01	Jerusalem						02:44
	02	Toccata						07:22
	03	Still... You Turn Me On						02:53
	04	Benny The Bouncer						02:21
	05	Karn Evil 9						29:38

VICP-60637
Japanese CD in Mini Lp sleeve

E.L.P. "BRAIN SALAD SURGERY" - 1973

Состав:
Keith Emerson - organs, piano, harpsichord, accordion, custom-built Moog synthesizers, Moog Polyphonic Ensemble, vocals on "Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 1)"
Greg Lake - vocals, bass, Zemaitis electric 6-string and 12-string guitars
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion, percussion synthesizers

Треки:
Jerusalem {Parry/Blake, arranged by Emerson/Lake/Palmer} (2:44)
Toccata (An adaptation of Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto, 4th Movement) {Ginastera, arranged by Emerson; percussion movement - Carl Palmer} (7:23)
Still... You Turn Me On {Lake} (2:53)
Benny The Bouncer {Emerson/Lake/Sinfield} (2:21)
Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 1) {Lake} (8:44)
Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 2) {Emerson/Lake} (4:47)
Karn Evil 9 (2nd Impression) {Emerson} (7:07)
Karn Evil 9 (3rd Impression) {Emerson/Lake/Sinfield} (9:03)
Total playing time 45:04

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Николай Алексеенко: Это последний из пяти альбомов ELP, фактически вошедших в "золотой фонд арт-рока". Впервые здесь можно услышать вокал самого Эмерсона на одном из треков (к слову сказать, он оказался весьма неплохим, хотя Лейку не под стать). Также лирику к этому диску писал не Лейк, как было ранее, а Питер Синфилд (с его великолепными, на мой взгляд, стихами можно было ознакомиться на альбомах группы King Crimson "In The Court Of The Crimson King", "In The Wake Of Poseidon", "Lizard" и "Islands"). В принципе, эта смена заметна, хотя очень уж лучше лирика не стала. Но это и неважно, у ELP всегда стихи были вторичны по отношению к музыке. Авторство лирики на первом треке "Jerusalem", однако, принадлежит известному английскому поэту Блейку, автор музыки - Перри. Это небольшой, но очень прелестный хорал прошлого века, отлично вписывающийся в общую канву диска. "Toccata" - восхитительная, завораживающая обработка сочинения Гинастеры, раскрывающая весь талант Палмера на ударных. Ее исполнение было согласовано с самим Гинастерой, и тому очень понравилась эта версия. Далее идут короткие "Still...You Turn Me On" и "Benny The Bouncer" - баллада, сопровождаемая очень неожиданным звучанием после припева, и разухабистый регтайм. И вот - главное произведение диска - концептуальная антитехнократическая 30-минутная "Karn Evil 9", стремительная, живая и закрученнейшая, и при этом очень красивая. Это одно из трех самых значительных и глубоких произведений ELP (наряду с "Tarkus" c одноименного диска и обработки "Pictures At An Exhibition"). В 2nd Impression есть небольшие вкрапления из Листа и T.W.Rollins'а. В самом конце композиции есть очень забавный аудио-эффект, когда звук мечется между колонками. "Karn Evil 9" - очень достойное завершение фактической музыкальной карьеры группы.

Оценка: 10 из 10.

Выпустив в 1974 живой альбом, музыканты замолчали на три года. Было видно, что творческий потенциал практически иссяк. В 1977 выходит двойной альбом "Works", где на каждой стороне каждый музыкант представлял свои композиции, лишь на четвертой играли все втроем в сопровождении парижского оркестра. Материал был неплохой, например обработки Палмером Баха и Прокофьева, но приглашение сессионных музыкантов и такая раздельная запись означали, что в дальнейшем от группы ждать почти нечего. 2 альбома 1978 года "Works volume 2" и "Love Beach" содержали немного приартованные поп-песенки. После этого музыканты собрались в 1986 году составом Emerson, Lake и Cosy Powell, записав альбом "Emerson, Lake & Powell", а также в 1988 году составом Emerson, Robert Berry & Palmer как группа "The Three" и записали "To The Power Of The Three". Оба альбома - неплохая, но совсем неинтересная поп-музыка. В 1992 и 1994 годах старым составом были записаны "Black Moon" и "In The Hot Seat". Я их не слушал, но слышал, что там тоже нет ничего занимательного. С тех пор музыканты вроде бы не собираются выпускать что-то новое. Вот таким бесславным оказался конец чуть ли не самой величайшей и виртуознейшей группы Классического Арт-Рока 70-х годов. :(

