Islands is the fourth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in 3 December 1971 on the record label Island.[6]Islands is the only studio album to feature the 1971–1972 touring line-up of Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace. This would be the last album before an entirely new group (except for Fripp) would record the trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red between 1973 and 1974. This is also the last album to feature the lyrics of co-founding member Peter Sinfield.
Musically, the album expands on the improvisational jazz leanings of King Crimson's previous album, Lizard. It received a mixed response from critics and fans.
^Holmes, Thom (1985). Electronic and experimental music. Scribner's. p. 204. ISBN978-0-68418-395-4. By the time Islands was released, the group had shifted from the sophomoric karma that characterized their earlier records to a more artsy attempt at jazz fusion.
^Dinsdale, Chris (2003). "King Crimson". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 557. ISBN9781843531050. Retrieved 22 September 2024.