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King Crimson - Lizard Audio CD

A fair review of the King Crimson "Lizard" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all King Crimson reviews here, or go back to the King Crimson tabs.

King Crimson Band: King Crimson
Title: Lizard
Rating:
Release Date: 2004-12-20
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Cirkus (Including Entry of the Chameleons) 2: Indoor Games 3: Happy Family 4: Lady of the Dancing Water 5: Lizard: Prince Rupert Awakes/Bolero: The Peacock's Tale/The Battle of G

Classic
With a new band, Fripp made Lizard at the end of 1970. If you thought the first two King Crimson albums were too similar, this should be the fix.

This is a mellotron album if there ever was one. "Circus" is a jazzy fever dream soaked in the pre-taped orchestra. "Indoor Games" and "Happy Family" cut back on the tron, but maintain the creepy, orchestraced jazz of the first track. There is a strange, hillucanatory feel to all this--it is not hard rock or all jazz, but strange little acid cakes with wierd orchestral nuances, Gordan Haskells processed vocals and Sinfield's obtuce lyrics.

The second half is all mellotron and jazz, with long improvosations by the horn section Fripp added. These tracks maintain that surreal creep the first side had--you get the feeling you have walked into someone's subconcious, but it is definately not yours. "Big Top" ends Lizard, reinforcing the acid circus this album is.

Fripp had a hot band here: the drummer sounds like Micheal Giles but is even more syncopated, and Haskell is a meloldic bassest. The horns were playedby Marc Cheric and Nick Evens, some of the best jazz musicans in England at the time.

Strange, unique and fantastic album. .


Almost clinging greatness
Pound for pound, Lizard easily holds its own against their first two, heavier metalish discs, displaying even more counter-culture technical savvy, if at times over the expense of emotional involvement. 3 1/2

The progressive giant's 3rd LP kept things interesting in a heavier jazz context (call it free-rock), with a common theme of musical exploration beginning to solidify for these eternal searchers. But it is the meat-and-potatoes, second-side, orchestral final track which I feel robs the disc of masterful status; by no means dismissible, though not the epic I would have hoped for, with some overly experimental bloat creeping into much momentum.


Stake a lizard by the throat
. . goes Peter Sinfield's lyric in the title cut. When "Lizard" was released it was a stunning departure from King Crimson's previous two albums. Mixing jazz-fusion with a medieval sound, it gave progressive rock a boost in its alumni. When I decided to 'catch up' on KC CD's "Lizard" had to be included in its entirety. Many a night I sat up listening to the intense strains of this album, a complex intertwining of numerous instruments and chaotic notes. This is for the jazz-classical enthusiasts out there. My 2004 release was remastered in 1999 and is a HDCD disc.


The Lizard King Crimson
99. Lizard was an album that I purchased in LP form from the used bin at a Lincoln, NE record store for $1. I had gone through my early KC indoctrination (ITCOTCK, , ITWOP, LTIA, Red, and Discipline) and was beginning to branch out. When I first listened, I regarded it as a pale retread of the first two albums, with Fripp and Sinfield running out of ideas as they drove into a cul-de-sac. Over the years, I found myself returning to it and listening more carefully. It is definitely a piece that rewards repeat listenings, especially in the sounds that Fripp was able to coax out of the Mellotron at this point. In my opinion, this KC album has the most interesting Mellotron sounds of any KC recording, notably so in the Battle of Glass Tears segment of the Lizard suite. The Mellotron surges through the speakers in a sound that I can only describe as a wavy wash, almost like being buffeted by a storm on the high seas - which is altogether appropriate, since the heat of a battle is being musically depicted. My only complaint about the CD mix of this album (and hence three stars instead of four) is that Fripp has mixed the vocals down so low in the quiet sections (the beginnings of Cirkus, Prince Rupert Awakes, and Dawn Song) that they are nearly impossible to hear. This is then followed by the weight of the song kicking in and nearly deafening me, forcing me to turn the volume down - i. e. , this mix cannot be listened to comfortably at a consistent volume. I went back to my old vinyl copy and found that this was not the case for it. The mix of the different sections is much more fluid and not jarring at all.


Not their worst, not their best
I think it is underrated. I like this album. It is not a retread of the prior album like Poseiden was, nor does it point to the future. A nice detour, but not a masterpiece.


You can see a complete list of all King Crimson discography, or go back to the King Crimson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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