Lizard (album)
Encyclopedia
Lizard is the third album by the British
band
King Crimson
, released in 1970. It was the second recorded by a transitional line-up of the group that never had the opportunity to perform live
, following In the Wake of Poseidon
. This would be the first (and only) album to feature bassist
/vocalist Gordon Haskell
, apart from his appearance on the song "Cadence and Cascade" from the previous album
, and drummer
Andy McCulloch as official members of the band
.
The record is arguably King Crimson's most jazz
-inflected album, developing further in the direction suggested by the track "Cat Food" on the previous album.
in Wimborne near Bournemouth
, the pair having subsequently played together in local band the League of Gentlemen. After Haskell contributed vocals to the track "Cadence and Cascade" on In the Wake of Poseidon, Fripp asked him to become an official member of King Crimson for the recording of Lizard. Another supporting musician on In the Wake of Poseidon, saxophonist/flautist
Mel Collins
was also asked to become a full-time member of this line-up, as was drummer
Andy McCulloch. The group was then augmented with supporting players, including another In the Wake of Poseidon alumnus
- the noted jazz
pianist
Keith Tippett
- together with Yes
vocalist Jon Anderson
, and brass
/woodwind
players
Robin Miller
, Mark Charig, and Nick Evans
.
Haskell and McCulloch had an unhappy experience recording Lizard, Haskell especially - a devotee of soul
and Motown music - finding it difficult to connect with the material. Following the album's completion, Haskell left King Crimson during rehearsals for a prospective tour. During the next 19 years, he sought legal
redress, because he believed that he had been cheated out of royalties owed to him for the album. Shortly after Haskell left the group, McCulloch did likewise. The press release drafted by Sinfield to promote Lizard wryly quoted Max Ehrmann's poem "Desiderata
", which contains advice on how to chart a true course
through confusion.
Collins, on the other hand, remained in King Crimson with Fripp for the recording of the group's next album, Islands
. Haskell was replaced with Boz Burrell
on bass guitar and vocals, while McCulloch was replaced with his sometime housemate Ian Wallace. The Islands line-up of the group would finally give some of the Lizard material a live airing, with "Cirkus" and "Lady of the Dancing Water" becoming part of King Crimson's touring repertoire. More recently, "Cirkus" has become part of the touring repertoire of the 21st Century Schizoid Band
, whose members include Mel Collins.
from Haskell before launching into a menacing theme
played by Fripp on the mellotron
. The song
's verses then alternate with this signature theme, and the track boasts some of Fripp's most dextrous acoustic guitar playing alongside a soaring saxophone solo
by Collins. With lyrics
by Sinfield rich in circus image
ry, the track builds up into a cacophonous climax
.
vocals and lyrics evoking various forms of hedonism
. It ends with the sound of Haskell laughing
uncontrollably, as he tries unsuccessfully to sing
the words 'hey ho'. His laughter, he later explained, was provoked by the fact that he thought these words ridiculous - which seems to be representative of his attitude towards Sinfield's lyrics in general.
. They are represented in the lyrics as 'Judas' (Paul McCartney
), 'Rufus' (Ringo Starr
), 'Silas' (George Harrison
), and 'Jonah' (John Lennon
). As on "Indoor Games", Haskell's vocals are distorted. The very beginning of the song is reminiscent of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", which is preceded by laughing and talking, with the phrase "Hey-yo" leading right into the song. The opening decending bass lines of both songs are also very similar.
have a medieval
feel, in the tradition of "I Talk To The Wind" on In the Court of the Crimson King and "Cadence and Cascade" on In the Wake of Poseidon. The track features Mel Collins on flute
.
(as distinct from improvised
) piece recorded by King Crimson. It is divided into several sections and even subsections, with a narrative
about a prince
who takes part in an epic battle
.
The opening section, "Prince Rupert Awakes", alternates between sincere and ethereal verses (sung by Jon Anderson
of Yes
), and a folksy
Refrain
accompanied by handclaps. The two styles are then combined in a wordless chorale
, that segue
s into the next section, "Bolero".
