TRILOGY

Trilogy is an ELP album like all others. It's noisy and technical album that gives this reviewer a headache. I've listened to it a few times and after 4 years of owning this album I decided to throw it on one last time for the sake of reviewing it. However, I also consider to be the best of early ELP. The song writing here is better than it has been before this album and better than on later albums.

I know I talk a lot of smack about ELP's music, but "The Endless Enigma: Part 1, Tocatta, and Part 2" is actually the best suite I've heard composed by ELP. It features the musical foolery that their known for, but it is more controlled and used sparingly as actually fantastic vocal and musical hooks take the forefront of the suite. I actually forgot that I found these tracks so enjoyable.

"From the Beginning" is another of ELP's best ever tracks. It's mostly an acoustic guitar ballad with some iconic guitar playing, and that main riff with the bends is incredible. The lyrics of this track always spoke to me as well. A very mellow track, which is usually the case with ELP's best.

"The Sheriff" is a short super synthesized country song, basically. Not bad, but not particularly memorable or important either.

"Hoedown" is a decent if abrasive cover of a classic Aaron Copland composition. It was fun to listen to the first couple of times, but its abrasiveness eventually took over and became supremely annoying.

"Trilogy" starts as a beautiful and promising piece of subdued music, but later reveals itself to be mostly a noisy island jazz inspired keyboard mess.

"Living Sin" is a random and playful song that manages to sound only like a throwaway track. This features a lot of noise.

"Abaddon's Bolero" is a good enough example of a bolero, but drags on a bit too long for its own good, and really serves no purpose except to be incessantly noisy and abrasive.

This album is about half enjoyable and half forgettable, which in my opinion is fantastic for an ELP album; I usually find them to be much less enjoyable. This album along with their debut would be the best suitable for an introduction to this band.