Was Pete Sinfield essential for King Crimson?

Jacob Schoolcraft wrote: Pete Sinfield as a lyricist was essential to King Crimson. If you observe how sporadic instruments are in certain songs and how the phrasing of his lyrics are fitting to that its amazing. It's amazing to me how it all came together. Who else was doing this sort of style? Keith Reid with Procol Harum...Graham Edge in the Moody Blues..however Sinfield could be pure fantasy and its a huge difference in style. ISLANDS....the lyrics were poetic and clearly could have been detached from the song and released as a poem ...possibly altered slightly..not too much. INDOOR GAMES...Bizarre...disturbing? Demented? It certainly is if you follow the lyrics. Gordon Haskell's laughter at the end was accidental after he started comprehending the words and struggling to sing them and on Cirkus after singing "Bid me join the parade " he yells in frustration. All of this occurred within him because he felt like he wasn't doing a good job where ironically the laughter and the scream were perfect for the songs. ...so they left it in 😃 Greg Lake was a complete natural. He had a glorious voice and he brought Sinfield's work to life. "EPITAPH ", ITCOTCK etc... Boz Burrell had the perfect voice for "Formentara Lady" and "Islands". Pete Sinfield was a outstanding lyricist..and of course odd at times...whimsical...bewitching. IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING is bewitching. Court, Poseidon, Lizard and Islands would never have carried that unique originality without the lyricism of Pete Sinfield. As a lyricist he made all 4 albums magical. There is in fact something magical about the first 4 albums. ..and they can be dark. They are sophisticated albums. Sinfield's work has a distinctive characteristic to it.

Great post! In addition, I'd like to mention here that Pete Sinfield, besides penning lyrics for other well-known artists, also released his solo album "Still" in 1973. 

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Moyan wrote: Grumpyprogfan wrote: For me, lyrics are the least important part of an album, that is, unless they are so corny, schmaltzy, or predictable that they ruin it. Pete was involved in four KC albums - don't feel his input was essential. Pete Sinfield was the one who first introduced King Crimson to surreal concepts. The band successfully dealt with fantastical, emotional, and occasionally storyline elements as a result of Sinflied's thoughts. No Sinfield, no early King Crimson's uncanny masterpiece(s). And that was the first stage of the rocket that launched them into orbit. Never heard of him. But your assumption is invalid. Nobody knows how KC would have developed without him, it's completely possible that they would have found their way towards "surreal concepts" anyway.

Pete Sinfield was unquestionably the architect behind the imaginary and magical early King Crimson concept. The others got it and executed it well, but without him and his fantastical ideas, King Crimson as such would not have existed. King Crimson, which became a platform for Fripp's primarily instrumental music-based experiments after Sinfield left, never achieved anything nearly as surreal as the first four albums. So I think Sinflield's beautiful solo album is unfairly underrated.

Sean Trane wrote: Moyan wrote: [Pete Sinfield was unquestionably the architect behind the imaginary and magical early King Crimson concept. The others got it and executed it well, but without him and his fantastical ideas, King Crimson as such would not have existed. King Crimson, which became a platform for Fripp's primarily instrumental music-based experiments after Sinfield left, never achieved anything nearly as surreal as the first four albums. So I think Sinflield's beautiful solo album is unfairly underrated. Svettie,

You appear to confuse me with someone else.

Valdez1 wrote: Is Sinfield still with us BTW?  ...Peter?

I'm a lyrics girl.  One of my top ten, all-time lyrics songs is Sinfield/Lake/ELP's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" off of Works Vol. I. 

Edited by omphaloskepsis - March 01 2024 at 15:20

Closer To Believing is my favourite GL song off that side of Works Volume One. I love the romantic imagery and use of choir. C'est La Vie was one the one that got trotted out most possibly so Emerson could play the Honher Accordian but ELP did play CTB on the massive Works tour when they still had the orchestra (eventually dropped for financial reasons). 

Ensemble album pure and simple. Take out any of them and it falls apart.

He was definitely an amazing poet and had some really memorable lyrics. I dont remember all the songs he wrote at the top of my head but the work he put into KC and ELP combined is just sublime. Probably something like a 5th Beatle type situation and he should be remember for it

GUD77 wrote: He was definitely an amazing poet and had some really memorable lyrics. I dont remember all the songs he wrote at the top of my head but the work he put into KC and ELP combined is just sublime. Probably something like a 5th Beatle type situation and he should be remember for it

Pete Sinfield supposedly misplaced the original recording of King Crimson's performance at the Fillmore East..which was a recording that had been recorded direct and had fine clarity..(surprisingly) but supposedly Sinfield somehow misplaced it at an airport in Morroco. If memory serves me right this incident was briefly discussed by Bob Fripp in the Young Person's Guide To King Crimson booklet which included with the album and I believe released in 76'.

In the 90s Michael Giles discovered a cassette tape of the Fillmore East performance. It turned out to be an audience tape and a good portion of the performance had been cut out...but it was interesting to hear. It was released in the late 90s along with a recording of the band's performance at the Fillmore West ( which imo was not up to par) and BBC tapes . The box set was titled Epitaph.

Robert Fripp had stated that the Fillmore East performance which was recorded...was the best performance of the 69' band. I seem to recall Fripp stating this in a few magazines and further giving clarification that Sinfield lost it. I'm sure a lot of fans would have enjoyed hearing the lost tape. Most or all live recordings of the 69' band are of horrible quality. If the Fillmore East tape had not been misplaced...historically we'd have good recording of a superb performance that I'm sure Steve Wilson could clean up.

Sinfield worked with McDonald and Giles on their album and had they stayed with King Crimson Birdman Suite could have been featured on the second King Crimson album. Although I like In The Wake Of Poseidon the way it is...other people dislike its similarities to In The Court Of The Crimson King. If McDonald and Giles had stayed they definitely would have added a different style to the band's writing. King Crimson's second album would have sounded different and perhaps more appealing to people who find Poseidon boring because it's a repeat of the Court.



Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - March 09 2024 at 22:11