Tarkus VS Ys

Ys. Tarkus is great, too, but there's a couple of tracks on the second side I really could've gone without. No filler on Ys, even the CD bonus track is excellent.

The Bearded Bard wrote: Ys. Tarkus is great, too, but there's a couple of tracks on the second side I really could've gone without. No filler on Ys, even the CD bonus track is excellent.

one mans filler is another man's spice of life and variety.

Oh YS is in my top 5 alltime albums... and is #1 when pissed and hitting the J.D. and wanting to kick ass and take names.

However it is but one color... and while that makes it as great as is.. there simply is no album darker and heavier.. but it isn't a particularly diverse album.

So YS for favorite...and is the single greatest keyboard rock album ever recorded... but overall Tarkus is the better overall album if one was to put my fanboy hat away and don the music critic hat.

no vote..

Tarkus is not considered a foundational prog album without reason..  it was that good.  Music at its best is not monochromatic.. but full of different colors and emotions. In that .. yeah.. Tarkus smokes YS.  Seriously man...  no one loves YS more than I do.. been singing it's praises since day 1 on this site it feels like... but it NOT music you just put on for enjoyment... it is one of those albums that is a mood enhancer reinforcer. 

For me... when pissed at the world... there is no better album for getting it out of the system than YS which beats me over the head for 40 and in my rapidly advancing old age and settling down from the hellion I used to be.. I've learned it is better to have a 2X4 beat across ones head than beat someone else over the head with one. Yeah.. it rules when you are 20...  not so cool when pushing 50.

I love YS, but Tarkus is freaking Tarkus, man

There's no filler on YS? I'm not so sure about that. The last track goes on for way too long with that repetitive bass line and there's less variety in general

Both are five star albums.

Tarkus, my favorite ELP these days.

I love Tarkus but you can't hold side 2 of that up against anything on Ys.

Many of my favourite albums divide opinion, Ys is no exception. For me personally it's an absolute masterpiece. Sorta like an old school version of The Mars Volta with an Italian Arthur Brown on vocals. Mad and wonderful music with awesome dynamics and even a section that reminds me of Krautrock (the wonderfully meandering coda on Epilogo where the drums and bass start to dance around each other like serpents). A brilliant album to clear out your sinuses to. Afterwards you feel like you just snorted an iceberg. Brainfreeze without feeling cold.