TARKUS

3.5 stars really!! Too bad that there are all those throw-away numbers on the second side because if there weren't this could have achieved the fourth star no problem. This could've been a major classic, IMO and the public , of course , thinks very highly of this one . The sidelong suite title track gets 4.5 stars by itself and is a textbook case of progressive suite. Edward Macan makes a good analysis in his book Rocking the Classics . But the rest is really just a filler. I never owned the cd version as I still have the vinyl but simply never listen to side 2 . Bender is the first of many tracks written in Ragtime piano. And Eddy is a dumb rocker done as if to prove that they could rock. And I already said in other reviews what I thought of reworking the classic so the Bach number does irritate me.

Stiil the title track alone is worth the price of the album. On with the next album , Are You Ready Eddy?

Have to agree with the others on the respective merits of side one, which is the most exciting and original thing ELP ever did and side two, which I for one always enjoyed, but is rather out of place with the "Tarkus" concept. I became familiar with the "Welcome Back My Friends" version of Tarkus first, but after I obtained the original version, I could hardly listen to the later one.

Tarkus. Definition - Half masterpiece, half not.

A game of two halves this album!

Side one of the LP was occupied entirely by "Tarkus", a magnum opus representing the cream of ELP's entire work. It is structured as a number of sequential sections, but in reality, it is the whole which far exceeds the sum of the parts. From the inaudible, gradually swelling intro, to the final bursts of the synthesiser over 20 minutes later, "Tarkus" stands as a composition to match any classical piece. It also represents prog at it's finest and indeed purest.

Greg Lake's voice never sounded better, Palmer's drumming is inspired (only the briefest of solos!), and Emerson's keyboards create stunning landscapes of sound. Rest assured, "Tarkus" will be performed live in future times in the way classical music is performed now. A true masterpiece.

Side 2 of the album appears by and large to be filler. It has the odd inspired moment such as the upbeat and dramatic "A time and a place". On the other hand, "Jeremy bender" and "Are you ready Eddy" are lightweight songs, pleasant enough but hardly worthy of an ELP album. While most of the tracks are listenable, with the possible exception of the rather tedious closing piano section of "The only way (Hymn)/Infinite space", they pale in comparison to the title track.

While the title track is an undoubted Masterpiece of progressive rock, overall the album is flawed by undistinguished supporting tracks. Most owners of the original LP probably have a very worn side one, and a pristine side 2!

Best part of the album is of course title suite in which we have definition of the ELP style. Great composition where Emerson-virtuoso plays like in trance. B-side of this album is less interesting but we have few very good moments there.

Well the first side is almost perfect, above the incredible first section of "Eruption", characterized by a special 5/4 time signature and the fantastic excursion at the Hammond organ by Keith EMERSON; nevertheless the team work in "Trilogy" is more important. The second side is a bit disappointing and this "4 stars" is due to the grandeur of EMERSON and PALMER only, than the rest of the music team composition, here including the uninspiring ideas by Greg LAKE!! Every keyboardist within such Progressive music, still in the recent times, has got this one as one of the most important references of all time, concerning the manner of playing the keyboards, so I accept a "4 stars"evaluation and also something more!

Recommended, despite of the defects I have explained to you (according to my opinion naturally)..!

Emerson seems to want to give us an overdose of dirty Hammond organ here! There are some piano parts (a few saloon piano parts too), but it is definitely less present an exuberant than on the "Brain salad surgery" album. There are many instrumental parts here. Greg Lake's voice is good though. The mood is as prog hard rock as symphonic: the dirty organ replaces the rare hard rock guitar by Lake, confirming its omnipresence. Like Eloy's "Inside album", "Tarkus" is a reference album for the organ sound treatment; nevertheless both albums have quite different organ sounds: "Tarkus" has less floating, more rhythmic, epic & melodic organ notes. Lake's bass is less elaborated here than on "Brain salad surgery". Palmer's drums are excellent, despite he is not at his best here. "Tarkus" has similitudes with the Triumvirat's "Illusions on a double dimple" album.

Tarkus alone deserves five stars but the rest of the cd is only three stars. Still, Tarkus is an amazing epic with a lot of mood swings and a killer drum solo 10 minutes into the song. This is a must have cd for the first song alone!

