Published on Oct 19, 1998
Is it a cardinal sin to suggest that a King Crimson record
doesn’t have
enough Robert Fripp on it?
Coming off the strengths of
In The Court Of The Crimson King and
In The Wake Of Poseidon, two albums that I found myself
enjoying immensely despite myself (it took me a
long time to truly appreciate King Crimson), their third
album
Lizard left me a little disappointed. The moments that Fripp
gets to shine on this one, he easily demonstrates why he could be
the best “unknown” guitarist out there. However, when he’s not in
the limelight, the work suffers.
I recognize that any time I listen to a King Crimson record, I
need to expect some level of weirdness. This is something that I
especially appreciated in songs on
In The Court Of The Crimson King. However, the weirdness
takes a poor turn in the area of lyrics on
Lizard. Sample line from “Cirkus”: “‘Worship!’ cried the
clown, ‘I am a T.V. / Making handsmen go clockwork, / See the
slinky seal Cirkus policeman; / Bareback ladies have fish.” Give me
a fuckin’ break, Peter Sinfield.
Musically,
Lizard falters only once in this vein, on “Bolero – The
Peacock’s Tale”. Portions of this track sound almost like a
Grateful Dead jam that has gone horribly off in the wrong
direction. If you’re looking for a lot of musical resolution in
this piece, you’re simply not going to find it.
However, my belief that King Crimson is inherently good pays off
after a while. Tracks like “Indoor Games” (another of the bizarre
lyric numbers) is a decent enough rocker, featuring some very nice
acoustic guitar work from Fripp. Likewise, “The Battle Of Glass
Tears” is a number that doesn’t seem to last nearly half as long as
the album jacket suggests (the track clocks in at just under 11
minutes). Once again, King Crimson proves the power of their
performance when all things click into place.
Where
Lizard eventually fails is in its lack of direction. I don’t
think that the band knew quite which direction they wanted to go at
this point in their career. (If memory serves me correctly, this
was the last studio album with this lineup.) Did they want to
continue to be a cutting-edge fusion rock band (“The Battle Of
Glass Tears”), or did they want to move to a smoother, softer edge
(“Lady Of The Dancing Water”)? The appearance of Yes vocalist Jon
Anderson doesn’t help matters much, though he turns in a decent
performance on “Prince Rupert Awakes”; it’s almost like his
appearance further confuses the band as to what direction they want
to move in. (As a side note, it almost sounds natural for Anderson
to be fronting King Crimson; one is left to wonder what would have
happened had Anderson been the permanent lead singer of the
group.)
In all the confusion, what is lost is Fripp’s presence on the
record; if his influence is on “Lady Of The Dancing Water”, I sure
can’t hear it. This ends up being a big loss; although Fripp’s
style does have to grow on you, his guitar playing is top notch,
and adds to the chemistry of any song. I could have easily dealt
with a guitar presence that was more up front in the mix.
Lizard is a step down for King Crimson, but not one that
would cause me to lose interest in the band. Although the diehard
fans will undoubtedly worship every note that rises from the
grooves of the vinyl, the rest of you should approach this one with
some caution.