ISLANDS

'Islands', after listening to it excessively over seven days, has become my new favorite King Crimson album. It's not like any other King Crimson studio output, with generally lighter and softer songs and moods as opposed to borderline gothic, heavy albums like 'In The Court of the Crimson King' and 'Starless and Bible Black'. Every track is powerful in its own way, but not how you'd expect. Where you think crescendos should be are absent, and that can piss off many King Crimson fans. But not me. 'Formentera Lady' opens with its instantly recognizable bowed double-bass. More instruments are added in to create a minimalist symphony. Then vocals arrive and the ball gets rolling. The chorus is one of my favorites from King Crimson ever. At this point in the song, flute, piano, and percussion are never given a second of rest left to play in any spaces without vocals. At the six minute mark, when vocals have left the stage, the band is left to freak out in the form of jazzy improvisation. This is the kind of stuff you get throughout the album (partly why I love it so much). The song ends making you want more, but the transition from this to 'Sailor's Tale' is good enough. Now, 'Sailor's Tale' is probably the closest 'Islands' ever got to "normal" King Crimson. Robert Fripp, Mel Collins and Ian Wallace all get to show off their amazing talents in this amazingly groovy instrumental. It has everything you need in a King Crimson song. 'The Letters', a story song about an unfaithful husband and his affair that ended with an unprecedented pregnancy. The letter that his mistress sent the wife is the basis for the conflict. The music, while slow, has subtle undertones of aggression. Boz's vocals display this beautifully. His singing is some of the best in this album apart from the title track. Definitely one of the strongest songs on the album. 'Ladies of the Road', with its abstract groove and suggestive lyrics, is probably the most fun song on this album. Great sax, great chorus, great everything. Insane. It sets you up for what's to come and is a refresher for what already happened. 'Prelude - Song of the Gulls' is an instrumental that does a damn good job of carrying you to the title track. Strings and woodwinds and brass and other instruments play perfectly in a mini symphony that will never be replicated. Four minutes of pure bliss. 'Islands', the title track, always gave me a kind of happiness when I listened to it that only 'Close to the Edge' replicated. Boz's opening vocals are moving and woeful, conjuring too many emotions to count. Flute and piano comfortably play behind him, never overplaying nor skipping a beat. The melody changes many times, each time carrying more and more weight until the music lifts you away. Once the vocals are gone the sax steps up and slowly blows you away. Backing instruments build until the end. But wait, there's more. After a minute of silence the band reappears, muttering and fumbling with their instruments. They play discordantly and the album ends with a voice: "One two two one two three". Maybe a weak ending, but it barely does any harm to the quality of this absolute masterpiece. One of those albums worth an eleven out of ten. Prog on.

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