TARKUS

ELP at their best, in a simple form. The sound is rough, direct, powerful and with no frills. Greg Lake sings like an angel and sometimes like a demon, on some heavy tracks like "Bitches Cristal, A time a place". His bass is incredible on the intro, fast as a bassist hardly can be. The novel on which the album is based is just an excuse for a peaceful message, "The only way" is pure melody and sometimes Bach takes us away with these skilled musicians. ELP was a real accomplished and their talent was very rare among many self taught musicians who worked their music simply at ear...one of their most important works, fine and mature. The ending track is a stupid thing, with some mistakes and useless piano solo...it was for fun, they said, but truly it has no relation with the concept of the Tarkus story. My preferred part is "Manticore"...it stands the test of time for its beauty. Greg Lake is at his mate's Emerson level, Carl Palmer is a little bit rough (Ian Paice could fill better the task) but sometimes he's great behind the drums. Absolutely a "must".