"Bolero" provides a showcase for the supporting musicians Tippett, Miller, Charig, and Evans. Playing over McCulloch's bolero
-like drum
part, they are given the space to develop progressively more jazzy solos around a central theme. When this section of "Lizard" was excerpted for inclusion on the compilation Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
, Gordon Haskell's bass guitar
was replaced with a part recorded by subsequent King Crimson bassist Tony Levin
.
"Dawn Song," the first of three subsections that comprise "The Battle of Glass Tears", opens with an ominous theme led by Robin Miller on cor anglais
, which is then joined by a subdued vocal sung by Haskell. "Last Skirmish" is a lengthy section intended to simulate an increasingly fraught battle; it culminates in ever more forceful repetition
s of an ominous theme similar to the main theme of "Cirkus." "Prince Rupert's Lament" evokes the bloody aftermath of the battle, a funeral
rhythm section
providing the backdrop to Fripp's plaintive guitar part.
"Big Top" concludes the song. This section consists of distorted fairground
music, echoing the carnival
esque opening track "Cirkus", faded
in and out and simultaneously sped up (though on the 2009 remix it just fades out)
.
The album's outside cover consists of the words 'King Crimson' spelled out in ornate medieval
lettering, the word 'King' on the back cover and the word 'Crimson' on the front cover, with each letter incorporating one or two discrete image
s. These images in turn represent Sinfield's lyrics from the album - the images in the word 'King' representing the lyrics of the various sections and subsections of track 5, "Lizard"; while the images in the word 'Crimson' represent the lyrics of tracks 1-4.
Whereas the images representing "Lizard" are medieval in content - depicting Prince Rupert, his environs (including a peacock
), and the Battle of Glass Tears - the images representing the other four tracks juxtapose medieval and contemporary scenes. The image around the letter 'i' in 'Crimson', for example, depicts the Beatles
, corresponding with their pseudonymous appearance in the lyrics to "Happy Family". Around the "n" on the front cover, there is a depiction of Rupert the Bear piloting a yellow aeroplane.
The inside cover of Lizard consists of a marbled
pattern
, credited to Koraz Wallpapers.
mix on DVD-Audio
, created by Steven Wilson
of Porcupine Tree
in collaboration with Fripp, as well as a new stereo transfer based on the surround mix.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, released in 1970. It was the second recorded by a transitional line-up of the group that never had the opportunity to perform live
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
, following In the Wake of Poseidon
In the Wake of Poseidon
In the Wake of Poseidon is the second album by the progressive rock group King Crimson. By the time this album was released, the band had already undergone their first change in line-up, however they still maintained much of the style of their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King.Greg Lake...
. This would be the first (and only) album to feature bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
/vocalist Gordon Haskell
Gordon Haskell
Gordon Haskell is a Pop, Rock & Blues music vocalist, songwriter, and bassist. He first gained recognition as a member of the British band Les Fleur de Lys. He sang on one of the songs of King Crimson's second album, then played bass and sang on their third album...
, apart from his appearance on the song "Cadence and Cascade" from the previous album
In the Wake of Poseidon
In the Wake of Poseidon is the second album by the progressive rock group King Crimson. By the time this album was released, the band had already undergone their first change in line-up, however they still maintained much of the style of their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King.Greg Lake...
, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Andy McCulloch as official members of the band
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
.
The record is arguably King Crimson's most jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-inflected album, developing further in the direction suggested by the track "Cat Food" on the previous album.