ELP heads into uncharted territory on "Tarkus", pushing the limits of music that a trio might aspire to (as opposed to achieve, where CREAM still reigned supreme). What it all means is anyone's guess, and it may be nothing more than a mosaic of highfalutin' instrumental workouts and pretentious pronouncements. Remarkably, none of that's really important. What is important is the faith that the music inspires in its musicians and, by extension, its audience. You get the sense that ELP approached "Tarkus" as their magnum opus (until the next magnum opus, anyway), and it's this spirit of elevated creativity that fuels "Tarkus".

The side-long "Tarkus" starts with a clear beginning, in the spirit of creation with a single sound that soon explodes into life, and from there the band fuses EMERSON's instrumental passages (often held together by improvisation) with Lake's songs (not far removed from his work with KING CRIMSON). The arrangements themselves are at best bone and sinew, Emerson's piano providing the color against Palmer's superlative, dry drumming and Lake's incidental bass lines. When the band does reach sublime heights, it's often on the strength of Lake's stalwart voice, resolute in a maelstrom of sound. Note that the inner gatefold features what purports to be a visual interpretation of the "Tarkus" story; if you can make heads or tails out of it, let me know.

The second side seeks to defuse the pomposity of the previous saga with the irreverent "Jeremy Bender", to be savored as a cherished oddity. "Bitches Crystal" returns to the haunting grounds of side one, and remains a favorite among fans. What follows next is a miniature epic: "The Only Way" (which questions God) and the instrumental "Infinite Space", which follows a more structured and restrained path than the explosive moments around it (they would revisit this style on songs like "Jerusalem", perhaps the remnant of some fiery country parson still in their blood). The wonderful "A Time And A Place" (file under epic) and "Are You Ready Eddy?" (which immortalizes engineer Eddy Offord) close the album, every ounce of energy drained.

By turns funny, profound and profane, "Tarkus" marks the arrival of greatness in the annals of ELP. That it's a self-proclaimed greatness seized by the sheer will of youth, and not the hoary crown passed down by the unclean fingers of doddering critics, no doubt hastened the band's downfall to its current, unenviable state of disrepute. But "Tarkus" is a reminder that ELP walked tall at a time when censorious hands had yet to stick a knife in their back.

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".

A marvellous piece of art, music and theater... a concept album that follows the story of a creature through it's journey to the unknown. Story told us that they were about to broke up for this album, but at the end they produced one of the most significant works ever, the album as a whole is quite strange and ends with a lame song, but trying to understand this piece is part of the integral part of "prog-knowledge". Perhaps a naive record, over- pushed by the first record, and the first "hits". A musical statement from the 70's.

WHAT??? Only 4 stars?! 'Sacreligious! Blasphemy!' Not quite. I notice that a lot of reviews includes the sweet memories of seeing Emo, Big Lake and Palmer thrashing instruments à la the Who after a concert. Maybe this is why there's so much ruckuss over albums like Tarkus or Brain Salad Surgery. I'm just not seeing why so many people get excited over an album with so few to offer. I'm just saying that: YES, Tarkus deserves a spot over your fireplace. YES, the song Tarkus is punchy, complex and showing a 6000 turns per minute on the RPM. All agreeding on Tarkus? Good. But what about the rest? Man, it's like the're sitting on their huge butts saying: 'Yep, we gave all we got on one song. Whaddaya want?' ELP is capable of writing more than, at least, 2 good songs per album. They blow your mind (more or less) only one time in the album. Hey, admit it! After Tarkus and Karn Evil 9, what song deserves a standing ovation? I'm still searching. ELP is a lazy band. If they have so much talent, why their careers sank like stones after Brain Salad Surgery? Lake is with Ringo Starr? Phhft. Emo? Palmer? Talent? More showing off instead. Triumvirat at their best (first 3 albums) beats ELP anytime.Triumvirat has credit 'cause they've been more constant in producing quality records. Triumvirat = ELP clone? Shhyeah right...

After the promising debut album we now get ELP really delivering the goods big time....well on side one anyway.The Tarkus 'suite' is still one of the most innovative prog rock tracks ever.The interplay between all three players shows ELP to be the greatest rock ensemble of the early seventies.Emerson's mastery of the organ is self evident especially on the popping and clicking sounds that he conjures up.Keyboard wizard indeed! Palmers drumming never fails to impress at any point as he copes with all the tricky tempo changes as if it is second nature while Greg Lake has never sounded better on 'Battlefield'.I give this album 4 stars because of this peice.Unfortunately the second side (Vinyl wise) was and still is a big let down.Nothing reaches the peak of side one.Even the production standard takes a somewhat bizarre downturn.'A Time And A Place' sounds like a demo to me.Where was Eddie Offord when they did this?? And 'Jeremy Bender' and 'Are You Ready Eddie?' are jokey tracks that ELP seemed to have a penchant for doing.Oh well, buy it for the 'suite',forget the rest.

