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King Crimson

Eclectic Prog

4.13 | 2476 ratings

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jammun
Prog Reviewer

Whoa, dude! If anyone thought that KC was dead following the departures of Lake, MacDonald, and Giles, they were in for a rude awakening with the release of Lizard.

Cirkus kicks things off, and there's those standard Fripp tritones driving yet another classic opening track. The difference this time around is Fripp's acoustic guitar, which somehow weaves itself in and out of the song, never overpowering its surroundings but always driving the song forward. To this day, still a remarkable performance that is unique in the KC catalog. Both Indoor Games and Happy Family are great KC songs, full of unexpected twists and turns, beautiful Mellotron segues, and other Fripp signatures. I truly do not understand why this album is such a flash point for KC fans, though Lady of the Dancing water is somewhat perfunctory. What was Side 2 of the original LP -- the Lizard suite -- is reasonably enjoyable but not great There are good moments -- the almost free-jazz of the Bolero section, the menace of the Battle -- but it doesn't hold together all that well.

So the quick summation: KC fans are divided on this album, but I rate it a 4 all the way. I can't imagine not having this one in my collection. It takes a while for it to work its way into your consciousness, but once it gets there it's not leaving.

jammun | 4/5 | 2007-10-4

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