The story behind the record cover: In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) - KING CRIMSON
"The schizophrenic 21st century man. He's screaming at the top of his lungs on this record cover. What is he afraid of? Of neurosurgeons who want to conduct experiments on him? Napalm bombs? Greedy politicians?
The image is inspired by the lyrics of the first song on this album, "21st Century Schizoid Man". The song is a commentary on war and criticism of politicians who start and wage wars. The song predicts that 21st century people will all go insane as worldwide conflicts will destroy the innocence of entire generations.
Little is known about the background of the painting on this iconic cover. I think it is one of the most beautiful record sleeves of all time. Very appealing. The image was created by Barry Godber, a friend of lyricist's Peter Sinfield. They attended art school together in the late 1960s. A time full of drugs and psychedelics. Whether this played a role in making this painting is unclear. It is a fact that Barry stepped out of the art world from one day to the next and became a computer technician.
Godber actually only made one work of art. And that was the illustration on this cover. Peter Sinfield showed it to the other band members and everyone agreed that this was going to be the cover of the first King Crimson album. Barry Godber has seen hardly any of the success. He passed away at the age of 24, shortly after the album release. Nobody knows exactly what his source of inspiration was.
Freelance journalist Sid Smith, who wrote liner notes for several King Crimson albums, believes the cover is inspired by William Blake's painting Nebuchadnezzar [1795]. In this painting, the Babylonian king goes 'mad with disbelief'. I myself see a parallel with the painting The Scream [1893] by Edvard Munch. Recently, 91 million euro was paid by a private individual for The Scream; what a contrast to Godber, who got almost nothing for his artwork.
Why do paintings like The Scream appeal to so many people? Maybe because now and then everyone wants to scream. Normally one avoids danger, like the beach ball game where you hit a ball with a paddle that is attached to a rubber band. But in one go the ball becomes a wrecking ball, coming directly at you. That is the moment when you feel fear and you want to scream.
Fear keeps you from danger, so far so good. But if the signal is too strong, you collapse and psychoses lurks. Is that what happened to poor-old Barry Godber? Or did he simply die of a heart attack as claimed? Quite exceptional for a young guy, 24 years-old, but it's possible. And hey, what difference does it make? The fact is that this iconic cover will remain, and King Crimson's album will still be appreciated hundred years from now. Real Art is never lost. Whether it is a painting by Munch or music by Bach. Generation after generation is affected by it.
My son has cherished this album for a quite a few years now. Robert Fripp's virtuoso guitar playing Ian McDonald's beautiful Mellotron sounds and Peter Sinfield's moving, wonderful lyrics. "I talk to the wind, the wind does not hear, the wind cannot hear..." it has had quite an impact on the 22-year-old.
It was him that tipped me off that rapper Kanye West, not just anybody in today's music world, has sampled bits of "21st Century Schizoid Man" for his song "Power". Once again proof of the quality of this top-notch song.
Fripp owns the original Godber painting. How much would it be worth nowadays? I would gladly pay a monthly salary, but I doubt whether Fripp wants to part ownership with the original. Anyway, I don't have his phone number.
Wait a minute, on October 16, 2021, King Crimson's former violinist David Cross will visit the Boerderij. Maybe I can ask him if Fripp wants to sell the painting.
Will I have the guts? Probably not. Afraid Cross will laugh at me and make me want to scream with fear."
By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translation: Alex Driessen
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