LIZARD

Cloaked in mystery, King Crimson's, "Lizard," occupies a singular position in the canon of the band. Like Yes, a centrifugal force has existed among the membership of the group. By the time of September of 1970, only Robert Fripp and Pete Sinfield remained from the lineup that just one year earlier had produced, "In the Court of the Crimson King." In their archetypal, 1969 work, Robert Fripp and Ian McDonald served as the two creative poles (with lyricist and visionary Pete Sinfield) around which the group existed. This arrangement was transitory.

By 1970, McDonald had departed, and Fripp with Sinfield became the singular impetus at the core of King Crimson, yielding "In the Wake of Poseidon." Fripp assumed the duties at the mellotron, and new associate Mel Collins, flute and saxophone.

Michael Giles continued, in the interim, as percussionist with Greg Lake as "transitional" vocalist, leading to Gordon Haskell. Peter Giles supplied the bass guitar with the key acquisition of Keith Tippet at the piano and harpsichord.

Although a substantive album, "Poseidon" may be too much of a recapitulation of the form of "The Crimson King." "Lizard" expands and enriches this configuration. Now, we have, before "Supper's Ready," or "Close to the Edge," or "Thick as a Brick," the 20 plus minute piece, "Lizard." And, for all fans of Yes, there is a guest performance by Jon Anderson on the first segment of "Lizard," "Prince Rupert Awakes."

In fact, during the early seventies, something akin to a symbiotic relationship existed between Yes and King Crimson. Upon the dismissal of Peter Banks in April of 1970, "conventional wisdom" posits Anderson and Squire considered Robert Fripp as his replacement. (In terms of the "big picture," the choice of Steve Howe appears somewhat Providential, inextricably informing Yes' following efforts and enabling Fripp and Sinfield to continue King Crimson.) Of course, in July of 1972, following the reportedly arduous process of recording the album, "Close to the Edge," Bill Bruford left Yes for the upcoming incarnation of King Crimson.

Thus, in the autumn of 1970, King Crimson existed as a "studio band," pre-dating Becker and Fagen's Steely Dan by 4 or 5 years. "Bolero ? The Peacock's Tale" from the piece "Lizard" exemplifies jazz improvisation at a high level. Girded by Fripp's mellotron and Tippet's piano, Robin Miller, oboe and cor anglais, Mark Charig, cornet, Nick Evans, trombone, and Andy McCulloch, drums, flesh out all of the manifold colors of a peacock's tale.

Part of the riddle of "Lizard" is its communication of the concept of the Ouroboros, conveying a quest for individuation by Sinfield's chosen knight-errant, Prince Rupert. Although an historical figure of the seventeenth century, Prince Rupert, here, is the emblem of all questers, external and/or internal:

Wake your reason's hollow vote

Wear your blizzard season coat

Burn a bridge and burn a boat

Stake a Lizard by the throat.

In "staking a Lizard by the throat,"one completes the figurative circle that is the Ouroboros, the wholeness of the serpent with its tail in its mouth, a symbol that harks back to Ancient Egypt, alchemy, and the psychology of Carl Jung: "This circular image represents the wholeness of the psychic ground or, to put it in mythic terms, the divinity incarnate in man." {p. 335, "Memories, Dreams, Reflections"}

Lizard bones become the clay -

And there a Swan is born

One result of a quest could be described as the skeletal remains of the Ouroboros, becoming the basis upon which insight is born: a Swan.

The third part of "Lizard," "The Battle of Glass Tears," originating from research on teardrops the historical Prince Rupert introduced to King Charles II, is a prototype of what would become Yes' "The Gates of Delirium" in 1974.

Immediately preceding the "Big Top" ending of "Lizard" is a guitar and percussion solo by Fripp and McCulloch that evokes Steve Howe's solo in "Relayer's" "Sound Chaser." In the album, "Lizard," there is much musically and lyrically that foreshadows later progressive rock. In "Cirkus," Fripp and Sinfield "set the stage" for ELP's "Karn Evil 9:

Megaphonium fanfare.

In his cloak of words strode the ringmaster

Bid me join the parade...

"Indoor Games" is an effective nod to Frank Zappa; "Happy Family," commentary on the demise of the Beatles.

As we depart King Crimson's "Lizard," its mantle remains enigmatic. Unlike Becker and Fagen's Steely Dan, Fripp's King Crimson would return in a structured, arguably superior form with "Larks Tongues in Aspic" in 1973. Among its members would be the "eccentric" percussionist, Jamie Muir, source of the album's title.

In March of 1973, while attending Bill Bruford's wedding reception, Muir recommended Paramahansa Yogananda's "Autobiography of a Yogi" to Jon Anderson. Yes' "Tales from Topographic Oceans" would ensue from Anderson's study of this work. In closing, Yogananda's title, "Paramahansa" is Sanskrit for "Great Swan." Once again, we remember that

Lizard bones become the clay -

And there a Swan is born

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