Today we bring you another excellent collectors item hand-picked by the staff of eil.com. Our stock addition manager and all-round prog aficionado, Syd, has chosen an early pressing of King Crimson’s magnum opus, In The Court of The Crimson King.
“After rightfully hat-tipping the The Wilde Flowers, Soft Machine, Arthur Brown or even early Floyd & Caravan for their parts to play in making important steps beyond 60s psychedelia, and frankly transcending what The Nice, Procol Harum, and The Moody Blues brought to the table, In The Court of The Crimson King has to mark the undeniable true dawn of progressive rock.
“This is the one that had the attack, the real contrasting darkness and light, the unsettling balance of chaos and order and the ambiguity that any definitively daring piece should offer, and it’s crucial that this is the one that landed just before the main onslaught that followed over the subsequent few remarkable years from Comus to Gentle Giant to the Krautrock and Canterbury movements and can stake its claim as the archetypal pioneer of musical exploration in a rock setting.
“The artwork itself is colossal among the host of iconic cover designs from the era, no small achievement in a time where album sleeve art had the potential to become historic in music culture. Its representation of the sound of this record perfectly portrays the equally harrowing surrealist music with nothing short of suitably devil-like temptation. A formidable work of forced nature and the benchmark of breaking conventional chains, you could call it the genesis but that name was used elsewhere. These guys just took it to a whole new level.”
1969 UK first issue 5-track stereo LP on the smooth pink Island label with white ‘i’ logo [A2/B4 matrices], matt gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics inside. The sleeve has a some minor scuffing to the edges but has no splits of rips, however the striking artwork is not compromised & the colours are still vibrant. The vinyl shows only minor evidence of play with some light surface scuffs, overall a very good example and an ideal play copy ILPS-9111
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- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £250.00, $342.50, €290.00 (New Item) (arrived 17-Sep-2021 14:55)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (Rare 1970 UK first press 10-track stereo LP on the pink with white 'i' logo Island label, housed in the original textured heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve, featuring their big hit single [!] 'Cat Food' & vocal duties on Cadence & Cascade handled by Gordon Haskell. The sleeve is in superb Excellent condition with just a little faint shelf wear scuffing - the cover still boasts bright panels & rich, vivid colours with no tears or writing. A beaut. The vinyl is nice & clean & remains in superb Excellent to Near Mint condition, clearly well cared for & seldom played - you'd be really hard pressed to find a copy better than this one! ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - Lizard - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £125.00, $171.25, €145.00 (New Item) (arrived 16-Sep-2021 17:19)
KING CRIMSON Lizard (1970 UK 5-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label, front laminated gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics printed inside. The sleeve shows only a little light wear to the laminate from storage and remains in Excellent condition. The vinyl is superb and has only a few light signs on play ILPS9141)
- King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon - 1st - UK - vinyl LP - £595.00, $815.15, €690.20 (New Item) (arrived 09-Sep-2021 13:13)
KING CRIMSON In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970 UK first press 10-track stereo LP with A1/B1 matrices on the pink with white 'i' logo Island label, featuring their big hit single [!] 'Cat Food' & vocal duties on Cadence & Cascade handled by Gordon Haskell, housed in the original front textured heavyweight gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve has only some very light edgwear, and the vinyl itself remains in stunning near mint condition. Almost impossible to find in this kind of condition, this copy is well cared for one owner copy with no need to upgrade. Recommended ILPS9127)
- King Crimson - Lizard - UK - vinyl LP - £295.00, $404.15, €342.20 (New Item) (arrived 09-Sep-2021 13:10)
KING CRIMSON Lizard (Archive quality 1970 UK first issue 5-track LP on the pink rim Island 'palm tree' label with A2/B2 matrices, front laminated gatefold picture sleeve with lyrics printed inside. Both the sleeve and vinyl are Near Mint with no need to upgrade; very hard to locate another in this 'time warp' condition! ILPS9141)
- King Crimson - Earthbound - 1st - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £12.00, $16.44, €13.92 (New Item) (arrived 08-Sep-2021 13:31)
KING CRIMSON Earthbound (1972 UK first press 5-track LP of live recordings on a black Island label with pink 'i' logo, matt title sleeve with '2343092' catalogue number sticker on the reverse. The sleeve shows some light edge scuffing and ringwear, whilst the vinyl has just few cosmetic surface scuffs - a very respectable VG copy for a great price! HELP6)
- King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic - 200 Gram - Sealed - UK - vinyl LP - £19.99, $27.39, €23.19 (New Item) (arrived 27-Aug-2021 11:57)
KING CRIMSON Larks' Tongues In Aspic (2020 UK limited edition 200-gram vinyl LP release of the 40th anniversary stereo mixes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp. With its raw tone, inspired improvisations and hard hitting odd-metered rhythms, Larks' Tongues marked a radical departure for this most forward thinking of groups and was the first to include Bill Bruford and John Wetton as band members. Picture sleeve with hype sticker, sealed from new)
- King Crimson - The Court Of The Crimson King - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £225.00, $308.25, €261.00 (New Item) (arrived 18-Aug-2021 12:35)
KING CRIMSON The Court Of The Crimson King (Original 1971 Japanese wide centred 7" vinyl single featuring Part One & Part Two. Amongst one of the rarest Japanese Crimson pressings, this very early single is complete with it's wraparound picture insert printed with extensive Japanese notes, the lyrics in English and incorporating a picture discography & record company advert on the back. The insert displays minimal wear with some light foxing, whilst the vinyl shows very little signs of play, a fantastic example P-1072A)
- King Crimson - The Young Persons' Guide + Booklet + sticker - UK - 2-LP vinyl set - £75.00, $102.75, €87.00 (New Item) (arrived 12-Aug-2021 12:51)
KING CRIMSON The Young Persons' Guide (1975 UK 15-track compilation vinyl double LP - a 'personal selection compiled by Robert Fripp', title stickered gatefold picture sleeve with the rare illustrated 20-page booklet detailing the history of the band with concert dates, reviews and more. The sleeve shows some age related storage wear and the vinyl has minimal evidence of play ISLD7)
- King Crimson - In The Court Of - 2nd - Palm Tree - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $47.95, €40.60 (New Item) (arrived 08-Jul-2021 12:24)
KING CRIMSON In The Court Of The Crimson King (1970 UK second issue of the 1969 debut 5-track vinyl LP on the pink rim palm tree label, iconic matt gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve is graded as VG with some edgewear and a crease to one corner, while the vinyl has just a little spindle wear to indicate play. Essential for any Progressive Rock collector ILPS9111)
- King Crimson - Three Of A Perfect Pair - UK - vinyl LP - £85.00, $116.45, €98.60 (Back In Stock) (arrived 17-Jun-2021 08:20)
KING CRIMSON Three Of A Perfect Pair (1984 UK 9-track LP, the final part in the trilogy from the newly vamped Adrian Belew period, picture sleeve with lyric printed inner. The sleeve shows little of its age & the vinyl is near 'as new' EGLP55)
It’s the first two Crimson lps for me; Crimson King and Poseidon. Love ’em, have so since they came out. Inventive, musical and pleasing tonality. Fripp, Lake, McDonald et. al. And don’t forget the awareness at the time of Pete Sinfield, his delivering of the lyrics.