IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON

This fractured follow up to King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King, the group's first and arguably best album, has a lot going for it, all things considered. With Greg Lake just about to have mega success with ELP, he stuck around the studio just long enough to do the wonderful vocals on most of this album's lyrical moments. The title track is stupendous and is in the vain with ItCotCK's "Epitaph", without musically echoing it. Fripp is every bit as good at massaging the mellotron keys as Ian McDonald was. Alas, McDonald was another who jumped ship after the first album. Soaring, majestic, and heart wrenching, "In The Wake Of Poseidon" is the album's highpoint. But the Holst "Planets" inspired instrumental "The Devils' Triangle" again shows Fripp's keyboard skills in three ominous musical themes that were right up Fripp's alley. Instead of replacing McDonald, Fripp hired jazz piano genius Keith Tippet, whose trills and fills on "Pictures Of A City" and "Cat Food" are absolutely sublime and help to move KC's sound up another level. Fripp's old friend Gordon Haskell does a wonderfully warm vocal on "Cadence And Cascade", a mellow "I Talk To The Wind" type ballad. Indeed, this album does almost follow the template of ItCotCK to the letter, but I'm of the opinion that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so all is good with me. The incredible drumming of Michael Giles again graces this album and he must be one of prog's least celebrated drummers as his stamp on KC cannot be underestimated. His brother Peter handles bass in place of Lake, and while not as flashy he, unsurprisingly, meshes perfectly with brother Michael.

A masterpiece of prog? Not in the least. Sporting much improved production values over ItCotCK, In The Wake Of Poseidon is an album that hundreds of other bands wish they could have produced. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.