Lizard: 40th Anniversary Series A]

Review of `Lizard' 40th Anniversary CD plus MLP Lossless 5.1 & DTS digital surround DVD package.***`Lizard' was released in December 1970, King Crimson's 3rd album & a radical departure in style from their previous recordings. It has a very jazz feel and makes liberal use of classical orchestral instrumentation & musical structures. It sold less well than almost all KC's other albums up to 1980, and is often seen as an oddity. However `Lizard' contains some stand-out pieces, and still sounds fresh after 40 years.Gordon Haskell (who made a brief appearance on `Poseidon' singing `Cadence & Cascade') joined the band as full-time bass player/vocalist. Haskell's voice is neither strong nor distinctive, but does a workmanlike job. Andy McCulloch plays drums with a precise & understated soft-jazz style, one of the defining characteristics of the album. Mel Collins again plays woodwind & sax, with Bob Fripp on guitars & Peter Sinfield on VCS synthesizer. Jazz pianist Keith Tippett (who started playing on the band's studio sessions at the beginning of 1970 & contributed to `Cat Food' on `Poseidon') again makes an outstanding contribution; Fripp unfortunately failed to persuade him to join the band full-time. Brass/woodwind players Nick Evans, Robin Miller & Mark Charig act as session musicians to help create the album's unique sound. The outstanding cameo is from Jon Anderson, vocalist & founder-ember of `Yes', who Fripp persuaded to sing `Prince Rupert Awakes' which opens the long `Lizard' suite.The original album:`Cirkus' opens the album, a classic mellotron-dominated Crimson track a la ItCotCK with Sinfield on top lyrical form describing a circus in full swing - with sinister undertones. A pair of light-hearted jazzy tracks `Indoor Games' & `Happy Family' (describing the then-contemporary break-up of the Beatles with the fab four given pseudonyms) follow, then the short `Lady of the Dancing water' with some fine flute work.The stand-out track of the album is the `Lizard' suite which took up the whole second side of the original vinyl release. Jon Anderson sings the opening piece `Prince Rupert Awakes' over a simple piano accompaniment, the song then opening out into one of KC's `big sound' numbers with choral backing. The theme continues in the same key with `Bolero' where the brass players & Tippett take over and stretch-out the piece into a long, fine jazz improvisation, to return finally to the main theme. The suite continues with a battle scene orchestrated in a classical-style (i.e. like Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture) & its aftermath `Prince Rupert's Lament' with Fripp producing some long, sustained wailing guitar over a slow bass line, and a closer `Big Top' which returns to the `Cirkus' theme.The 40th Anniversary offering:Like other KC releases in this series you get a CD plus audio-only DVD presented in a gatefold sleeve decorated with the distinctive original album cover artwork, images of the album's content presented in the visual style of the Lindisfarne Gospels. A 16-page colour booklet with the song lyrics and story behind the music, written by Bob Fripp and Crimson biographer Sid Smith, completes the package. Fripp mentions that Steven Wilson has `redeemed' the music of `Lizard' and restored it to its original glory.The DVD is once again the star, with the music offered in MLP Lossless 5.1 surround, DTS 5.1 digital surround, MLP Lossless stereo, PCM stereo 2.0, plus the 30th anniversary remaster of the original 1970 stereo mix. The DVD graphics are easy-on-the-eye, the menu simple to navigate, the sound fabulous. The bonus material includes an alternate version of `Lady of the Dancing Water', an excellent `Bolero' & studio run-thru of `Cirkus'.Fripp and Wilson have again done an excellent job in resurrecting this fine and unusual music. `Lizard' is a true oddity and proof that KC were never afraid to experiment, combine different styles & produce something unique & special. This is easily the best version we're likely to see, so buying it should be a no-brainer.

