Release Date 24th October 2025
DGM & Panegyric proudly present… One of the highlights of the King Crimson 50th anniversary CD/Blu-ray editions to date has been King Crimson producer David Singleton’s series of Elemental Mixes as he utilises the full spectrum of available studio sessions for each album to produce very different takes on the familiar songs and pieces. This is especially true of Lizard where the ambition of the material, the much-expanded line-up of musicians - the background of many of them in the jazz rather than the rock world - and the number of takes recorded, resulted in a large amount of material to be considered for this album. There was enough material for David to be able to mix and produce alternate takes for every piece from the original album. As well as giving great insight into the recordings, the nature of Elemental Mixes allows for different takes from individual musicians to be included – sometimes alongside one another - in a way that would never be considered in the formulation of the original album. David comments that “When I was working on the Elemental mixes, I jokingly described them as ‘Lizard for those who don’t like Lizard’. They were a complete revelation. Lizard is the one album which, in its initial incarnation, never quite convinced me. And yet these Elemental mixes, with their opportunity to look ‘under the hood’ of the album, revealed something fresh, wonderful and astonishing. So, if you are a King Crimson fan, who like me, has never quite taken Lizard to your heart, then these are essential listening. And hopefully equally fascinating to those who already love the album”. Presented as a single 200gram LP and including the complete album in Elemental Mixes form, running in the same sequence as the original album, this release showcases Lizard in a very different manner to how it’s previously been heard. Lizard’s reputation has grown, deservedly so, in recent years as old and new audiences alike rediscovered the album, initially when it was first remixed for new Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound editions in 2009 by Steven Wilson and then as much of it was performed live for the first time in concerts by the most recent King Crimson line-up between 2016 and 2018.
When Steven Wilson first mixed Lizard in stereo and 5.1 with Robert Fripp in 2009, he commented: “For me Lizard has always been an album that was too big for stereo to contain. I’ve always felt that if presented in the right way, I could make a case for this being the most experimental rock record ever made. It’s extraordinary what they’re doing on this album. In terms of fusing free-jazz with progressive rock for me there’s almost no parallel.” Now, in 2025, Steven has returned to that album and the new mixes merely serve to confirm that analysis. The 2009 mixes – released at the same time as the much better known Red and In The Court of the Crimson King, did much to focus fan attention on an album which was sometimes overlooked in the Crimson catalogue; Red, Court, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Discipline – the various KC incarnations all seemed to have definitive albums which represented certain periods in the band’s ever-changing development but Lizard - a single album group with an expanded line-up which was never played live, a healthy infusion of jazz players and influences, a radical departure from the two previous Crim album releases and more musical ambition than many band’s entire careers - seemed almost forgotten. But if any album was going to benefit from the more detailed audio that Hi-Resolution and 5.1 Surround created, it was Lizard, and fans old and new eagerly embraced it. By 2016, the latest touring incarnation of the band began to play pieces from the music on stage for the first time with original members from the original recording - Robert Fripp and Mel Collins visibly enjoying playing Cirkus and parts of Lizard. By 2018 Almost all of Lizard was being played as a complete suite, frequently to the sort of reception normally reserved for the likes of Epitaph or the best known of the Crimson songs. Now, in 2025, Lizard appears in its most complete form yet. Steven Wilson’s new stereo and 5.1 mixes reveal fresh details in the original recordings, the Atmos mix is one of his most ambitious yet working with a recording that always has more to give to en expanded soundstage. If Steven’s mixes detail the best that can possibly be had from the album as presented, then David Singleton’s Elemental mixes probe the nuances of the original recordings and sessions, bringing (previously) background performances to the fore, adding alternate takes of individual performances and exploring different angles for mixing each piece. Working separately and with different remits, the producers bring fresh perspectives to this most intriguing of recordings. Complementing all of this material, the Blu-ray disc also features Alex R. Mundy’s mixes of every single session from the original 1970 recording sessions along with the original 30th anniversary stereo master. A CD is also included featuring Steven Wilson’s 2025 stereo mixes of the album and a selection of the Elemental mixes – including the title track.