King Crimson - Islands
I decided to plop on one of my favorite songs, open up the blog editor and begin writing.
This exquisite song has long been a favorite of mine. A flowing, slowly rocking song the invokes the relaxation of staring out to sea from an island.
Now the trumpet solo fades into the gentle piano figure accompanied by a few woodwinds and what sounds like a harmonium. There’s a clear purity in the mix here. You can feel the wind-sweep sand and burn of the sun.
Vacation invocation. Summer is here. The breeze fills the sails on the ships out at sea. Waves crash in the very sound waves this music makes.
Breathing slows. Here again comes the trumpet solo and the mellotron builds like a swirling eddy.
It’s impossible to relinquish the sea imagery.
There’s a dark tone now to the instrumentation as this like all good things must softly fade away. The mellotron note lingers.
I hope everyone can find a song at least once in their life that can stand repeated listening and reward each new experiencing. I hear something new every time I play “Islands” and I am glad that “Islands” was recorded in 1971. This song cannot be farther removed from the great King Crimson classic “21st Century Schizoid Man” where relentless drive rules. Here the tone is languid, lush, understated and distant. Really, it is a marvel.
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Sounds nice. This song is good for summer. Feel the real emotion, the imagination on the sea with its wave crashes. I like how the instrumentation was done. The lyrics give a deeper meaning to everyone and that’s cool for me.
John Perry
Ohio, US
Webmaster of (best mattress/a>)