ISLANDS

King Crimson

Eclectic Prog

3.85 | 2171 ratings

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Bonnek
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

There's not much on this album that sounds like a regular King Crimson work. It's very soft and mellow. No wonder it attracts people that are not in KC normally, and disagrees with devoted fans.

The diversity of King Crimson is one of the reasons why I love them so much, and while Island may not be an album that I pick up a lot, I think it's still a decent accomplishment, especially the first side. Formentary Lady burns with a very subdued fire; the known loudness of Crimson is entirely absent. By contrast this is almost pastoral in nature, with very unusual and experimental harmonies, especially at the end. In fact it rather sounds like kraut rock then like King Crimson. Anyway, a stash of dope comes recommended to fully appreciate this.

The 7 minute Sailor's Tale is a nice jazz rock improvisation that treads more familiar water. Excellent piece. The Letters is almost drowsy, but gets really loud after a minute or two. It brings back the atmosphere of the previous album but the song doesn't captivate me equally.

With the next track, Ladies of the Road, the album fades out for me. I am not much of a Beatles fan so that might explain why I don't like the schoolboy harmonies here. But I think that also Beatles fans would find this substandard. Song of the Gulls is a surprisingly inadequate orchestral piece and only makes me further loose my interest. The closing track Island brings the album's momentum back, at least for a while. It has a nice soothing atmosphere and would have been great for just 4 minutes, but it lacks the material necessary to last for 12 minutes.

Even with all the energy I put in this album, I can only appreciate the first 2 tracks. Therefore it looks highly unlikely I will ever replace my vinyl copy for a CD, unless I really can't think of anything else to buy, which - says my scraggy wallet - won't be anytime soon...

Bonnek | 2/5 | 2009-12-22

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