetton（人聲，貝斯）和Bill Bruford（鼓，打擊樂）。先前的第四位成員David Cross（小提琴）在1974年離開了樂隊，使樂隊成為了三重奏。不過，樂隊是在Cross的幫助下錄製了專輯，他作為一個客串音樂家。專輯也有其他五位音樂家的參與：Ian McDonald （中音薩克斯）， Mel Collins （高音薩克斯）， Mark Charing （短號）， Robin Miller （雙簧管）和Richard Palmer-James （歌詞）。McDonald和Collins是樂隊的前成員。這個三重奏是由史上最才華橫溢的音樂家和器樂演奏家組成的。Fripp，是King Crimson的創始者和領袖，被認為是最好的音樂家和吉他手之一。他也一直與其他許多藝術家合作。Wetton是Asia樂隊的創始人員，也是樂隊的頭牌和最重要的歌曲作者。他也一直音樂生涯中和其他許多樂隊和個人進行合作，比如Family， Roxy Music， Bryan Ferry， Uriah Heep， UK， Steve Hackett和Wishbone Ash。Bruford是Yes樂隊的創始成員之一，也成為了前搖運動的知名人物。他作為Genesis的鼓手製作了《Seconds Out》的巡演，個人專輯也取得了很大的成功。他也被認為是史上最偉大的鼓手之一。

“Red” has five tracks。 The first track “Red” written by Fripp is the title track song。 It‘s an instrumental track， very powerful and heavy。 It features heavy guitars， an incredible bass line and a unique drumming style。 It shows clearly the band’s ability to feature multiple time signatures in only one song。 Despite being a song written in 1974， it sounds very futuristic， even now。 The second track “Fallen Angel” written by Fripp， Wetton and Palmer- James is a very beautiful ballad with great vocal performance by Wetton。 It has beautiful musical arrangements that include reverse delays and mellotron lines， which give to it a unique flavour。 The third track “One More Red Nightmare” written by Fripp and Wetton is a very dynamic and energetic track with great guitar work。 It has also an interesting sound， clapping hands。 It features different time signatures with an unforgettable guitar riff， an impressive saxophone solo and the great ability of Wetton singing。 The fourth track “Providence” written by Fripp， Wetton， Bruford and Palmer-James is other instrumental track， very experimental， and it‘s probably the most progressive song on the album。 Here， we can appreciate the incredible communion between all band members。 “Providence” was recorded live， and is the only live piece on the album。 The fifth track “Starless” written by Fripp， Wetton， Bruford， Cross and Palmer-James is the lengthiest track on the album and is， for me， a really masterpiece， and is one of my favourite King Crimson songs。 It’s a great dark song with the Wetton‘s melancholic voice。 This is a truly classic song， and I’m really glad that it has returned live on the Wetton‘s solo set list， in its full version。 “Starless” represents the perfect end to a perfect album。

《Red》有五首歌。第一首歌“Red”由Fripp創作，是同名主題曲。是一首純音樂，非常有力量，很重型。它的特點是沉重的吉他、不可思議的貝斯和獨一無二的鼓聲。它清楚地展現了樂隊將多重節拍融於一首歌上的野心。儘管它是在1974年創作的，但甚至現在依然聽起來非常具有未來感。第二首歌“Fallen Angel”由Fripp、Wetton和Palmer- James創作，是非常優美動聽的民謠，伴隨Wetton出色的人聲演繹。它由多重延遲和合成器構成美妙的音樂安排，這給予了歌曲獨一無二的特色。第三首歌“One More Red Nightmare”由Fripp和Wetton創作，是非常充滿動力和活力的的偉大吉他作品。它也有有趣的聲音——拍手音。它的特色是不同節拍的令人難忘的吉他重複段、一個印象深刻的薩克斯獨奏和Wetton偉大的歌唱才能。第四首歌“Providence”由Fripp， Wetton， Bruford和Palmer-James創作，是另一首純器樂，非常實驗，也許是專輯中最前衛的歌曲。歌中，我們可以欣賞到所有樂隊成員之間不可思議的交流。“Providence”是錄製的現場歌曲，也是專輯中唯一的現場歌曲。第五首歌“Starless”由Fripp， Wetton， Bruford， Cross 和Palmer-James創作，是專輯中最長的歌，對我來說是一個真正的傑作，也是我最愛的King Crimson的歌。這是一首偉大的黑暗的歌，伴隨Wetton憂鬱的嗓音。這是真正的古典歌曲，我也很高興它在Wetton的個人事業中以全長的形式回到了現場演繹中。“Starless”代表著這張完美專輯的完美終結。

Conclusion： “Red” is simply one of the best and most important albums in the history of the progressive rock music。 “Red” is my second review of King Crimson’s albums， after “In The Court Of The Crimson King”。 For me， these two magnificent albums are undoubtedly their best， and two of the best albums ever made。 To Q magazine， “Red” is one of the fifty heaviest albums of all time。 So， it‘s very common to consider “Red” as one of the most influential albums in the progressive metal style。 So， because of that， King Crimson can be considered the pioneer of that type of music。 If you don’t have yet this pearl in your musical collection， buy it now and rapidly。 Any King Crimson fan will want to add it into their musical collection。 And after all， it has been reissued and remastered a few times， and all over the years。

結論：簡單地說，《Red》是前衛搖滾歷史上最佳和最重要的專輯。《Red》是我對King Crimson專輯的第二次評論，在《In The Court Of The Crimson King》之後。對我來說，這兩張了不起的專輯是他們不可置疑的最佳，也是存在過的最佳專輯。Q magazine把《Red》評為歷史五十佳重型專輯之一。所以，普遍認為《Red》對前衛金屬有著極大的影響。所以，因為這樣，King Crimson可以被認為是前衛金屬的先驅。如果你的音樂收藏裡沒有這顆珍珠，快點現在就買來吧！任何King Crimson粉絲都會把它加入自己的音樂收藏中。最後，這些年來它已經被重新發行和重錄了許多次了。