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King Crimson - Lizard CD (album) cover

LIZARD

King Crimson

 

Eclectic Prog

4.13 | 2469 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

40footwolf
2 stars If Lizard doesn't hold the distinction of being King Crimson's worst album-I don't know if that can happen if you never outright have a BAD album-then it definitely has the dubious distinction of being their most forgettable.

Side one is fine, but it's just that: Fine. There are a few things that are good but nothing that'll blow your mind and one song-"Indoor Games" that I can never, ever remember what it sounds like no matter how many times I listen to it. The highlight of the album is probably "Happy Family", a goofy, surreal interpretation of the breakup of the Beatles. The vocal distortions are used to great effect and it contains an excellent keyboard solo, which(at least to me) is a pretty rare occurrence. "Cirkus" is second best, with its traditional Krim dark grandiosity, but it never becomes quite as chaotic or grand as it needs to get in order to be considered an essential track. "Lady of the Dancing Water" is perfectly fine, but it strikes me as almost a precise repeat of "Cadence and Cascade", and not just because it has the same vocalist. One or the other would be fine, but two songs that are so similar, and so chronologically close together, screams out a lack of ideas.

The second side, after a charming first four minutes, is nearly intolerably dull. I have no hatred for long prog tracks-"Supper's Ready" and "Close to the Edge" are two of my favorite prog songs-but this attempt at a classical chamber suite in the grand old tradition simply falls completely flat. If I wanted something like this I could listen to ACTUAL classical music and find many more moments of interest and dynamism.

Lizard isn't precisely a dreadful record, but it seems almost lazy compared to King Crimson's other releases. It's good in small doses, but it is the very definition of a two star release according to progarchives.com: "For collectors/fans only." And I do mean ONLY.

40footwolf | 2/5 |

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