Year: 1970
Country: United Kingdom
Running time: 23 mins. 17 secs.
YouTube link
I guess I belong to a small minority. The third album by King Crimson has always been my favourite. Lizard was recorded by a short-lived incarnation of the group that never even had time to perform live, before Robert Fripp once again made significant personnel changes. This is the only album to feature Gordon Haskell as the singer, and maybe more importantly, the only album where the group's music was about 50 % jazz and only 50 % prog. Strange then, that I should like this album, having never been a fan of jazz.
Lizard also contains the longest non-improvised song ever recorded by King Crimson. The song in question is the 23-minute title track which is also the subject of this article. It fills the entire B side of the vinyl version. I have never understood why its title is Lizard. There is a distinct storyline that is told not only by lyrics but also, crucially by music itself (we'll get to that in a bit), and it has nothing to do with tiny, cute reptiles. Instead, it tells a medieval tale of a prince, and his last battle.
Before we get into the song and the story it tells, let's have a quick look at the cover art. Lizard has one of the most beautifully crafted album covers I have ever seen. Above, you can see the front cover, which spells "Crimson", with small drawings under and around each letter. The reason for it spelling only "Crimson" is that the back cover spells "King" in a similar fashion. Here's how the cover looks when opened; this applies to both the vinyl album and CD covers:
Under the letter M, you can see our hero Prince Rupert, on his brown horse, riding alongside Death whose horse is white. On the back cover, under the big K, you can see Prince Rupert's last battle getting started. The pictures under the other letters also refer to songs on the album. And now, on to Lizard.
The first movement, Prince Rupert Awakes, is a pretty song with a catching melody. It is sung by a guest star: Jon Anderson of Yes. The second movement, Bolero is an instrumental piece that is comprised of jazzy variations on a theme which are interesting but not really great. The greatness of the track is revealed following the conclusion of Bolero.
The third movement, The Battle of Glass Tears, describes Prince Rupert's last battle in three subsections. First, we get an astonishing, very ominous introduction by guest musician Robin Miller who plays cor anglais at a low volume. Next, Gordon Haskell gives his only vocal performance on this track, describing the preparations of the battle. And that's it for the lyrics. The story of the battle itself and its aftermath is told to the listener using musical instruments only, wherein lies the true genius of Lizard.
The second subsection is a rather noisy and extremely restless instrumental that describes a bloody battle in, once again, a jazz influenced instrumentation and playing style. This is followed by the last subsection where King Crimson's genius really shines. Backed by a slow percussion theme reminiscent of a funeral procession, Fripp makes his electric guitar wail, implying that Prince Rupert has been mortally wounded and is fighting a losing battle for his life. This is more or less confirmed by the title of this subsection, which is Prince Rupert's Lament.
That part alone was more than enough to leave the listener speechless, but there is still more to follow. This is the point where I have to stop trying to tell what happens. The final 65 seconds of Lizard are beyond my ability to describe. Suffice to say that King Crimson finds a way to picture not only a person's death, but also possibly an afterlife of some kind, without a word spoken or sung, simply by means of music. Every time I hear the finale of Lizard, I am in awe. So should everyone.
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti