In the Wake of Poseidon by King Crimson

The album was born in a climate of great uncertainty. After the sudden success of the first album, "In the Court of the Crimson King" (1969), the original line-up had already broken up: Robert Fripp found himself alone after the departure of Ian McDonald and Michael Giles.

Greg Lake announced his departure to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer just as they were recording. Fripp managed to convince Lake and the Giles brothers to join as backing musicians to finish the record, creating a temporary line-up to prevent the band from disbanding.

The album follows the structure of the previous one very closely, so much so that it is often considered its natural continuation:

Side A features songs that sound similar to the first album. "Pictures of a City" recalls the strength of "21st Century Schizoid Man", while the title track "In the Wake of Poseidon" evokes the majestic atmospheres of "Epitaph".

Side B marks an opening towards new experiments. "Cat Food" introduces jazz-rock sounds, while the long instrumental "The Devil's Triangle" is a dark reinterpretation of Gustav Holst's "Mars".

The theme of "Peace" runs through the entire album (Beginning, Theme, End), acting as a poetic common thread.

The central concept of "In the Wake of Poseidon" is the balance between opposites and the exploration of human nature through mythological and psychological symbols. The lyricist Peter Sinfield was directly inspired by the painting on the cover (a 1967 painting by Tammo De Jongh, entitled "The 12 Archetypes", which depicts twelve faces symbolizing different human types) to describe the different facets of man. The characters mentioned in the texts (such as the Jester, the Miser, the Sorcerer, the Patriarch) represent universal tendencies of the human psyche: good and evil, wisdom and ignorance, creation and destruction.

The theme of Peace is the red thread that unites the album. The album is structured with three short songs (Peace: A Beginning, Peace: A Theme and Peace: An End) that open, divide and close the work.

If King Crimson's first album was a scream of fear towards the future, "In the Wake of Poseidon" is a philosophical reflection on the impossibility of man to escape his historical and psychological cycles.

"In the Wake of Poseidon" is an album that perfectly embodies cultured Progressive Rock, a fusion of jazz, classical music of the twentieth century and symphonic rock that creates a majestic and, at times, disturbing sound. The Mellotron is the main instrument, used by Robert Fripp to weave dense and dramatic orchestral carpets, especially in the title track and in "The Devil's Triangle", giving the album that "epic" and melancholic sound that will become a distinctive feature of 70s prog.

Compared to the first album, a strong avant-garde jazz influence emerges here, especially thanks to pianist Keith Tippett. On tracks like "Cat Food", the piano becomes percussive and atonal, breaking the mold of the classic rock ballad. "Pictures of a City" is a saxophone-driven hard-jazz piece, with broken rhythms and a frenetic energy that anticipates extreme metal.

The album looks a lot at European cultured music: "The Devil's Triangle" is a reworking (for copyright reasons not stated in the title) of "Mars, the Bringer of War" from Holst's "Planets". It is a long instrumental suite based on a martial and obsessive rhythm. The use of sound effects and sound stratifications demonstrates an interest in avant-garde research, "Concrete Music".

My version is the DGM KCLP2, a remaster by Robert Fripp.

"Peace: A Beginning" opens with a choral and spiritual, almost folk atmosphere. Greg Lake shows off his baritone voice, clean and crystalline creating a sense of solemnity and emptiness.

"Pictures of a City" is an explosive mix of Jazz-Metal and Hard Rock. Mel Collins stands out on sax, dueting with Fripp's distorted guitar in an interweaving of brutal and powerful notes. The rhythm section of the Giles brothers, Michael on drums and Peter on bass, is simply phenomenal. Michael, in particular, uses the snare drum with surgical precision.

"Cadence and Cascade" is a pastoral ballad that goes well with Folk-jazz influences. Gordon Haskell's voice, delicate and warm, offers an interesting contrast with Lake's. Keith Tippett's performance on the piano is splendid, abandoning dissonances here for a more lyrical approach, and Mel Collins' delicate flute embroideries that give the song an ethereal and suspended atmosphere.

"In the Wake of Poseidon" is a true masterpiece of Symphonic Rock, dominated by Fripp's Mellotron. Peter Giles' bass is fundamental, with its melodic lines that support the impressive sound architecture of the song.

"Peace: A Theme" features a classical-style lead guitar solo, performed by Robert Fripp. His rigorous technique and the influence of cultured music are evident in every note.

"Cat Food" is an Avant-jazz track with Proto-punk influences, where Keith Tippett is the real protagonist. His "percussive" and atonal piano transforms a simple rock piece into a crazy and unpredictable sound experiment. Peter Giles' bass follows an almost funk turn.

"The Devil's Triangle" is a tour de force by Fripp on production and Mellotron, ranging between Concrete Fiction, Experimental and Neoclassical Music. The song evolves from a military march, punctuated by Michael Giles' obsessive drumming, to a real sonic collapse.

"Peace: An End" is the perfect closing of the album, with the return of Greg Lake and Fripp's guitar, with beautiful lyrics by Sinfield about the duality of the human soul, a song that creates a sense of peace and reflection.

Paradoxically, despite internal difficulties, the album reached number four in the UK charts, becoming King Crimson's best-performing album ever in their home country. The style alternates moments of extreme delicacy with explosions of sonic violence, with acoustic moments, acoustic guitars and clean vocals that recall English folk and pastoral music, and orchestral and distorted moments that create a sense of imminent apocalypse. A layered and complex record, which requires careful listening to grasp all the rhythmic and harmonic details inserted by Fripp. Excellent!

My Version

Label: Discipline Global Mobile – KCLP2, Panegyric – KCLP2, Inner Knot – KCLP2
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 200-Gram, Textured Sleeve
Country: UK, Europe & US
Release: 2011

Tracklist

A1        Peace - A Beginning 0:50
A2        Pictures Of A City (Including 42nd At Treadmill) 8:01
A3        Cadence And Cascade 4:37
A4        In The Wake Of Poseidon (Including Libra's Theme) 7:56
B1        Peace - A Theme 1:15
B2        Cat Food 4:55
The Devil's Triangle 11:34
B3a        Merday Morn
B3b        Hand Of Sceiron
B3c        Garden Of Worm
B4        Peace - An End 1:52

LineUp

Bass – Peter Giles
Drums – Michael Giles
Guitar, Mellotron, Electronics [Devices], Producer, Directed by Robert Fripp
Piano – Keith Tippet
Saxophone, Flute – Mel Collins
Vocals – Greg Lake
Words, Design [Cover], Painting [Interior], Producer, Directed by – Peter Sinfield

Listening link on the main streaming platforms at the following links:

Spotify: The full album is available to listen to on Spotify.

YouTube Music: You can find the entire album and individual songs on YouTube Music.

YouTube: On the band's official channel there is a complete playlist of the album.

Apple Music: The Expanded Edition version is available  which includes bonus tracks.

SoundCloud: You can listen to the official playlist on SoundCloud.

DGM Live: For an experience directly linked to Robert Fripp's label, you can consult the dedicated page on DGMLive.

Note: All links to the musicians’ works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists"