TRILOGY

Trilogy is, in my humble opinion, ELP's greatest and most definitive album. More so than any other record in their discography, Trilogy exemplified everything that makes ELP great: ambitious prog epics (e.g. 'The Endless Enigma' suite, 'Trilogy'), rock adaptations of classically styled pieces (e.g. 'Abadonn's Bolero,' 'Hoedown,'), and plain ol' fun 70's classic rock (e.g. 'The Sheriff', 'From the Beginning'). Brain Salad Surgery is inconsistent and, at times, a bit too whacky. Both Tarkus and the band's eponymous debut, the other usual candidates the group's best record, are undoubtedly great but came out a bit undercooked. Only Trilogy is focused and consistent throughout.

For me personally, Trilogy highlights the extent to which Emerson, Lake, & Palmer wasted their potential. If on the earlier records the trio did not always succeed to fully combine their powers, on the records after Brain Salad Surgery they downright ripped themselves apart. And regardless of what you think of those records, I think all ELP fans agree that only when the band worked together were they truly greater than the sum of their parts.