BRAIN SALAD SURGERY

Brain Salad Surgery shows ELP at their peak. The epic atmosphere and intense playing on this album is really something to behold and dashes out some of the best ideas from the group so far; 'Jerusalem', a cover of the hymn with the same name, is a powerful opener to the album that mingles ELPs over the top style into the song with surprisingly satisfying results. 'Toccata' is a rendition of Alberto Ginastera's composition of the same name and definitely does it great justice, sounding far more modern and sinister than the original piece, while incorporating Palmer's renewed electronic percussion kit into the majority of the song, backed up with mean and intense playing from Lake and Emerson. An intimate track that could clear out a room of any group of unprepared listeners. The next two cuts are yet again shorter tracks that doesn't add much to the album, but 'Karn Evil 9' is the bands magnum opus at whopping 30 minutes, and showcases the technical ability of the band in the fiercest way possible. A far out Sci-fi concept with a chilling mood throughout, with some eerily futuristic lyrics by Peter Sinfield (lyricist from King Crimson's early days) concerning the perversion of mankind, leading up to a war against man vs. computers in the future.. This track is musically some of the best the band has ever done, but also perfectly over-the-top and could absolutely swamp the listening experience for some, but it's still an awesome showcase of classic prog music at its peak. If you don't mind the excessive and adventurous, and already are into the music of this band, this album is essential, as well as one of the great prog classics of it's day.