Вся лирика написана Piter Sinfield




Brain Salad Surgery
Date of Release Nov 19, 1973

The trio's most successful and well-realized album (after their first), and their most ambitious as a group, as well as their loudest, is also their most electronic sounding one. The main focus, thanks to the three-part "Karn Evil 9," is sci-fi rock, approached with a volume and vengeance that stretched the art rock audience's tolerance to its outer limit, but also managed to appeal to the metal audience in ways that little of Trilogy did. Indeed, "Karn Evil 9" is the piece and the place where Emerson and his keyboards finally matched in both music and flamboyance the larger-than-life guitar sound of Jimi Hendrix. Pete Sinfield's lyrics, while not up to his best King Crimson-era standard, were better than anything the group had to work with previously, and Lake pulled out all the stops on his heaviest singing voice in handling them, coming off a bit like Peter Gabriel in the process. The songs (except for the throwaway "Benny the Bouncer") are also among their best work - the group's arrangement of Sir Charles Hubert Parry's setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" manages to be reverent yet rocking, while Emerson's adaptation of Alberto Ginastera's music in "Tocatta" outstrips even "The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" from the first album as a distinctive and rewarding reinterpretation of a piece of serious music. Lake's "Still...You Turn Me On" is his last great ballad with the group, possessing a melody and arrangement sufficiently pretty to forgive the presence of the rhyming triplet "everyday a little sadder/a little madder/someone get me a ladder." The Rhino CD is to be preferred over all other domestic reissues, as it features an improved remastering, an interview, and packaging with a very cool 3-D cover design. - Bruce Eder

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Arranger
Keith Emerson - Organ, Synthesizer, Piano, Accordion, Harpsichord, Keyboards
Greg Lake - Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Guitar (12 String), Producer
Barry Diament - Mastering
Bob Fisher - Assistant
Dan Hersch - Remastering
Bill Inglot - Remastering
Chris Kimsey - Engineer
David McLees - Reissue Supervisor
Carl Palmer - Synthesizer, Percussion, Drums
Gary Peterson - Assistant
Geoff Young - Engineer
Coco Shinomiya - Art Direction
H.R. Giger - Artwork, Paintings
Fabio Nicoli - Art Direction, Design
Bryan Rackleff - Design
Ed Morgan - Assistant

1996 CD Rhino 72459
CD Atlantic SD-19124-2
1973 LP Manticore 66669
CD Victory Music 80015
CS Atlantic CS-19124
1999 CD Import 60637
1996 CD Castle ESM344
1996 CD Castle ESM344
1993 CD Victory Music 480015
1993 CD Victory Music 480020
1994 CS Victory Music 480020



Still...You Turn Me On
Composed By Greg Lake
Performed By Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Length 2:50
Appears On Brain Salad Surgery [1973]

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: "Still...You Turn Me On" was the obligatory Lake ballad of the 1973 LP Brain Salad Surgery. The topic is love and Lake treats it with acute cuteness and poor rhymes. Once again he managed to write a whole set of lyrics without saying anything precise or creating a narrative. It ends right where it began: with a lover talking to his loved one, saying empty sentences that "[don't] seem to make sense."
Still, the song worked well, especially thanks to Lake's touching and convincing vocal delivery. It remains one of his best melodies, even though "C'Est la Vie" would have more impact. In 1973-1974 the piece was usually performed during the acoustic break of "Take a Pebble" (it is included in that form on ^Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never nds). Not as steady an inclusion as "Lucky Man," it popped in and out of the group's set list throughout the 1970s and 1990s. It also appears on about every greatest-hits collection ELP put out, starting with the influential 1980 Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. - Franзois Couture



Benny the Bouncer
Composed By Keith Emerson/Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield
Performed By Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Length 2:15
Appears On Brain Salad Surgery [1973]

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: By 1973, a Greg Lake acoustic ballad was not the only obligatory inclusion on an Emerson, Lake & Palmer LP. Emerson had developed a taste for Far West-related honky tonk tunes. For the 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery, the trio came up with "Benny the Bouncer," their strongest effort in that field, even though it was less popular than "Jeremy Bender" or "The Sheriff." Like these two songs, it features humorous lyrics ending with a punch line. The difference is that this time, thanks to the help of King Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield, they're very good and silly. Benny is a mean bouncer. He thought he was the toughest guy in town until he met Savage Sid. The confrontation was inevitable, so " Sidney chose a switchblade/And Benny got a cold meat pie." Benny's friends tried to piece his bits together after the ordeal, but some parts were missing. Now, he is "the bouncer at St. Peter's Gate."
For once, Emerson didn't try to hybrid the saloon style he was going for with rock elements. He followed the rules by the book. The piece works perfectly as a funny song, comic relief before diving into the 30-minute epic "Karn Evil 9." - Franзois Couture



Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 1
Composed By Keith Emerson/Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield
Performed By Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Length 8:39
Appears On Brain Salad Surgery [1973]

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: The first movement (or "impression") of "Karn Evil 9" was written as one piece of music. Limitations of the LP format forced Emerson, Lake & Palmer to split it in two parts, fading out and then back in after an instrumental passage. But history decided to treat each track differently.
"Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 1" begins with a twisted organ introduction that gives a taste of the whole three-movement suite. This piece will be led by Keith Emerson throughout. Lake's lyrics are made of two sections that seem to have no relation to each other. First the narrator informs listeners he had a vision of the future, "an age of power where no one had an hour to spare/Where the seeds have shivered, silent children shivered." Those children, betrayed and abused by the powers that be, need someone to help them, "to protect what's left of humanity." The narrator's cry "I'll be there" indicates he shall be that savior. In the second part, the speaking character (is it still the same narrator?) is the owner of a traveling freak show inviting the audience to "come inside." He shows some of his acts: decapitated Bishops, tears of misery, even Jesus. Is this what's left of humanity? The master of ceremonies is cut by an instrumental section.

Emerson's writing has been this vivid only once, in "Tarkus." For the first time since that epic, he throws angular melodies, light-speed organ riffs, and challenging time signatures, packing dozens of ideas into nine minutes of music. It's rich, exuberant, and very effective. This piece didn't have as much success as "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2," but it did better than the two other movements. Performed live in 1973-1974 as part of the whole work, it reappeared occasionally afterwards and was covered on the tribute project Encores, Legends & Paradox. - Franзois Couture



Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression
Composed By Keith Emerson
Performed By Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Length 7:05
Appears On Brain Salad Surgery [1973]

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: The second movement from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1973 epic piece "Karn Evil 9" has no relation whatsoever with the other two. For seven minutes, the trio abandons the sci-fi rock thread to take an abrupt turn into instrumental jazz territory. Composer Keith Emerson had pulled this trick before in "The Three Fates," but it did not have the same impact. Here, after the bombastic "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2," the contrast is striking and the performance very convincing. Rock drummers playing jazz usually still sound like rock drummers, but Carl Palmer possesses enough swing to make it work. After the exposition of the main theme comes a slow, atmospheric section that is slightly disquieting. It seems Emerson retained something from his brush with Modest Mussorgsky as this part is conceived similarly to the latter's "Hut of Baba Yaga" (from "Pictures at an Exhibition").
For many prog rock fans, "Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression" remains only the interlude between the two rock movements of the piece. The first impression still gets most of the exposure, leaving its counterparts in the shadows. The second impression was only performed during the Brain Salad Surgery tour (1973-1974). It appears on the live album ^Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never nds, where it turns out to be the only movement performed with the same stamina and conviction than on the studio recording. - Franзois Couture



Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression
Composed By Keith Emerson/Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield
Performed By Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Length 9:24
Appears On Brain Salad Surgery [1973]

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: The heavy downbeat opening "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression" is everything the jazzy second wasn't, as to clearly state that recess is over. Moreover, the loud distortion in Greg Lake's bass during the first measures sounds like a way to reaffirm his presence after remaining in the shadow of Keith Emerson's left-hand piano ostinatos for the most part of the previous movement.
The relation between the lyrics of the first and third impressions is dim. After the warning of a dreadful "age of power" and the traveling show of the remains of humanity comes an evocation of man's quest to conquer the world. The captain of a spaceship argues with his bridge computer. Man made the machine better than himself, which leads to a takeover similar to Arthur C. Clarke's novel and Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The human points out: "But I gave you life." The machine replies: "I let you live!" Man's egomaniac dream of power ("I am all there is") is brought down by its own creation ("I'm perfect! Are You?").

