ELP: In Defense of Tarkus over Brain Salad Surgery

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In threads here and elsewhere on the web, I have found Brain Salad Surgery cited much more frequently than other ELP records. Be it on those 'top prog album' lists or archive polls, our beloved armored armadillo seems to be forgotten in favor of BSS, a phenomenon which I find puzzling, to say the least (eg: Rolling Stone's 2015 top 50 list named BSS at #12, while there is no trace of poor ol' Tarkus). To me, Tarkus is the most solid album by ELP, and the one which had the greatest influence on the genre. BSS is, no doubt, a classic album as well, but I believe that Tarkus has an edge over it. Additionally, I find these two albums more suitable for comparison than any of ELP's others, as both Tarkus and BSS have roughly comparable sidelong suites along with a handful of unrelated tracks. In defense of Tarkus:
In short, the Tarkus suite is awesome. Let me explain. The sonic structure varies from heavy electric edge to lyrical bliss, which informed the sensibilities of both the metal and arena rock of its time. Keith Emerson's keyboard is at perhaps its punchiest ever, sounding much more relaxed on both the preceding ELP and the succeeding Trilogy. I might argue that the trio is at their virtuosic peak here as well. 
Comparatively, Karn Evil 9 feels slicker overall, with fewer of the sharp edges that give Tarkus its unmistakable character. While Tarkus had a relatively uniform hard-hitting synth sound, Emerson begins to experiment with other settings on Karn, occasionally playing with a synth voice that sounds . . . well, silly. A high-pitched whine coupled with tremolo weaves in and out of the first impression, while a cartoony Sega Genesis-esque faux horn carries the day. The second impression approaches musical brilliance, and instead of feeling out of place, the distorted synth sound works well here contrasting with the acoustic piano, but by the third impression, the goofy sounds come crashing back in. Some of the playing on the third impression is pretty damn impressive, however. 
As far as the concept of the two suites are concerned, I feel Tarkus is stronger still. I've heard theories about the tank-beast representing the Western military-industrial complex, which is quite possible, but not confirmed as far as I know (someone please tell me if you know!). My own reading is simpler: it's an indictment of war machines in general. Perhaps not a terribly original concept, especially in the time it was written, but my, what a creative way to express that sentiment. 
Karn Evil 9 bounces all the hell around and I can barely figure out what greater message the band was trying to send. We begin, in the first impression, with a grim carnival, followed by a wordless second impression, and the third finishes in a showdown with an AI supercomputer. What? Now, the speculation goes that it's a tale about entertainment blinding people to the reality of their enslavement, which I suppose is valid, but I think the execution could be cleaner.

The other tracks on their respective albums are pretty varied, so I'll just mention the standouts, as I see them:
Jerusalem opens BSS, and I love it. It's orchestral and beatific and terribly British! Everything wonderful about ELP, one of their best. Toccata follows, and while an absolute technical showboat, never really goes anywhere or develops much. Benny the Bouncer is great . . . but feels oddly out of character on such a serious, almost dark album. Perhaps a bit of comic relief is necessary, eh?
Jeremy Bender and Are You Ready Eddy? serve as bookends to side B of Tarkus, and both exemplify ELP at their most lyrically frivolous: fun tunes that don't say much. One more track needs to be addressed: Regardless of whether or not you agree with the humanist (atheist, borderline anti-religious?) sentiment of The Only Way, I feel like a bit of respect is necessary for coming forth with such an unpopular opinion, especially during the 70s, all while singing about the Holocaust over Bach's compositions.

So, fellow ELP nuts, what do you think? Am I totally wrong? Is Tarkus or BSS the better album? Your own interpretation of the suites? Or maybe do you prefer Trilogy, ELP? Love Beach  ?? 

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