01	Cirkus						06:27
	02	Indoor Games						05:37
	03	Happy Family						04:22
	04	Lady Of The Dancing Water						02:47
	05	Lizard						23:15

Year: 1970

Personnel:

Robert Fripp Guitar, Mellotron, Electric Keyboards and Devices
Mel Collins Flute and Saxes
Gordon Haskell Bass Guitar and Vocals
Andy McCulloh Drums
Peter Sinfield Words and Pictures

with

Robin Miller Oboe and Cor Anglais
Mark Charig Cornet
Nick Evans Trombone
Keith Tippet Piano and Electric Piano
Jon Anderson of YES Vocals on "Prince Rupert Awakes"

The first side of Lizard is not what I would call the best Crimson, don't get me wrong, it's very good, but compared to what KC can do, it falls a bit short. First off, I'm not a big fan of Gordon Haskells voice and Robert's guitar isn't that great either.
The second side is a completely different story. The song Lizard is beautifuly orchestrated, Jon Anderson's vocals On "Prince Rupert Awakes" is breath taking. Even Haskell's vocals are beautiful on "Prince Rupert's Lament".
I also really like the cover art, if you look you can see that the images are taken from the songs I think it's a very good concept for a cover.


Tracklist:
1. Cirkus - 6:28
2. Indoor Games - 5:41
3. Happy Family - 4:16
4. Lady of the Dancing Water - 2:44
5. Lizard
a. Prince Rupert Awakes - 4:36
b. Bolero - The Peacock's Tale - 6:39
c. The Battle of Glass Tears - 10:58
d. Big Top - 1:13

Bob Eichler:
The pre-Bruford era is my least favorite of Crimson's periods, but of that group of albums Lizard is probably my favorite. This one just sounds more demented than any other KC album, and also shows a strange sense of humor which is probably what makes me like it. "Indoor Games" and "Happy Family" are great twisted songs, with the lyrics to the latter supposedly being about the Beatles (it's not very apparent, and I didn't really believe it until I noticed the four very Beatlish looking characters on the cover under the "I" in Crimson).
The disc bogs down a bit in the middle with "Lady of the Dancing Waters" and "Prince Rupert Awakes" being a little too twee for my tastes (although it's fun to hear Jon Anderson singing about staking a lizard by the throat). The "Bolero" section is nicely done (and the only part of the album that Fripp saw fit to include on the Frame by Frame boxed set), and the segue into it from the "Prince Rupert" section is very well done (except for that damn tape flutter in the opening cornet note). The remainder of the album is on par with the quality of the other early KC discs.
If you're looking to hear the band at their oddest, give Lizard a try. Even if you ignore the strange parts, there's still plenty on the album to appeal to fans of the band's other early work.

Sean McFee:
Everyone likes to point out that this album "stands alone in the Crimson catalog", so I guess that's an appropriate enough opening statement. After accidentally recording the same album twice, here Crimson goes for a different sound altogether, something a bit twisted. "Cirkus" has some very pretty guitar playing and (of course) Mellotron, but this prettiness is offset with the uneasy quality of Gordon Haskell's odd vocals and a bizarre key sound in the background during the verses that may also be Mellotron, but a fairly non-standard sound from it if so. Mel Collins also contributes some really cool sax work here. The other strong track on this album is "Indoor Games", which breaks into some nice free-form jamming led by Collins' sax, other woodwinds and some cool keyboard effects. I could do without the stupid laughter at the end, though.
"Happy Family" goes for a similar kind of vibe as the first two tracks but is really just kind of annoying. It's an interesting experiment to melt Haskell's vocals into the mix as an equal part rather than the dominant role usually given to vocals, but it is only partially successful here, and in the end babbling lyrics are just irksome. Keith Tippet's jazz-inflected piano playing saves it from being a total wash, though.
The rest of the album is kind of bleh. "Lady of the Dancing Water" is this album's insomnia cure, but thankfully clocks in at a bit under three minutes. Jon Anderson's guest vocals on the title track are cool, if only because he's singing something that (sort of) makes sense for a change. The title track just goes on and on, though, and the reward of each continuation decreases admirably. To paraphrase another Crim track, when I stay "Stop!", it continues.
On the whole, this is the most rewarding of the early Crimson material. Since In The Court... is mainly a historical curiosity to me, and the less said about the others the better, by default Lizard rises to the top with some crazy, erratic, demented and mixed-quality material.

