KC's Islands: Treasure or Trash?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=99250
Printed Date: July 27 2025 at 08:55
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Topic: KC's Islands: Treasure or Trash?
Posted By: SteveG
Subject: KC's Islands: Treasure or Trash?
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 14:27
| One of my favorite KC albums has also divided KC fans. Although it's ratings in PA are pretty high, all my Prog friends trash it for some strange reason. What's your opinion of Islands? |
Replies:
Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 14:31
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Top 3 KC album for me. ------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Posted By: Xonty
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 14:52
Probably the worst album of their 70s era (except SABB actually) but still great (4-stars). Some songs are a bit weak but there are a few brilliant moments in there. About my 6th favourite KC record which is still high for a band who, in my book, made 3 defining prog rock albums (the debut, Larks Tongues, and Red) 
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Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 14:55
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Great album though probably not in my Crimson top 10 ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 15:02
As I once said on another Crimson thread......all Crimson is good, some are just better than others.
 ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 15:10
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My favourite KC album. ------------- 
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Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 15:18
| Neither but still better than 'In The Wake of Poseidon' in my opinion. |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 16:48
Not as poor as In the Wake of Poseidon but still very patchy in my book. Take out the trash.
------------- 
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Posted By: Dayvenkirq
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 17:06
| I see it as a bit of a mixed bag. Mostly a treasure, though there are certain moments I think it could do without. |
Posted By: Imperial Zeppelin
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 17:20
| Definitely a Treasure. One of their best. And the title track is a thing of magic. |
Posted By: Kirillov
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 17:27
| Aarrr Jim lad, a treasure it be |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 18:07
Yep. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Nogbad_The_Bad wrote:Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 18:37
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Good album. Not great. ------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 18:47
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"...but.... This is a bag of sh*t!!"
"But it's really GOOD sh*t, Mrs. Presky!" Sorry, couldn't resist the Firesign opportunity. I like Islands. Mabe #6 or #7 overall on the Crimometer ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 18:52
Wow same for me, it's 6 or 7 when it comes to their studio albums. Love it, and if you do too check out the live Ladies Of The Road taken from the Islands lineup. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 19:34
------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 19:36
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My absolute favourite Crimson album!
Definitely treasure! |
Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 23:09
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Treasure. It's up there on the list. ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: Mirror Image
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 23:31
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I love Islands, but I can certainly understand not everyone being able to appreciate it.
------------- “Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 23:53
| Greatest thing KC ever did |
Posted By: ProgMetaller2112
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 00:04
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I feel it's a mixed bag ------------- “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” ― George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four "Ignorance and Prejudice and Fear walk Hand in Hand"- Neil Peart |
Posted By: infocat
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 00:12
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Treasure. Very unique, and very special to me.
------------- -- Frank Swarbrick Belief is not Truth. |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 01:31
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A great album without a question; one of my lifetime favourities.
Treasure. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 02:06
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It was my favourite KC album for a while. I still think it's excellent. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: August 13 2014 at 09:27
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Every 70's KC album is amassing, not my favorite one, but the competition is also tough. ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: PrognosticMind
Date Posted: August 13 2014 at 10:37
| I love KC's Islands. |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: August 13 2014 at 13:01
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An excellent album, one of my favourites from them.
------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: KingCrInuYasha
Date Posted: August 13 2014 at 13:04
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I like it. One of the most underrated prog records of all time. It's one of those neat little twists that made King Crimson so great. ------------- He looks at this world and wants it all... so he strikes, like Thunderball! |
Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: August 15 2014 at 11:53
-
------------- 
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Posted By: The Doctor
Date Posted: August 15 2014 at 11:59
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Neither for me. It's my least favorite from the Sinfield era, but only because the other three (Especially Itchy and Lizard) are so awesome. There is one dud on the album for me and that is Ladies of the Road. Really Pete? Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with the subject matter of the song, it's just the lyrics themselves are so lame. ------------- I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you? |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: August 16 2014 at 13:27
Ah...but then the prog heads here say they don't care about the lyrics.
 ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: tszirmay
Date Posted: August 16 2014 at 14:07
Formentera Lady and Sailors Tale are lifelong personal anthems .  ------------- I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth. |
Posted By: Metalmarsh89
Date Posted: August 20 2014 at 09:38
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It's not often I feel like listening to it, but it's one of KC's more rewarding albums to put on. Treasure.
------------- Want to play mafia? Visit http://www.mafiathesyndicate.com" rel="nofollow - here . |
Posted By: O666
Date Posted: August 20 2014 at 09:50
100% Agree. This is a "Unique" album in KC discography. Dark atmosphere, Great bass line, Experimental arrangement and sounding (in early 70's era and....). |
Posted By: O666
Date Posted: August 20 2014 at 09:52
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: August 20 2014 at 10:41
| Islands, In the Wake of Poseidon + Starless and Bible Black are generally considered the three weakest albums albums of their classic era but they're all pretty close to perfection for me. Treasure no doubt. Music doesn't get much better than the 18 minutes of actual progressive rock that is Formentera Lady/Sailor's Tale. |
Posted By: HackettFan
Date Posted: August 25 2014 at 00:47
| I don't care for it at all. The worst they ever did. The classical influenced parts don't mesh at all with the ever so few rock influenced parts. Classical/jazz/rock fusion is supposed fuse. It does not do so on this album. Complete failed experiment as far as I am concerned. Lizard and Lark's are fabulous. |
Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: September 03 2014 at 16:42
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An album I really enjoy when I'm in the mood for it.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/MysticBoogy" rel="nofollow - My Last.fm 
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Posted By: Xonty
Date Posted: September 03 2014 at 16:50
The 2nd side's better, but that solo on Sailor's Tale is awesome (plus the lyrics on the other 2 tracks are pretty great).
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Posted By: Michael678
Date Posted: September 03 2014 at 17:14
and also what is "Itchy"? ------------- Progrockdude |
Posted By: Roj
Date Posted: September 04 2014 at 07:44
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KC are not a great favourite of mine but my copy of Islands is one I treasure for sure. Also it must have one of my favourite album covers of all time.
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Posted By: pfloyd
Date Posted: September 04 2014 at 13:05
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easily in my top 10 favorite albums
------------- check out my art: http://alexanderbennett33.wixsite.com/portfolio 
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Posted By: Kentucky_Hawkwindage
Date Posted: September 04 2014 at 16:51
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Not my fav by any means,but couldn't call it trash.... ------------- "Nobody's Gonna Change My World That's Something To Unreal" Lyrics that i live my life by-from Black Sabbath's Technical Ecstasy's track You Won't Change Me |
Posted By: Prog_Traveller
Date Posted: September 04 2014 at 21:19
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I absolutely hated this album when I first bought it on cassette around late 1985. I think it was the first KC album I bought or heard all the way through and it almost turned the band off for me. I still never bought it on cd. At some point it did grow on me a bit though. I especially like "sailors tale" and "ladies of the road." The title track is quite nice also.
So for me maybe somewhere in between treasure and trash but these days
much closer to treasure. When I first heard it though I'd say I would
have thought it much closer to trash.
