LIZARD

Lizard ? 1970 (3/5) 11 ? Best Song: Cirkus And yes we have a change in pace. This band is noted for changing things around quite often. Say goodbye to the jazz-twinged symphonic prog and say hello to stiffly orchestrated classical prog. Is that such a bad thing? Well, it all depends exactly on what you prefer. The album opener still comes off as sounding oddly similar to 21st Century and Pictures, if only in tone and chord dimension. The rest is a grab bag of experimentation and awkward melodic (in?)sensibility. Either way, it's purposeful for the new arrangements. The focus has been taken less on singing and more on pointless jamming. I think it's because they lost Greg Lake. 'Cirkus' sounds wonderful for what it is, and 'Indoor Games' is a competent jam, sure enough, but something important has changed. They're not only pandering to the simple tastes of the burgeoning 'art rock' world, with odes to classicism and a sidelong epic (before either Supper's Ready or Tarkus or Thick as a Brick whatever), and that's exactly the kind of thing I tend to not prefer in my music. They're still the leaders, and the waves of reaction are easily seen, but when the 23 minute title track doesn't have a single truly memorable melody, you know you're in a rough spot. Even so, the flutes on most of the songs are at least quite touching, so once more I'm left wondering how exactly to rate the thing. Eh, I'd give it a 10, but there's no Moonchild for miles! So 11 it is, friends.