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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 uses the full spectrum of available studio sessions for each album to produce very different takes on the familiar songs and pieces.
Speaking about the Elemental Mix approach, David Singleton said: “Ever since the concept of an Elemental mix was first suggested, I have approached these with equal measures of hate, dread and love.”
Dread and hate because you are, in effect, staring at a perfect jigsaw (the finished version of the Mona Lisa) wondering how you might roll back the years and get closer to the moment of creation - often by finding hints of alternative routes that were never followed, allowing you to perceive the familiar in an unfamiliar way - presenting the pieces not in a "perfect mix", but unadorned, as they would have been had you been sitting in the studio.
A task which always seems utterly impossible.
….Until it isn’t. You need to find one new piece to introduce into the jigsaw - otherwise all you have is a stripped-down version of the existing (an instrumental version of a song) which is rarely that exciting.
And then comes the love as the creative process works its magic. What if Formentera Lady had begun not with the cello but with a piano fantasia from Keith Tippett - where might that lead?
If these are popular with fans, as they appear to be, it is, I think, largely because they are creative - and exist right on the edge. Flirting with the impossible.
For King Crimson fans, Islands – 2026 David Singleton Elemental Mix is both a compelling standalone listening experience and an essential companion to the original album — offering fresh insight into the sessions, a renewed immediacy to the performances, and a rare opportunity to hear this distinctive work from a radically different angle.
The CD presents the complete album newly mixed by Steven Wilson and a selection of David Singleton’s Elemental mixes.
“Islands” was the sole studio album by the Fripp, Collins, Burrell and Wallace line-up and the last to feature Peter Sinfield as a full creative partner. It was the record that closed one chapter of King Crimson history while quietly sketching the next. Historically, it captured the band in a brief but amazingly fertile formation, with material developed under touring pressure and recorded between live dates. Musically, it is where the group’s early sound was stretched to its limit and began to fracture into something tougher, stranger and more open-ended. While the album contains widely varying types of material across its six pieces - hints of the future present on material such as ‘Sailor’s Tale’ with Fripp’s sharp guitar work and Collins’ searing saxophone sit comfortably alongside the purely orchestral ‘Prelude: Song of the Gulls’ – “Islands” has a cohesive story to tell as a collection of music and a reflection of King Crimson at that particular moment in time, a story that can be heard, most completely, in this release.
Tracklist
LP
Side A
- Formentera Lady
- Sailor's Tale
- The Letters
Side B
- Ladies of the Road
- Islands
- Prelude: Song of the Gulls
CD+Blu-Ray
Disc 1
CD
2026 Mixes - Produced and Mixed by Steven Wilson
Formentera Lady
Sailor’s Tale
The Letters
Ladies of the Road
Prelude: Song of the Gulls
Islands 2026 Elemental Mix - Produced and Mixed by David Singleton
Formentera Lady
Sailor’s Tale
Ladies of the Road
Islands
Disc 2
Blu-Ray
I. 2026 Dolby Atmos, DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround & 24/96 Stereo
Formentera Lady
Sailor’s Tale
The Letters
Ladies of the Road
Prelude: Song of the Gulls
Islands
II. 2026 Instrumental, 24/96 Stereo
Formentera Lady
The Letters
Ladies of the Road
Islands
III. 2026 Elemental Mixes, 24/96 Stereo
Formentera Lady
Sailor’s Tale
The Letters
Ladies of the Road
Islands
Prelude: Song of the Gulls
IV. Complete Recording Sessions, 24/96 Stereo
Islands Studios July 22nd, 1971: Ladies of The Road Early Uptempo Takes 1 & 2 Command Studios Aug 2nd, 1971: Ladies of The Road Takes 1 to 5
A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls Takes 1 to 3
Aug 25th, 1971: Checking Levels
Ladies of The Road Take 1
Band Jam
Ladies of The Road Takes 2 to 4
Aug 26th, 1971: Band Jam 2
Ladies of The Road Takes One to Five
Ladies of The Road Backing and Overdubs
Ladies of The Road Vocals and Overdubs
Sept 1st, 1971: Ian Drum Check