TARKUS

After seeing and hearing ELP'S version of "Fanfare For The Common Man" on TV one evening I swore I laughed and swore again that I would never purchase an Emerson Lake Palmer album. EVER! But curiosity has got the better of me and after all I was only 16 at the time and engrossed in the world of head banging bullshit for all my sins. Now, I'm not the worlds greatest progressive rock fan but as a fan of King Crimson decided to get Tarkus due to the presence of Greg Lake. I have always been drawn to his vocals and like the quality of his voice, as pompous as it may have seemed drenched in the orchestration and overblown arrangements of "In The Court Of The Crimson king", "Epitaph" to name but two. Tarkus is different. For me the quality of the music is not as strong and distinctive as the Robert Fripp envisioned King Crimson or even those other prog heads Yes. Some of the patterns on the first side were interesting, even enjoyable with some excellent keyboards and time shifts but as the album wore on the more bored I became and the less adventurous the music would drag. As has been noted many times before the second half of the album is an average minus. "Are You Ready Eddy" might have been a bit of farting fun in the studio getting ready for their producer Eddie Offard, but what was the point in adding this to the album? Point? None in my book. In stark contrast,"Eruption" starts us on what could have been a wonderful journey but by the time we get to "Are You..." I for one felt short changed, mugged in fact... Tarkus might have been a good idea but it is an unfinished and loosely thought out idea, very uneven. Sure they all may be great musicians but they might have went off a little here, even a bit out there. Just like the cover art work. What the hell is that all about? It might take a few years to get the point behind Tarkus but I think I'll let it pass me by.