Search - Emerson Lake & Palmer :: Tarkus

Definitive Progressive Rock!

Samhot | Star Land | 06/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tarkus (the title suite) is the one of the most complex, inventive and intense pieces of music made. It's written in 7 movements and is mostly jazz influenced. To be quite honest, it surprises me that ELP were a "popular" band because their music is not very accessible (i.e. easy listening) and the title suite is no exception. On here you will find the most unrelenting musical assaults (in every way possible), as the band seems to go all-out. Keith Emerson's maniacal and restless synthesizer work backed by Carl Palmer's frenzied and violent drumming is definitely a rush, if not somewhat draining (in a very good way!). Greg Lake seems to keep up with the insanity of his counterparts on bass, vocals and guitar. (Note: The thing on the cover art is half tank, half armadillo.)The second half of the disc is heaven or hell, depending on where you stand with the Tarkus suite. If you thought the title suite was excellent (which many fans do), you'll probably find the second half lackadaisical. However, if the title suite seems a bit overwhelming, the second half can be seen as a welcome relief from the previous chaotic madness. Jeremy Bender is a short wild west tune. B**ches Crystal is a jazzy tune. The Only Way/Infinite Space, which is essentially one track separated into two, is more atmospheric. The former is a hymn, featuring dramatic and beautifully somber vocals from Greg Lake set against the backdrop of Keith Emerson's organ, then piano. Infinite Space is a mellow and jazzy piano instrumental. Probably the only subdued moment on the disc. A Time And A Place is mostly a hard rock tune followed by the comical Are You Ready Eddy?If you want something challenging and edgy, pick this up."

The origin of why ELP angered so many...

Samhot | 09/21/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I admit to being an ELP fan from the actual days that Tarkus was current. Then and now, the album was courageous, and not completely accessable. I give it four stars rather than five because it is somewhat inconsistent in compositional quality. And yes, every now and again on this album Greg Lake's vocals are flat, and it grates my ear to hear it. But the overall virtuosity of the band must be appreciated, as well as the fact that they were stepping into uncharted territory. One can also regard with some melancholy how this period corresponded to a time when ELP could be seen to be maintaining progressive rock "progress," much as King Crimson would do. Sadly, KC continued to grow and evolve (if in fits and starts) while ELP fizzled out. For me, most of the material from Tarkus still sounds strong today, and why many cannot appreciate the challenging difference this music represents, compared to the overrated, repetitious, and derivative crap that one hears from many artists today, is puzzling. It just seems that many regard adventurism as pomposity, and it ticks them off. Yes, ELP can be pompous, and yes, sometimes breaking off in a non-comformist direction can lead to a dead-end. But I'd rather take the gems with the clinkers, unearthed by a band that tries to find something, than settle for the fool's gold consistently proffered by the mediocre.ELP will always elicit admiration and scorn (and no ELP album more so than Tarkus). But to the scornful, I would ask the question, "why does everyone insist that ELP was so 'over the top'?" I saw the live stage shows back in the glory days, and for sure, there was a hell of a lot of "show" going on. But of course so did many others (The Who, Jimi Hendrix, etc.) who are not routinely hung with such scornful accusations. And any number of shock-rock, glam-rock, or any other kind of rock you can think of, bands have done much the same, and to a lesser purpose. For instance, what was Kiss all about in their first incarnation anyway, other than their version of an over-the-top show? From an over-the-top ELP, as seen in Tarkus, you could take away the musicianship, compositional talent, and add a large helping of exceptionally bad taste and you have anything Kiss ever did."

The "Tarkus" suite is the best thing they ever did

Laon | moon-lit Surry Hills | 08/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A simply brilliant album. The "Tarkus" suite is one of the most high-energy 20 minutes in music. Not in rock, or in prog-rock, but in music. For that suite, I'd rate this as my personal favourite ELP album. The songs that followed (on side 2 on the vinyl version) are more inconsistent but also contain moments of excellence - especially "Hymn" and "Bitches Crystal". The Greg Lake contributions to Tarkus are some of his best work ever. And for all that people think of ELP as a keyboard band, when Greg Lake is good, the band is good. When he's off (as in "Love Beach" and anything produced during the cash-in 90's revival) the band is horrible. "Battlefield", the last of the vocal sections in "Tarkus", is outstanding; the best section of the best thing they ever did. Lake's final "Let there be no sorrow, be no pain" works for me: awesome, actually moving, brilliant at every level. Even the electric guitar playing's pretty good, though I prefer Lake's soloing on the "Welcome back my friends" live version, where he plays some damned impressive rock guitar, something I didn't realise he could do. I've highlighted Lake only because he sometimes doesn't get enough credit. I'm a fan of each of these three musicians. Each was simply the best around at what they were doing. Side two is more hit and miss, though there are more hits than misses. "Jeremy Bender" is the best of their comic songs by a fair margin, and *short*. And the silly throwaway song at the end, "Are you ready, Eddie", in honour of their sound engineer, is actually a good song. But the "Tarkus" suite is one wild, exuberant ride, musically absolutely unique (I can't think of anything else like it; though some other ELP comes close), and consistently brilliant. ELP are starting to influence other musicians only now, long after they stopped. (They stopped in 1976 at the latest - product from the 90s reformed ELP can be safely ignored.) It's the critics who sneered at ELP twenty years ago who look silly now. This is one of the greatest rock outfits ever at the absolute peak of their creativity. A classic. Laon"