Wham, bam, thank you ma'am! The 'ejaculatio praecox' syndrome, that afflicts this second album from our heroes ELP, is due - of course - mainly to hurry: the fame and fortune the 1st album gave them had to be capitalized as soon as possible! Actually, ELP wrote the great 'Tarkus' suite (20:38 on Side One) while on tour, and the rest of the album was put together in a few days: the infamous 'Are You Ready Eddy' (a studio joke to engineer Eddie Offord), the average rock of 'A Time And A Place' and 'Bitches Crystal', the boring 'Infinite Space' and the silly 'Jeremy Bender' - only Greg Lake's 'Only Way' saves Side Two from the total shame. The whole tracks are given life only by Keith Emerson's monstrous keyboard skill, and the masterpiece 'Tarkus' itself would have been a better song without its long bluesy part (not progressive at all). But ELP are ELP, and in these halcyon days they could sing the entire phone book and remain incredible!

My introduction to ELP, "Tarkus" stands as one of Progressive Rock's absolute classics, mainly because of the brilliant opening title track that clocks in at 20 minutes. This track is by far ELP's greatest song along with 1973 "Brain Salad Surgery"s "Karn Evil 9". It's not a single boring moments on this track! The rest is all from OK to excellent. The OK tracks beign "Jeremy Bender" and "Are You Ready, Eddy". The excellent ones are tracks 3-6, while not up to pair with the fantastic title track, they're still highly impressive.

Highly recommended. 4/5.

ELP has always been the whipping boy for anti-prog diatribes, and with good reason; the music is most often characterized by emotionless virtuosity and an unflinchingly serious, if not pompous delivery. Luckily, Emerson seems to have backed off a bit from the "look at how talented I am" moments that bogged down the debut album, and "Tarkus" instead attempts to be a modern narrative symphony. Utilizing 1971's state of the art technology and a classical music repetoire that ranges from the romantics to modern atonal influences, Emerson sketches a grinding and tumbling sci-fi soundtrack that occasionally rocks and rarely bores. Both more polished than the first album and less accessible than the following works, this is probably the band's most intriguing piece. There's less carnival in the soundscape than in most of Emerson's works - in fact, "Battlefield" isn't too far from a PINK FLOYD style. Except for a bit of irritating synth noodling in "Aquatarkus", the shorter chapters within the piece keep the energy going and the approach to composition is appealingly unique.

Too bad about "Jeremy Bender"- this album's version of the goofy hoedown in "Take a Pebble" (or even the one in "Hoedown"). The barroom piano sounds like a joke, unlike the more realistically rollicking ivories on "Bitches Crystal". The latter is an interesting mix of scuttling drums and synth sweeps, but Lake's shouted vocals ride a fine line between expressive and merely harsh. "The Only Way"/ "Infinite Space" is another in a long line of synth classical adaptations, and honestly I don't even care for it when the more innovative Wendy Carlos does it. The musicianship is beyond reproach, but the lyrics are embarassing even for an agnostic like me and I'm relatively certain the deeply religious Bach would not have approved one bit. The harder "A Time and A Place" sounds much better, in fact sharing many positive qualities with the first side's epic. Unfortunately, the album closes with the really amazingly horrible "Are You Ready Eddy" which tries to be a lighthearted CREAM/ WHO rocker and instead sounds almost scary- and not in a fun way. I'm not even emotionally attached to the band and I feel bad for them for recording this song- I can't imagine how embarrased it makes hardcore fans feel.

Second side missteps aside, this is an important and innovative progressive rock album. It completely fails to move me on any emotional level, and virtuosity alone is rarely enough to do it for me, so I don't really enjoy listening to "Tarkus"...but on the other hand there's enough here to keep most progressive fans interested for a long time. It's much more consistent than the first album, and "Tarkus" is arguably more unique a composition than "Karn Evil 9" or "Pictures". Therefore, I'll give it three stars- the highest possible rating I can rationalize for an album that I don't actually care for.

