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Jerusalem starts things out, a re-working of an old Englishg hymn. It's notable for an extremely powerful vocal delivery by Greg Lake. A fantastic opener. Toccata is next, and it just might be the BEST classical interpretation ever done by a rock band. Never before had a classical piece received this treatment. Emerson absolutely shines here with a very tasteful choice of keyboard sounds and, of course, absolutely mind-blowing playing. Palmer puts his electronic drums to use here, which is comething that usually makes me cringe, but it works beautifully. Difficult to describe, you have to hear it for yourself. Might be the best thing they ever did. Really. Masterful piece.

Still... You Turn Me On is the obligatory Lake acoustic ballad, and it is MILES ahead of past efforts like Lucky Man and From The Beginning. It's the weakest tune on the record, but it's still very good.

Benny The Bouncer is a fun little song done in the same style as Jeremy Bender and The Sheriff. It's a ragtime song, I guess, very bouncy and certainly a lot of fun. Clocking in at just over 2 minutes, it's the perfect break from all the serious stuff. Sounds like they were just having fun in the studio. Might not work for everybody, works for me.

....but of course the meat of the album is the huge, half an hour Karn Evil 9, which I will break into its four parts.

1st Impression, Part 1 (Impression, ha, you gotta love these guys....or hate 'em, whatever) is the best of the suite, and might just be THE pinnacle of progressive rock. Seriously. This is some awesome stuff. Emerson absolutely blows you away with this one. The shear number of different keyboard sounds and muisical ideas in this 8 minutes of prog brilliance is astounding. This is how to make prog rock ROCK. Lake does a perfect job putting you in the setting of this futuristic carnival, or whatever the hell Karn Evil 9 is about. I really don't care. 1st Impression Part 1 is awesome. Simply awesome. I never grow tired of it.

1st Impression Part 2 is the classic radio staple, and their biggest hit. Carrying over the musical ideas presented in Part 1 and adding a pop sensibility. Don't let that fool you though. You still get the incredible ELP instrumentation and purely progressive song structure. Watch for the end. Awesome build- up and absolutely chill-inducing vocals from Lake.

2nd Impression is a piano-driven interlude in the same vain as Fugue from Trilogy. Maybe not for everybody, but Emerson goes absolutely insane. This might be the most technically impressive keyboard playing ever put on a rock/pop album. Give it time to grow on you.

3rd Impression closes things out, bringing the Karn Evil concept to a close as a futuristic struggle between man and computer. Overall, a wonderful blend of sci-fi concept and classically inspired music. The first half is epic and bombastic as anything they've ever done, and rivals 1st Impression Part 1 as the best part of the album. The second half does seem to drag on a bit, but up to this point it's all been incredible, so I'm not gonna kill the guys for it. Some wonderful studio and keyboard tricks really highlight the close of the album.

Overall? A shining 5 star achievement. Go get this album....now. Absolutely essential.

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