LIZARD

Lizard remains to this day my favorite Crimson album. And I can wrap it up in one word: mischief. There is easily more mischief, both instrumentally and lyrically, than on any other KC project to date. Just love all those extra wind instruments, Keith Tippett's flitting piano trickling all over the place, some real envelope-pushing mellotron work, Gordon Haskell's full throated voice, reedsman Mel Collins being ... Mel Collins (always a treat), and Pete Sinfield's most fascinating set of lyrics ever, particularly on Cirkus ('Elephants forgot, force-fed on stale chalk, ate the floors of their cages' - good lord, what a visual!).

How such a fascinating album could arise from such fractious origins is quite a testament to headmasters Fripp and Sinfield. If what I read is true, bass player Haskell and drummer Andrew McCulloch recorded their instrumental tracks in advance, completely without the aural aid of the rest of the band. Helluva weird way to make a record, but sure was a nice payoff! Pity this lineup never lasted long enough to do even a single gig. They were barely around long enough for a single photo!

For the Crimson novice, Lizard is probably not the place to begin. But if you're already hooked and in the midst of assembling your own Crimson Collection, you might want to move Lizard to the head of the line!

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