King Crimson
In the Wake Of Poseidon

THE REVIEW

A few months after the masterpiece In The Court, King Crimson gifts another gem to the already dazzling prog landscape of the period (in the same year, 1970, ELP and Gentle Giant debut, Genesis and Van Der Graaf define their style with albums like Trespass and The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other), an important album, in some ways an evolution compared to the debut album, justly rewarded by the public of the time (fourth place in the charts, one position higher than In The Court), today certainly not celebrated as it deserves. In fact, the album suffers a less devastating impact, a more subdued, meditative tone compared to the previous work; this is the misfortune of In The Wake, in the comparison with a historic, revolutionary album, a cornerstone of what from then on would be defined as "art rock" and which would establish the true coordinates of progressive, much more than the naive experiments of the Moody Blues or the Nice. Despite the heavy legacy of In The Court, King Crimson does everything possible to produce an album that immediately presents itself as not easy, starting with internal problems in the band, orphan of Lake's beautiful voice (who left midway through the sessions to join Palmer and Emerson) and multi-instrumentalist McDonald. The internal conflicts do not affect the result, however, the sound impact is even more refined, thanks especially to the jazz-influenced arrangements of the newcomers, Keith Tippett and Mel Collins. Even the lyrics, which still talk about solitude and alienation, remain excellent, as indeed they will throughout the period with Peter Sinfield (although Richard Palmer-James is an excellent lyricist, from Lark's Tongues In Aspic onwards, the absence of a certain past magic is felt, but this is also a consequence of Fripp's artistic rethinking, which will lead him, after Islands, to revolutionize the band). The tracks, almost all by Fripp, date back to the previous year, which is why the first side seems to retrace In The Court: after the dreamlike singing of Peace, the apocalyptic tones, the frantic rhythms of Pictures of a City burst in, almost a revisitation of 21st Century Schizoid Man. Once again, the initial harshness is immediately softened by a melodic song among the most beautiful written by Fripp and Sinfield, the delicate Cadence and Cascade, with lyrics that speak of illusions and false myths through the story of two groupies. Then the title track, majestic, solemn in its mellotron beginning, a piece "à la Epitaph," unsettling and atmospheric, undoubtedly the highest point of the album. Sinfield's words are also splendid, inspired by the evocative cover by Tammo de Jongh, a pictorial transposition of the theory of the 12 archetypes. A short and touching reprise of Peace bridges to the second part of the album, the one with Cat Food, an ironic song about consumerism, in which Tippett's free-jazz piano stands out, and with The Devil's Triangle, an instrumental suite in multiple parts, with increasingly threatening martial progression interspersed with free digressions, enigmatic carillons, even self-citations from In The Court, all in an increasingly frantic crescendo. To close the album, again Peace, one of the many forgotten treasures of the Crimson King, the most poetic, simple, incisive, poignant thing KC has ever offered, just voice, guitar, and Sinfield's words ("Searching for me, you look everywhere except beside you / searching for you, you look everywhere but not inside you"). It is the umpteenth demonstration of how King Crimson knows how to make music with a 360-degree approach, whatever field they tackle, no matter how much they may change, they can achieve unimaginable goals for any other band. Studied music, theirs, rigorous, conceived and thought over by their despotic leader, at the same time extremely expressive, never bound to genres nor prisoners of their sound, but always in search of new solutions: precisely because of this, meaning their musical openness, their desire to progress, they represent, indeed embody, the true spirit of progressive. And it is precisely here that the greatness of King Crimson lies, in their ability to approach different genres with a style and a quality always unmistakable.