IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON

Despite the unmet originality of the King Crimson debut, the first clouds in the relationship between the members started to appear in the horizon.Ian McDonald and Michael Giles, struggling both with life on the road and Fripp's tendency towards more experimental music forms, left the group at the fall of 69', after the US tour of King Crimson.By the beginning of the recordings of a new album Greg Lake had agreed with Keith Emerson to join him on the rising Emerson, Lake & Palmer project, leaving Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield as the only original members in the King Crimson line-up.However all departing musicians decided to help out in the process of the new release, before quiting for good.Lake sung all but one track, ''Cadence and Cascade'', sung by Gordon Haskell, while the group was also helped by Mel Collins (formerly of the Psych/Jazz Rock act Circus) on sax and flute, Keith Tippett on piano and Giles' brother Pete on bass.Based on their regular Wessex Sound Studios in London, the recordings lasted three months (January-April 1970) and ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' was launched in May 1970 on Island.

Many people compare this album with King Crimson's debut soundwise, even refering to it as ''In the Court of the Crimson King 2'', which is only partly true, because complex tracks like ''Pictures of a City'', a mix of intense Jazz Rock and mellow Psychedelic Rock with a frenetic sax performance by Collins and Fripp's extremely difficult guitar parts, are rather absent from the debut.Quite intricate and adventurous music.''Cadence and Cascade'' will soften things, being a warm ballad with melodic piano and flute lines, somewhat recalling GENESIS folkier side, but the title track will show a return to King Crimson's unique symphonic approach, featuring grandiose Mellotron and intense singing by Lake with Fripp's smooth guitar playing accompanying.Very atmospheric and deeply emotional stuff.After the short acoustic crescendo of ''Peace-A theme'', ''Cat Food'' eventually shows a slight turn towards experimental, jazzy forms by Robert Fripp, combining the jazzier side of music on piano and rhythm section with poppy song sensibilities and light psychedelic vibes.The absolute peak in terms of originality comes with the 11-min. ''The devil's triangle'', certainly among the most daring experiments in the history of Rock music and an amalgam of King Crimson's genuine leanings.A long, sinister Mellotron intro sets the dark, almost cinematic mood for a composition, which eventually switches into dissonant experimentations with piano and orchestral manipulations before exploring a complex Classical mood with harsichord, electric piano and acoustic guitars, propably performed by Fripp himself.''In the Wake of Poseidon'' will close with another short peaceful outro, sung by Lake in a very romantic style.

While not being equal in terms of value with ''In the Court of the Crimson King'', ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' is another stunning release by King Crimson with an even more complex sound that their debut.Following about the same path as on the first album, does not make this absolutely original, but, even so, I can't even think of another band that could get so far around the period.Dramatic Psych/Jazz/Orchestral Rock with a couple of great pieces.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.