Islands

Rating

Album: Islands (30th Anniversary Edition)
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Formentera Lady	More Info...	0:10
2)	Sailor's Tale	More Info...	0:07
3)	The Letters	More Info...	0:04
4)	Ladies of the Road	More Info...	0:05
5)	Prelude: Song of the Gulls	More Info...	0:04
6)	Islands	More Info...	0:12

Performer Notes

King Crimson: Boz (vocals, bass); Robert Fripp (guitar, Mellotron, harmonium); Mel Collins (flute, saxophone); Ian Wallace (drums, percussion); Peter Sinfield.
Additional personnel: Robin Miller (oboe); Paulina Lucas (soprano saxophone); Mark Charig (cornet); Keith Tippett (piano); Harry Miller (bass).
King Crimson: Boz Burrell (vocals, bass guitar); Paulina Lucas (soprano); Peter Sinfield (spoken vocals); Robert Fripp (guitar, Mellotron); Mel Collins (flute, saxophone); Robin Miller (oboe); Marc Charig (cornet); Keith Tippett (piano); Harry Miller (bass instrument); Ian Wallace (drums).
On ISLANDS, Crimson left behind the formula they followed for their first three albums, setting off for more adventurous avenues of expression. If his leadership were ever in question before, Robert Fripp had emerged as the mastermind of the group by this point. There's a much looser feel here, and even when essaying a delicate ballad like "Formentera Lady" or the gorgeous title track, jazzy bass and piano lines and free-wheeling percussion keep things from getting too settled. The jazz influence always present in Crimson grew far more pronounced on ISLANDS via saxman Mel Collins and pianist Keith Tippett.
Where the KC of old turned to Wagnerian grandeur to fill its classical quota, here they favor a more modern classical flavor, often approaching a third stream feel. Fripp's two instrumentals "Sailor's Tale" and "Prelude: Song of the Gulls" showcase his compositional and instrumental brilliance at its most undiluted. While there's more of a sprawling, spacious feel and little fury on ISLANDS, the dynamic shifts are as drastic as ever, as evidenced by new bassist/vocalist Boz Burrell's barely audible singing on "The Letters."

Professional Reviews

Mojo (Publisher) (p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'Ladies Of The Road' is a spectacularly lubricious funky blues showcasing of Mel Collins' leering, sexual tenor sax..."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.83) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] opens with the 10-minute orchestral `Formentera Lady,' boasting flute and sax noodling..."

Uncut (magazine) (p.97) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The group never sounded so laidback and sun-baked as on 'Formentera Lady', decorated like the title track with glittering textures from a free jazz squad..."

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