King Crimson
Islands

There are certain artists/groups who, even in works deemed minor (but why?), manage to reach heights with just their feet that others can't even reach with their hands, no matter how much they stretch. And they manage to sow, always from within these minor creations, seeds for works of many "normal" artists in the years to come.
Among these artists/groups, the first that come to mind are Captain Beefheart (the first time I heard something of his from '69, it seemed like Tom Waits of Bone Machine had ended up in a time machine), Brian Eno. And King Crimson.

This 1971 album, Islands, which I am about to review, is considered by many to be a minor work of Bob Fripp's group.
The problem, in my opinion, is that this album is anything but a rock record.
There's everything, but there's no rock.
It contains pieces of poignant pianistic romanticism such as Formentera Lady and Islands.
The former also features a soprano. The latter strongly recalls both an old piece by Enzo Granianiello sung also by Robeto Murolo (I don't remember the title) and certain romantic tracks by the Alan Parson Project.

Then there's the skewed and citational pop of Ladies of the Road (does Beck from a few years ago know anything about it?! The one from Midnight Vultures) "musically inspired" by Come Together by The Beatles, and not only.
There is the avant-garde free-jazz of The Letters (although this song isn't just jazz). There is pictorial music (following the trail of Devil's Triangle from two albums earlier) in Sailor's Tale, with a spine-chilling electric guitar solo (treated) by Fripp. A solo that really manages to "musically paint" the idea of a storm finding you in the middle of the sea (at some point during the listen, you feel like retreating below deck...!!).

Finally, there is also a piece of baroque music (complete with a string quartet and a theme sung by an oboe) in the form of Prelude: Song Of The Gulls, an opening act for the romantic and poignant song Islands, already mentioned, a track made of voice, a few lonely piano notes like islands (coincidentally islands) in the middle of the sea, and a horn solo at the end, something that can bring tears to your eyes. Listen to it, along with the rest, but not first thing in the morning before going to work.
It's not the right time.
Better in the evening, preferably in a melancholic mood.