ISLANDS

This is my least favourite KC album of the 70s era. Some may say it continues a decline moving from ITWOP and Lizard. Bob Fripp may call Lizard a failure, but I thought it was wonderful stuff - eccentric, unique, witty and superbly performed. If Andy McCulloch had managed to control his urge to almost constantly patter away on his snare under the vocals it would have soundless less busy, which was its biggest problem.

But Islands ... it's a mix. The album starts well with Formentera Lady, the rich bowed bass leading to a gorgeous flowing passage with flute accompaniment. Then Boz's vocals come in. Dull dull dull! The chorus is bland and dull too. Then we move into the long part that many call experimental, and for once the tag almost fits. This isn't blowing-into-a-sax-full-of-water-accompanied-by-feedback kind of experimental but it does feature minimalistic jazz over a simple repetitive bassline (perhaps the first line taught to Boz by Bob Fripp) and is the only song I've ever heard that features a soprano solo (Paulina Lucas), actually a dual solo with Mel Collins's sax. Some think it's boring part but I think it's spookily atmospheric.

The improvisation flows organically in The Sailor's Tale. It's a neat 6/8 pseudo-fusion piece that holds a lot of tension until Mel rips into a scorching soprano sax solo. Nice. Just as it's getting a bit dull because the rhythm section can't muster any creativity in the masses of space within which they could do just about anything, we move to the song's highlight, Bob Fripp's chord solo, playing it like a banjo - splintery, lightning quick and a real buzz. Then back to the theme with a moody mellotron that would have been brilliant with a Lake-Giles or Anyone-Bruford rhythm section but Ian Wallace, solid technician that he is, sadly couldn't think of any colours to add and we can hardly expect Boz, who was just a gifted beginner to do much other than hold the bassline.

Then The Letters. Lyrically it's ridiculously melodramatic - the lover of a man writes to his wife to say that she's bonking her old man (nasy stuff, eh?). The wife is understandably upset and, finally, gets in such a state that she does herself in. Decades later George Lucas had Annikin Skywalker's wife die of a broken heart after her lesser half turned to the Dark Side (or due to Hayden Christensen's wooden acting performance?). The Letters is kinda like that - very 19th century - before women discovered that they could be something a little more impressive than just Adam's rib.

Anyway, the vocal bits are dull but then the wild instrumental section - an expressionist representation of the wife's emotional turmoil - is excellent, if you like hearing KC go crazy. The chaos is kept to a decent length before the music goes quiet and sombre again and Boz just about knocks us out of our seats with fabulously-roared Impaled on nails of ice!. Then the song just ... dies a quick death, like its lyrical protagonist.

Pete Sinfield's inability to understand the fairer sex again shows itself with the outrageously sexist Ladies of the Road. Dopey lyrics aside, the song is excellent, like the idiot bastard son of Cat Food and Easy Money. Mel's drunken sax and Bob's satirical facsimile of rock star guitarists who can barely play are a crack-up. Even the comparatively staid Ian Wallace comes up with an enjoyable offbeat funky offbeat pattern. Boz sings variously with evil charm and bluesy grunt - easily his best vocal performance. The Beatlesque harmonies of the chorus are well-documented.

Then we have Song of the Gulls. It's pure classical, and not an especially good example of the genre - unoriginal and uninspired.

The long title track that closes the album is very dull. I don't mind meditativeness but this stuff is simply bland, forging its peaceful path from Burt Bacharach to Kenny G, sans the former's melodic flair. With these last two tracks it's as though Bob Fripp became so avant garde that he turned the full circle to ultra-conservatism. I guess having a wildly unconventional symphonic jazz-rock band playing the blandest classical and MOR possible is adventurous in a way.

How to rate this mixed bag? With a more suitable rhythm section and a production with more clarity, less inaudible parts and a brighter drum sound some of these tracks could have been pretty special. Unless you only really like Heavy Kcrimson, the album has enough good moments for fans.

I'd give it a three but since it isn't as good as TOPP but has a higher rating on ProgArchives, I'll give it a two to help restore the balance.