This short sci-fi drama was not new in 1973, but the lyrics work well. Greg Lake strongly benefited from the help of his former King Crimson acolyte Pete Sinfield. The words sound true in the singer's theatrical screams. Emerson wrote some hard-driving rock music tinged by classical bombast. More pompous than both parts of the first impression, this last movement enjoyed less success and was performed only during ELP's 1973-1974 tour. The synthesizer sequence serving as a postlude, delivered by one of the first-ever programmable keyboards, was sped up to a barely sustainable level in live performances, abruptly bringing concerts to a halt. - Franзois Couture








Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery

The Zenith of Excess

Band Members:
Keith Emerson - Organs, Harpsichord, Accordion, custom built Moog Synthesizers and Moog Polyphonic Ensemble
Greg Lake - Vocals, Bass, Zemaitis Electric 6 string and 12 string guitars
Carl Palmer - Percussion and Percussion Synthesizers

Producer: Greg Lake
Engineer: Geoff Young, Chris Kimsey
Lyrical Assistance: Pete Sinfield
Special Thanks: Bob Moog, Dave Luce, Tom Rhea, Ray Updike and others at Moog Music for assistance with Keith Emerson's Synthesizers. Nick Rose for assistance with the percussion synthesizers.



Tracks: 1 Jerusalem (2:44), 2 Toccata (7:22), 3 Still.... You Turn Me On (2:53), 4 Benny The Bouncer (2:21), 5 Karn Evil 9, First Impression Part 1 (8:44), 6 Karn Evil 9, First Impression Part 2 (4:47), Second Impression (7:07), Third Impression (9:03); 29:41 in all

Background
The first couple of years of the 1970's, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's work has established them as one of the top rock acts in the world. Their earlier disks, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition and Trilogy had made the top 10 of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic while the band, fueled by a healthy competition between its members, had simultaneously pushed the limits of technology, both in the studio and on stage. Their musical influences were employed to the full, enabling them to create challenging music which took the members beyond the limits within which the members had found themselves restricted by their former groups.

January of 1973, saw the band take the significant step of leaving Island Records and establishing their own label, entitled Manticore Records, announcing in a press release that the initiative "enabled [ELP] to continue relentless pursuance of their uncompromising musical ideas". They now had both the financial and musical freedom to fully indulge their fantasies.

They recruited a number of artists to their label, including the Italian progressive bands PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) and Banco del Mutio Soccorso as well as songwriters Keith Christmas and Pete Sinfield. Greg Lake had of course worked with Sinfield during his days with King Crimson and the writer was soon also employed to help Greg Lake with the lyrics for the next album.

Technology was important part of the band's vision of pushing musical limits. ELP was a band which eagerly adopted and used the latest technology available and Keith Emerson in particular, had been at the forefront of the use of synthesizers. He had employed one of the earliest devices on the first album, during Lucky Man, but up to this point the instrument remained a monophonic device, limiting its use somewhat. However, during the course of the year, Moog Music developed the first polyphonic module and Keith was the recipient of one of the first examples, putting it to use on the album and later having it and two Moog 960 analogue sequencers added to the huge modular C3 model which he used in the studio and on tour.

The "Get Me A Ladder" tour which took place in the Spring of 1973 saw the band pioneering both the stadium tour and the transporting of a large stage-set and a huge team of roadies to erect it. Though largely successful, the tour gave birth to many legendary stories of excess, which were to weigh down the band and ultimately served to turn the press against them.

Returning from the tour, Carl Palmer took a course in Timpani at the Guildhall School of Music and then expanded his kit to include timpani, gongs and one of the earliest examples of a percussion synthesizer.

The Artwork
Just as striking as the music was the album's artwork. With other progressive acts becoming as well known for their album cover art as their music, ELP's covers up to this point looked fairly undistinguished in comparison. Having encountered the art of H.R. Giger whilst on tour in Switzerland, Keith Emerson felt that there was a immediate match between his art and their music, later stating that "It was dark and very foreboding, and for me it represented ELP's music".

A visit to Giger's home was sufficient to convince the other members of the band and the artist himself was delighted when told that the album's title (as well as the rejected title Whip Some Skull on Ya) were euphemisms for fellatio. The band chose two existing works for the outer and inner cover, but the phallic object below the mouth of the female face on the inner cover required modification before it was approved for use, finally taking the form of a shaft of light.



I been running trying to get hung up in my mind
Got to give myself a little talking to this time
Just need a little brain salad surgery
Got to cure this insecurity
Right Place, Wrong Time (Dr. John) 1973

The sleeve designer also insisted on a non-standard construction and rather than being a normal 'gatefold' sleeve, the front cover opened from the centre. It was necessary to fold one of the flaps back fully, in order to be able to extract the vinyl contents within and though it was also probably rather more difficult and expensive to produce, it marked the band out from the rest of the field.

