King Crimson - Lizard

Nobody on earth knows what the fuck Peter Sinfield is writing about. Or what Robert Fripp has in his head. And apparently Gordon Haskell didn't know either. The third full length album from King Crimson doesn't sound as jazzy as Wikipedia says although the moments are there. The first track sounds at first like a child's nightmare is about to begin, with it flowing into a beautiful piece. Haskell's vocals seem not so much out of place but just simply different to the music, owing to the fact this is the only album he's on. His distorted vocals on the next two tracks were very interesting to which I did enjoy. The last piece on side A is quiet and tranquil. Not one for the car. Side B holds the true to form prog rock epic (and title) track with Jon Anderson of Yes making an appearance. Rupert awakes to find the never ending mellotron note. Morning coffee was washed down with a bolero trying to sound like jazz, or jazz trying to sound like bolero. Either way, Carl Palmer wasn't behind the kit.

Rocky IV at 45

A customer here has been rediscovering albums by playing records back at 45 speed. The best one that turned out was the Rocky IV soundtrack.

This is funny as hell when played back at this speed. The voices are not too much "chipmunky" but its still up there. The speed however takes the ballads of the album and makes them a ton better. "Eye of the tiger" has a bit more urgency than its normal 33rpm version. James Brown sounds even more ridiculous at higher speeds.

The highlight is the two instrumentals, the War track and the Training montage. For some reason the higher speed makes them kick ass even more. I would imagine lack of vocals helps with this, but if anything, you'll get to the victory music in half the time.