In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)

Artist: King Crimson
Release Year: 1970

Rating: 8/10

Track Listing: 1) Peace: A Beginning; 2) Pictures of a City; 3) Cadence and Cascade; 4) In the Wake of Poseidon; 5) Peace: A Theme; 6) Cat Food; 7) The Devil's Triangle; 8) Peace: An End.

King Crimson was, for much of its history, a band in turmoil and schism, a state that plagued even its transition to this second album.  Mortal men can only serve as conduits of genius for so long, you know, so Greg Lake departed halfway through to form ELP.  The remaining vocal duties were picked up by one Gordon Haskell, a solid but far less charismatic choice.  Fortunately, Lake was still around for most of this; without him, I fear it would have been an egregiously tired retread of In the Court.

So what is it instead?  Well, a mostly great retread of In the Court, albeit with a less grim atmosphere in places.  Case in point: the album is bookended and bisected by little "Peace" ditties, which are pretty but non-essential.  This is one album where the hippie-dippy, kumbaya-vibe comes through a bit more than I'd like-- I mean, what do you expect me to do after this thing is over?  Save the world with a humanistic Care Bare Stare?  You just drilled into my head with a piece called "The Devil's Triangle".  The early 70s were a weird time.  The moment, if it even existed at all, was gone, and now "that was just a dream some of us had", as Joni Mitchell would later put it.  At least the acoustic guitar parts are comforting.

"Pictures of a City" is certainly a lot like "21st Century Schizoid Man" in structure, if not in lyrics: a screaming guitar-and-sax intro, two verses, a nice long instrumental, a third verse, and a chaotic finale.  But where "Schizoid" piledrives us with images and sounds of destruction, this song instead tells an impressionistic story of urban debauchery.  The middle section is jazzier, almost similar to something Deep Purple and Blind Faith might have done together, and I'm happy to announce that the drums sound much fuller this time around.  Much as I love Bill Bruford, I'm glad we got a chance to hear Michael Giles' laser-precise madness for one more album.

Then there's "Cadence and Cascade", a drop-dead gorgeous and surprisingly emotional song complemented by Ian McDonald's whimsical flute solos, much like "I Talk to the Wind", but even slightly better.  This is the first time we hear Gordon Haskell singing, although there are some coveted recordings out there of Greg Lake doing the vocals too.  And I love Fripp's acoustic playing.  Why he had to go full electric after the first few albums (Judas!) is still a mystery to me.

Mirroring "Epitaph" and "Court of the Crimson King", there is the title track, a full-on medieval dirge with Mellotron and military march-style drumming to amplify some of my favorite Crimson lyrics.  Grand, almost Biblical symbolism abounds, again courtesy of Peter Sinfield, but the thing only teeters on the brink of pretentiousness without actually falling over.  I'm sure glad Greg Lake was still around to do these vocals.

I never knew what to think about "Cat Food".  Anyone who's heard Sinfield's solo work would be unsurprised by his screeds against processed meals-- not that he's wrong, but this kind of theme is a bit odd for King Crimson.  At least the lyrics are amusing, and there's plenty of personality with Keith Tippett's piano skittering all over the place like the titular pet.  The song's more madcap vibe doesn't exactly fit the album, but I'm not upset at it.

Finally, the band did their own take on Gustav Holst's "Mars: Bringer of War", apparently changing it just enough to slap their own title on it.  This thing is certainly imposing and frightening (especially that part around 4 minutes in-- you'll know the one), but I can't help feeling like something is lost when a Mellotron does most of the heavy lifting.  Still, the way the suite builds tension, in what would become the classic Crimson style, keeps the spirit of the album very well in spite of the muddy sound, so I'll let it slide.  

Overall, this album is full of exciting and beautiful pieces that could have been tied together with sturdier string than those "Peace" segments.  It's not as earth-shattering in theme, or as satisfying in cohesion, as the previous; but with so many great moments in the midst of the band's ongoing disintegration, it's still a worthy follow-up.