Send "King Crimson " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Considering that the only constant within King Crimson was change, the quality of their early albums is, in hindsight, even more remarkable. Poised to conquer the world, or at least own the underground, following the release of In The Court of the Crimson King(1969)—easily one of the enduring debut records in all of rock—the band instead almost imploded. Singer/bassist Greg Lake abruptly headed off for proggier pastures, joining up with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer to begin a decade-long quest of driving snooty critics insane. Equally distressing was the departure of multi-reedist/composer Ian McDonald, whose input was indelible on the first album.Robert Fripp, the acknowledged mastermind and reticent leader, was now completely in control as a new decade commenced. On one hand, he had material ready to record; on the other hand, he did not have a band. Somehow, he managed to convince Lake to stick around long enough to lay down some vocal tracks along with the Giles brothers (drummer Michael and bassist Peter). Rounding out the personnel was Keith Tippett (piano) and Mel Collins (sax, flute), both of whom would figure prominently in the band’s subsequent albums. The line-up shuffling would continue and turned out to be a considerable blessing, as each album King Crimson made sounds distinct and unconnected. This is actually a fairly unique phenomenon, particularly within the progressive rock movement. Where bands like Genesis and Yes slowly built up confidence and momentum, eventually hitting on all aesthetic cylinders (on albums like Close to the Edge and Selling England By the Pound), King Crimson released individual statements of purpose. As a result, there is no other band that, in the span of 4-5 years, made such radically different yet satisfying records....full text |
| Allaboutjazz |
| Considered a poor cousin to In the Court of the Crimson King (DGM Live, 1969), 1970's In the Wake of Poseidon may possess superficial similarities to its groundbreaking predecessor, but as a 2005 All About Jazz review of an earlier edition suggested, ..."Poseidon also hints of changes in the wind." Part of the second round of 40th Anniversary Series CD/DVDA remasters/expansions of the King Crimson catalog along with 1971's Islands, Poseidon deserves reconsideration for its transitional music, Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson's remarkable remixes, and 50 minutes of bonus material which sheds light on the recording process. Sure, the aggressive electricity of "Pictures of a City," pastoral, flute-driven "Cadence and Cascade," and symphonic expansiveness of the title track—sequenced as the original LP's first side—mirror the same side of In the Court. But side two's funk-tinged blues, "Cat Food," and, most importantly, the epic "The Devil's Triangle," assert a growing improvisational freedom that would expand further, later that year, on Lizard, and on Islands—thanks to the recruitment of British jazzers by Crimson's co-founder, now primary composer, and guitarist/mellotronist/effects man Robert Fripp; in this case, pianist Keith Tippett. Poseidon also marks the debut of saxophonist/flautist Mel Collins, the only member to survive numerous shakedowns to become part of the Islands touring band—Crim's first since the dissolution of its initial lineup in late 1969. Co-founding Crim, Greg Lake—by this time gone to Emerson, Lake and Palmer—sings, but is replaced by fellow founder/drummer Michael Giles' brother Peter on bass to create a more consistently inventive improvising trio, especially on the four versions of "Groon" included on the DVDA—Fripp's free tune with a convoluted head, living in the same continuum as John McLaughlin's Extrapolation (Polydor, 1969), while still sounding like nobody but the emergent Fripp. Three versions of "Cadence and Cascade" demonstrate a recording studio process of building songs from the bottom up....full text |
| Seaoftranquility |
| In the Wake of Poseidon is often looked at as the inferior sibling to King Crimson's landmark debut In the Court of the Crimson King, and while there's no denying the impact that record had on the rock world, in many ways In the Wake of Poseidon is just as impressive. Recorded at a time when the band was basically combusting from within (Ian MacDonald had left the band, Greg Lake was getting set to run away with ELP) Robert Fripp still managed to keep things together long enough to get this excellent sophomore release created. Lake stayed on to provide lead vocals, with the Giles brother Peter & Michael on bass and drums, plus Mel Collins on sax & flute and Keith Tipppett on piano, together with Fripp's guitar and Mellotron, King Crimson was still together, though seemingly on life support. Some of the jazzier, avant-garde tones the band would start to employ in greater detail on Lizard and Islands are already popping up alongside the soaring, Mellotron drenched symphonic rock that most had come to love from the first album. "Pictures of a City" is somewhat like "21st Century Schizoid Band" part two, complete with intricate guitar & sax lines and jazz-rock arrangements, and the quirky "Cadence and Cascade" is a mix of folk and jazz, with Gordon Haskell providing the lead vocal (Lake had already left for ELP and was unable to lend his vocal support) and a breezy flute solo from Collins. The title track is this albums answer to "Epitaph", a monumental, dramatic number featuring waves of ominous Mellotron and Lake's poignant vocal. Wonderful stuff that still sends chills up and down the spine. Tippett shows up on the complex jazz piece "Cat Food", which also features a neat vocal from Lake and some tasty guitar work courtesy of Fripp. The massive, three-part epic "The Devil's Triangle" is King Crimson at their most frightening, as this track builds and builds tension over the course of 11 minutes, with effective use of Mellotron, percussion, and woodwinds. Most of the album is separated by the short "Peace" interludes, each doing a nice job of bridging the gap between some of the more epic tunes. This 40th Anniversary Edition was mixed by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson, and sounds breathtaking. They've also included on the CD a new mix of the B-side "Groon", which is a charming little jazz-prog instrumental, as well as an early version of "Cadence and Cascade" with a Lake guide vocal. The DVD has a wealth of material, including the entire album in Surround Sound, an original Stereo Mix plus a new high resolution stereo mix, as well as some demo and early takes mixed in high resolution stereo. If you have a home theater system, you'll want to crank that up and really dig into all that the DVD has to offer. You'll be quite impressed....full text |
King Crimson lyrics
|
| |||||||
