TRILOGY

Trilogy is a very strong album and probably the most instantly enjoyable album from ELP. The songs here are much stronger than those found on the debut release, but there is nothing as grandeose as the Tarkus track. Still, there are a lot of strong songs, but also some that are throw-aways in my opinion.

The album starts out strong with the The Endless Enigma Parts 1 and 2 and Fugue, which could be treated as one long song. The mood here is strange but interesting, and the song transitions between rocking and softer passages. After this is the hit acoustic song From the Beginning, which is good but not representative of ELPs music. This is a solo effort from Lake, much like Lucky Man. I can't really enjoy this track because I've heard it too many times on the radio, and also I listen to ELP for good organ/keyboard prog rock, not guitar. The side closes with the enjoyable The Sheriff, which is referred to as the "joke" song of the album, but I really enjoy it. There is an old-western sounding piano solo at the end of the song which gives the song a joking feeling, but it is really a good song.

Side 2 starts with Hoedown, which is instantly recognizable, and a great rendition of Rodeo. Next is my favorite track, the title track Trilogy. Trilogy has three main parts as the name implies. It moves from soft piano and singing to a fast and manic instrumental section and finally to the best section which reminds me of Tarkus. Its more happy sounding than Tarkus, and has lots of great keyboard work and interesting drumming. Next is Living Sin, and this is where the album goes sour for me. I don't enjoy the "I'm purposefully straining my voice to sound scary" kind of singing. Lake has a great voice, but he sounds ridiculous on this track. The album ends on a weak note with Abaddon's Bolero, which is repetitive and boring. And, yes, I know its supposed to be repetitive, but I expect ELPs music to be a little more interesting and creative.

In closing, this is a great album from ELP, probably their strongest overall. With that said, the album is far from perfect and in my opinion really falls apart at the end. Get it for everything else, which is top-notch.