SONG OF THE DAY

“I Talk To The Wind” by King Crimson (In The Court Of The Crimson King, Island/ Atlantic Records, 1969). Written by Ian McDonald & Peter Sinfield.

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

– “I Talk to the Wind” is the second track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson’s debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King.

– Starting immediately after the cacophony that ends “21st Century Schizoid Man”, the mood of this song is a stark contrast; it is serene, simple and peaceful.

– Ian McDonald’s flute begins the song, and is one of the lead instruments throughout. He also plays a classical-inspired solo in the middle of the song as a “C” section and a longer one at the end as a coda.

– An earlier demo version of this song may be found on the now out-of-print LP Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson. This version was more up-tempo and lighter in instrumentation.

– “I Talk to the Wind” was featured as the second song performed in each concert during the 2010 tour of Keith Emerson & Greg Lake.

– The first incarnation of King Crimson were formed in London on 30 November 1968 and first rehearsed on 13 January 1969.

– The band name was coined by lyricist Peter Sinfield as a synonym for Beelzebub, prince of demons. According to Fripp, Beelzebub would be an anglicised form of the Arabic phrase “B’il Sabab”, meaning “the man with an aim” – although it literally means “with a cause”.

– At this point, Ian McDonald was King Crimson’s main composer, albeit with significant contributions from Lake and Fripp, while Sinfield not only wrote all the lyrics but designed and operated the band’s revolutionary stage lighting, and was therefore credited with “sounds and visions”.

– McDonald suggested the new band purchase a Mellotron (the first example of the band’s persistent involvement with music technology) and they began using it to create an orchestral rock sound, inspired by The Moody Blues.

– The band’s debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, was released in October 1969 on Island Records. Fripp would later describe it as having been “an instant smash” and “New York’s acid album of 1970” (notwithstanding Fripp and Giles’ claim that the band never used psychedelic drugs).

– The album received public compliments from Pete Townshend, The Who’s guitarist, who called the album “an uncanny masterpiece.”

– The band’s music drew on a wide range of influences provided by all five group members. These elements included romantic- and modernist-era classical music, the psychedelic rock spearheaded by Jimi Hendrix, folk, jazz, military music (partially inspired by McDonald’s stint as an army musician), ambient improvisation, Victoriana and British pop.

– The original line-up played their last show together in San Francisco at the Fillmore West on 16 December 1969. Ian McDonald and Michael Giles then formally left King Crimson to pursue solo work, recording the semi-successful McDonald and Giles studio album in 1970 before dissolving their partnership (McDonald would later resurface in Foreigner while Giles became a session drummer).

– The album consists of only five long songs. Most of these have additional titles given to sub-sections of the songs. The additional titles do not actually reflect divisions in the music. The main reason for them was to ensure that the group received the full amount of song writing royalties from their music publisher and record company. With the extra titles included the album can be seen as having a full 12 songs, as is typical for most rock albums. Since this album was recorded new rules have become standard in the music publishing business which take into account the length of the songs as well as the number of titles on an album.

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