The Brain Salad Surgery Appreciation Thre

For fans of "Brain Salad Surgery" by Emerson Lake and Palmer:

Positively fantastic concept album. Let us discuss the merit of such a fantastic piece of work!

I would suggest reading Edward Macans synopsis of this album in "Endless Enigma"

What are your favorite tracks? what makes you love this album?

Thanks

Before I really became a prog fan, I heard Toccata at a cousin's house on a nice stereo system, back in the '70's shortly after it was released.  I was a big fan of monster movies and sci-fi, so it had a lot of appeal to me.  I don't think I really appreciated the rest of it until I was older.

 

BSS is definitely a masterpiece (It was the first prog album I ever listened to - way back at age 8!)

I havem't heard it! but I've many positive comments and reviews, so Im thinking of buying it!

I personally prefer Karn Evil 9 to Tarkus, great album overall. 

Brain Salad Surgery started my progressive journey. I heard it for the first time in my freshman year, an introduction by my father. I didn't even know what prog was before then. That album changed my life.

It started the whole thing for me. It's the reason I'm here on this site.

Karn Evil 9 is where what is already established breaks loose in totality.

It appears that in the First Impression part 1, technology or computers or whatever it is, has taken over. A hero figure is striving to "help the helpless and the refugees, to protect what's left of humanity" but as we come into the 2nd part, it is apparent that humans and various things that are associated with humanity are being used as carnival attractions.

The 2nd impression is instrumental and totally amazing in that respect, we see a few themes from the first impression and even a call or two from toccata. There are numerous mood changes which could be linked to the fight or hope/hopelessness. Amidst all that it is still a bloody good song with an awesome ambient section and amazing trio interplay.

The 3rd impression is the "all pomp and no circumstance" part of the epic. I think this one signifies a huge amount of conceptualization in and of itself. It is very majestic and calls back to the beauty of "Jerusalem"
What is awesome is that when you listen to this with the concept in mind, the organ solos are not "mindless noodling strictly for showing off KE's skills," They are a full blown story played out in the repetitive notes (sounds like a cold unemotional computer) and the organ swells (clashes and fights)
After the very eerie and technically stunning middle section we return to a pseudo-majestic part, it seems back to normal but some holdover bits from the previous section suggest that all is not well. When we hear Greg Lake sing "Rejoice Glory is ours, our young men have no died in vain" one would think that humans have one in entirety, but as one listens forward "their graves need no flowers, the tapes have recorded their names" it clearly shows technology has won and humans are just a part of it. The fading synthesizer at the end shows the cold repetitive truth of what has happened...humans have not won...

All in all is an amazing sounding record, so much good organ and such that one digs it just for all the great sound, but the concept is also very interesting. I do think that if people really give it the time of day it is very very enjoyable!

This my number 2 in my whole discography ! (only Tarkus is better for me :-). The whole album is brilliant..even Benny The Bouncer isn't as bad as people say, it's justa good music joke. Toccata is one of the weirdest thing I've ever listened to and Karn Evil 9 is just super. It beats all the other suites like "Close to the Edge", "Supper's ready", "Thick as a brick" or "Atom Heart Mother" ! Karn Evil 9 is a suite that defined the whole genre for me...and it doesn't matter that it was created after the rest of well-known epics, they just take from them everything what's the best and most "Typical" for progressive rock.

chopper wrote: Is it really a concept album? How do Benny the Bouncer and Still You Turn Me On fit into the concept?

Benny was a very attractive man

Not a concept album.

Edited by Snow Dog - May 16 2007 at 07:42