Well this is an excellent album. Tarkus is of course the main feast here. This side of the album is excellent and is one of their greatest works. Tarkus shows the development as a group they will later display in "Brain Salad Surgery", Karn Evil 9 the example of greatness here. Back to Tarkus this album would have been another 5 if it weren't for the screw ups on side 2. Bitche's Crystal, The Only Way and Infinate Space are good songs, but the others leave you wanting. These flaws make this album 4 stars instead of 5. Jeremy Bender and Are you ready Eddy made my ears bleed. My ears bled and that made me very sad. 5 start albums do not bring sadness. However the moments of joy far outweigh the sad parts and thus it is 4 stars, just skip those 2 tracks.

Without a moment's hesitation I can say that this is my favourite ELP album and, in my view, this is the band at their most innovative and creative. Unlike their first album, I find all three members of the group contributing equally and uniformly to a stunning album. The lyrics and Lake's singing really add to the music. This is progressive music in all senses of the phrase; remember that this album came out in June 1971, before many of the other progressive classics. At the time it reached no. 1 in the UK album charts and no. 9 in the US album charts.

Until I discovered this Web site I was not aware that the B-side of the LP (the track 'Jeremy Bender' onwards) is regarded by some - many, it would appear - as inferior to the A-side of the LP and in general. In fact I have since seen derisive comments about the B-side tracks on several Web sites. Well, if you have never listened to this album, please do not prejudge it based on any opinions you may hear or read. Listen to the album and make up your own mind. I have to say that I really like every single track on this album, and I hope you will see why from my summary of the tracks below.

The A-side of the LP is 'Tarkus', a twenty-and-a-half minute magnum opus comprising seven parts: 'Eruption', 'Stones Of Years', 'Iconoclast', 'Mass', 'Manticore', 'Battlefield' and 'Aquatarkus'. Three of these are songs interspaced between the other four instrumentals. 'Tarkus' is an allegory. As can be seen from the album's surreal cover and inner gatefold, the tarkus is half World War I tank, half armadillo, born from an egg that appears to have been spewed from a volcano. The tarkus fights and vanquishes three creatures that are half animal, half machine ('Stones Of Years', 'Iconoclast' and 'Mass'). But then the manticore appears, they do battle and the tarkus is vanquished and cast to the waters. A manticore is a mythical Persian creature, the embodiment of tyranny and evil, with the body of a lion, the face and ears of a human, and a tail with a sting at the tip like that of a scorpion. Lake's lyrics in 'Tarkus' are a diatribe against the futility of war, and apparently he stated that the lyrics are also about where past revolution has got us: nowhere, in his opinion. This would seem to fit with the defeat by the manticore at the end of the sleeve illustrations, although more recently Lake has said that 'Stones Of Years' has taken on different meanings for him over the years, and Emerson has said that the artwork was not purposely painted to fit the music. Anyway, the futility and misery of battle are certainly apparent from the lyrics of 'Battlefield'. Musically, 'Tarkus' is an amazing piece: the composition is complex, and certainly avant-garde for the time. The use of instruments is particularly impressive. Emerson's Hammond, Moog synthesizer and piano are (just) tools and, together with Lake's solid bass and guitar playing plus Palmer's percussion they produce a truly modern, sophisticated musical work which, to me, goes beyond the bounds of rock music. Several books (one having an 8-page analysis!) and at least one PhD thesis have discussed at length the 'Tarkus' piece. A superb piece of music.

'Jeremy Bender' is, in some ways, like 'Benny The Bouncer' on "Brain Salad Surgery" in the sense that it's a sort of flippant, seedy song that one could almost picture being sung around a piano in someone's vision (probably mine!) of a Victorian pub with bare floorboards in the East End of London. Described as "throwaway" by many, I still find merit in it. Emerson's honky-tonk piano and the band's hand clapping are the backing to bizarre lyrics about cross-dressing Jeremy Bender ("bender" being British slang for a homosexual man). What exactly Lake was trying to do with this track is a mystery to me, but it makes me curious as to his motives. Perhaps he was just casting around for words to fit Emerson's piano piece. Anyway, I like honky-tonk piano and the tune's fine by me, if no masterpiece.

