Lizard (Expanded Edition)

The only album to feature bassist Gordon Haskell and drummer Andy McCulloch, 1970’s Lizard is unique within King Crimson’s catalog. Led by Haskell’s mellow vocals, “Cirkus” builds slowly to a churning, doom-laden groove. The first passage of the title track is one of Robert Fripp’s most beautiful refrains, as his backwards guitar licks the edges of a disarmingly tuneful hook. Towards the end, the disjointed fanfares of “Bolero – the Peacock’s Tale” give way to “The Big Top,” a forlorn fantasia that offers epilogue to a circuslike reverie.