IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON

King Crimson

Eclectic Prog

3.84 | 2438 ratings

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Disappointing follow up to ITCOTCK, unsurprising given the turmoil in the band with Ian McDonald, Michael Giles and Greg Lake leaving after the debut album and Lake/ Giles recalled to the recording sessions to add vocals/ drums, with Peter Giles adding the bass parts and Gorden Haskel providing vocals on Cadence and Cascade.

Picture Of a City is a fantastic jam and a pointer to the kind of music that Fripp will make with better musicians in David Cross, John Wetton, Bill Bruford and Jamie Muir in the trio of albums beginning with Larks' Tongues in Aspic. Epitaph from ITCOTCK is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard and while the song, In the Wake of the Poseidon, doesn't have the same memorable melody running through it, it nevertheless moves in a similar enchanting way. Sinclair's lyrics are sublime, of the Greek god, Poseidon reeking corruption and destruction on society. This is 8 minutes of wonderful music with Fripp's haunting Mellotron and acoustic guitar and Sinclair's beautiful words inspiring Greg Lake to some of his most emotional singing.

The rest of the album is forgettable. Cat Fish, which was turned into a single, is jazzy but too heavy for my liking. Cadence and Cascade is a nice little acoustic piece, but Gordon Haskell doesn't possess the vocal chords of Greg Lake. Devil's Triangle, an eleven minute piece, is neither epic or memorable, borrowing too much from Bolero. I doubt Robert Fripp would have been pleased with the result.

For the best King Crimson albums, we should skip this one and jump from the debut album to Lizard, which has a new set of musicians.

iluvmarillion | 3/5 | 2020-8-2

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