Emerson Lake & Palmer: Tarkus (1971)
(click for larger view, although honestly it's not that interesting)
The inside gatefold tells the story of Tarkus. I just wish I could find a larger version.Tarkus
Eruption
Stones of Years
Iconoclast
Mass
Manticore
Battlefield
Aquatarkus
Jeremy Bender
Bitches Crystal
The Only Way (Hymn) / Infinite Space (Conclusion)
A Time and a Place
Are You Ready, Eddy?
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The side-long epic, the benchmark of 70's progressive rock. As the whole idea of prog was to push the boundaries, it seemed that creating a single work filling the entire side of an LP, be it a suite or a song in multiple movements, was something most if not all prog bands attempted at least once. Yes have done it nine times so far. Genesis only did it once, but their "Supper's Ready" was longer than any of the Yes epics. But if we're talking superlatives, true progheads know that Emerson Lake & Palmer did it first.
Tarkus came out a year before either
Close to the Edge or
Foxtrot.
Side One of
Tarkus, Emerson Lake & Palmer's follow-up to their very successful self-titled debut, is a suite in seven movements also titled "Tarkus". It starts and ends with instrumentals, and alternates between instrumentals and songs, telling the story of a biomechanical creature who is basically a cross between an armadillo and a tank, complete with gun turrets. On a larger scale, the song is about the futility of war. There is a lot of violent imagery, musically, lyrically, and in the album artwork, and things do not end well for Tarkus. According to Emerson, it was written in six days, during a great rush of inspiration. The instrumentals are all credited to Emerson. The first two songs are credited to Emerson/Lake, with the third solely to Lake.
Emerson and Palmer were both very excited by the possibilities and challenges presented by such a piece, while Lake really was not, and the band almost broke up over it. Lake told Emerson that if he wanted to do such things, he should do them on a solo album. Band management convinced Lake not to leave, and he eventually warmed up to it.
"Eruption" - Tarkus is born in an erupting volcano. The main theme is introduced, a driving, percussive riff in 5/4 based on fourths and tri-tones. Against this backdrop, played on Hammond organ and drums, comes the "Tarkus" sound, a huge, thick Moog sound similar to the one used in the "Lucky Man" solo from the first album.
"Stones of Years" - The first song, a philosophical meandering full of clever wordplay and not making a lot of literal sense. But the words sound nice. "Stones of Years" was released as a single, and it reached #1 on the U.K. charts and #9 in the U.S.
"Iconoclast" - Tarkus continues his rampage, facing down other biomechanical creatures. The 5/4 riffs returns, this time with a Hammond solo over it.
"Mass" - A song seemingly about religion, perhaps as a solution to violence and war. The lyrics are full of the wordplay and internal rhymes that Lake was so fond of during this period.
"Manticore" - The manticore (a mythical creature with the body of a lion, face of a man, and tail of a scorpion) arrives, with its own theme, a variation of the Tarkus riff, in 9/8 this time. Based on three groups of three, this is the first and only instrumental with a somewhat "normal" feel to it, allowing Emerson to solo in three (again on the Hammond) and interject some of his signature musical quirks and quotes.
"Battlefield" - As Tarkus and the manticore face each other, the final vocal section muses about war and futility, a common theme in early 70's music. Lake's electric guitar makes its first appearance on the album, and he even takes the solo, since it's his song.
"Aquatarkus" - Tarkus is defeated by the manticore, his body ending up in a river. Aqua + tarkus. The 5/4 riff and the Tarkus theme return, and the suite concludes.
Side Two is often overlooked as mere filler. Certainly, the title suite on Side One is the main attraction, but I recently acquired the new 5.1 mix of
Tarkus, and Side Two (really just the second half of the album, since discs have no sides) really hit me hard for the first time.
"Jeremy Bender" - Emerson Lake & Palmer had many diverse influences, and Emerson's affection for the American West and honky-tonk music was one of them. "Jeremy Bender" tells the strange story of a man who decides to become a nun, either as a way of meeting girls or to fulfill his cross-dressing needs; it's not really clear.
"Bitches Crystal" - More detuned piano, but this time with a driving 12/8 beat and synths helping provide atmosphere. The solo is on a detuned piano, with Emerson totally rocking it, then it is intercut with a lilting, music-box riff, resulting in a strange, anachronistic feeling. Lake's vicious, driving words with their internal rhythm and rhyme add to the overall manic feel of the song. Not for everyone, but a great high-energy barnburner if you can handle it.
"The Only Way (Hymn)" and "Infinite Space (Conclusion)" - The pipe organ makes its return in the first part of this two-part suite, with its somewhat cynical and sarcastic look at religion. Emerson's masterful pipe organ backdrop, fully supporting Lake's soaring voice, gives way to a brief interlude jazz-trio interlude (with Palmer's only appearance), then the final verse has Emerson's acoustic piano and Lake's multitracked voices. The "conclusion" is an instrumental, performed by piano, bass, and drums. It's dominated by Emerson's piano solo, with the left hand assuming an ostinato and the right hand playing against it both rhythmically and tonally. It's something of an experimental piece, recalling some of the more atonal moments from his solo during "Take a Pebble".
"A Time and a Place" - The first of two tracks credited to Emerson/Lake/Palmer, here we have Palmer's driving beat, Lake's manic lyrics and vocals, and Emerson breaking out his full arsenal of Hammond organ, piano, and Moog. Also, he's learned to program the Moog into some truly impressive brass sounds, and they really scream.
"Are You Ready, Eddy?" - After an album's worth of insane, aggressive, arrogant prog, ELP show that they can goof around with the best of them. It's a 12-bar blues, based on a very simple question: Are you, Eddy, ready for this next track? (Eddy Offord engineered and/or produced most of both Yes and ELP's early output, as well as John Lennon, Procol Harum, and countless others.) After not one, but two psychotic piano solos and several verses both praising and questioning Eddy's skills on the sixteen tracks and faders, things break down at the end when the sandwiches arrive, and they've only got ham or cheese. Ham or cheese.
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Albums were shorter back then. Songs were shorter back then. True, Yes had been stretching things out for a while by this point, but it was not yet the norm, even in prog. Of course, there was no "prog" yet. Bands were still called Art Rock at this time, and were still figuring out what they could do and how to do it. Perhaps after the debut, ELP simply made a decision to tighten things up. After all, their debut only had six tracks and the average length was nearly double what it is here.
But that's just speculation. The bottom line is that the amazing title suite goes through seven movements in less than 21 minutes; do the math. Emerson said that in restrospect, it's not really well done. It changes ideas too quickly. And Side Two is shorter than that, with six tracks of its own. Perhaps the reason why Side Two is overall less satisfying for many is because the songs are all rather short, especially by prog standards. They're just basic songs. Now, to an ELP fan, they're great songs; there's still plenty here to dig into, but it's not surprising that people tend to focus on the title suite and dismiss the rest. I know I did for a long time.
Topic: Emerson Lake & Palmer Discography (Read 47264 times)