Joe McGlinchey:
As Bob intimated (see above), you should buy this one just for the giddy rush of hearing guest vocalist Jon Anderson sing "stake a lizard by the throat" with a straight face. But despite being disavowed by Robert Fripp nowadays, I agree with Brandon (see below) that Lizard is probably the most underrated of the early, pre-Larks' era King Crimson albums. Particularly through the jazzy vibe brought to the table by musicians like Mel Collins, Keith Tippett, and Nick Evans, many of the pieces (e.g. "Indoor Games," "Happy Family," and the beautiful "Bolero") present a madcap, Canterbury-emulative sound that would never really return to Crimson's repertoire after this one. "Cirkus" is a pretty good bridge between the early and Larks' periods, and makes me yearn for the days when Fripp was the sole guitarist in Crimson, layering thoughtful acoustic over buzzing electric with equal volume and passion. Peter "scar the sacred tablet wax" Sinfield's lyrics usually suck, and here they are particularly godawful. Still, I must begrudgingly admit that they fit in well with the flamboyant surrealism of the album's cover (Sinfield's conception, apparently), and it's relatively easy to tune them out if they get too overbearing for you. Lizard's a good example of the 'imperfect but interesting' prog album from the early days, as prog bands were stretching out and playing with different ideas.

Eric Porter:
Released in 1970, Lizard is King Crimson's third album and fairly typical of the early KC sound and structure. For my money In the Court of the Crimson King their 1st recording is the must have of early KC. Lizard has some moments, but it is not one of their best, and my guess is that Fripp is not fond of it either, because not much of Lizard shows up on the box sets or live recordings up to this point. "Cirkus" sounds like it could have been on Court and some parts sound like Red era. "Indoor Games" uses a lot of horns in the arrangement and has a very jazz like mid-section. "Happy Family" sounds very jazzy, with a lot of for the listener to take in musically, as each instrument is off doing its own thing for the most part. "Lady of the Dancing Water" is a very pretty song with mostly guitar and flute behind the vocal. The title track is broken into different pieces. Jon Anderson of Yes makes a vocal appearance on "Prince Rupert Awakes" and does an excellent job. The whole piece is about 23 minutes, with a lot of improvisation. The ending piece has a circus theme musically with some Frippertronics over the top. To any KC fan, all of their material is a must have, but I find Lizard in my CD player the least of any KC release.

Brandon Wu:
When I first heard this album I really didn't know what to make of it. It's like nothing else in the Crimson body of work, and it's not much like anything else by anyone else either. Most immediately noticeable is the way Fripp hangs around in the background, picking on his acoustic guitar and adding some mellotron lines here and there; there are no screaming electric leads at all. The whole album is very warm and acoustic, and in fact the best performances (aside from some excellent acoustic guitar from Fripp in the opening track) come from sax-and-flute player Collins and pianist Tippett. Even Sinfield's lyrics are very different from other King Crimson words; the whole album reads like some kind of nightmarish fairy tale.
Of all the tracks here, only "Lady of the Dancing Water" has a clear comparison - it's another quietly pretty acoustic ballad in the style of, say, "Cadence and Cascade". The first three tracks are all short, psychotic freakouts that go in decreasing order of effectiveness. "Cirkus" is the coolest thanks to its weird juxtaposition of evil mellotron and clear acoustic guitar; "Happy Family" is the weakest thanks to Haskell's terribly distorted vocals (I don't have a problem with his singing in general, but that distortion is just too much for me). The title track is the only side-long epic King Crimson ever wrote, and it's a little rusty. The opening two sections are great - Jon Anderson's vocals in "Prince Rupert Awakes" are a fresh surprise and work very well within the framework of the music, and the improvisatory middle and beautiful closing part of "Bolero" are equally effective. However, the band seems to get a bit lost in indulgence in the ten-minute "Battle of Glass Tears" - this section has never gotten through to me. "Big Top", on the other hand, is a fittingly weird closing track to a uniquely insane album.
Lizard is perhaps the most underrated of King Crimson's albums, and contains some of the band's most unique, demented, and enjoyable work. While it'd be a poor place to begin exploring the world of KC, it's a strong effort overall, whatever Mr. Fripp thinks about it.






