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#9 in US (Aug 71) |
| Tarkus, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in June, 1971. ELPfan 09's rating: 10/10 |
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"Tarkus" is quite possibly Keith Emerson's greatest piece, only challenged by either "Karn Evil 9" or "Piano Concerto No. 1." Since the ballad "Lucky Man" was ELP's last release, Emerson wanted to firmly plant the band into the progressive rock genre with this 20-minute epic. The piece erupts into the 5/4 motif, the uber-riff, if you will. Between the instrumental, synthesizer-led solos, Lake includes 3 mini-songs. The uber-riff evolves into 9/8 during "Manticore" and finally goes into a multi-layered synth canon. It is such an astonishing piece of music, that I cannot adequately describe it here. Never-the-less, it is a kick-ass song.
The rest of the album, however, is nothing too spectacular. There is "Jeremy Bender," which is a fun honky-tonk song that will lead to "The Sheriff" and "Benny the Bouncer" on the next to studio albums. "Bitches Crystal" and "A Time and a Place" are two great rock songs with good pulse to it. "The Only Way, (Hymn)" and "Infinite Space, (Conclusion)" include themes from Bach's Toccata in F and Prelude VI. Other than that, the piece is decent. And "Are You Ready Eddy?" is just weird. It's a basic 12-bar piece, with interesting solo work. Truth be told, I don't listen to side 2 much of my vinyl. I just stick with "Tarkus," for it is my bible.
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