Lizard (album)

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Lizard (album)

Lizard is the third album by the British

Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
band King Crimson

King Crimson

King Crimson are an English progressive rock band founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969.They have typically been categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, although they incorporate diverse influences ranging from jazz, European classical music and experimental music to psychedelic music, New Wave mu...
, released in 1970. It was the second recorded by a transitional line-up of the group that never had the opportunity to perform live

Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
, following In the Wake of Poseidon
In the Wake of Poseidon

In the Wake of Poseidon is the second album by the progressive rock group King Crimson. By the time this album was released, the band had already undergone their first change in lineup, however they still maintained much of the style of their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King....
. This would be the first (and only) album to feature bassist/vocalist Gordon Haskell

Gordon Haskell

Gordon Haskell was the bassist and vocalist in the transitional King Crimson line-up of 1970. He appeared on the album Lizard , but quit the band during rehearsals for live work....
and drummer Andy McCulloch

Andy McCulloch

Andrew McCulloch was a drummer with several different bands and artists in the 1970s before becoming a yachtmaster.He played, mainly in the progressive rock genre, including for Fields, Greenslade, Manfred Mann, Anthony Phillips, Crazy World of Arthur Brown and King Crimson....
as official members of the band.

Background and music
Haskell was previously a classmate of Fripp's at Queen Elizabeth's grammar school

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries....
in Wimborne near Bournemouth

Bournemouth

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Encyclopedia

Lizard is the third album by the British

Great Britain

King Crimson

Concert

Gordon Haskell

Andy McCulloch

Background and music

Haskell was previously a classmate of Fripp's at Queen Elizabeth's grammar school

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries....
in Wimborne near Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large town in the Bournemouth in Dorset, England. The town has a population of 163,444 according to the United Kingdom Census 2001, making it the largest settlement in Dorset....
, the pair having subsequently played together in local band the League of Gentlemen. After Haskell contributed vocals to the track "Cadence and Cascade" on In the Wake of Poseidon, Fripp asked him to become an official member of King Crimson for the recording of Lizard. Another supporting musician on In the Wake of Poseidon, saxophonist/flautist

Flautist

A flautist, flutist, or flute player is a musician who plays the flute....
Mel Collins

Mel Collins

Mel Collins is a United Kingdom saxophonist and flautist and prominent session musician.He has worked with an extensive number of musicians, including Alexis Korner, Clannad, Eric Clapton, Bad Company, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Roger Chapman, Marianne Faithfull, The Rolling Stones, Tears For Fears and many others, but his most important w...
was also asked to become a full-time member of this line-up, as was drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
Andy McCulloch

Andy McCulloch

Andrew McCulloch was a drummer with several different bands and artists in the 1970s before becoming a yachtmaster.He played, mainly in the progressive rock genre, including for Fields, Greenslade, Manfred Mann, Anthony Phillips, Crazy World of Arthur Brown and King Crimson....
. The group was then augmented with supporting players, including another In the Wake of Poseidon alumnus - the noted jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an musical ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers....
Keith Tippett

Keith Tippett

Keith Tippett is a United Kingdom jazz pianist and composer.Tippett went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. The son of a local police officer, he was the solo soprano singer in a school production of Tom Sawyer....
- together with Yes

Yes (band)

Yes are an England progressive rock band that formed in London in 1968 in music. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess....
vocalist Jon Anderson

Jon Anderson

Jon Anderson, born John Roy Anderson on 25 October 1944, is an England musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock musical band Yes ....
, and brass

Brass instrument

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" ....
/woodwind

Woodwind instrument

A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against an edge of, or opening in, the instrument, causing the air to vibrate within a resonator....
players

Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
Robin Miller

Robin Miller

Robin Miller can refer to the following:* Robin Miller , also known as the "Sugarbird Lady", was a female Australian aviator and nurse.* Robin Miller , an American motorsports journalist....
, Mark Charig, and Nick Evans

Nick Evans (trombonist)

Nicholas "Nick" Evans is a Welsh jazz and progressive rock trombonist....
.

