Album · 55 years old this year
Islands
Islands is King Crimson's fourth studio album, released on 3 December 1971 by Island Records in the UK. Atlantic followed in January 1972 for the US and Canada. It stands alone in the catalogue as the only studio record by the line-up of Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield, Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace. Of those five, only Fripp was still in the band for Larks' Tongues in Aspic in 1973.
As on the record before it, jazz improvisation runs through the music, sitting alongside the band's progressive and art rock leanings. It reached number 30 in the UK Albums Chart, and reactions from critics and fans were mixed. That makes it a fascinating listen today: a one-off chapter between the early Crimson albums and the reinvention that came next, and a chance to hear a short-lived band on its own terms.
Islands: tracklist, credits and charts
6 tracks · 44:07Tracklist
- 1Formentera LadyRobert Fripp and Peter Sinfield10:16
- 2Sailor’s TaleRobert Fripp7:34
- 3The LettersRobert Fripp and Peter Sinfield4:32
- 4Ladies of the RoadRobert Fripp and Peter Sinfield5:35
- 5Prelude: Song of the GullsRobert Fripp4:15
- 6IslandsRobert Fripp and Peter Sinfield11:54
- Produced by
- King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Steven Wilson
- Recorded at
- Command Studios (London), Island (London)
- Recorded
- 22 July – 3 October 1971
- Mixed by
- Robert Fripp, Steven Wilson
- Engineered by
- Andy Hendriksen
- Labels
- Island, Atlantic
- Length
- 44:07
Line-up
- Boz Burrell · bass guitar, lead vocals
- Marc Charig · cornet
- Mel Collins · flute, saxophone, background vocals, vocals, bass flute
- Robert Fripp · mellotron, guitar, harmonium
- Wilfred Gibson · violin
- Harry Miller · double bass
- Keith Tippett · piano
- Ian Wallace · percussion, membranophone, background vocals, drums (drum set), vocals
- Paulina Lucas · soprano vocals · guest
- [unknown] · strings
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1971–72 | 30 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1971–72 | 76 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1971–72 | 21 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1971–72 | 21 |
| German Albums · 1971–72 | 35 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1971–72 | 49 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1971–72 | 52 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1971–72 | 61 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
66.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.9k
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104k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.1k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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1969
In the Wake of Poseidon
1970
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1970
Earthbound
1972
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic
1973
Starless and Bible Black
1974
Red
1974
A Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson
1975
USA
1975
Discipline
1981
Beat
1982
Three of a Perfect Pair
1984
The Compact King Crimson
1986
The Abbreviated King Crimson: Heartbeat
1991
Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson
1991
King Crimson The Great Deceiver 1992
The Great Deceiver
1992
Sleepless: The Concise King Crimson
1993
VROOOM
1994
THRAK
1995
B’BOOM: Official Bootleg – Live in Argentina
1995
THRaKaTTaK
1996
Epitaph, Volumes One & Two
1997
The Nightwatch: Live at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw November 23rd 1973
1997
Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal 1984
1998
Live at the Marquee 1969
1998
Live at Jacksonville 1972
1998
The Beat Club, Bremen 1972
1999
Live at Cap d’Agde 1982
1999
Cirkus: The Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson Live
1999
On Broadway 1995
1999
The Deception of the Thrush: A Beginners’ Guide to ProjeKcts
1999
The ProjeKcts
1999
A Beginner’s Guide to the King Crimson Collectors’ Club
2000
Live at Plymouth Guildhall May 11, 1971
2000
Live in Hyde Park July 5, 1969
2000
Live at Summit Studios, Denver March 12, 1972
2000
Live in Central Park, NYC 1974
2000
The ConstruKction of Light
2000
Live at Moles Club, Bath – April 30, 1981
2000
Heavy ConstruKction
2000
Live in Mainz: March 30, 1974
2001
Live in Berkeley, CA – August 13, 1982
2001
Live in Detroit, MI, December 13, 1971
2001
Level Five
2001
VROOOM VROOOM
2001
Live in Nashville, TN: November 9 & 10, 2001
2002
Live at the Zoom Club
2002
Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With
2002
Ladies of the Road
2002
February 27, 1972: Kemp Coliseum, Orlando, FL
2003
Live in Guildford, November 13, 1972
2003
The Power to Believe
2003
EleKtriK
2003
Live at Fillmore East, 1969
2004
Live in Philadelphia, PA: July 30, 1982
2004
The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Volume 1: 1969–1974
2004
The Collectable King Crimson, Volume 4 – Live in Warsaw 2000
2005
Live in Heidelberg – March 29, 1974
2005
The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Volume 2: 1981–2003
2005
The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson: 1969–2003
2006
The Elements: 2014 Tour Box
2014
Live at the Orpheum
2015
Live in Toronto
2016
Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind
2016
Live in Chicago
2017
Live in Vienna
2018
Uncertain Times
2018
Meltdown: Live in Mexico
2018
Heaven & Earth
2019
KC50, Vol. 33 – Form #1
2019
KC50, Vol. 48 – I Talk to the Wind
2019
Cat Food: 50th Anniversary Edition – EP
2020
The Complete 1969 Recordings
2020
Music Is Our Friend: Live in Washington and Albany, 2021
2021
The best of 1971
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[Led Zeppelin IV]
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Who’s Next
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 3 December 1971 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 3 December 1971 | |
| Wikidata | December 1971 | |
| UK / Europe release | 3 December 1971 | earliest UK or European date |
21 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Virgin | 077778677420 | other |
| — | DE | Polydor | other | |
| 3 December 1971 | GB | Island | original | |
| 1972 | US | Atlantic | other | |
| 1979 | IT | Polydor | other | |
| 1987 | GB | E’G | 5012985300520 | other |
| 1987 | US | E’G | other | |
| 21 June 1988 | JP | Virgin Japan | 4988037002524 | other |
| 1989 | GB | Virgin | 077778677420 | other |
| 1989 | US | E’G | 017046150521 | other |
| 2000 | GB | Virgin | 724384406929 | deluxe |
| 2000 | US | Caroline Records | 017046150521 | deluxe |
| 1 March 2000 | JP | Discipline Global Mobile | 4988013047105 | deluxe |
| May 2000 | GB | Virgin | 724384894924 | deluxe |
| 2004 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367050427 | deluxe |
| 2004 | US | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367050427 | other |
| 4 October 2010 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367400420 | deluxe |
| 3 November 2010 | JP | WHD Entertainment, Inc. | 4582213914283 | other |
| 2014 | GB | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367910417 | other |
| 14 April 2015 | XW | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367880727 | other |
| 25 September 2026 | XW | Discipline Global Mobile | 633367894526 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 600×596 | upscaled |