Islands

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Customer reviews

review by: peterwsanders date: 2009-03-18 rating:
Vastly under-rated
Many people dislike this album, but it's a flawed masterpiece. Taken as a whole, it is musical, gutsy, melodic, surprising all at the same time, and even Pete Sinfield's words are bearable.

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review by: john7_0 date: 2009-01-30 rating:
their best album
sad that islands always gets a bit of a beating in most overviews of the bands output. yup its quiet in parts and the lyrics a bit frilly. what really works on islands though for me is the way its layered together and produced. there is a real restraint throughout. br / br /its a case of the 'spaces' in the music suggesting a totally understated groove, the only dip in the whole album is 'prelude: song of the gulls' , id have preferred an extended monster version of 'a sailors tale' personally - but thats a minor niggle. br / br /headphones really bring out this album and there are many exhilirating moments, the sax explosion at the start of 'the letters' is just one... its probably a solitary album although not dark. br / br /musicially, it always seems to be a 70's cousin of the equally powerful last two talk talk albums... br / br /just returned to this album this week, its in a very small collection of albums that still holds interest after almost 20 years (yikes) of discovering it.

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review by: date: 2008-06-13 rating:
Love it or leave it
I first heard this album when I was in high school during the end of the '70s, and found it pleasant and intriguing but seldom placed it on my turntable. Then I grew accustomed to it along the years, and about a decade later all along the '80s it became my ONLY KC album constantly played. Nowdays about 20 years later, I still play it on a regular basis and enjoy all the "nuances" it can develop, all the reviews stating it as a fantastic album or as an average quality for KC (which anyway means stellar for other bands) or even as a poor and weak album, tell a part of the story, they are all true simultaneously, depending on your mood and inner state of mind. So this is the only recomendation I can make, this is no easy listening stuff, it is an album which is made to survive time and fashions, in a way it is a classic. If you want music made to endure get it, otherwise leave it.

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review by: jnbp date: 2007-11-17 rating:
Chill out prog
Islands isn't exactly the people's favorite King Crimson album, with so many brilliant releases, it's inevitable that some get left behind. Another thing is that, after you've bought this you probably wont listen to this record too often. br /However, when you are in the mood, this is a brilliant album, very spacey and slow paced with great flute and sax that really floats along beautifully. br /On the heavier tracks, like 'Ladies of the Road,' there is a touch of the Schizoid Man/Pictures of a City style crimson fans have come to expect, however this album is mostly a kind of sprawling open minded cosmic jam. br /The difference between the loose sprawling nature of Islands and the loose sprawling jams they play at other times, is that on Islands, they are great and beautiful, not just a mess of noise. br /The two best racks are, in my opinion 'Sailors Tale,' (a brilliant building instrumental with a jazzy kick to it) and the title track 'Islands,' which is just plain wonderful. br /Islands is a great record, that you deffinatly should buy, even if you don't listen to it every day.


review by: Nuks date: 2007-06-07 rating:
Hmmmm...
Trouble with King Crimson is that most of their albums have at least one weak track, be it too long, too quiet in parts or just over-indulgent with nothing to get your teeth into. Don't get me wrong, I like King Crimson and put up with the odd poor track (even if it might be 10 mins or more in length) because there's normally a wealth of good stuff there as well. Unfortunately, most if not all of Islands is like the aforementioned weak track. It lacks any real oomph.

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