Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield’s beautiful ballad had been through a few iterations before the final version that found itself sitting between the chaotic explosion of 21st Century Schizoid Man and Epitaph’s foreboding prophecies on side one of King Crimson’s 1969 debut album.
First, there had been the version with Giles, Giles, and Fripp featuring the wonderful Judy Dyble, late of Fairport Convention. Then there were early renditions at Morgan Studios with Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke sitting at the mixing desk, who would later join Crimson for a short time at Wessex Studios before the band decided to go it alone.
After some deft work on getting the pitches to match, Alex has combined two different sessions that were part of this song’s evolution. First, he’s taken the instrumental backing from the early sessions at Wessex and then combined them with the finished vocals that appeared on the debut, and in doing so has created a new rendition that’s both distinctive and beguiling.
26 August 2024