'Bitches Crystal' is, to me, an excellent track and as good as any of the components of the 'Tarkus' piece. It starts with a very faint tinkling sound that slowly builds - I'm certain it's the celeste mentioned in the sleeve notes. The celeste is a small set of orchestral bells with a keyboard and sounds heavenly, hence the name, and it's used in other parts of the track too. Probably the most famous use of the celeste is in Tchaikovsky's 'The Sugar Plum Fairy'. This track also has plenty of honky-tonk and jazzy piano, some great, fat backing synthesizer, good drumming, and Lake's frenzied singing turning to guttural screams of angst as he belts out the lyrics: "Evil learning, People burning, Savage casting, No one lasting, Witchcraft, Sadness, Madness turning their minds." Just listen to Emerson hammering out the tune on the piano one minute, then gently tickling the ivories the next, then building up to a frenzied pace again with Palmer bashing away at the drums and one cannot fail to be impressed. This track rocks. And then a final honky-tonk tickle and a tap on a cymbal end the piece. Excellent.

'The Only Way (Hymn)' is, as the name states, a hymn. But it's a hymn with a difference: an atheist anthem using the organ of St Marks Church to provide an ecclesiastic introduction using Bach's Toccata in F before the organ launches into the tune and Lake's initially angelic-sounding tenor: "People are stirred, moved by the Word. Kneel at the shrine, deceived by the Wine. How was the Earth conceived? Infinite space, is there such a place? You must believe in the human race." And then his voice fills with contempt: "Can you believe God makes you breathe? Why did he lose six million Jews?" And then a short bridge of Bach before the final verses with the message: "Don't be afraid, man is manmade." Whether or not you are a Believer, the lyrics make you sit up and listen and are as vivid in my mind now as they were when I heard this album for the first time in the early 1970s. What a way to deliver a message: a bit like putting poison in a bottle of Chateau Lafite. A superb piece of music, irrespective of how one feels about the message.

'Infinite Space (Conclusion)' is really the end part of 'The Only Way (Hymn)' and is an ostinato that, at over 3 minutes, is nearly as long as 'The Only Way (Hymn)'. Lake's bass lays the repeating theme, and Emerson's piano repeats over it with Palmer's understated drumming alternately following one then the other. This track may appear pointless, simplistic or even irritating to some: it certainly doesn't to me. It's actually good music and done for a purpose - it creates a mood in this case - and I find it very pleasing. I also find it impressive that the trio can carry this off for over three minutes.

'A Time And A Place' is a heavier piece again, in the vein of 'Bitches Crystal' but even heavier, Emerson pounding and dragging his fingers along the keys of the Hammond, and Lake again raucously shouting out lyrics full of passion: "Save me from this shallow land, take me out of temper's hand. Drag me from the burning sand, show me those that understand." Emerson uses the Moog almost like a clarion in places in this track.

And so to the last track, 'Are You Ready Eddy', possibly the most maligned track on the album: "filler", "throwaway track", you name it. Well, it's only a bit of *fun* for Pete's sake. Eddy "Are You Ready" Offord was the engineer on this album and this was the band's way of larking around. Perhaps it was their way of filling the remaining inner grooves of the LP's B-side but, to me, it's a great way of doing it. This is Emerson tinkling away on the piano like an R&R master, with Lake and Palmer pumping at the bass and percussion in the background. The track is a great jive. And the lyrics are a gas: "Are you ready Eddy to pull your faders down. Well, are you ready, Eddie, to turn your sixteen tracks on? Eddie edit, Eddie, Eddie edit. Are you ready, Eddie, with your sixteen tracks? A bit of vibing is all it lacks." and so on. You try putting that to a jive! And one of the guys says half way through "I've missed my last bus home!". Then at the end they lark around saying "What you got: ham or cheese [sandwich]?" It's a bit of light relief and fun at the end of the album, and the band's not-so-in joke with their engineer.

Coming back to the A-side, B-side thing: All right, 'Jeremy Bender' and 'Are You Ready Eddy' don't have the weight of the other tracks. So what? That still does not make them rubbish. And the rest of the B-side is excellent. I hear nothing but good - no, excellent - music in 'Bitches Crystal', 'The Only Way', 'Infinite Space' and 'A Time And A Place'. They complement well the 'Tarkus' piece.

To those of you who don't know this album, two words: buy it! Ignore everything you've heard or read about the music (including this). Make sure you listen to it on a good hi-fi or decent headphones, and consider that this album came out in 1971. If this album is not a masterpiece of progressive music then I don't know what is.

