After watching record labels repeatedly reissue a band’s back-catalog citing allegedly increased sonic fidelity with each reissue (Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin) or appending a limited set of what looks to be haphazardly selected bonus tracks (Blondie, The Replacements), I now approach reissues with a healthy degree of skepticism. In this case, my skepticism was unfounded with the 40th Anniversary Series edition of King Crimson’s Islands.

I’m not going to attempt to review the original six-track album as there is little that I can add to the scores of reviews that have been written over the past forty years. The one thing that I do want to note though is that the sound on this remastered reissue is impressive as it captures the audio warmth of an analog vinyl record with the clarity of a pure-digital recording. I’ve probably listened to my vinyl copy of Islands dozens of times but I heard more separation, depth and clarity on this reissue than I ever heard on the vinyl.

Now for the bonus tracks – there are six bonus tracks (billed as an alternate version of Islands) added to the CD and a second disc (DVD-A) that holds additional unreleased audio tracks. The CD bonus tracks aren’t quite an alternate version of the full Islands album as “Islands” is a 2 minute snippet from the song that focuses on a middle-section with the oboe, “Prelude: Song of the Gulls” is swapped with a previously unreleased track and a number of the other songs are shorter run-throughs than what ended up on the final release. It is fascinating though to hear how these songs evolved as each of these bonus tracks contains notable differences from the previously released versions. The real stand-out track though is the previously unreleased “A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls” as this song contains segments that were later used in “Larks’ Tongue in Aspect” and “Lament”.

CD Bonus Tracks/Islands: The Alternate Album
- Islands (studio run through with oboe prominent);
- Formentera Lady (Take 2);
- Sailor's Tale (alternate mix/edit)
- A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls (previously unreleased)
- The Letters (rehearsal/outtake);
- Ladies of the Road (Robert Fripp & David Singleton remix)

DVD-A Content/Bonus Tracks

2010 Remaster:
- Formentera Lady
- Sailor's Tale
- The Letters
- Ladies of the Road
- Prelude: Song of the Gulls
- Islands

Original album:
- Formentera Lady
- Sailor's Tale
- The Letters
- Ladies of the Road
- Prelude: Song of the Gulls
- Islands

Islands: The Alternate Album:
- Formentera Lady (Take 2)
- Sailor's Tale (alternate mix/edit)
- The Letters (rehearsal/outtake)
- Ladies of the Road (rough mix)
- A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls (previously unreleased)
- Islands (studio run through with oboe prominent)

Route to Islands:
- Pictures of a City (Islands lineup rehearsal - song first recorded with original lineup)
- Sailor's Tale (Islands lineup rehearsal)
- Islands (fragment: Robert Fripp reference cassette—mellotron on vibes setting)
- Formentera Lady (rough mix)
- Sailor's Tale (rough mix)
- Drop In (Early rehearsal by Islands lineup)
- The Letters (Live at Plymouth)
- Sailor's Tale (Live at the Zoom Club)

Additional tracks: Assorted Ladies:
- Ladies of the Road (Robert Fripp & David Singleton remix)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 5)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 1)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 3)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 4)

For years, the only other recording from this lineup was the bootleg sounding live LP Earthbound. While KCCC have rectified this by issuing a number of live albums over the past decade, this set shows just how solid this under-appreciated lineup was in the studio.

In closing, I’m still scratching my head over how Boz could go from playing almost free-form jazz in King Crimson to Bad Company.

Links:
King Crimson