ISLANDS

I'm not personally very fond of this album, which I consider as a symptom of rebirth pains deeper within Robert's musical journeys. Usually King Crimson has had exceptional bass players, but here the weak singer Boz has been taught to play that instrument by Fripp only few weeks before the recordings and tours of this album. Also many of the compositions are quite weak, "Sailor's Tale" and "The Letters" being the best of them in my opinion. On the time of this album I think Robert was searching new possibilities of implementing classical music textures to the heavy symphonic sound, now floating towards lighter baroque straits. For example the prelude for the closing title number is a conservative small neo-classical suite, and Keith Tippet's ethereal piano illuminates some romantic classicism to the opening of "Formentera Lady". I understood there were already strong tensions between the lyricist Peter Sinfield and Robert when this LP was done, and the band soon fell apart. The Phoenix which rose from that ash was luckily worth of all this chaos, Peter creating a wonderful solo album with the help from Crimsoid musicians, and Robert gathered new more powerful persons for his upcoming wonderful steps on art rock straits.