BRAIN SALAD SURGERY

The first track Jerusalem is a cover of old hymn with lyrics written by the great english poet William Blake. ELP treat this song with the respect it deserves while adding much needed life and a great level of emotion putting it on a new level. The hymn is strange start to an album with a sleeve that looks like it came straight out of hades. 8.5/10

Toccata, the albums masterpiece and one of my personal favourite song of all times. It starts of with quiet trumpets which decieves the listener with what lies ahead. Then with crashing passion comes the keyboards, drum and bass, with such agression and intense passion. When the keyboards are finished their thrashing, a drum solo by Carl Palmer finishes off the first "movement" of the song, then rumbling percussives noices of Palmer, and a windy sound effect take your emagination to outside the colleseum of ancient Rome ELP have taken you with this song to genre of program music, Greg Lake's bass plays and give the impression of a sneaking shadow in the vicinty an alarm is sounded with even more agression the musicians play strange experimental noises, and at a heightened climax of music we are taken back to the first "movement", and then the song ends leaving your mind blown away. I have never heard a more savagely intense song as this one. 10/10

Still...you turn me on and Benny the bouncer are two short tracks I treat as fillers, Still... is more a typical love ballad, for the ladies and most likely a single. Benny the bouncer is humorous piece about a bar fight, int the same vein as Harold the Barrel or the Battle of Epping Forest by Genesis, albeit not as good; although I know some people who like it. 6.5/10 each

Karn Evil 9:

1st Impression parts one and two ; although I think this piece is a little dated, it still has some amazing solos by ELP, their trademark energy, and has the famous lines "WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS", I listen to this piece quite regulary 7.5/10

2nd Impression is mostly a traditional jazz piano with influences of Coltrane etc on it. Has a bit of ragtime in it as well, great for widening your appreciation to more traditional jazz pieces. 7/10

3rd Impression Is a great piece with some very fascinating inventive keyboarding by Keith Emerson. Lake's voice really excels on this piece. This whole movement is based around computers taking over the world, with a robotic voice declaring war on humanity-played by Lake, there is strange whirlling hypnotic robotic noices with interesting keyboard effects to describe the battle between humanity and robots. The albums sleeve looks as if to give reference to this. 8.5/10 Overall an enjoyable journey and perhaps the finest ELP album to date. And if possible its better to get this on vinyl for the sleeve, the open up design is just incedible, HR Gigers painting is one of the most memorable works of art in the 20th century. This album is definately worth your time.