1st review, excuse my unprofessionalism.Why choose this one you ask? the second concert I ever saw was King Crimson (1st was ELP), that concert is listed in KC's 40 year release of "Islands". Bob Fripp announced on a radio review back then that "encores were not meant to be part of a set but as a result of good interaction between audience and band" that show was a rare encore show.It has to be remembered that in those days it was a very different music world...innocence is the best simple description.Music of this type ( I detest the genre label....music is what you love and has nothing to do with the media's labels) is sadly lost in those times, but always remembered and thankfully in the correct way by the engineer of this album Mr Steven Wilson.By re-mastering the KC collection ( I have now purchased the 1st 7 albums up to "Red" in Steven Wilson's 40th Year Anniversary" releases) it has now bought to life the music of those times.This particular release, as in the supplied notes in the book state, have given the opportunity to bring out some of the instrumentation that was all but lost in the original recordings.At this point you may think I do not have an adequate stereo/5.1 system. I do ( Linn LP12/NAIM Hi-Fi & Denon AVR/Kef for the 5.1)From the opening track of "Cirkus" straight through to the final long piece of "Lizard" there is so much detail as a result of these re-masters (whether listened to in stereo or 5.1) you feel as if your listening to a new release.For anyone NOT familiar with the music of King Crimson this album starts, as always, with a what seems a cacophonous sound of "CirKus" (see 21st Century/Pictures of A City/Lark's Tongue I/Great Deceiver/Red), there were styles of music that have admitted owe a lot to the sound of those opening tracks.Then it is sheer musical delight, very light and melodious compared to the opening track and to many of the KC albums (exception being "Islands"). The songs, as all of KC's material was about the music more than the lyrics. That is not to say the lyrics weren't clever and had statements on the time, "Happy Family's" being one of them.In the modern age of short listening attention and an industry (as Bob Fripp himself has stated) run by business people who's priority is profit not the product itself, it is no-doubt very difficult to appreciate pieces of music that in the case of "Lizard" is almost 7 times as long as what is acceptable to modern ears. BUT big BUT, if those modern ears would just listen then they would hear a truly beautiful piece of music.of course to those of us already buried in the sound of those times then all of the above is superfluous, all is meant to say to them is "go out and re-walk down those fantastic musical days" in a sound that was made for them.Here's to seeing more of those old/er albums being re-mastered in 24bit & 5.1 sound, preferably by Mr Steven Wilson as he certainly appears to have a real appreciation of those times.

I first brought this album on vinyl and as a foolish youth initially dismissed it as not being one of Crimsons best.I still love Larks Tongues and Red but this one has really crept up on me, especially what was the side long title track.The brilliance of the Lizard track and Cirkus are the high points of this album, and warrant its five star rating. The other 3 tracks are ok but not standoutThere are moments of sublime beauty here such as the bolero section of Lizard. Its one of those albums that just gets better and better with every listen,and truly fits into that rare musical category "original" Its hard to see what or where this album derives from: its such a mixture of styles and influences.The making of it was apparently difficult and various musicians were brought in such as Jon Anderson, Keith Tippett and Mark Charig which may explain in part this unique mix. You wont hear anything else quite like this album in the Crimson,Prog rock or any other musical cannon, and nobody I know of it has done anything like it since.The CD remaster is excellent bright and clear.If you're an old Crimson fan who has not listened to this for years, rediscover it, If your're a new listener looking for something different but brilliant give it a spin ( but it may take quite a number of plays)!

I've been a huge KC for many decades. These 40th Anniversary releases by Fripp undoubtedly elevate their music up to another level. Assuming one has some decent hifi gear, the listener will hear things never before heard on the original releases. Plus all the bonus material included as well. How great ITCOTKC is, I think Lizard is epic as well. Getting that out of the way, what I am having trouble with is getting the the DVD to play on any of my 3 Blu-ray players. What are the others using? DVD-Audio players?

Beaucoup d'experimentation sur ce troisieme album de King Crimson. Ne ressemble en rien aux deux premiers. Cd plus DVD.

Como es habitual con Steven Wilson, esta edición es un CD con la nueva mezcla en estéreo y un DVD con esa misma mezcla, la mezcla original y el plato fuerte, el 5.1El 5.1 es absolutamente impresionante para este álbum con tantas capas musicales. Le hace justicia a cada detalle, Steven como siempre entregando un producto imponente en cuestión de sonido.Totalmente recomendable si posees un 5.1, de verdad te rompera tus sentidos, sobretodo si ya conoces el álbum.

Uno dei migliori dischi del Progressive Rock. Un vero poema in musica 🎶.La musica come messaggio di vita, accompagnata da sfumature liriche di vario genere musicale, con strumenti classici mescolati divinamente a quelli elettronici che, nella loro fusione, danno una dimensione innovativa al rock standard, che la rende per l'appunto, Progressive insieme a un Complesso in continuo mutamento, Robert Freep a parte, non solo nei componenti, ma soprattutto per il loro sviluppo musicale che li rende unici ed eterni nel mondo della musica contemporanea. Grazie di esserci ancora.......

アナログレコードしか持っていないので色んな音が聞こえます、オリジナルにない音が足されているのかな?でもクリアでメリハリのある音で満足です音楽的内容評価は私的にはアイランド迄のアルバムの中では二番目に好きです