I have to say that I understand it when some people are underwhelmed by In the Court of the Crimson King. Especially considering the barely-bridled-insanity that King Crimson was to become later, the debut album is very low key. Sure, it opens with the amazing "21st Century Schizoid Man" but after that it gets mellow and even later when it gets pretty intense, it's a quiet intensity borne of conflict and innuendo. One can only wait so long for the tension to break before honestly starting to lose interest, and frankly, if you're not thrilled by the title track, which is still mellow and introspective, you can be left feeling like the whole thing never really paid off. Lots of foreplay, and then... hmm.