TARKUS

ELP's second album is somewhat unbalanced. You have the multi part song suite of the title track on side one, which is excellent, and then you have the other songs on side two that feel a bit underdeveloped. Some of the other tracks are kind of throwaways. They don't match up to the main feature.

So let's talk about that title track, "Tarkus". The piece shows off the band's virtuosity and songwriting. It is fully developed and connected and doesn't feel like a bunch of different songs glued together. The sections flow into each other well. Stones Of Years is an especially good part. At the end, it reprises the intro as the song's finale. The entire track proves to be one of prog rock's great long pieces.

If the other songs were as good as Tarkus, then this would be a better album. As it is, it's still a good addition to anyone's prog collection.