The Recording Process
While a couple of the pieces of music which eventually appeared on the album (Toccatta and Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression) had been premiered during the "Get Me A Ladder" tour, the remainder of the material took some time to complete. The entire recording process, with Greg lake at the producers desk, lasted until the autumn of 1973, with the release date of the album being pushed back on a number of occasions.


With an impatient audience keen to hear the fruits of their labours, the band released a 'flexi' 7-inch single of new material in conjunction with the New Musical Express, interestingly enough, the paper which led the critical backlash against the band in the years which followed. The disk contained extracts of the album on one side and a track entitled 'Brain Salad Surgery' on the other. Recorded during left over studio time, it was a not very representative of what was to emerge on the album itself.

However, the long wait proved worthwhile. In the words of Carl Palmer "All I know is we spent more time and put more effort into this record than any other we have made". Emerson agreed, stating "We felt we needed a bit of time to consider things and not let everything go to our heads. I think it was worth the wait, because a lot of people think that Brain Salad Surgery is just about the best thing we ever did. I think that 'Karn Evil 9' proves that. Again, the most important thing was the way we were playing together as a band.". Indeed the unity of purpose is quite striking when one compares this disk to their subsequent output.

The Album
The disk opens with William Blake and Parry's Jerusalem, a classic Hymn which most English people are very familiar with from their school days.

Though considered rather vulgar by the BBC, who refused to play this interpretation when it was issued as a single in early 1974, the arrangement is actually very classic and it suits Greg Lake's voice perfectly. The author's notes on arrangement calls for the first two verses to be sung by solo voice and the remaining two by unison voice. Of course ELP cannot resist adding their own touch, so the piano part is replaced by Keith's organ which soars and expands evoking memories of choir service. The 2nd verse sees Carl Palmer using bells and a wonderful drum roll to bring home the "Dark Satanic Mills", while during the following verse, Keith introduces a keyboard line, which is almost horn-like in its trumpeting of Greg's commands "Bring me my bow of burning gold ...".

The following track is an adaptation by Emerson of the fourth movement of Alberto Ginestera's First Piano concerto. It was a piece which Emerson had obtained when in the USA during 1969. Having presented his vision to Greg and Carl, he then found himself without permission from the music publishers to use the music. Keith decided to go straight to the composer himself and flew to Switzerland, where after dinner, he played a recording of the piece. Ginestera is reported to have exclaimed "Diabolique! No one has been able to capture my music like that before! It's exactly the way I hear it myself!' ".

Indeed the piece can't be considered simply a piano piece, as the percussion contributions from Carl Palmer are equally important and Greg plays some guitar too. Keith plays organ and piano as well as contributing a whole range of synth effects but it is the injections of timpani and other percussion from Carl which turn it into something truly unique. Diabolic indeed!

After that, the listener's ears are greeted with the much gentler Still.... You Turn Me On which sees Greg on acoustic guitar, accompanied by Keith with a little light harpsichord. While it does not break new ground, the song proved a big radio hit in the States,

Then, very much like they did on Tarkus with Jeremy Bender, the band inject a change of mood and a bit of humour in the form of Benny The Bouncer. While Greg sings away with a mock East-End of London accent, Keith indulges in a bit of honky-tonk piano. It is hardly their most challenging piece of music, but it indicates some of their influences and demonstrates that they are not frightened to attempt something a little out of the ordinary.

However, the final piece of music, the Karn Evil 9 suite, almost 30 minutes long, forms the main body of the disk and is without doubt the finest piece of music that the group ever composed. Originally split across two sides of vinyl, due to its length and the restrictions of the medium, it is an astonishingly varied piece into which the band throw a kitchen-sink full of effects and instruments creating a masterpiece of Technical Rock and which more than any other piece of music, defines them as a band.

Instrumentally it opens with Keith's organ, before the full band briefly state the main theme of the piece. The early verses are interspersed with some excellent soloing from Keith on organ and synth and lay in front of the listener, a vision of a people who have been exploited, betrayed and left leaderless by a cruel, uncaring world. Later a blistering solo from Keith over Greg's pounding bass introduce us to an even more shocking vision. It's a world in which "Thrills and Shocks" are the main entertainment, each one even greater than the last, which Greg as ringmaster delights in introducing to us. The "Thrills and Shocks" are backed up with more instrumental pyrotechnics - a drum roll from Carl, organ runs from Keith and a great electric solo which bursts forth and takes one by surprise.

