IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON

King Crimson

Eclectic Prog

3.84 | 2437 ratings

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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk

In The Wake Of The Crimson King?

One of the bigger debates among Crimson fan is how much a carbon copy Poseidon was to Court. Given the strong pressure to release another album by their label, and the fact that members were leaving left, right & centre, that there was no real group around the time of recording Poseidon, it was probably tempting to reproduce the same kind of songs that made the debut such as success.

So yes, Pictures Of A City is based upon Schizoid Man, yes, Cadence is a rehashing of Talk To The Wind, and this album's title track is definitely inspired on the title track of the previous album. So all these three "derivative" tracks are grouped on the first side of the album and bookended by two of the three Peace pieces, which are completely original and pleasant, even if a bit needless. And furthermore, the three "guilty" tracks are debatably superior technically to their inspirational muse.

Onto the flipside, Cat Food is an amazing track where young "jazz" pianist sensation of the time Keith Tippett gives an incredible performance, a highly original track, which came in an edited version as a single. The rest of the album is made from another completely original piece, The Devil's Triangle, based on a Gustav Holtz piece, but the three part epic sounds like nothing that'd been, done before, even by a certain King Crimson. Excellent eerie stuff that sees a small prolongation in the last part of the Peace theme that closes the album.

PS: rare enough to mention on Crimson albums, Poseidon might just be the only studio album ever to come with bonus tracks in the future, as both sides of the Cat Food/Groon single have been added, but not on every issue. In either case, Poseidon seems to be marked forever and a bit unjustly with the "carbon copy" sticker, but even if partially true, it remains a must for every Crimson fan.

Sean Trane | 4/5 | 2004-10-21

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