King Crimson: Lizard (1970)

We all can be certain about King Crimson was the band wasn’t known for a steady lineup (at least in the 1970s, because during their 1980s and ’90s reunions, they were able to keep a more steady lineup). In the Wake of Poseidon was recorded where the original lineup was already falling apart. Ian McDonald wanted nothing to do with it (so Mel Collins filled in his shoes, although Robert Fripp started handling Mellotron duties). Greg Lake only stayed long enough to lay down most of the vocal tracks (only one vocal track by newcomer Gordon Haskell), and have Michael Giles brother, Peter lay down the bass track (both the Giles brothers and Fripp recorded together in 1968 on the Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp album, which apparently is largely a curiosity, mainly of interest to King Crimson historians). We all know what happened to Greg Lake: he teamed up with ex-Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson, and ex-Atomic Rooster and ex-Crazy World of Arthur Brown drummer Carl Palmer to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Michael Giles simply teamed with with former bandmate Ian McDonald, and recorded the McDonald & Giles album.

Now comes Lizard, released at the end of 1970, the group now consisted of Robert Fripp, Gordon Haskell (now full-time, handling both bass and vocals), Mel Collins, ex-Fields and future Greenslade drummer Andy McCulloch, while Peter Sinfield still hung around providing lyrics. Keith Tippet is here on piano and electric piano, plus they added some horn players, some who had appeared on Soft Machine’s Third (1970) album. Robin Miller (Oboe, Cor Anglais), Mark Charig (Cornet), and Nick Evans (Trombone). Jon Anderson makes a guest appearance on vocals too. It’s my understanding that Jon Anderson wanted to invite Fripp to replace Peter Banks in Yes, but Fripp declined (which is probably easy to see why: musical incompatibility), but of course Yes continued on, with Steve Howe, whose presence helped that band greatly. I guess if Anderson couldn’t get Fripp to join Yes, he’d just guest on a Crimson album, which he did.

In the Wake of Poseidon was frequently criticized as being a pale copycat of their debut. Well I can agree, to a point, the second half of the album features two cuts that would have been completely out of place on their debut: “Cat Food” and “The Devil’s Triangle”. “Cat Food” added that playful humorous element that’s usually alien on a Crimson album, and that element is a lot more dominant on Lizard. This time around, while the group still relied heavily on the Mellotron and wind instruments, they decided to do something new, so no listeners would think this one cut resembles “21st Century Schizoid Man” or another “Epitaph”, etc. Also a first: synthesizers! King Crimson were never big on synthesizers, but here Fripp includes some EMS VCS-3 synth. “Cirkus” is the big opening cut, with some really stunning Mellotron work. You can tell that Gordon Haskell has a totally different voice from Greg Lake. “Indoor Games” shows the band’s humor. Here, you get to hear some synthesizers, but mainly the wind instruments take center stage. I really loved that Mellotron passage that comes out of nowhere. “Happy Family” continues in this playful vein, this time, with electronically modified voices. Apparently the song was addressing the Beatles, who broke up the same year this album came out. “Lady of the Dancing Water” is a rather mellow, laid-back number dominated by acoustic guitar and flute. Then comes Crimson’s only attempt at a side-length cut: the title track. Here it starts with “Prince Rupert Awakes”. Here Jon Anderson provides the vocals, so unsurprisingly you get a Yes meets Crimson sound. This would be the earliest recording you get to hear Anderson’s voice backed by Mellotron (of course, you’ll hear plenty of Anderson’s voice backed by Mellotron once Rick Wakeman joined Yes). Many people alway seem to laugh when Anderson sings this line: “Wake your reason’ hollow vote/Wear your blizzard season coat/Burn a bridge and burn a boat/Stake a lizard by the throat”. Most of the rest of this side-length piece is instrumental, going through different styles, from bolero to jazz to classical to Spanish styles, and near the end, when Gordon Haskell starts singing, back to the Mellotron-heavy symphonic sound. This is not the most easy thing to get into, but then King Crimson was often not the most accessible band out there.

Most people obviously refer to In the Court of the Crimson King as one of their finest, I happen to think Lizard is too!
– Robert Fripp: guitar, Mellotron, electric keyboards, devices
– Mel Collins: flute, sax
– Gordon Haskell: vocals, bass
– Andy McCulloch: drums
– Peter Sinfield: words, pictures

with:
– Robin Miller: oboe, Cor Anglais
– Mark Charig: Cornet
– Nick Evans: trombone
– Keith Tippet: piano, electric piano
– Jon Anderson: vocals on ‘Prince Rupert Awakes’