"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends" introduces the final segment of the First Impression, originally the start of the 2nd side of the vinyl album. The closing 4 verses are divided by yet another organ solo from Keith and a second crisp solo from Greg ending with the call to "see the show...".

The Emerson composed Second Impression is in parts more "Carnival" than "Karn Evil" dealing with "time and travel" and the sense of disorientation that it produces. It commences with a long segment in which Emerson reproduces a steel drum sound with his synthesizer, then quotes briefly the theme of a calypso before moving to the piano for the calmer, but moodier central part. Here he is aided by Greg Lake, who with some deft bass touches, builds a sense of foreboding before in the final segment, Emerson's jazzier playing, superbly backed by the others, gradually raises the pace before bringing the movement suddenly to a surprise halt.

For the lyrics of the final movement, the 9 minute long Third Impression, Lake received some assistance from Pete Sinfield and together they build a grim image of the future. A future in which man loses contact with the creation and effectively finds himself back in the Stone Age, supplanted by the computer. It's epic theme is matched by the music which builds gradually up to the climax in which a despairing man argues ineffectively with the computer he created. The end is left open, but the message of the piece is clear.

Postscript
With the album in the can, the band went straight back out on the road again in the USA and then in Europe, further cementing their position at the top of the premiere league of acts in the USA. They did this using "the most ambitious spectacular ever mobilised for a group", comprising 35 tons of equipment, a quadraphonic sound system, a huge convoy of trucks and Greg Lake's Persian rug - now immortalised in rock history.

The band were at the top of the tree. It was to be several more years before the next studio album. UK press opinion and government fiscal policies made the UK less attractive and the USA offered the band the opportunity of playing to bigger, more lucrative crowds. The intense touring probably took its toll, but equally, the creativity displayed on the disk left them with very few avenues left to explore as a unit. In fact, rather like the subject of Karn Evil 9, the press considered that the band had lost touch with their roots and certainly their UK audience as they became caught up in the 'Arena-Rock' circus, with which they became synonymous.

When they did reconvene for the Works, 3 out of 4 sides of the double LP were devoted to the individual band member's material and the trios' combined efforts on the fourth side indicated that something was missing. Whereas the trio had been formed from a common belief and desire to push musical boundaries, by the time that Works appeared, the unity of vision was no longer there and the band could never recapture the energy and creativity of 1973 and its encapsulation in vinyl which took the form of Brain Salad Surgery. A creative high-point for the artists and one of the masterpieces of Progressive Rock.


Written by Charlie Farrell.








Emerson Lake & Palmer
Brain Salad Surgery
1973
Atlantic


If you could play only one album for someone who wanted to know what classic progressive rock was, what album would you choose? In the Court of the Crimson King? Close to the Edge? In a Glasss House? While several different albums could adequately give the uninitiated a good idea of what progressive rock is, possibly none other than Emerson Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery contains all the ingredients of prog in as potent a mixture; and probably nowhere else are those ingedients so clearly defined. This is not to say that Brain Salad Surgery is the "best" or "most progressive" prog album ever made, but it is possibly one of the most archtypal prog albums in history. And yes, it's a good one too.

From the very beginning, it is obvious that this is no ordinary rock and roll album. The first impression one is likely to get from the experience that is Brain Salad Surgery is its extravagance. Everything about this album is over-the-top. The original album package itself was an excercise in excess. The imposing, mechanical-looking cover opens down the center to reveal a second painting of the woman's face we catch a glimpse of on the outside. She is entombed in some sort of cryogenic sepulchre. A faint infinity symbol on her forehead reinforces the idea of the permanent perservation of her body. The cover art plays to the concept of humanity versus machinery, which was the subject of many a prog concept album, this one included. It also expounds on the lyrics of the third track "Still You Turn Me On." Inside is a large folded poster. Here, Emerson, Lake and Palmer are each entombed in the same mechanical coffin found on the cover. Even in this state of death, we find that they are larger than life. The pictures of each member are huge - each man getting his own 12-inch by 12-inch portrait. They're each prog rock heroes, idolized for their instrumental virtuosity, massive stage presence and cultured hippie good looks. (This is all lost on most CD reissues of the album, by the way, though there have been various versions which have made some attempt to restore the original package. The cardboard digipak version released on Victory several years ago is a good one.)

Once we get past the spectacle of the album art, we find that the music inside is no less massive and ambitious. The opening track, "Jerusalem" is a very short, but fitting fanfare of near-Biblical proportions - literally. The lyrics are taken from William Blake's "And did those feet?" This is a famous poem based in part on the once widely believed English legend of Jesus Christ's visit to England after his ministry in ancient Palestine. This song is actually a cover of a famous anthem known by every Englishman. The subject matter of this song indicates a nod to ELP's unabashed Englishness (some might say Anglocentrism) and simultaneously lends an air of timeless tradition and ceremony to the music.

Track two really gets things going with an instrumental called "Toccata." This is yet another cover of a modern classical piece (an ELP trademark) by Alberto Ginastera, who lends his blessing to the inclusion of the piece on the original LP liner notes. Toccata actually proves to be one of ELP's most ambitious recordings to date. It is nearly unmatched in ELP's catalog for intensity and complexity. Fast, heavy-handed, organ chords and portentous synth melodies are the name of this game. Carl Palmer's drum solo, complete with triggered synth sounds, foreshadows what Neil Peart would be doing over a decade later, all while sounding a whole lot like the inside of a busy video game arcade.

"Still... You Turn Me On" provides Gerg Lake an opportunity to display his trademark acoustic guitar balladry and another chance at radio airplay, but is the least interesting track on the album. "Benny the Bouncer" fills the comedy spot on this particular ELP album. It's another installment of the "Jeremy Bender" phenomenon, started on Tarkus. Its silly, banal lyrics and catchy honky tonk piano provide some necessary comedy relief before getting to the real meat and potatoes of the album. This track also helps show what a talented, well rounded musician Keith Emerson really was in his prime. Classical, jazz, rock, blues and honky-tonk were all well within his repetoire. What rock musician of today even approaches this level of proficency on his or her respective instrument?

Finally, we come to the ever-popular side-long piece of this particular prog album. In keeping with the spirit of this album's grandiosity, this side-long piece is actually so long it takes up a little more than one side! "Karn Evil 9" is among the grandest, most overblown compositions ever written by a prog rock band. It's pretentious, self-indulgent, theatrical and excellent. "Karn Evil 9" is divided into three distinctly different movements or "impressions." The first impression is the epitome of classical keyboard prog, loaded with huge-sounding fanfares and solos from Emerson's organ and modular Moog (itself an enormous beast of a machine, which was almost as much show as it was substance.) In this movement, Lake plays the role of a carnival barker, inviting potential customers to "roll up" and "see the show." The show is full of all kinds of bizarre and supposedly amazing sights. The music is fittingly dramatic and hammy, but very energetic and compelling. It's hard to resist playing air-drums or air-keyboard to this piece. One can almost see the image of the show-biz type of spectacle the band was trying to evoke with the lyrics and music.

The second impression is a more diverse and subtle instrumental affair. Some wonderfully intelligent piano workouts make up a large part of this section. Emerson's classical and jazz training really show here. Many serious musicologists would probably be amazed to hear this piece and learn that it was performed by a rock band.

The finale contains some really stirring instrumental and vocal sections, but portions of it go on just a bit too long. Here the prog rock stereotypes about endless keyboard solos and unnecessarily episodic compositions actually come true. This section of "Karn Evil 9" deals with a battle between man and machine in which man is ultimately dominated by his own creation. The end of the piece finds the machine saying to man, "I'm perfect! Are you?" This is followed by a sequenced riff from Emerson's Moog that, as it repeats, quickly speeds up well beyond human comprehension. This seems to symbolize man's inability to restrain that which he has set in motion. He can only watch helplessly as situations and mechanisms of his own design spin rapidly out of his control.

Rock operas, concept albums and excessive displays of all kinds were all popular in '70s rock music. Artists like Queen, Elton John, Styx and Kiss all made a big deal of the "show" both in concert and on record, but none of these even approached the display of musical cajones and skill ELP offered on Brain Salad Surgery. While some of ELP's catalog has aged poorly and served only to further marginalize progressive rock's appeal to modern audiences, Brain Salad Surgery is an exception. While it is very strong stuff by today's standards, Brain Salad Surgery is an absolutely essential document in any progressive rock enthusiast's collection. - SH





Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Brain Salad Surgery
Manticore (MC66669)
UK 1972

Keith Emerson, organs, piano, harpsichord, accordion, custom-built Moog synths, Moog polyphonic ensemble, vocals; Greg Lake, vocals, bass, Zemaitis electric 6-string and 12-string guitars; Carl Palmer, drums, percussion, percussion synths