Lizard
Date of Release 1970

Lizard is very consciously jazz-oriented - the influence of Miles Davis (particularly Sketches of Spain) being especially prominent - and very progressive, even compared with the two preceding albums. The pieces are longer and have extensive developmental sections, reminiscent of classical music, and the lyrics are more ornate, while the subject matter is more exotic and rarified - epic, Ragnarok-like battles between good and evil that run cyclically. The doom-laden mood of the first two albums is just as strong, except that the music is prettier; the only thing missing is a sense of humor. Jon Anderson of Yes guests on one key number, "Prince Rupert Awakes" (which vocalist/bassist Gordon Haskell never completed), and the album is stronger for his presence. At the time of its release, some critics praised Lizard for finally breaking with the formula and structure that shaped the two preceding albums, but overall it's an acquired taste. - Bruce Eder

1. Cirkus (Including Entry of the Chameleons) (Fripp/Sinfield) - 6:28
2. Indoor Games (Fripp/Sinfield) - 5:41
3. Happy Family (Fripp/Sinfield) - 4:16
4. Lady of the Dancing Water (Fripp/Sinfield) - 2:44
5. Lizard: Prince Rupert Awakes/Bolero-The... (Fripp/Sinfield) - 23:12





King Crimson
Lizard
1971
EG

Lizard is certainly not one of the better-known Crimson albums. Even in the circles of Crimheads everywhere this album seems to be regarded in a somewhat dubious manner by many. No real reasons are given for this disparity. It definitely has a sound altogether unique, a sound not even approached on any other KC album. Though this was only Crimson's third album, the band had already undergone more lineup changes than most bands see in a lifetime. All but one of the founding members had moved on to other things, and by this time the band's sound and vision bore almost no resemblance to the King Crimson most people had heard before. Indeed, right after this album the personnel and sound of King Crimson changed once again, leaving Lizard pretty much standing all alone. In addition to this, the fact that Lizard has an overt jazz influence - rather than the neo-classical sound heard before and after - can tend to isolate many of its fans looking for Bartok and Orff instead of Coltrane. While this jazz would remain in one form or another throughout the rest of the '70s, never again would it be so prominent in King Crimson's sound as with this album.

These factors notwithstanding, Lizard is, on its own, a wholly amazing piece of work. As mentioned before, the jazz influence is unmistakable, and the sound and lineup on this album are completely unique from everything that came before or after in the Crimson catalogue. However, these things should be reasons for people to listen, not to stop their ears. After In the Wake of Poseidon, which was basically a rehashing of KC's first album, Lizard should hit like a breath of fresh air, a completely new Crimson with completely new ideas.

The most notable change in personnel has to be the new vocalist, Gordon Haskell. Haskell actually made his Crimson debut on Poseidon in the song "Cadence and Cascade," but once Greg Lake left for the chance to play love ballads elsewhere, Haskell took over the full vocal and bass guitar responsibilities. His vocals, while definitely not perfect, are at least interesting. His voice is very liquid and throaty, like he's singing with marbles tucked way in the back of his throat and at any minute he might choke on them. One really gets the impression that for some odd reason, every sound he makes is produced farther back in the throat than is normal.
In a few places it sounds like the microphone has actually entered his mouth. While this may not sound attractive, keep in mind it's hard to describe some voices, and his is one of them. His is certainly not a charismatic voice like Greg Lake, not powerful like John Wetton, but very controlled. These vocals provide the perfect atmosphere for the rest of the crew.

