For more than 50 years, King Crimson was guitarist Robert Fripp and an ever-shifting cast of collaborators, but the group’s greatest lineup came together in 1972: bassist/vocalist John Wetton, violinist/keyboardist David Cross, drummer Bill Bruford, and percussionist Jamie Muir. They announced themselves with this album’s 13-minute title track, a stomping riff adorned with ever more complex variations, percussive interludes, and sonic effects. That was followed by three conventional(ish) songs that journeyed from stately balladry (“Book Of Saturday”) to almost Sabbathian crunch (“Easy Money”), and the journey ended with another instrumental and a heavier, noisier reprise of the title piece. The brilliance of this album lies in the complex interplay between its various members, each of whom is crucial to the whole in a “more than the sum of the parts” way, and the production and mix are equally stunning: every time you listen, you notice something new.

– Phil Freeman