Tracklist:
1. Jerusalem - 2:44
2. Toccata - 7:23
3. Still... You Turn Me On - 2:53
4. Benny The Bouncer - 2:21
5. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 1) - 8:44
6. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 2) - 4:47
7. Karn Evil 9 (2nd Impression) - 7:07
8. Karn Evil 9 (3rd Impression) - 9:03


conrad

A typically brash ELP rendition of the old hymn "Jerusalem" opens this album. In terms of the music, ELP probably chose well. The tune is a strong one, and holds up well when turned into an ELP power anthem; however, the lyrics are a bit of a concern. It's not that William Blake's longing for a pastoral ideal in the hellish reality of the the Industrial Revolution doesn't sit well with the menacing keyboards of Keith Emerson, much less the H.R. Giger man-meets-machine cover (incidentally my favourite album cover of all time). It's more the fact that it shows just how bad Greg Lake's lyrics are on track 3.
"Still, you turn me on" would have to be one of the most frustrating ELP songs of all time. A nice arpeggio on the guitar and a good melody line make for a very good, if somewhat sentimental, ballad. Even the lyrics aren't too bad, though being directly after lyrics by William Blake they look a little pale. And then comes the chorus with that stupid line which gave the song its title, and some completely out of place electric guitar put through a wah-wah pedal.

The centrepiece of this album, though, is the epic "Karn Evil 9". Split into three sections, it starts on Side 1 of the old vinyl LP and takes up all of Side 2 as well. It's typical ELP, with Emerson's keyboard work superb as always. There's also some good lead guitar by Greg Lake, and one of the best vocal melodies ELP has ever written. The third impression has a "space opera" feel to it, whose ridiculous grandeur suits the music to a tee. On top of that, I'm sure I can hear a foreshadowing of the Star Wars theme in there too. "Karn Evil 9" is a showcase for everything that ELP does well, unified into a coherent whole.

Every ELP album is a mixed bag in terms of quality, and this album is no exception. The two songs I have not mentioned above are a brilliant arrangement of a piece by a modern South American composer and an attempt at humour that falls flat on its face, which probably illustrate my point. In all, however, the best music on this album exceeds that on other ELP albums in terms of both quality and quantity. My advice is to take the good with the bad and enjoy the ride. Just don't listen too closely to the lyrics after "Jerusalem".

5-1-03


bob

General prog consensus seems to have it that ELP peaked with this album, and that it was all downhill from here through the Works period, Love Beach, and the lackluster reunion albums of the 90s. While I generally agree about the Works-and-later material (although there are some nice bits here and there), I'm not so sure that Brain Salad Surgery is the classic that it's often touted as.
The album opens with the power-keyboard-trio hymn "Jerusalem", which I've never been particularly fond of. The best track on the album comes after that though, with "Toccata" being a wicked, twisted electronic adaptation of Ginastera's First Piano Concerto, Fourth Movement. Before anyone thinks I'm putting on airs by picking the "classical adaptation" as my favorite track, I should admit that I've never heard the original... but I love the remake.

After that we get a fairly lame ballad with fairly embarrassing lyrics (the whole thing just screams "70s bad taste") and a comic bar-room piano player type tune. I've never understood the slagging that "Benny the Bouncer" takes - it's meant to be a goofy little bit of fun, and that's exactly what it is. Doesn't humor belong in prog?

Finally, the back half of the album (and then some) is taken up by the massive "Karn Evil 9". I don't quite understand why they felt the need to make this one big "prog epic", because the three "impressions" don't have much to do with each other and clearly could have been separate songs. The first impression (split across the original album sides, leaving part 2 as a radio-friendly tune under five minutes) is a decent song, but seems to repeat itself a lot and ramble on far too long (sort of like this review). The second impression is my favorite section. It's an instrumental featuring some of Emerson's best keyboard work on the disc, including a nice bit where the keyboards simulate steel drums and a middle section where things slow down and relax before the rip-roaring finale.

The third impression abandons the "evil carnival" concept of the first section and instead becomes some sort of overwrought, goofy science-fiction story about a computer that takes over a space ship (or something like that). I always thought the quote from the Star Wars soundtrack in the music was intentional, but checking the dates I see that the movie actually came out four years after this album.

All in all, this is an album that every prog fan should probably hear eventually. But I'd rank it behind the debut album and Tarkus, and maybe even Trilogy as well.

6-27-03