The second Crimson album, "In the Wake of Poseidon", was recorded amidst a host of personnel changes: Greg Lake would soon depart to form the immensely popular Emerson, Lake and Palmer; McDonald and Giles would quit to perform as a duo (McDonald would ultimately end up in the "supergroup" Foreigner). Added to the studio line-up was Peter Giles on bass, Keith Tippet on piano, Gordon Haskell on vocal and Mel Collins playing saxes and flute. Much of Poseidon, even the overall layout and sound, resembled the first album. "Pictures of a City" opened side one, in
The Songs:Pictures of a City
Cadence and Cascade
In The Wake of Poseidon
Cat Food
The Devil's Triangle
Merdeay Morn
Hand of Sceiron
Garden of Worm
Peace - An End
much the same tone and manner that "Schizoid Man"opened the previous album. Side one closed out with the album's title track, a mellotron-laden doom opus in much the same style as the first album's "Epitaph". Side two, however, contained the unique and stylish "Cat Food", a moment in which music and lyrics combined to create something unlike anything ever heard before. Add to this "The Devil's Triangle", an extended instrumental of an almost orchestral nature, and the value of the second album was almost assured. This did not, however, prevent critics from citing the similarities, and many used this as a pre-mature indication of the band's demise.
Musicians:
Robert Fripp: Guitar, Mellotron & Devices
Greg Lake: Vocals
Michael Giles: Drums
Peter Giles: Bass
Keith Tippet: Piano
Mel Collins: Saxes & Flaute
Peter Sinfield: Words
Gordon Haskell: Vocal on "Cadence and Cascade"
