Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Robert Christgau | B− |
| The Daily Vault | B− |
Due to the album's penchant for a more jazz-inflected sound in comparison to many of the band's other works, in addition to the idiosyncratic nature of many of its tracks, responses towards the album have been varied since its release. Allmusic's Bruce Eder, comparing Lizard to its two predecessors, described the songs saying " are longer and have extensive developmental sections, reminiscent of classical music". He also deemed that Jon Anderson's presence on "Prince Rupert Awakes" made the album stronger. He finished his review saying that "At the time of its release, some critics praised Lizard for finally breaking with the formula and structure that shaped the two preceding albums, but overall it's an acquired taste."
Music critic Robert Christgau rated the album a B−, saying that the "jazziness" of the album projected a "certain cerebral majesty" but criticized Peter Sinfield's lyrics, qualifying them as "overwrought".
On the Progarchives.com website the album has an average rating of 4.10/5 based on 1045 ratings (of which 180 are reviews) as of September 2012.
Read more about this topic: Lizard (album)
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