Brain Salad Surgery
Emerson Lake & Palmer
| Track |
Score |
| Jerusalem |
2 |
3 |
| Tocatta |
2 |
7 |
| Still... You Turn Me On |
1 |
3 |
| Benny the Bouncer |
2 |
2 |
| Karn Evil Nine |
24 |
30 |
| Total: |
31 |
45 |
| 69% |
Emerson Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery was the bands swan song in a number of ways. Its provocative cover and title (colloquial for fellatio) caused a bit of a stir, and might have played a part in the album's sales. However this was what many consider to be the last good studio effort of ELP's (4 years later Love Beach was released). That's the album from a historical point of view, but what about a musical one?
The Album's first track is that hymn sung oft by drunken English soccer fans. However the normal organs have been replaced by Keith Emerson's trademark crazy keyboard soloings. Overall it's a solid song though.
The second track is also a cover, this time of a more obscure piece, Tocatta, by Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera. Although quite innovative (this is possibly the first song to ever use synthesised drums), and also quite impressive in terms of the technical abilities needed to play this (again, listen to the drumming), the song simply is drawn out too long to make it a very enjoyable listen.
The third song, Still... You Turn Me On, is an acoustic love ballad, which at various points includes a strange sounding electric guitar. This is much more annoying than it is artistic though. The lyrics are equally annoying, and surprisingly so are the synthesisers. If it were just the acoustic guitar and Greg Lake (like it was later performed live) this song would be much better.
Which leaves the fourth track, Benny the Bouncer. ELP were trying to make a barroom sound, and it worked very well. The use of piano and the lyrics makes the listener feel more in the song than most others. Some would complain that the song is simplistic, but I say that's nonsense. The song is very enjoyable though. Even just for the last ten seconds of it.
The main attraction of this album however is the both side spanning epic Karn Evil Nine, which is divided into three impressions. The first impression (which on the original vinyl was split between the two sides) is consistantly fast, consistantly heavy and consistantly brilliant. It features great lyrics, penned by none other than Peter Sinfeld, as well as Keith Emerson's trademark keyboardery. It even has a guitar solo or two played by the much underappreciated Greg Lake. The only flaw is that the riffs are repeated a few too many times, and it can get a bit repetitive. Although the main riff which gets stuck in your head too easily is quite incredible.
The second impression starts with a short drum solo, soon to be followed by a piano. It is entirely instrumental. Although the technical proficiency required for such a piece is considerable, in some ways it still leaves out a good deal. However, this all changes around halfway through, when the drums leave and the piano pulls out a very thought provoking solo, although the slowness doesn't do it many favours. In a way this impression was designed to segue the first and the last impressions together.
Which brings us to the third and final impression. The lyrics sound like something from Star Trek, and the music reflects this. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact the moog synthesisers really create an atmosphere. All in all it's a solid impression, just like the rest of the song. The ending is really strange though, and leaves you thinking about what it all means (and the vast differences in the first two impressions don't really help).
Many people would agree that Brain Salad Surgery is ELP's finest work. This might not necessarily be true, but it is the most diverse, showcasing all the elements which made all of their albums great (or awful depending on your point of view). If you want an album to see what ELP are really like, definately pick up this record.
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