DGM & Panegyric are proud to present the sixth in a series of King Crimson high quality vinyl reissues with the Sept. release of “Islands”. The album’s return to the 12” vinyl format is newly cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp. Manufactured on 200 gram super-heavyweight vinyl & housed in a reprint of the original sleeve, with lyrics insert. This edition also contains bonus MP3 codes giving access to a download of a transfer of an original 1971 pressing – in this case taken from Robert Fripp’s personal file copy of the album.

Demand for King Crimson vinyl is stronger than at any time since the mid-1970s.

With King Crimson reformed with a new line-up – including Mel Collins from the original Islands band – & about to tour for the first time in many years, interest in all King Crimson material is at a high point.

Robert Fripp:¬ guitar & mellotron Mel Collins: saxes & flute Boz Burrell: bass & vocals
Ian Wallace: drums Peter Sinfield: words, sounds & visions with Keith Tippett: Piano
Paulina Lucas – soprano Robin Miller: oboe Mark Charig: cornet Harry Miller: string bass

Islands was King Crimson’s fourth studio album. First released in 1971, it was recorded at London’s Command Studios in between numerous live gigs by the then newly-formed incarnation of the group.

Augmented by string and woodwind players, as well as a female vocalist (the only occasion in the band’s 45 year history), Islands builds upon material that possesses the familiar Crimson DNA as well as a new, distinctive identity all its own.

Though pastoral in mood across much the album, “Ladies Of The Road presents an atypical blues-orientated track, while The Sailor’s Tale contains one of Robert Fripp’s most celebrated guitar solos. Shredding the rulebook, as it goes, it sounds utterly unlike anything previously heard on a Crimson album. Fripp himself observes “The solo was, and is, from some other world”

Ultimately the guitar solo and its clattering coda is the leap from the symphonic and jazz stylings of the earlier albums into a spikier metallic soundworld that wouldn’t be fully realised until the next studio album, Larks’ Tongues In Aspic.

After the release of Islands Robert Fripp would be the sole surviving founder member of King Crimson. Lyricist Peter Sinfield went on to work with ELP. Ian Wallace would spend several years working with Bob Dylan and Don Henley, while Boz Burrell would go on to help form Bad Company.

Mel Collins continued & continues to be an in demand recording & live player having worked with innumerable artists including The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. In 2014 he was reunited with Robert Fripp as a member of the new seven-piece line-up.