Fallen Angel (King Crimson song)

"Fallen Angel" is a composition by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It is the second track on their seventh studio album, Red, released on 6 October 1974.

"Fallen Angel"
Song by King Crimson
from the album Red
Released	6 October 1974
Recorded	August 1974
Studio	Olympic, London
Genre	Progressive rock progressive metal[1]
Length	6:03
Label	Island (UK & Europe), Atlantic (USA)
Composer(s)	Bill Bruford Robert Fripp John Wetton
Lyricist(s)	Richard Palmer-James John Wetton
Producer(s)	King Crimson

The lyrics are a man's lament over the tragedy of his young brother, who joined a gang and was stabbed to death on the streets of New York City, sung by John Wetton.^[2]

The motif used in "Fallen Angel" is an arpeggio by Robert Fripp, part of an improvisation performed by five members during the recording of Larks' Tongues in Aspic in 1972. Guest musicians Mark Charig (cornet) and Robin Miller (oboe) appear during select musical passages. Charig and Miller had previously played on the albums Lizard (1970) and Islands (1971).^[3]

It was the last of King Crimson's studio albums to include acoustic guitar played by Fripp. This is also the last time the acoustic guitar appears on a studio-recorded song by the band, with the exception of an acoustic version of "Eyes Wide Open" (performed by Adrian Belew) on the 2002 EP Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With.

The band had never performed the song live since the time it was released on album, but it was finally performed live in Chicago in 2017.^[4]

Personnel

• Robert Fripp – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
• John Wetton – bass guitar, vocals
• Bill Bruford – drums, percussion

with:

• Mark Charig – cornet
• Robin Miller – oboe
• uncredited – cello