Islands - KING CRIMSON***

Formentera Lady/Sailor's Tale/The Letters/Ladies Of The Road/Prelude: Song Of The Gulls/Islands

Following extensive personnel changes King Crimson released the rather uneven Islands. Opinions ranged between interesting and dull for this attempt to mix classical music with their brand of prog. (US:76 UK:30)

“It starts jazzy and incredibly interesting, the first track floating you through the ether and the second blasting you through space. The next three, though good enough, are a little underwhelming. The album closes with the Islands, which is very mellow.”

“Islands is just really very dull. The band had always been up for experimentation, changing genre from album to album, sometimes within the same song. Here, they attempt to master classical music mixed in with their own brand of prog. What results is not an interesting blend of old and new, but an album that's totally pointless.”

“Like most other Crimson albums, this one's biggest drawback is the singing. However, I was also surprised by how lame and unfocused the improvising was as well. The second side is better, or at least closer to what I want to hear from a KC record.”

“King Crimson deliver with Islands an album that is not disappointing, quite enjoyable, but nothing that really impresses. It is an adventurous, emotional and quite experimental album; however it was greatly shadowed by all the great earlier releases.”

“So while the songs are a bit too long, Islands isn't half as bad as its reputation. If you're a King Crimson fan who doesn't have a big problem with noodling improvisations and general mellowness it's probably worth getting. Although very confused and uneven, most of it is quite good.”

“Islands is largely quiet and brooding, with dark, low tones played on reed, brass, and string instruments, woodwinds, along with moody mellotron here and there.”

“This album certainly contains the best elements of King Crimson's music -the heavy the lyrical, the classical, the jazzy and the pop/humorous. But most important, behind the real beauty of the music, comes a message of despair and agony: the cry of the contemporary man who tries to escape the crashing loneliness of his age.”