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Roj 
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Manchester, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 3126
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 Posted: September 14 2009 at 03:06 |
Tarkus is a really good album, I'd rate it 4 stars.
BSS however is one of THE greatest prog albums of all, one of the very cornerstones of progressive music. It's pretty much flawless (BTB excepted) and is an automatic 5 star album. I can't believe that any of Karn Evil 9 is considered as filler. I'm astonished it's behind in this poll.
If someone had just arrived out of a 40 year coma and wanted to know what prog is all about, BSS would be one of the first albums I'd play for them, it's that important.
Edited by Roj M30 - September 14 2009 at 03:07
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guitargods2009
Forum Groupie
Joined: September 22 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Status: Offline
Points: 85
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Posted: September 26 2009 at 21:06 |
Tarkus. Just that title track along is better than anything on BSS in my opinion. 
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SonicDeath10
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 06 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 282
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Posted: September 27 2009 at 22:52 |
 guitargods2009 wrote:
Tarkus. Just that title track along is better than anything on BSS in my opinion. |
I'd agree with this rather angry newbie. The title track is an incredible piece of music that, quite frankly, the band never even came near. The second side is quite strong in my opinion, and I, in fact, consider this album to be one of THE greatest prog rock albums ever instead of BSS. In fact, I think Karn Evil 9 is self parody: nothing on there they hadn't done better before. For me it's fun, as I do greatly enjoy the way the band interacts with each other, but it's very far below Tarkus. The first side, however, is incredibly strong. It's still Tarkus by a country mile, followed by the debut, Works Volume 2 (  seriously) then BSS, then Trilogy, then Pictures, and then Works Volume 1.
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"Good evening hippies." Bobby Boy
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ExittheLemming
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 19 2007
Location: Penal Colony
Status: Offline
Points: 11415
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Posted: September 28 2009 at 06:03 |
SonicDeath10 wrote:
guitargods2009 wrote:
Tarkus. Just that title track along is better than anything on BSS in my opinion. |
I'd agree with this rather angry newbie. The title track is an incredible piece of music that, quite frankly, the band never even came near. The second side is quite strong in my opinion, and I, in fact, consider this album to be one of THE greatest prog rock albums ever instead of BSS. In fact, I think Karn Evil 9 is self parody: nothing on there they hadn't done better before. For me it's fun, as I do greatly enjoy the way the band interacts with each other, but it's very far below Tarkus. The first side, however, is incredibly strong. It's still Tarkus by a country mile, followed by the debut, Works Volume 2 ( seriously) then BSS, then Trilogy, then Pictures, and then Works Volume 1. |
First up, I am glad you appreciate both albums. However, for me BSS was the culmination of everything they had learned up to that point i.e. they had harnessed and perfected the existing technology of the day and pushed the envelope further than anything dreamed of in '73 with drum synths, polyphonic synths and production techniques (Tarkus sounds its age now IMO) Emerson's compositions display a greater maturity on BSS than Tarkus, with his thematic ideas all having a beginning, development and conclusion. He has admitted that as good as the ideas were on Tarkus, several of them were not explored or developed enough to his satisfaction. Furthermore, the oversights of both Tarkus and Trilogy where some of the material couldn't be replicated live, were addressed on BSS i.e. none of the music was committed to tape unless it could be reproduced faithfully in the live domain right down to the last cymbal stroke. PS Why does everyone hate Benny the Bouncer ? It's a very witty and fun pastiche of UK music hall and comes across as a work of labyrinthine conceptual genius compared to Jeremy Bender are RU Ready Eddy ?  BTW I agree that Works Volume 2 is a whole lot better than it's given credit for
Edited by ExittheLemming - September 28 2009 at 06:05
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SonicDeath10
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 06 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 282
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Posted: September 28 2009 at 09:48 |
A big thing for me is the lyrics: while I never really care for Greg's lyrics on Tarkus (sorta blandly poetic without any real imagery or insight) on Karn Evil 9, Sinfield comes in...and the lyrics are just as bad. The big thing is, the reason I can stomach Tarkus, is because on Karn Evil 9, Greg roars his lyrics and shoves them into your face in a way that you aren't supposed to ignore them. On Tarkus, it's a bit more laid back. So I can handle it better. I also feel that the melodies on Tarkus are stronger. While Keith developed the themes on Karn Evil 9 further, I think he develops them too much; the point where it feels like there are about three melodies on a half hour song. Not good.
However, you are right about the sound of the track. It's incredible. The sound is thick, the opening is incredible (I quite like the introduction, much more than the synth choir of Tarkus) and it is fast paced and entertaining to listen to the different synths, organs, bass, drum and guitar work. Greg shows off some under rated chops on this track.
I'm actually a big fan of the first half of the album. It's just because Karn Evil 9 doesn't work fully for me that I can't appreciate it as much as Tarkus.
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"Good evening hippies." Bobby Boy
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Tarkus vs. Brain Salad Surgery