Description
King Crimson spent 1970 as a studio band recording a single Catfood & two albums In the Wake of Poseidon & Lizard. Catfood was released in March earning the band an appearance on British BBC TV flagship music show Top of the Pops. Poseidon followed in May. While McDonald & Giles had announced their intention to leave in December 1969 & Greg Lake would depart in April 1970, Giles & Lake appeared on the single & album with Peter Giles (formerly of Giles, Giles & Fripp) & incoming members Keith Tippett, Mel Collins & Gordon Haskell alongside Fripp & Sinfield. As a result, the album shares some similarities in approach & sound to their debut In the Court of the Crimson King & has been a firm favourite among fans of the band since its initial release.
Though working with a transitional lineup the album sounds remarkably cohesive. Like the debut album Poseidon was self produced & displayed an increased confidence in the use of the recording studio. The breadth of material recorded is even broader than the debut. The short Peace appears in 3 different settings bookending the albums longer tracks. One of the bands prettiest ballads Cadence & Cascade leads into the powerful title track, while the album version of Catfood is followed by The Devils Triangle an ambitious sound collage that seems to owe more to contemporary classical & free jazz roots than any form of rock music. The short burst of In the Court of the Crimson King in the final part of the track eerily anticipates modern sampling techniques.
Upon release, Poseidon reached No. 4 in the UK album chart one position higher than their debut, & the highest chart placing the band enjoyed in Britain.
Robert Fripp: guitar, mellotron & devices
Greg Lake: vocals
Michael Giles: drums
Peter Giles: bass
Keith Tippett: piano
Mel Colins: saxes & flute
Gordon Haskell: vocal
Peter Sinfield: words
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