Lizard is arguably King Crimson's most jazz-inflected album, developing further in the direction suggested by the track "Cat Food" on In the Wake of Poseidon (also released as a single

Cat Food/Groon

Cat Food/Groon is a single by the band King Crimson, released in 1970.*Track 1, "Cat Food", is from the album In the Wake of Poseidon . It is in the unusual 19/8 time signature....
). King Crimson lyricist

Lyricist

A lyricist is a writer who specializes in song lyrics, usually paid for by a band to write a custom song. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist....
Peter Sinfield

Peter Sinfield

Peter John Sinfield is an English writer and artist, most famously known as the lyricist for early incarnations of King Crimson. He contributed to In the Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands , which he also produced....
's contributions to Lizard include some of his most imaginative

Imagination

Imagination is the faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses, and the action or process of forming such images or concepts....
and evocative work.

The powerful opening track, "Cirkus", is perhaps the best-known track on the album, and begins with a hushed verse

Strophic form

In music, strophic form is a Section al and/or additive way of musical form a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly....
from Haskell before launching into a menacing theme

Theme (music)

In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. It may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found ....
played by Fripp on the mellotron

Mellotron

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphony keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin, which was the world's first sampling keyboard....
. The song

Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
's verses then alternate with this signature theme, and the track boasts some of Fripp's most dextrous acoustic guitar playing, not to mention a soaring saxophone solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context....
by Collins. With a memorable lyric

Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, either by speaking or singing. The word 'lyric' comes from the Greek word ,lyricos, meaning "singing to the lyre"....
by Sinfield rich in circus imagery

Imagery

Imagery is used in literature to refer to descriptive language that evokes sensory experience....
, the track builds up into a cacophonous climax

Conclusion (music)

In music, the conclusion is the ending of a musical composition and may take the form of a coda or outro.Pieces using sonata form typically use the recapitulation to conclude a piece, providing closure through the repetition of Theme material from the exposition in the tonic key....
.

The next two tracks, "Indoor Games" and "Happy Family", are offbeat and full of mischievous humour

Humour

Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. Many theories exist about what humour is and what social function it serves....
- the former with lyrics evoking various forms of hedonism

Hedonism

Hedonism is a school of philosophy which argues that pleasure has an intrinsic value and is the most important pursuit of humanity....
and borrowing heavily from the guitar breakdown of Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock music band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal music bands....
's Dazed And Confused, and the latter with lyrics about the dissolution of the Beatles

The Beatles

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney Member of the Order of the British Empire is a multiple Grammy Award-winning England singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record producer, film producer, Painting, and Animal rights....
), 'Rufus' (Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

Richard Starkey Order of the British Empire , better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an England musician, singer-songwriter and actor, best known as the drummer for The Beatles....
), 'Silas' (George Harrison

George Harrison

George Harrison Order of the British Empire was an English Rock music guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer. He achieved international fame as lead guitarist in The Beatles, and is listed number 21 in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "The 100 Best Guitarists of All Time"....
), and 'Jonah' (John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Ono Lennon, Order of the British Empire was an English Rock music musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles....
). Haskell's vocals are distorted

Distortion

A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted....
on both "Indoor Games" and "Happy Family", and the two tracks are separated by the sound of Haskell laughing

Laughter

Laughter is an audible expression , or appearance of merriment or happiness, or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure . It may ensue from jokes, tickling, and other stimuli....
uncontrollably, as he tries unsuccessfully to sing

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
the words 'hey ho'. His laughter, he later explained, was provoked by the fact that he thought these words ridiculous - which seems to be representative of his attitude towards Sinfield's lyrics in general.

"Lady of the Dancing Water" is a more tranquil piece, whose lyrics and instrumentation

Instrumentation (music)

In music, the word instrumentation is used to refer to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually....
have a medieval

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
feel, in the tradition of "Moonchild" on In the Court of the Crimson King and "Cadence and Cascade" on In the Wake of Poseidon. The track is most notable for Mel Collins' beautiful flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
playing.

