King Crimson were a prog rock band very popular with the true burnouts at Gateway Senior High School in Monroeville, PA during the mid-70s. Very trippy, very psychedelic, very cult-y. Hard to believe, but they’re actually still around.
This was their second album, and came out in 1970. It went to #4 in the UK. No particular hits on this one, I’m afraid. Sample tunes include things like “Merday Morn,” “Hand of Sceiron,” and “Garden of Worm.” And their lyrics were right in tune: “Bishop's kings spin judgement's blade / Scratch ‘faith’ on nameless graves. / Harvest hags hoard ash and sand / Rack rope and chain for slaves / Who fireside fear fermented words / Then rear to spoil the feast; / Whilst in the aisle the mad man smiles / To him it matters least.”
The cover is by Dutch artist Tammo De Jongh, and is from his painting “The 12 Faces of Humankind.” It’s based on Carl Jung’s theories of archetypes (which I happened to be really into at the time), with said archetypes extending to the back cover as well.
This was de Jongh’s only album. In fact, I could find next to nothing about him. This pic, though, might possibly be of him:
I’m pretty sure these are not. It is a surprisingly common name in the Netherlands though.
I wonder if those last two are related?
With such a lengthy output, and with such a weird group, it’s no surprise that they can boast many more interesting covers. Here’s a few more I like:
That last one is from the wonderfully named Larks Tongue in Aspic. And here’s a definite oddity – a portrait of the band!
Bassist John Wetton, drummer Bill
Buford, guitarist Robert Fripp
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