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: September 04 2014 at 22:23
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Better than it's two predecessors.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: September 06 2014 at 12:25
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Definitely my least favorite of the studio albums through Red but I wouldn't call it trash. Gave it a spin recently just because I so rarely play the thing and actually enjoyed it. Will I go to Islands more often now? Probably not but I would still call it a good album. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: September 08 2014 at 11:01
| One of those "in limbo" efforts between great line-ups for the band. Ian Wallace was certainly special on the recording, Boz's singing on Ladies of the Road was entertaining, and Fripp's playing was solid, but the thing didn't gel as a whole. |
Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: September 08 2014 at 11:41
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it's a good album, so neither what's impressive is that it takes place at a very low ebb for the band yet they turn it into a strength
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Posted By: CityZen
Date Posted: September 09 2014 at 23:57
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Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: September 10 2014 at 01:23
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Teasure treasure treasure ...... |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 10 2014 at 02:40
A-side is trash??? The one with Sailor's Tale? And how can someone who likes King Crimson not love Formentera Lady? The part that don't make it a complete KC-masterpiece to me are the two pastiches that opens the b-side. The Beatle-like mess that is Ladies of the Road is fun enough but hardly essential and the psuedo-classical Prelude: Song of the Gulls is pretty but lacks any kind of identity. The latter tune is bit of a waysted opportunity to create some genuinely Bartok-inspired chamber music. - If the one bonus track that's not simply an alternative take on the 40th anniversary edition A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls had opened the original b-side it would have added just the right amount of bite to my tastes. But all King Crimson 69-74 is art for the ages, the album is as it is and I'm not complaining, really.
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Posted By: Usandthem
Date Posted: September 13 2014 at 12:55
| Well, to me this is a very good album, but it suffers from the comparison with other KC releases at the time. |
Posted By: Argonaught
Date Posted: September 17 2014 at 06:23
| Poseidon, Lizard and Island are interesting albums, but not in the same genre and league with the LTIA, SABB and Red. |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 17 2014 at 06:26
| ^Not even the same genre? |
Posted By: Argonaught
Date Posted: September 17 2014 at 08:14
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^ not to my ear. My definition of musical genres is based on what a certain composition sounds/feels like rather than on a set of "rules" that are often artificial, arbitrary and contradictory. If I had to pigeon-hole them, the Islands wouold be neo-romantic classical, while the 1973-74 stuff is avant-guard(ish) jazz rock. If you knew nothing about Progarchives or the history of King Crimson, you would probably never guess that the Islands and LTIA were even made by the same band, literally within a couple of years from each other. And of course "the same band" is largely meaningless, because at that time Fripp was evolving in leaps and bounds, and there were 2 or 3 lineup changes between 1969 and 1973.
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Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 17 2014 at 08:30
| ^ To me its just the sound of a genuine progressive rock band evolving. Sure there's larger portions of harder, darker and dissonant material LTIA than Islands, but the former got its Exiles and Book of Saturday and the latter its Sailor's Tale. I never ever had any difficulty recognizing a 69-74 KC-album as a KC-album. |
Posted By: matty3198
Date Posted: September 20 2014 at 13:36
ITWOP is good until you realise the thing is almost a carbon copy of the first album. |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: September 20 2014 at 13:56
This fact botters me so much that I've never been able to like it.  Didn't they notice that? |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: September 20 2014 at 18:24
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Treasure, better than Lizard or Poseidon, but not as good as Larks'.... ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: September 23 2014 at 11:44
| What many people can't relate to is the concept and because the music has to follow that concept by being different from the other albums, people find it dull. Why would someone be personally interested in Islands and find it to be the ultimate Crimson release? I believe it has to do with the person's interest in the ocean's lifeforce and the overall history of events which took place on the sea centuries ago. I believe Islands attracts the interest of people who are fascinated with the Island life/environment. For example: I've always listened to Islands on the beach , watching the tides, glancing at the sky and drifting into a fantasy novel about pirates or whatever? I want to visit Pitcarin Island and listen to Islands. As I've stated before, many musicians in the early 70's physically placed themselves in a situation with nature. Wrote on a specific subject having directly to do with a landscape, the ocean...and included musically and lyrically.. a vision of this place...by re-tracing it's history, or it's position in the modern day...or choosing to write fantasy unlike anyone else. |
Posted By: WrytXander
Date Posted: September 23 2014 at 13:47
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It has 2 great songs (Sailor's Tale and the title track) and 1 decent song (Gulls), but the rest is just meaningless vocal practices and aimless instrumentation if you ask me.
------------- 20+ prog bands discovered and explored in 3 years, still going strong... |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: September 23 2014 at 15:46
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: September 23 2014 at 15:54
------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |