November 19, 1973 - Brain Salad Surgery
10 days after my last release, and 16 months since "Trilogy", Emerson, Lake & Palmer released their fourth studio album "Brain Salad Surgery" on November 19, 1973. ELP were very successful in both the U.S. and U.K. by this point, but they did not like their record company, so they formed their own. This would be released on their very own Manticore Records, owing it's name to a section of the "Tarkus" suite. They felt that their previous album had too many overdubs and was difficult to replicate live, so they wrote material that the three of them could accurately play live. This album has two covers, and also a near 30-minute suite that takes up more than a whole side of the album! And they can reproduce that live? Let's see how this new album sounds!
Side two of course starts with "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression - Part 2" and Lake's opening line "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends" are some very fitting lyrics for the continuation of this epic suite as Lake lets us know we've gotta see the show, and his voice sounds as great as ever. Emerson plays a trippy synth riff with one hand, and does some amazing organ soloing with the other one! Holy shit that would be difficult, very talented that man is, the organ is fantastic! Lake joins him with some great guitar as well as this 2nd part is really rockin'! Palmer plays some great drums in this part as well as all three guys are at the top of their game. They play an epic ending to a fantastic 1st Impression. "Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression" follows and Emerson kicks off this impression with some very fast, great-sounding piano. Palmer plays another drum synthesizer solo and while it's not quite the craziness from "Toccata", it's still pretty cool. Emerson is back on piano again, he starts a slow, quiet riff and we hear some trippy percussion and bass. Around the 5:00 mark Emerson speeds it up again with some more awesome, fast piano. He plays a wonderful solo to end this instrumental impression. The suite and album finally ends with "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression" as some Mellotron makes some horn-like sounds. Emerson plays lots of trippy keyboards while Lake sings a new verse on top. We hear tons more amazing synths by Emerson and he has just been delivering epicness throughout this whole suite. Palmer carries the beat with some nice drumming while Emerson plays another fantastic keyboard solo. I'm really not doing his talents justice, you have to listen to all these different, amazing solos! Palmer does some great fills that segue into one final grand verse. That's Emerson doing the computer voice, and he also plays a very computer-y solo that slowly speeds up into absolute insanity, and that's how it ends! A phenomenal end to this Impression, the whole suite, and a truly fantastic album.
That is the end of "Brain Salad Surgery" and what a phenomenal album that was. The Karn Evil 9 suite was really, really good and "Toccata" was also an excellent song. The shorter tracks were all pretty good too, leaving no weak points to this fantastic work. But how does it compare to their previous albums? I think this album was so good that it easily surpasses "Pictures", "Tarkus" and "Trilogy", which is really saying something. All three of those albums are great, but this one is just beaming with amazingness. "Emerson, Lake & Palmer" is also a phenomenal album though. Deciding which is better is very tough, they are both so awesome! I have to give the slight nod to their eponymous debut album, leaving "Brain Salad Surgery" as probably one of the best 2nd place finishes there is. ELP continue to churn out fantastic music, and so does 1973, and it's not over yet!
Side one starts with two covers, the first being "Jerusalem", an adaptation of a Hubert Parry hymn. Slow, cool keyboards carry the song while Greg Lake sings his epic voice overtop. This was the big single off the album and it's not a bad song, but it also seems a bit of an odd choice. The other cover is titled "Toccata" which is another adaptation, this time of a piano concerto by Alberto Ginastera. Fast bass and drums carry the beat while Keith Emerson plays some very trippy keyboards that sound pretty cool. Carl Palmer plays some solid drumming to back Emerson's awesomeness and then he goes off for a wonderful drum solo. He also plays the first recorded use of drum synthesizers: using eight specially made drums, Palmer plays a percussive synth solo, and it sounds insane! Very computer-y and space-y, but also pretty amazing! Being able to replicate this insanity live would be mind-boggling! I thought it was an incredible song. Track 3 is a Lake song called "Still...You Turn Me On".