The album concludes with the bombastic title track, "Lizard", the longest composed

Musical composition

Musical composition is:* an original piece of music* the musical form of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music...
(as distinct from improvised

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings....
) piece ever recorded by King Crimson. This piece is divided into several sections and even subsections, with a narrative

Narrative

A narrative or story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or Non-fiction events. It derives from the Latin language verb narrare, which means "to recount" and is related to the adjective gnarus, meaning "knowing" or "skilled"....
running through its entirety, about a prince

Prince

Prince, from the Latin root princeps, is a general term for a monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in some members of Europe's highest nobility....
who takes part in an epic battle

Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign, and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment....
. The track's grandiloquence verges on (self-) parody

Parody

A parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation....
.

Lizards opening section, "Prince Rupert Awakes", features Jon Anderson in his only ever contribution to a King Crimson recording. This section of the track alternates between sincere and ethereal verses, and an amusingly folksy
Folk music

Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including:* Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous with the term "Traditional music", also often including World Music and Roots music; the term "Traditional music" was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the other definition...
chorus
Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in Poetry; the "chorus" of a song. Poetry fixed forms that feature refrains include the villanelle, the virelay, and the sestina....
accompanied by handclaps
Clapping

A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance....
. The two styles are then combined in a rousing, worldless chorale
Chorale

A chorale was originally a hymn of the Lutheran church sung by the entire congregation. In casual modern usage, the term also includes classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
, that segue
Segue

A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next....
s into the track's next section, "Bolero".

"Bolero" provides a showcase for the talents of supporting musicians Tippett, Miller, Charig, and Evans. Playing over McCulloch's bolero
Bolero

Bolero is a name given to certain slow, romantic latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish people and Cuban forms, which are both significant, and which have separate origins....
-like drum
Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion instrument group, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound....
part, they are given the space to develop progressively more jazzy solos around a central theme. When this section of "Lizard" was excerpted from the whole, for inclusion on the compilation Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson

Frame By Frame: The Essential King Crimson is a compilation by the band King Crimson, released in 1991....
, Gordon Haskell's bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
was replaced with a part recorded by the later King Crimson bassist Tony Levin
Tony Levin

Tony Levin is an American bass guitarist.Levin is best-known for his work with progressive rock pioneers King Crimson and Peter Gabriel. Has also been a member of Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Liquid Tension Experiment and leads his own Tony Levin Band....
.

As "Bolero" comes to a halt, it is followed by "Dawn Song", the first of three subsections that comprise "The Battle of Glass Tears". "Dawn Song" opens with an ominous theme led by Robin Miller on cor anglais
Cor anglais

The cor anglais, or English horn, is a Double reed woodwind Musical instrument in the oboe family.The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe , and is consequently approximately one-third longer....
, which is then joined by a subdued vocal sung by Haskell. The next subsection of "The Battle of Glass Tears", "Last Skirmish", is arguably the instrumental high point of the Lizard album. A lengthy section intended to simulate an epic and increasingly fraught battle, it culminates in ever more forceful repetitions of an ominous theme similar to the main theme of "Cirkus", all reliably underpinned by McCulloch's syncopated
Syncopation

In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak beat in a meter ....
drumming. If "Last Skirmish" represents a battle, then "Prince Rupert's Lament" evokes the bloody
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
aftermath, a funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
rhythm section
Rhythm section

A rhythm section is the musicians in a popular music musical band or musical ensemble who establish the rhythmic pulse of a song or musical piece, and who lay down the chordal structure....
providing the backdrop to Fripp's plaintive guitar part.

"Prince Rupert's Lament" having concluded "The Battle of Glass Tears", "Big Top" then concludes both the "Lizard" suite and the Lizard album as a whole. This section consists of distorted fairground
Amusement park

Amusement park is the generic term for a collection of Amusement ride and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group of people....
music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, echoing the album's carnivalesque
Carnival

Carnival is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during January and February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus , masque and public street party....
opening track "Cirkus", faded
Fade

Fade may refer to:*Fade , an obscure song by the band Blue Angel*Fade , a song from Break the Cycle by alt-rock band Staind*Fade , a cinematographic technique used in film...
in and out while it is simultaneously sped up.