Background and music
Haskell was previously a classmate of Fripp's at Queen Elizabeth's grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Wimborne near Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, the pair having subsequently played together in local band the League of Gentlemen. After Haskell contributed vocals to the track "Cadence and Cascade" on In the Wake of Poseidon, Fripp asked him to become an official member of King Crimson for the recording of Lizard. Another supporting musician on In the Wake of Poseidon, saxophonist/flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
Mel Collins
Mel Collins
Mel Collins is a British saxophonist and flautist and session musician.He has worked in a wide variety of contexts ranging from R&B and blues rock to jazz, but is perhaps known for his work in progressive rock, as with King Crimson, Camel and the Alan Parsons Project.-Career:Collins has worked...
was also asked to become a full-time member of this line-up, as was drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Andy McCulloch. The group was then augmented with supporting players, including another In the Wake of Poseidon alumnus
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
- the noted jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Keith Tippett
Keith Tippett
Keith Tippett is a British jazz pianist and composer.Tippett, the son of a local police officer, went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. He formed his first jazz band called The KT7 whilst still at school and they performed numbers popular at the time by The Temperance...
- together with Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
vocalist Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
, and brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
/woodwind
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
players
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Robin Miller
Robin Miller
Robin Miller may refer to:* Robin Miller , also known as the "Sugarbird Lady", female Australian aviator and nurse* Robin Miller , American motorsports journalist* Robin Miller , British businessman and honorary knight...
, Mark Charig, and Nick Evans
Nick Evans (trombonist)
Nicholas "Nick" Evans is a Welsh jazz and progressive rock trombonist.- Career :He worked in the Graham Collier Sextet , Keith Tippett Group , Soft Machine , Brotherhood of Breath , Centipede , Just Us , Ambush , Ninesense , Intercontinental Express , Ark Nicholas "Nick" Evans (born 1947 in...
.
Haskell and McCulloch had an unhappy experience recording Lizard, Haskell especially - a devotee of soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and Motown music - finding it difficult to connect with the material. Following the album's completion, Haskell left King Crimson during rehearsals for a prospective tour. During the next 19 years, he sought legal
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
redress, because he believed that he had been cheated out of royalties owed to him for the album. Shortly after Haskell left the group, McCulloch did likewise. The press release drafted by Sinfield to promote Lizard wryly quoted Max Ehrmann's poem "Desiderata
Desiderata
Desiderata is a 1927 prose poem by American writer Max Ehrmann...
", which contains advice on how to chart a true course
Course (navigation)
In navigation, a vehicle's course is the angle that the intended path of the vehicle makes with a fixed reference object . Typically course is measured in degrees from 0° clockwise to 360° in compass convention . Course is customarily expressed in three digits, using preliminary zeros if needed,...
through confusion.
Collins, on the other hand, remained in King Crimson with Fripp for the recording of the group's next album, Islands
Islands (King Crimson album)
Islands is the fourth album by the British band King Crimson, released in 1971.The last King Crimson studio album before the group's trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red, it is also the last to feature the lyrics of Peter Sinfield and the last to feature the band's...
. Haskell was replaced with Boz Burrell
Boz Burrell
Raymond "Boz" Burrell was an English musician. Originally a vocalist, Burrell is best known for his bass playing and work with the rock bands King Crimson and Bad Company.-Career:...
on bass guitar and vocals, while McCulloch was replaced with his sometime housemate Ian Wallace. The Islands line-up of the group would finally give some of the Lizard material a live airing, with "Cirkus" and "Lady of the Dancing Water" becoming part of King Crimson's touring repertoire. More recently, "Cirkus" has become part of the touring repertoire of the 21st Century Schizoid Band
21st Century Schizoid Band
21st Century Schizoid Band are a King Crimson alumnus group formed in 2002.The name derives from the famous song "21st Century Schizoid Man" from the first King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King...
, whose members include Mel Collins.
Cirkus
The powerful opening track, "Cirkus" is perhaps the best-known track on the album. It begins with a hushed verseStrophic form
Strophic form is the simplest and most durable of musical forms, elaborating a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section. This may be analyzed as "A A A..."...
from Haskell before launching into a menacing theme
Theme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
played by Fripp on the mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
. The song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
's verses then alternate with this signature theme, and the track boasts some of Fripp's most dextrous acoustic guitar playing alongside a soaring saxophone solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
by Collins. With lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
by Sinfield rich in circus image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
ry, the track builds up into a cacophonous climax
Conclusion (music)
In music, the conclusion is the ending of a composition and may take the form of a coda or outro.Pieces using sonata form typically use the recapitulation to conclude a piece, providing closure through the repetition of thematic material from the exposition in the tonic key...
