I Talk to the Wind

"I Talk to the Wind"
Song by King Crimson
from the album In the Court of the Crimson King
Released12 October 1969 (1969-10-12)
Recorded29 July 1969
Genre
Length6:05
LabelAtlantic
Composer(s)Ian McDonald
Lyricist(s)Peter Sinfield
Producer(s)King Crimson

"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 (1969).

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.[3] 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 A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson, which featured Robert Fripp (guitar), Peter Giles (bass), Michael Giles (drums), and Ian McDonald (flute), along with Judy Dyble (formerly of Fairport Convention) on vocals.[4] This version was more up-tempo and lighter in instrumentation. The Young Person's Guide recording and another demo of the same song were recorded in 1968 by Giles, Giles and Fripp. The song did not actually appear on a Giles, Giles and Fripp record until The Brondesbury Tapes (1968) was released on CD in 2002.[5] There are actually two recordings of "I Talk to the Wind" on this CD; one features vocals by Judy Dyble, and the other features vocals by Peter Giles.

  1. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "I Talk to the Wind – King Crimson | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  2. ^ Murphy, Sean (28 March 2017). "The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 3, 60–41". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. ^ "From the Court to Foreigner – The Story of Ian McDonald". The Music Court. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Young Person's Guide to King Crimson (I Talk to the Wind)". Judy Dyble. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  5. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Giles, Giles & Fripp". All Music. Retrieved 2 July 2015.