Acoustic guitar and epic singing by Lake carries the song as Emerson adds some cool keyboards. The chorus sounds really cool with a sort of teardrop effect and some great guitar. A cool, short song about how love doesn't have to make sense. Up next is a weird song called "Benny The Bouncer" as Emerson plays some funny-sounding synths and Lake also sings a little jokingly. The lyrics are about a fight between Benny and Savage Sid, which ends with Sid sticking a hatchet in his head! The old time-y piano solo by Emerson is pretty sweet! I like this not-so-serious song, and it shows a lighter side to these guys that are usually writing grand epics, like the following suite. The first side ends with "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression - Part 1" and is the beginning of the near 30-minute Karn Evil 9 suite that takes up the rest of the album. Emerson opens it with some cool keyboards and Lake's singing is good as usual. In the chorus he lets us know he will indeed be there. A new riff with different keyboards and some quick bass sounds good, and it still leads to the same chorus. Emerson plays two different keyboards together with one hand on each, and it sounds very cool in this extended solo. Lake sings a new verse that sounds very catchy and there's another extended instrumental bit with some great keyboards and guitar by Lake. Similar to Jethro Tull's full-album pieces, the Karn Evil 9 suite was longer than would fit on the side of one record. They had to break it somewhere, which is why the 1st Impression is broken into two parts, but it is meant as one continuous song.
Acoustic guitar and epic singing by Lake carries the song as Emerson adds some cool keyboards. The chorus sounds really cool with a sort of teardrop effect and some great guitar. A cool, short song about how love doesn't have to make sense. Up next is a weird song called "Benny The Bouncer" as Emerson plays some funny-sounding synths and Lake also sings a little jokingly. The lyrics are about a fight between Benny and Savage Sid, which ends with Sid sticking a hatchet in his head! The old time-y piano solo by Emerson is pretty sweet! I like this not-so-serious song, and it shows a lighter side to these guys that are usually writing grand epics, like the following suite. The first side ends with "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression - Part 1" and is the beginning of the near 30-minute Karn Evil 9 suite that takes up the rest of the album. Emerson opens it with some cool keyboards and Lake's singing is good as usual. In the chorus he lets us know he will indeed be there. A new riff with different keyboards and some quick bass sounds good, and it still leads to the same chorus. Emerson plays two different keyboards together with one hand on each, and it sounds very cool in this extended solo. Lake sings a new verse that sounds very catchy and there's another extended instrumental bit with some great keyboards and guitar by Lake. Similar to Jethro Tull's full-album pieces, the Karn Evil 9 suite was longer than would fit on the side of one record. They had to break it somewhere, which is why the 1st Impression is broken into two parts, but it is meant as one continuous song.
Side two of course starts with "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression - Part 2" and Lake's opening line "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends" are some very fitting lyrics for the continuation of this epic suite as Lake lets us know we've gotta see the show, and his voice sounds as great as ever. Emerson plays a trippy synth riff with one hand, and does some amazing organ soloing with the other one! Holy shit that would be difficult, very talented that man is, the organ is fantastic! Lake joins him with some great guitar as well as this 2nd part is really rockin'! Palmer plays some great drums in this part as well as all three guys are at the top of their game. They play an epic ending to a fantastic 1st Impression. "Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression" follows and Emerson kicks off this impression with some very fast, great-sounding piano. Palmer plays another drum synthesizer solo and while it's not quite the craziness from "Toccata", it's still pretty cool. Emerson is back on piano again, he starts a slow, quiet riff and we hear some trippy percussion and bass. Around the 5:00 mark Emerson speeds it up again with some more awesome, fast piano. He plays a wonderful solo to end this instrumental impression. The suite and album finally ends with "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression" as some Mellotron makes some horn-like sounds. Emerson plays lots of trippy keyboards while Lake sings a new verse on top. We hear tons more amazing synths by Emerson and he has just been delivering epicness throughout this whole suite. Palmer carries the beat with some nice drumming while Emerson plays another fantastic keyboard solo. I'm really not doing his talents justice, you have to listen to all these different, amazing solos! Palmer does some great fills that segue into one final grand verse. That's Emerson doing the computer voice, and he also plays a very computer-y solo that slowly speeds up into absolute insanity, and that's how it ends! A phenomenal end to this Impression, the whole suite, and a truly fantastic album.
That is the end of "Brain Salad Surgery" and what a phenomenal album that was. The Karn Evil 9 suite was really, really good and "Toccata" was also an excellent song. The shorter tracks were all pretty good too, leaving no weak points to this fantastic work. But how does it compare to their previous albums? I think this album was so good that it easily surpasses "Pictures", "Tarkus" and "Trilogy", which is really saying something. All three of those albums are great, but this one is just beaming with amazingness. "Emerson, Lake & Palmer" is also a phenomenal album though. Deciding which is better is very tough, they are both so awesome! I have to give the slight nod to their eponymous debut album, leaving "Brain Salad Surgery" as probably one of the best 2nd place finishes there is. ELP continue to churn out fantastic music, and so does 1973, and it's not over yet!
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