Peter Sinfield
Stillusion

"Under the poet's tongue lies the key of treasury" 
Nizami

It is with this phrase that I want to open the review of an album, alas, underrated and almost unknown…

I state beforehand that it is not an album not to miss, but if every single day from three to four in the afternoon you look at your complete King Crimson discography and wonder "...ck, there is definitely something missing here!" then this is the album for you!!!!

If you are instead wondering who this short man with the peculiar nose and almost childlike aura but tinged with a "je ne sais quoi" of mysticism is, you will be pleased to have a precise and comprehensive introduction to this, surely central, character of the Progressive, I would dare say, worldwide…

Peter Sinfield, dreamer, poet, man of immense culture, bridge to reach impalpable emotions, was born under the sign of Capricorn in London in 1943, some say on Christmas day.
He met the Giles brothers, Robert Fripp, and Ian McDonald in 1968 with whom he formed a band called "Infinity," the first embryo of King Crimson, which was soon aborted (not to be confused with the group "Giles, Giles, and Fripp," preceding the aforementioned, but without Sinfield).
However, Ian McDonald really liked Sinfield's lyrics and decided to start a new project with him.
Their team welcomed Greg Lake on bass, replacing the still worthy Pete Giles: thus the King Crimson was born…

The time span from 1969 to 1972 saw the release of epochal albums such as "In The Court Of The Crimson King," "Lizard," and the immense "Islands." Albums certainly watershed, which many consider as some of the ultimate peaks of Progressive…
Pete's role in the records, compared to that of the other band members, may seem the simplest and most trivial, but I believe absolutely the opposite!
Pete had to "only" imagine landscapes and emotions, metaphorize dramas of modern society, conceive poems of immense drama and sweetness… in a single word "write" the lyrics of the tracks… and I assure you he performed his duty excellently!
Moreover, the faithful Sinfield was in charge of lights and mixer during the group’s live performances, and in some tracks, he even gets the chance to play the synthesizer (I could be mistaken, but I think more precisely in much of the album "Lizard").

In 1972, Robert Fripp told Pete he would no longer work with him: the guitarist's new musical solutions were different from Pete's.
The exclusion from King Crimson surprised Pete who, however, combined the new ideas and released his first solo album: "Still," remastered in 1993 under the name "Stillusion".
This latter is the album I am about to review, as it indeed contains two masterpieces, added as bonus tracks at the time of restoring, "Can you forgive a fool?" and "Hanging fire".

Therefore, I strongly advise promoting only and exclusively the purchase of "Stillusion" instead of "Still" (as if buying Led Zeppelin 4 without "Stairway to heaven" or "Black dog").

Now let's talk about the album: as you may have noticed, the cover is truly enigmatic… what does it represent???
Meanwhile, the name is "The big friend," initially "the big friend" might seem hostile: a princess, perhaps a fairy, is about to be devoured by a gigantic lizard (an icon often used by Pete, representing the god of the purifying fire, Salmacis).
But by looking closely, we notice that it is not saliva coming out of this archetypal predator's mouth, but the feminine hair of the fairy. The girl indeed is sleeping blissfully, safe despite the danger around. This is the tranquility formed by the union of opposites (a consideration almost Heraclitean, I would say).
In the figure, there is peace and tranquility, certainly contrasting with the screaming face of the 21st-century schizoid man…
The album presents itself as an attempted distillation of the various periods faced by Sinfield during the KC career… so there is a piece for everyone!!!!

The album opens with perhaps the most beautiful track, "Can you forgive a fool ?".
Acoustic guitars and mellotron paint the imaginary landscape gifted to us by Pete in a soft pink hue. The mystical voice of Sinfield makes us feel at ease: it’s as if it has something familiar… This is the song that certainly most recalls the romantic and delicate melodies of "In the court," while remaining original and open to interpretation.
The next track, "The night people," is a weaving of winds, turbulent, tearing, perhaps a bit too cold…
Nonetheless splendid, Sinfield’s singing performance and Boz Burrell on bass, whom I’d like to remember due to his recent passing in 2006.
A truly superb acoustic track follows, "Will it be you", reminiscent at times of Neil Young from "After the goldrush." The melody is simple and relaxes the ears from the previous "Night people". Excellent, the simple wind interlude by Mel Collins, a luxury guest on the album.
Now here is another acoustic piece, "Hangin’ fire"… strangely excluded from the previous "Still".
Perhaps Pete sings about the past with King Crimson, thus a very poignant piece, tinged with a "melancholic" happiness.

Good the subsequent "House of hopes and Dreams," with Lake on electric guitar, although a bit repetitive… (an alternative version of the one present in Still). Cloying instead the following "Wholefood Boogie," a rock’n’ roll with a retro flavor.
We recover with the wonderful "The Piper," a truly "elven" acoustic song, with a splendid flute solo by Collins.
Really superb the following "Envelopes of yesterday," with a splendid acoustic guitar and Wetton on bass, the keyboards are exciting, and the grand finale with an almost "cynical" Pete repeating the song’s title…
Finally, exciting the subsequent "Song of the sea goat," on the music of the Concerto in D Major by Vivaldi. Pete indeed wrote a splendid and intricate text… and the "maestro" Keith Tippett really fits a great piano solo into it… what a beautiful piece!!!!

Pete subsequently worked with other decent groups in lyric writing, just to mention the greatest: E.L.P (Brain salad surgery), PFM (Photos of ghost), Gary Brooker and Branduardi.

I strongly suggest visiting Pete's site, www.songsouponsea.com, where you can find explanations of the lyrics from the crimsonian and solo period, embarking on a real journey into the composer's mind to discover their poetic and philosophical views.

N.B.: in listing the tracks, I omitted "Under the sky" and "Still", as I do not consider them worthy of attention…