.
Indoor Games
"Indoor Games" is an offbeat and humorous track with distortedDistortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
vocals and lyrics evoking various forms of hedonism
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
. It ends with the sound of Haskell laughing
Laughter
Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli, fundamentally stress, which serves as an emotional balancing mechanism. Traditionally, it is considered a visual expression of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli...
uncontrollably, as he tries unsuccessfully to sing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
the words 'hey ho'. His laughter, he later explained, was provoked by the fact that he thought these words ridiculous - which seems to be representative of his attitude towards Sinfield's lyrics in general.
Happy Family
"Happy Family" is about the dissolution of the BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. They are represented in the lyrics as 'Judas' (Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
), 'Rufus' (Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
), 'Silas' (George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
), and 'Jonah' (John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
). As on "Indoor Games", Haskell's vocals are distorted. The very beginning of the song is reminiscent of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", which is preceded by laughing and talking, with the phrase "Hey-yo" leading right into the song. The opening decending bass lines of both songs are also very similar.
Lady of the Dancing Water
"Lady of the Dancing Water" is a more tranquil piece, whose lyrics and instrumentationInstrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
have a medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
feel, in the tradition of "I Talk To The Wind" on In the Court of the Crimson King and "Cadence and Cascade" on In the Wake of Poseidon. The track features Mel Collins on flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
.
Lizard
"Lizard" is the longest composedMusical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
(as distinct from improvised
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
) piece recorded by King Crimson. It is divided into several sections and even subsections, with a narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
about a prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
who takes part in an epic battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
.
The opening section, "Prince Rupert Awakes", alternates between sincere and ethereal verses (sung by Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
of Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
), and a folksy
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
accompanied by handclaps. The two styles are then combined in a wordless chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
, that segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
s into the next section, "Bolero".
"Bolero" provides a showcase for the supporting musicians Tippett, Miller, Charig, and Evans. Playing over McCulloch's bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
-like drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
part, they are given the space to develop progressively more jazzy solos around a central theme. When this section of "Lizard" was excerpted for inclusion on the compilation Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
Frame By Frame: The Essential King Crimson is a compilation by the band King Crimson, released in 1991.-Disc 1: 1969-1971:#"21st Century Schizoid Man" - 7:20...
, Gordon Haskell's bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
was replaced with a part recorded by subsequent King Crimson bassist Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
.
"Dawn Song," the first of three subsections that comprise "The Battle of Glass Tears", opens with an ominous theme led by Robin Miller on cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, which is then joined by a subdued vocal sung by Haskell. "Last Skirmish" is a lengthy section intended to simulate an increasingly fraught battle; it culminates in ever more forceful repetition
Repetition (music)
Repetition is important in music, where sounds or sequences are often repeated. One often stated idea is that repetition should be in balance with the initial statements and variations in a piece. It may be called restatement, such as the restatement of a theme...
s of an ominous theme similar to the main theme of "Cirkus." "Prince Rupert's Lament" evokes the bloody aftermath of the battle, a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
providing the backdrop to Fripp's plaintive guitar part.
"Big Top" concludes the song. This section consists of distorted fairground
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
music, echoing the carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
esque opening track "Cirkus", faded
Fade (audio engineering)
In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way ....
in and out and simultaneously sped up (though on the 2009 remix it just fades out)
Album cover
Lizards outside cover art is by Gini Barris, who was commissioned to produce it by Peter SinfieldPeter Sinfield
Peter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
.
The album's outside cover consists of the words 'King Crimson' spelled out in ornate medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
lettering, the word 'King' on the back cover and the word 'Crimson' on the front cover, with each letter incorporating one or two discrete image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s. These images in turn represent Sinfield's lyrics from the album - the images in the word 'King' representing the lyrics of the various sections and subsections of track 5, "Lizard"; while the images in the word 'Crimson' represent the lyrics of tracks 1-4.
