The band King Crimson recently put part of their first album from 1969, “In the court of the Crimson King” on YouTube, making it much more widely available to the younger audience.

The album consists of five longer than average songs, “21^stcentury schizoid man,” “I Talk to the Wind,” “Epitaph,” “Moonchild,” and finally, “In the Court of the Crimson King”. Each one in a different style than the last.

The album starts off strong with the heavy rock-induced “21^stCentury Schizoid Man”. Even though the song boasts a whole seven minutes of listening time, it keeps the listener interested with fast tempos and interesting beats.

Next comes the slow and more tranquil “I Talk to the Wind”. The use of flute puts the song over the top with relaxing vocals and intriguing lyrics.

Third up is “Epitaph”, arguably the most popular and powerful of the songs in the album. The song escalates in sound and emotion as it goes on. With powerful lyrics that could be taken as satire on the world’s current affairs, it gives the listener a moment of thought within the album.

Nearing the end is “Moonchild”. Another one of the slow pieces, lyrics only stretch for three minutes of the song, but it keeps going with light instrumental for the remainder of the seven minutes of its length.

Finally, “In the Court of the Crimson King”. Almost like an epilogue, it seems to bring aspects from all four of the other songs and bring them into a harmony. The longest song in the album, the majority of it is instrumental, but it seems to bring a perfect balance of instrument and vocals.

Three of the listed songs are available for listening on King Crimson’s YouTube channel.