UMUR "In The Wake Of Poseidon" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act King Crimson. The album was released through Island Records (UK) and Atlantic Records (US) in May 1970. It´s the successor to "In the Court of the Crimson King" from October 1969. There have been quite a few lineup changes since the predecessor as Ian McDonald (keyboards, reeds and woodwinds) and Michael Giles (drums, percussion, backing vocals) both left King Crimson following the band´s first US tour in late 1969 and Greg Lake (vocals, bass) was also on his way out the door to form his own band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Lake agreed to record vocals for the album though, and he performs vocals on all tracks but "Cadence And Cascade" (where the vocals are performed by Gordon Haskell, who would subsequently replace Lake as the band´s lead singer/bassist). Michael Giles was recruited as a session drummer, and brother Peter Giles, who was part of the earliest King Crimson lineup recorded the bass parts. Also as a session musician. "In The Wake Of Poseidon" also features guest/session appearences by Mel Collins (saxophones, flute) and Keith Tippett (piano).

McDonald leaving was the main catalyst for Giles and Lake also jumping ship, as McDonald was the main composer of the material featured on "In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)" and there were doubts in which direction guitarist Robert Fripp and lyricist Peter Sinfield would take the music. As it turned out the material on "In The Wake Of Poseidon" are in many ways very similar in style to the material on "In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)". The heavy and saxophone driven "Pictures Of A City" sounds like a sibling composition to "21st Century Schizoid Man" and the title track has a similar melancholic and epic atmosphere and a similar structure to "Epitaph" from the debut album. "Cadence And Cascade" is this album´s "I Talk to the Wind". So there is no arguing Fripp and Sinfield played it safe as far as sound and style goes. Fortunately they also challenged themselves and produced two tracks which are quite different from the material found on the debut album in the jazz rock influenced "Cat Food" and the slow building multi-layered 11:38 minutes long ambient/atmospheric instrumental "The Devil's Triangle", which is like listening to a gloomy, simplistic, and ominous sounding "Bolero". It´s a bit too long for its own good, and slightly uneventful and tedious too, but at least the band tried something new and different here.

"In The Wake Of Poseidon" is a well produced affair and the production provides the music with the right conditions to shine. Considering the relatively short time between the debut and this album, and the fact that the band´s main composer left (although he is credited as co-writer on "Cat Food" and "The Devil's Triangle") along with half the lineup who recorded the debut album, "In The Wake Of Poseidon" actually came out pretty great. It´s a ultimately a strong release, featuring high quality material, and stellar musical performances, and if you can look past the fact that many of the tracks on the album sound like they are made from blueprints of tracks from the debut album, there is a lot to enjoy here for a fan of progressive rock. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Warthur In the Wake of Poseidon sees Robert Fripp trying his best to put out a King Crimson album at a point in time when the band had for all intents and purposes completely disintegrated, with only Fripp and Sinfield 100% committed to keeping the project going. Calling in favours from former bandmates and the likes of Keith Tippett, Fripp manages to throw together an album which is extraordinarily good considering the circumstances - but in terms of objective quality it's clearly not a top tier Crimson album. The Devil's Triangle, a Crimson take on Holst's Mars, Bringer of War, is a highlight of the album, as is Pictures of a City (which brings in a heavy jazz influence).

But most of the other songs seem knocked off in a hurry (like Cat Food) - probably because they were - or seem to be mere unfinished sketches, like the Peace fragments scattered throughout the album. And the lack of solid development following on from In the Court... is undeniable.

No doubt this is the best album Fripp could throw together at the time... but the dire circumstances meant that the best he could do is simply "acceptable" rather than "revolutionary".

siLLy puPPy Poseidon is well known as having full domain of the oceans and is known as "God Of The Sea," however he is also referred to as "Earth-Shaker" because he was thought of being the cause of earthquakes as well, so I guess the title of this album refers to the aftermath of the band after the sudden success of KC's debut album and following tours which were too much for Ian McDonald and Michael Giles who soon parted ways followed by Greg Lake being seduced by Keith Emerson to form ELP. That left Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield as the only original members after it was decided that it was pretty much Fripp's musical vision in the first place. The former members did agree to sit in as studio musicians only.

What a change from the debut. This album seems to me like a collection of leftovers and outtakes. The very first full song "Pictures Of A City" is obviously nothing more than a reworking of "21st Century Schizoid Man." One of the better pieces on the album is "The Devil's Triangle" which was inspired by Gustav Holt's "Mars: Bringer Of War" from "The Planets Suite." An ok album but too obvious that it is a half-assed reworking of the debut. Given the band's tumultuous history it's somewhat understandable and would be a mere blip in the parade of outstanding releases to come. Despite its inferiority to “In The Court....” I still find this a worthy occasional listen.

FMOTP I'll start by saying that I love King Crimson, and they are definitely a top 10 band for this music obsessive. However, they should be considered a metal-related group under the guidelines of this site. IMO they didn't actively start incorporating metal influences until Lark's Tongues In Aspic. These considerations don't reduce the quality of the In The Wake Of Poseidon album. All the songs here are good ones, although initially it seems a little ridiculous to write a song about "Cat Food"!

My personal favorites are "Pictures of a City" and "In the Wake of Poseidon". Some folks criticize this album for sounding too much like King Crimson's debut, but I disagree. There isn't anything on In The Court OF The Crimson King that sounds like "Picture of a City." IMO it's definitely more jazzy and less aggressive than "21st Century Schizoid Man." Only the low "metal quotient" of this album, and the idea that this isn't as groundbreaking as KC's debut, prevents me from giving this more than 4 stars.