LIZARD

Lizard is an album which,although proves with repeated listenings to be rich in compositions and multidimensional,has as it's greatest merit the complete and perfect mutation from the two previous albums.Jazz remains the primary influence,however the final result is something so far away from the debut and it's strong follow-up,that one might question if this is the same band after all.The personell change resulted in an elegant transformation,and the essence captured here would be again lost in the following albums.This is an interesting momentum in King Crimson's carreer,and although it is far from flawless,Lizard still stands as one of their most significant,expressive and misterious efforts.

While Cirkus and the tiltle track(a 23-minute lament with enchanting lyrics)are set apart from the world of progressive rock with cold,almost ethereal melodies and arrangement,the album also finds space for more traditional pieces such as the lovely Lady of the Dancing Water,a flute-led ballad which sets the mood for the aforementioned Lizard composition.Both Indoor Games and Happy Family are heavily jazz-influenced and require time in order to be appreciated,but these two numbers seem somewhat misplaced in the silent and obscure mood of the album.

The choice of Gordon Haskell for lead vocals wasn't quite fittable for Lizard.Not that he has a particulary bad voice:it quite simply doesn't match the album's elegance.This is brought up in one of the best passages,when Jon Anderson is invited to sing the first movement of the Lizard suite.Yes' frontman's sad,high-pitched and melodic chant seems far more natural here than Haskell's remarkable effots to do justice to the album's grandeur.Being as it is,it's hard to imagine Cirkus without Gordon Haskell's challenging,sometimes ironic voice,though.

Needless to say,all the remaining musicians are stunning throughout,but credit must be given to the lyricst Pete Sinfield,who brought back the excellence of the first album's poems in a more contemplative and abstract encarnation.The lyrics really complete the music here,in a way that only this band could do.

As happened with all King Crimson albums up to Lark's Tongues In Aspic,the strenght of this third effort lies in the sum-up of it's pieces,and the unmistakable mood forged by them.This is,however,a delicate,unmatchably sophisticated and remarkably sorrowfull album,and resemblances to other recordings by the band in the same period are very remote.The sum-up of all this elements makes Lizard one of the most enchanting offerings King Crimson ever presented us with,and it's imperfections are simply an invitation to this extremely complex album.

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