TARKUS

This, however, you must know: I find that God made man simple; man's complex/ problems are of his own devising. Qo 7: 29-30 (Jerusalem Bible)

Or, in the words of Greg Lake on "Tarkus," "The weaver in the web that he made . . . ." I would like to suggest that the lyrics of "Tarkus" are more of a meditation on The Human Condition, and less of an accompaniment to the linear "story" of the creature or entity, "Tarkus," and the album's somewhat legendary cover art by William Neal.

Lake's lyrics fall roughly into three sections. On the surface, "Stones of Years" could be considered an address to "Tarkus" in its isolation following its volcanic birth, preparing to confront its foes ahead --- "In time you'll see the sign/And realize your sin . . . ." However, this address is to a wider "audience," humanity itself. In this context, sin is the reality of removal of oneself from the world, the resistance to active involvement with experience: "Has the dawn ever seen your eyes? / . . . Will you know how the seed is sown? / All your time has been/overgrown/ Never known . . . ."

What are the facets of the realm of experience? Or, in terms of theological anthropology, what are the consequences of the Fall of humanity into self-consciousness as delineated in Genesis, chapter 3? That we know of, humans are the only terrestrial creatures capable of self-transcendence, while simultaneously aware of their mortality and finitude. In this connection, I would like to mention Ernest Becker's, 1973, "The Denial of Death."

Human experience and our collective life are products of the "weaver and the web that he made." Very loosely, in the spirit of the Buddha, "all existence is sorrow," and the cause of this sorrow is "desire." According to William Neal, "Tarkus" is a conjunction of "Tartarus" and "carcass." In Greek mythology, "Tartarus" is both a mythic location and an entity. "Tartarus" corresponds to the term "Sheol" in the Hebrew Bible.

So, "Tarkus" is a metaphor for human existence in the realm of experience. The section "Mass" elaborates the identities of the characters who inhabit this realm of space and time: "The preacher, the minister of hate, the pilgrim, the cardinal of grief, the high priest, the messenger of fear, a bishop, a cloak of darkness, and the silent choir." On one level, this list embodies the participants of the secular state and the established Church of England. And, a consequence of this state of affairs is "a cloak of darkness" that pervades human existence.

We are all too familiar with a regrettable consequence of this darkness: war. In "Battlefield," Lake describes, in 1971, outcomes of human strife inseparable from today's world: "Clear the battlefield and let me/ see/ All the profit from our victory/ You talk of freedom, starving/children fall . . . Were you there to watch the earth be scorched? . . . Know the leaves of sorrow/ turned their face/ Scattered on the ashes of disgrace . . . ." At its conclusion, will The Human Condition be characterized by "Then there will be no sorrow / Be no pain?"

Lake's lyrics to "Tarkus" form a bridge between 1969's "Epitaph" of King Crimson and 1973's "Karn Evil 9." On the often maligned side two of "Tarkus," Lake continues his exposition of human existence in "The Only Way," questioning religious belief: "Can you believe God makes you /breathe? Why did he lose six million Jews? . . . [H]ow can you just obey? . . . Don't need the word, now that/ you've heard/ Don't be afraid, man is man-made . . ."

Here, Lake "steps" into a real "thicket." To the "rational" mind, nefarious realities like the Holocaust do raise objections to the existence of the God of the monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Further, human history is replete with violence and warfare and unending suffering. The Greg Lake of the early 1970's might confidently assert that man is "man-made;" however, perhaps, later in his life, Lake might have admitted that humanity with no reference to something transcendent is a "train wreck waiting to happen . . . ."

I, of course, would be greatly remiss, should I not comment on the intense musicality of "Tarkus." Even before I became truly aware of Yes in the wake of the popularity of "Roundabout," I was introduced to "Tarkus." For me, the late Keith Emerson remains my favorite progressive rock keyboardist . . . Yes, I must highlight Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, Jordan Rudess, et.al., as I state my preference for Keith Emerson. Yet, in terms of fluidity, Emerson's Hammond organ work is always legendary. As a proponent of Moog synthesizers, Emerson remains in the avant- garde. And, perhaps most memorably, Emerson was an educator. Through him, many of us first encountered Bartok, Janacek, Copland, Mussorgsky, J.S. Bach, Ginastera, Holst, and, perhaps, even, Scott Joplin.

From the opening moments of "Eruption," Palmer's percussion engages Emerson's lines as if a co-lead instrument. Despite Lake's initial resistance to Emerson's conception of "Tarkus," his bass propels "Tarkus'" structure; his electric guitars provide adept rhythmic and lead contrast to "Mass" and "Battlefield."

As a musical entity, "Tarkus" endures as an essential composition in the "library" of progressive rock . . . .

Truly, "[T]here is nothing new under the sun." Qo 1:9 (Jerusalem Bible)

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