Lizard almost always sounds like the band was one beat away from falling completely apart. There is a very palpable sense of controlled chaos, a sense that nobody ever really knew exactly where they were in the music.
The new drummer, Andy McCulloch, continues (and even surpasses) Michael Giles' style of playing pretty much everything but a normal beat. Add to that a piano player who approaches the music like a true free-form jazz musician - any chord, anywhere, any time - a Robert Fripp who appears on acoustic guitar as much as electric, yet still plays it like a madman, and Mel Collins, a woodwind player who can play the flute to the utmost of beauty, as he does on "Lady of the Dancing Water," and switch to saxophone which he belts out, overdubbed, raw and meaty, on almost every other track. This lineup would never be heard from again, and it's really a shame because Lizard shows us a potential for power that could give even the later Wetton/Bruford combination a run for its money. And last, throughout all this chaos is Haskell on the bass. Unlike everyone else, Haskell plays his bass as the anchor to the rest, playing a pretty steady rhythm, never flashy, rarely syncopated, even. His lack of excess seems almost boringly normal compared to the overindulgence of the rest, yet his careful plodding might have been the glue that kept it all together.

Through this controlled chaos flows some of the most incredible, thought-provoking lyrics ever put on paper by Peter Sinfield. Many consider him to be an amazing lyricist, while still others consider him to be a bit overblown, yet almost all seem to agree that on this album he achieved something extraordinary. Almost every line invokes images, teases the ear with tongue twisters and jangled constructions. The first track, "Cirkus," is an incredible example of just what Sinfield could do, with lines like,

Night: her sable dome scattered with diamonds,
Fused my dust from a light year,
Squeezed me to her breast, sowed me with carbon,
Strung my warp across time.

For a detailed analysis, look elsewhere; just know that on this album Peter Sinfield shines clear and raises the bar for wordsmiths everywhere. A few highlights to watch out for: The song "Happy Family" is a clever tune that really concerns the break-up of The Beatles, whose images can be seen on the cover itself; and our illustrious editor chose the phrase "reels of dreams unrolled" from this album for the name of this website due to the fantastical mental images it evokes.

Without a doubt the highlight of this album is the beginning of side two. The second half of this album is the title track, but is broken down into several smaller parts. The first of these, "Prince Rupert Awakes," is unique because in the sea of turmoil on this album we have a few minutes of beautiful rest. There is nothing crazy here, just a beautiful section of music, made even better by the addition of guest vocalist Jon Anderson from Yes. Those who know his voice know well what he can add, and he does not disappoint here. When this section ends the music leads to "Bolero," and we hear the guest musicians on oboe, trombone, and trumpet - this bolero section is true to its name, and while it begins with a beautiful, completely rock-less tune much in the style of Maurice Ravel himself, it winds up again with the chaos and craziness that we have grown to expect, and takes us back to the brink of madness. - CH





King Crimson - Lizard

Member: (!rKu$

Musicians:
Robert Fripp - Guitar, mellotron & devices
Mel Collins - Flute & Sax
Gordon Haskell - Vocals & bass guitar
Andy McCulloch - Drums
Peter Sinfield - Words & pictures
...along with:
Robin Miller - Oboe & cor anglais
Mark Charig - Cornet
Nick Evans - Trombone
Keith Tippet - Piano & electric piano
Jon Anderson - Vocals

LIZARD -

This is one musical book you can almost judge by it's cover. The album's strangest, yet best quality is that it is a bit of a sore thumb sticking out in the King Crimson discography. Although it is almost impossible to describe Lizard with words, no other KC album has such a varied mix of musical styles crammed together in one place. That, along with it's beautiful, ominous and intricate cover art make this is a must have in any self-respecting progressive rock fan's library. (Especially since it's 24-bit, HDCD remaster release in 2000.)

The overall sound of the tracks on Lizard are mostly the result of a host of jazz players and very minimal guitar input by Fripp. The mighty mellotron seemed to be his beast of choice during the recording of this album. The album is littered with maniacal jazz sections that segue into hard/prog-rock and back again. The style and sound of the new vocalist, Gordon Haskell, was another unique feature of the songs on this release. His menacing, maniacal and processed vocal sound added yet another bit of strangeness to the tracks overall. There is also a guest vocal appearance by Jon Anderson for the "Prince Rupert Awakes" section of the 23 minute title track.

A beautiful and schizophrenic treasure to say the least, Lizard has become my very favorite among the many KC releases available. If you have an ear for the unique and unusual, check out Lizard.

Happy listening,
(!rKu$