Whereas the images representing "Lizard" are medieval in content - depicting Prince Rupert, his environs (including a peacock
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...
), and the Battle of Glass Tears - the images representing the other four tracks juxtapose medieval and contemporary scenes. The image around the letter 'i' in 'Crimson', for example, depicts the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, corresponding with their pseudonymous appearance in the lyrics to "Happy Family". Around the "n" on the front cover, there is a depiction of Rupert the Bear piloting a yellow aeroplane.
The inside cover of Lizard consists of a marbled
Paper marbling
Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to an absorbent surface, such as paper or...
pattern
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
, credited to Koraz Wallpapers.
Releases
The album had CD releases in 1989 and 2001, each newly remastered by Fripp at the time. The newest version was released in October 2009, containing a 5.1 Surround Sound5.1 surround sound
5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
mix on DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
, created by Steven Wilson
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
of Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
in collaboration with Fripp, as well as a new stereo transfer based on the surround mix.
Side one
- "Cirkus" – 6:27
- Including: "Entry of the Chameleons"
- "Indoor Games" – 5:37
- "Happy Family" – 4:22
- "Lady of the Dancing Water" – 2:47
Side two
- "Lizard" – 23:15
- (a) "Prince Rupert Awakes" – 4:36
- (b) "Bolero - The Peacock's Tale" – 6:39
- (c) "The Battle of Glass Tears" – 10:58
- (i) "Dawn Song"
- (ii) "Last Skirmish"
- (iii) "Prince Rupert's Lament"
- (d) "Big Top" – 1:13
2009 CD bonus tracks
- Lady of the Dancing Water (alternate mix)
- Bolero (Frame by FrameFrame by Frame: The Essential King CrimsonFrame By Frame: The Essential King Crimson is a compilation by the band King Crimson, released in 1991.-Disc 1: 1969-1971:#"21st Century Schizoid Man" - 7:20...
remix) - Cirkus (studio run-through)
King Crimson
- Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, synthesiserSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and devices - Gordon HaskellGordon HaskellGordon Haskell is a Pop, Rock & Blues music vocalist, songwriter, and bassist. He first gained recognition as a member of the British band Les Fleur de Lys. He sang on one of the songs of King Crimson's second album, then played bass and sang on their third album...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Mel CollinsMel CollinsMel Collins is a British saxophonist and flautist and session musician.He has worked in a wide variety of contexts ranging from R&B and blues rock to jazz, but is perhaps known for his work in progressive rock, as with King Crimson, Camel and the Alan Parsons Project.-Career:Collins has worked...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Andy McCulloch - drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Peter SinfieldPeter SinfieldPeter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
- wordsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, VCS3, pictures
Additional musicians
- Keith TippettKeith TippettKeith Tippett is a British jazz pianist and composer.Tippett, the son of a local police officer, went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. He formed his first jazz band called The KT7 whilst still at school and they performed numbers popular at the time by The Temperance...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented... - Robin Miller - oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, cor anglaisCor anglaisThe cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family.... - Mark Charig - cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
- Nick EvansNick Evans (trombonist)Nicholas "Nick" Evans is a Welsh jazz and progressive rock trombonist.- Career :He worked in the Graham Collier Sextet , Keith Tippett Group , Soft Machine , Brotherhood of Breath , Centipede , Just Us , Ambush , Ninesense , Intercontinental Express , Ark Nicholas "Nick" Evans (born 1947 in...
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Jon AndersonJon AndersonJon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
- vocals on "Prince Rupert Awakes"
External links
- Lizard on Elephant Talk
- Lizard section of the Elephant Talk website, including lyrics
- Analysis of Lizard by Jon Green
- Extensive analysis of Lizard by Jon Green, creator of the Promenade the Puzzle: The Poetic Vision of Peter Sinfield website
- Analysis of Lizard by Andrew Keeling
- Analyses of "Cirkus" and "Lizard" part 4 ("Big Top"), by composer Andrew Keeling
- King Crimson
- Official website
- discogs.com
- Lizard @ discogs.com