IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON

And so it is. History flows like a river and, sometime, repeats. In the Wake of Poseidon is one of the most charismatic albums in all my own discography and I personally don't care if it's too similar to the previous miliar stone In the Court of the Crimson King. Music is the most importantr thing. Prog in particular. And In the Wake... is all any die hard prog fan needs to satisfy his his ears. Ok, it's not a masterpiece in the purest sense of the word but very near to that and still nowadays an exciting experience from an almost same line up of the previous glory.

So the album is obviously part of the so called first era of Crimson, still symphonic enough for what it means. "Pictures of a City" is simply an amazing track and has already all it's necessary to be a Crimson's classic: warm and passionate vocals from an inspired Greg Lake, wonderful sax by Mel Collins, a superb rythm' session and a remarkable work on guitar by mastermind, Mr. Fripp. A strong achievement for the year 1970!

"Cadence and Cascade" is a nice acoustic tune, very well sang with delicate piano and flute leading the way out. A perfect intermezzo. Very enjoyable.

"In the Wake of Poseidon" opens magnifically with strong mellotron' sound soon decaying into the warm vocals of Lake and then re-appearing and building a deep and wonderful atmosphere. The song's structure is not complex but is still an appreciable effort from the band. This sound is memorable! Maybe, the most favourite of mine.

"Peace - A Theme" is a short instrumental (acoustic guitar) interlude that introduces the listener into a more intimate state of mind, a contemplative tune that opens for the following "Cat Food" also released as a single. An excellent track with a more conventional structure but improved and imbellished by rapid and quasi-jazzy piano movements and a "Beatles" light feel all around it.

The most serious part, then, to close the record: the memorable "The Devil's Triangle" which is simply the most evil, dark and anguishing instrumental track ever offered by Fripp and co. Basically isn't also complex: an obscure mellotron's marching at the sound of drums from behind as it was an ancestral march to the final battle or destination. The theme goes on loudly and loudly until it fades out for the first time and return more powerfully and evil than ever until it reach pure nonsense and disturbing musical images. An impressive experience for sure and an historical musical document!

"Peace - An End" closes the circle where it all happened.

In the 30th anniversary remastered edition there are also two bonus tracks: "Cat Food" single version and the (good) b-side "Groon".

What could I say? This record seems to me a little bit underrated from the legions of the reviewers here. This album really deserves a four stars treatment, at least!

4.25 the correct evaluation.

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