By all accounts, Haskell and McCulloch had an unhappy experience recording Lizard, Haskell especially - a devotee of soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
and Motown music - finding it difficult to connect with the material. Following the album's completion, Haskell left King Crimson during rehearsals for a prospective tour. During the next 19 years, he sought legal
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
redress, because he believed that he had been cheated out of royalties owed to him for the album. Shortly after Haskell left the group, McCulloch did likewise. The press release drafted by Sinfield to promote Lizard wryly quoted Max Ehrmann
Max Ehrmann

Max Ehrmann was an attorney from Indiana, and was best known for writing the Prose poetry "Desiderata" in 1927.Ehrmann, who was of German descent, received a degree in English from DePauw University, followed by a degree in Philosophy from Harvard University....
's poem "Desiderata
Desiderata

"Desiderata" is an inspirational prose poem about attaining happiness in life. It was first copyrighted in 1927 by Max Ehrmann.The poem begins: Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence....
", which contains advice on how to chart a true course
Course (navigation)

In navigation, a course is the intended path of a vehicle over the surface of the Earth. For air travel, it is the intended flight path of an airplane or the direction of a line drawn on a chart representing the intended airplane path, expressed as the angle measured from a specific reference datum clockwise from 0? through 360? to the line....
through confusion.

Collins, on the other hand, remained in King Crimson with Fripp for the recording of the group's next album, Islands
Islands (King Crimson album)

Islands is the fourth album by the British band King Crimson, released in 1971.The last King Crimson studio album before the group's trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red , it is also the last to feature the lyrics of Peter Sinfield and the last to feature the band's 'traditional' progressive s...
. Haskell was replaced with Boz Burrell
Boz Burrell

Boz Burrell was a Bass guitar guitarist and singer known for his involvement in bands such as King Crimson and Bad Company.Whilst singer in The Boz People in the mid-1960s, Boz was selected to replace Roger Daltrey in The Who when the remaining members of that band were on the verge of firing Daltrey, which ultimately did not happen....
on bass guitar and vocals, while McCulloch was replaced with his sometime housemate Ian Wallace. The Islands line-up of the group would finally give the Lizard material a live airing, with "Cirkus" and "Lady of the Dancing Water" becoming part of King Crimson's touring repertoire. More recently, "Cirkus" has become part of the touring repertoire of the 21st Century Schizoid Band
21st Century Schizoid Band

21st Century Schizoid Band are a King Crimson alumnus group formed in 2002.The name derives from the famous song "21st Century Schizoid Man" from the first King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King....
, whose members include Mel Collins.

Album cover

Lizards outside cover art is by Gini Barris, who was commissioned to produce it by Peter Sinfield

Peter Sinfield

Peter John Sinfield is an English writer and artist, most famously known as the lyricist for early incarnations of King Crimson. He contributed to In the Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands , which he also produced....
.

The album's outside cover consists of the words 'King Crimson' spelled out in ornate medieval

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
lettering, the word 'King' on the back cover and the word 'Crimson' on the front cover, with each letter

Grapheme

In typography, a grapheme is the fundamental unit in writing systems. Graphemes include letter , Chinese characters, numerals, punctuation marks, and all the individual symbols of any of the world's writing systems....
incorporating one or two discrete image

Image

An image is an artifact, usually two-dimensional , that has a similar appearance to some subject —usually a physical object or a person....
s. These images in turn represent Sinfield's lyrics from the album - the images in the word 'Crimson' representing the lyrics of the various sections and subsections of track 5, "Lizard"; while the images in the word 'King' represent the lyrics of tracks 1-4.

Whereas the images representing "Lizard" are medieval in content - depicting Prince Rupert, his environs (including a peacock

Peafowl

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family , Phasianidae. The African Congo Peafowl is placed in its own genus Afropavo and is not dealt with here....
), and the Battle of Glass Tears - the images representing the other four tracks juxtapose

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition may refer to:* Juxtaposition , synonymous with contrast* Random juxtaposition, two random objects moving in parallel, a technique intended to stimulate creativity...
medieval and contemporary scenes. The image around the letter 'i' in 'Crimson', for example, depicts the Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
, corresponding with their pseudonymous appearance in the lyrics to "Happy Family". In The "n" in the front cover you can see Rupert the Bear driving a yellow airplane.

