Music / In the Wake of Poseidon

"Lost soul, lost trace, lost in hell."

In the Wake of Poseidon, released in 1970 through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the US, is the second studio album by English Progressive Rock group King Crimson. Recorded shortly after the release of In the Court of the Crimson King, it was marked by substantial changes to the band's lineup, with Ian MacDonald and Michael Giles parting ways following the conclusion of King Crimson's first tour in 1969. Additionally, midway through the album's recording, vocalist Greg Lake was headhunted by Keith Emerson from the recently-dissolved band the Nice to join what would become Emerson, Lake & Palmer, resulting in guitarist Robert Fripp and lyricist Peter Sinfield being the only members left. This would set a pattern that would continue throughout the band's career, establishing King Crimson as a Revolving Door Band whose lineup would change with almost every new album.

Sound-wise, the album is a direct continuation of its predecessor. Not only does it feature the same Jazz Fusion sound with copious Classical Music influences (right down to a loose adaptation of Gustav Holst's "Mars, Bringer of War"), but several tracks are direct homages to ones from In the Court of the Crimson King. To consolidate this approach and ensure that the album could be completed, Fripp and Sinfield brought in a handful of session musicians to flesh out what was yet to be completed, including Peter Giles of King Crimson's precursor band, Giles, Giles and Fripp, and future King Crimson members Mel Collins and Gordon Haskell.

With the unexpected domestic success of In the Court of the Crimson King having built up plenty of anticipation for a follow-up, In the Wake of Poseidon peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums chart, just barely edging out its predecessor in chart performance. In the US, it would only reach No. 31 on the Billboard 200 (compared to the No. 28 peak of its predecessor).

In the Wake of Poseidon was supported by one single: "Cat Food".

Tracklist:

Side One

1. "Peace — A Beginning" (0:51)
2. "Pictures of a City (Including 42nd at Treadmill)" (7:57)
3. "Cadence and Cascade" (4:35)
4. "In the Wake of Poseidon (Including Libra's Theme)" (8:24)

Side Two

1. "Peace — A Theme" (1:15)
2. "Cat Food" (4:52)
3. "The Devil's Triangle" (11:30)
   1. "Merday Morn" (3:47)
   2. "Hand of Sceiron" (4:01)
   3. "Garden of Worm" (3:45)
4. "Peace — An End" (1:54)

Personnel:

Principal member:

• Robert Fripp: guitars, keyboards, devices

Additional musicians:

• Mel Collins: saxophones, flute
• Michael Giles: drums
• Peter Giles: bass guitar
• Gordon Haskell: vocals on "Cadence and Cascade"
• Greg Lake: lead vocals
• Keith Tippet: piano

You trope everywhere, but not inside you:

• Boléro Effect: "The Devil's Triangle" starts off soft and eerie before picking up in intensity and chaos as it progresses, fitting its nature as an adaptation of Gustav Holst's "Mars, Bringer of War".
• Book Ends: The album opens with "Peace — A Beginning" and closes with "Peace — An End", both of which share the same melody. Additionally, side two opens with "Peace — A Theme", forming a bookend within a bookend with "Peace — An End".
• "Bringer of War" Music: "The Devil's Triangle" is a direct adaptation of the Trope Namer, Gustav Holst's "Mars, Bringer of War" from The Planets.
• Capitalism Is Bad: "Cat Food" uses a supermarket full of cheap, disgusting, and outright poisonous products as a metaphor for the reduced quality of life in a capitalist society.
• Design Student's Orgasm: Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the album cover consists of The Twelve Archetypes, an elaborate impressionist painting by Tammo De Jongh depicting twelve different faces of humanity; six of them appear on the front, six on the back. The interior gatefold additionally consists of an elaborate blue and green marble pattern, fitting the oceanic title.
• Does Not Like Spam: The narrator of "Cat Food" makes no secrets about his hatred of the cheap, poor-quality supermarket food he has to eat every day, with the chorus consisting of him growling "cat food, cat food, cat food, again?!"
• Epic Rocking: "Pictures of a City", the Title Track, and "The Devil's Triangle" all go well over the six-minute mark, with the latter reaching eleven and a half minutes.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Gordon Haskell, a schoolfriend of Robert Fripp, provides vocals on "Cadence and Cascade"; his contribution here would lead to him becoming King Crimson's lead vocalist on the next album, Lizard.
• Hidden Track: "Peace — A Theme" is unlisted in European LP releases of the album; American and Japanese LP releases include it on the disc labels, as do releases on other formats worldwide.
• Instrumentals: "Peace — A Theme" and "The Devil's Triangle".
• Lethal Eatery: "Cat Food" is about a supermarket full of low-quality food, with the narrator describing "a tin of Hurri Curri" as "poisoned especially for you," claiming that the products are "not even fit for a horse" and "drowning in miracle sauce," and bitterly comparing meals made from them to cat food in the choruses.
• Longest Song Goes Last: A "longest song, then outro" variant: the album closes with the 11:30 "The Devil's Triangle", followed by the 1:54 "Peace — An End".
• Metal Scream: Greg Lake's vocals on "Cat Food" are processed through a distortion filter, contrasting the jaunty tone of the song with singing that sounds downright enraged.
• Miniscule Rocking: All three parts of the "Peace" trilogy fall short of the two-minute mark, with "Peace — A Beginning" not even reaching one minute.
• Musical Pastiche: "The Devil's Triangle" is King Crimson's own take on "Mars, Bringer of War" by Gustav Holst.
• The Not-Remix: "Cadence and Cascade" was remixed for the 1991 Boxed Set Frame by Frame: The Essential King Crimson, featuring '80s frontman Adrian Belew on vocals in place of Gordon Haskell (following a failed attempt to get David Sylvian to become King Crimson's vocalist).
• Production Throwback: Several tracks on the album are written as direct counterparts to pieces from In the Court of the Crimson King the previous year. "Pictures of a City" recalls "21st Century Schizoid Man", "Cadence and Cascade" nods back to "I Talk to the Wind", the Title Track homages "Epitaph", and "The Devil's Triangle" reprises the formatting of "Moonchild".
• Rock Me, Amadeus!: "The Devil's Triangle" is deliberately modeled after "Mars, Bringer of War" from Gustav Holst's 1918 suite The Planets, but is different enough to not be a copyright violation.
• Scare Chord: Midway through "The Devil's Triangle", the music slows to a halt before a loud, booming siren blares out.
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: While most of the album continues the dark Jazz Fusion style of In the Court of the Crimson King, "Cadence and Cascade" and the "Peace" trilogy are tranquil folk compositions.
• Stop and Go: "The Devil's Triangle" briefly comes to a stop at the end of "Hand of Sceiron", only for a click track to start playing, which gives way to the even more chaotic "Garden of Worm".
• Textless Album Cover: As with In the Court of the Crimson King, text is reserved for the lyrics inside the gatefold, with the front and back covers going textless.
• Title Track: "In the Wake of Poseidon", which closes out side one.
• The X of Y: In the Wake of Poseidon (and by extension the Title Track), "Pictures of a City", "Hand of Sceiron", and "Garden of Worm".

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