"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 1 October 1974.

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 with deep pathos 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 Robert Fripp. This is also the last time the acoustic guitar appears on a studio-recorded song, with the exception of an acoustic version of 'Eyes Wide Open' (performed by Adrian Belew) on the 2002 mini-album 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 – guitar, Mellotron
• John Wetton – vocals, bass
• Bill Bruford – drums, percussion

with:

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

References