The inside cover of Lizard consists of a marbled

Paper marbling

Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to marble or other stone, hence the name. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as sizing, and then carefully transferred to a sheet of paper ....
pattern

Pattern

A pattern, from the French language patron, is a type of theme of recurring events of or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set....
, credited to Koraz Wallpapers.

Track listing

All songs written by Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp is a guitarist, composer and a record producer, perhaps best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, the progressive rock band King Crimson....
and Peter Sinfield

Peter Sinfield

Side one

"Cirkus" – 6:27
Including:
- "Entry of the Chameleons"
"Indoor Games" – 5:37
"Happy Family" – 4:22
"Lady of the Dancing Water" – 2:47

Side two

"Lizard" – 23:15

"Prince Rupert Awakes"
"Bolero: The Peacock's Tale"
"The Battle of Glass Tears"

"Dawn Song"
"Last Skirmish"
"Prince Rupert's Lament"

"Big Top"

Personnel

King Crimson

Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp is a guitarist, composer and a record producer, perhaps best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, the progressive rock band King Crimson....
- guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
, mellotron
Mellotron

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphony keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin, which was the world's first sampling keyboard....
, electric keyboards
Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organ s as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic musical instrument....
and devices
Gordon Haskell
Gordon Haskell

Gordon Haskell was the bassist and vocalist in the transitional King Crimson line-up of 1970. He appeared on the album Lizard , but quit the band during rehearsals for live work....
- bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, vocals
Mel Collins
Mel Collins

Mel Collins is a United Kingdom saxophonist and flautist and prominent session musician.He has worked with an extensive number of musicians, including Alexis Korner, Clannad, Eric Clapton, Bad Company, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Roger Chapman, Marianne Faithfull, The Rolling Stones, Tears For Fears and many others, but his most important w...
- saxophone
Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-Bore transposing instrument musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a Single-reed instrument mouthpiece similar to the clarinet....
, flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
Andy McCulloch
Andy McCulloch

Andrew McCulloch was a drummer with several different bands and artists in the 1970s before becoming a yachtmaster.He played, mainly in the progressive rock genre, including for Fields, Greenslade, Manfred Mann, Anthony Phillips, Crazy World of Arthur Brown and King Crimson....
- drum
Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion instrument group, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound....
s
Peter Sinfield
Peter Sinfield

Peter John Sinfield is an English writer and artist, most famously known as the lyricist for early incarnations of King Crimson. He contributed to In the Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands , which he also produced....
- words
Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, either by speaking or singing. The word 'lyric' comes from the Greek word ,lyricos, meaning "singing to the lyre"....
, VCS3, pictures

Additional musicians

Keith Tippett
Keith Tippett

Keith Tippett is a United Kingdom jazz pianist and composer.Tippett went to Greenway Boys Secondary Modern school in Southmead, Bristol. The son of a local police officer, he was the solo soprano singer in a school production of Tom Sawyer....
- piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
, electric piano
Electric piano

An electric piano is an electric musical instrument. The popularity of the electric piano began to grow in the late 1960s, reaching its greatest height during the 1970s....
Robin Miller - oboe
Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy"....
, cor anglais
Cor anglais

The cor anglais, or English horn, is a Double reed woodwind Musical instrument in the oboe family.The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe , and is consequently approximately one-third longer....
Mark Charig - cornet
Cornet

Not to be confused with coronetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical Bore , compact shape, and mellower tone quality....
Nick Evans
Nick Evans (trombonist)

Nicholas "Nick" Evans is a Welsh jazz and progressive rock trombonist....
- trombone
Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass instrument family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone: sound is produced when the player?s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate....
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson

Jon Anderson, born John Roy Anderson on 25 October 1944, is an England musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock musical band Yes ....
- vocals (track 5, part 1 - "Prince Rupert Awakes")

Other personnel

Robin Thompson - engineer
Geoff Workman - tapes

External links

Lizard section of the website, including lyrics
Extensive analysis of Lizard by Jon Green, creator of the website
Analyses of "Cirkus" and "Lizard" part 4 ("Big Top"), by composer
Official website