BRAIN SALAD SURGERY

There are several moments in ELP's career that are incredibly significant ? the band's charming beginnings and exploration of classical crossover on their 1970 debut album, the forging of the masterpiece that is 'Tarkus', or the dramatic live adaptation of 'Pictures at an Exhibition' - but even among such greatness, their finest hour remains 'Brain Salad Surgery', the fourth album by the power trio, released in December of 1973. This album is one of the most surreal and audacious works of progressive rock to have ever graced the world of music, replete with aberrant passages of instrumental frenzy, complex and pretentious, humorous and occasionally cynical, there is a bit of everything on 'Brain Salad Surgery', which is one of those fascinating records that musicians study under a microscope for generations; this should speak about just how intricate the music on here is, definitely making up for a cathartic listening experience.

Opening up with the Hubert Parry hymn 'Jerusalem', with Lake singing the words of William Blake, this short introduction leads to one of the most aggressive and majestic compositions of the entire Emerson, Lake & Palmer catalogue - the adaptation of Ginastera's 1st piano concerto, 4th movement, title 'Toccata'. This fiery piece is the brainchild of Emerson, this genius of the keyboards, who successfully interpolates the classical into the framework of a rock compositions in a way that is so complex and innovative that hardly anyone has been able to replicate it since. The semi-acoustic Lake ballad 'Still?You Turn Me On' counterbalances the overall "technical ecstasy" of 'Brain Salad Surgery'. 'Benny the Bouncer' is a ridiculous short track that somehow sits surprisingly well within the context of this flawlessly surreal album and then comes the centerpiece of the entire ELP mythos - the 30-minute suite in three movements, 'Karn Evil 9'. This is a gorgeous, satirical, fantastical and incredibly complex work, and if we have to be honest, this is what ELP is all about and this is where everything sets in; in a word, the point of arrival for this band (and for the progressive rock genre, too).

No matter how imaginative, cluttered and complex 'Brain Salad Surgery' may seem, it is an unmatched release in many terms. The sheer strength of each composition as well as the absurd variety of styles covered are among the reasons why this is a monumental art rock album, to this day remaining the most consistent but also most absurd Emerson, Lake & Palmer achievement.

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