This album was recorded in 6 days in February 1971 (for more details about ELP`s history, see their official website).The most recent remastering of this album (re-issued again on C.D. in another label, Rhino Records) is so good that it shows some minor mistakes, and maybe the reason of these mistakes is that they recorded it in 6 days. But it is a very good album, with the musical piece "Tarkus" in the original Side One of the L.P. being the best song in this album. As I`m not a keyboard player, I don`t know how the Moog synthesizer sounds of the introduction were made, as the technology for this kind of keyboards was still "primitive" in the early seventies. But with keyboard players like Emerson, Wakeman, Moraz, Banks and others, who were experimenting and creating new sounds with this early synths, Progressive Rock developed a lot in creativity. Anyway, the main keyboards in this album are the Hammond organ and the piano. Emerson plays his Hammond organ with a lot of speed in his fingers. He really never needed a lead guitarist, but Lake plays some guitars in the "Battlefield" section of the song "Tarkus". Palmer is a very good drummer and percussionist. The song "Tarkus" has some instrumental parts and some parts with lyrics. "Jeremy Bender" is an humorous song, simply played with piano, drums and bass. Again, I don`t know how Emerson made his piano sound like a "Saloon Piano from the Old Western Pictures" (are there "special" pianos which sound like that?). "Bitches Crystal" has very good bass parts by Lake with a complicated time signature by Emerson and Palmer. In "The Only Way" Emerson plays a Church Organ, and he also shows his talent in this instrument. This song also has a "jazz section" after the Church organ part, played by the trio."Infinite Space" is the "conclusion" part of the previous song, an instrumental piece where the piano and the drums are the main instruments. "A Time and a place" has an "orchestral" synthesizer arrangement. "Are You Ready Eddy?" is a Rock and Roll piece dedicated to their producer (and also then YES`producer) Eddy Offord.This is one of their best albums.

Okay, so ELP's songs on side two of the album aren't that bad. The "Tarkus" suite is a masterpiece, pure and complex. The other songs range from pure crap to mediocre, but aren't quite as bad as I originally thought.

"Tarkus" enters with "Eruption," an 5/4 barrage of keyboards which depicts the birth of the half-tank,half-armadillo creature that is Tarkus (as pictured in the album's little inner booklet thingy) from a volcano. This song is apparently about "de-evolution" or regression through primitive and thoughtless acts. Anyway, after the dramatic eruption, things calm down for "Stones of Years," where a sympathetic narritive entity sings of Tarkus' ignorance in ruthlessly killing for no reason (again as shown in the booklet). Anyway, after the instrumental barrage that is "Iconoclast" ("kill your idols"-- the punk "attitude", being made fun of by none other than the largest target of punks -- ELP), a catchy guitar enters courtesty of Lake, and we roll into "Mass," which could be called so for two reasons: the lyrics mention "the weaver and the web that he made," and "mass" could mean the mass of webs and traps Tarkus has set for himself; also, there is heavy religious imagery in this part of the song, and "mass" also means the Catholic gathering on Sunday. After this great song, we enter another battling instrumental, "Manticore," in which Tarkus is fights a creature and loses. This slows down into the sympathetic and sorrowful "Battlefield," in which the narrator mourns Tarkus' stupidity. What goes around, comes around, and this is especially true for Tarkus. After this is the quirky and muffled "Aquatarkus." This odd instrumental builds up, then a crash of the cymbals and we hear a reprise of "Eruption." Then the song closes after a huge instrumental buildup. Excellent.

...and now the filler material. "Jeremy Bender" is a half-hearted bar piano song, with obscene and nonsensical lyrics about some trailer trash guy. Luckily, this joke is very short. Afterwards is "Bitches Crystal," which, despite its name, is the best song on the second side. Rollicking keyboards and some haunting lyrics for a nice 3 minute song. Afterwards is the lyrically confrontational but instrumentally ho-hum song "The Only Way (hymn)," followed by the basic 7/4 instrumental "Infinite Space." "A Time and a Place" is another okay song, but nothing interest-grabbing. "Are You Ready Eddie" sounds like an Elvis song, another yawner...but if it is any consolation, this one is MEANT to be a joke -- a jest at their producer, Eddie.

Overall, the first song and "Bitches Crystal" alone are worth buying this album, but the rest is ho-hum. It serves as a fairly good introduction to them, however.

Probably their second best album after Brain Salad Surgery. The first track weighing in at just over 20 minutes is a masterpiece. Keith Emerson plays beautifully as does Carl Palmer And Greg Lakes Voice thrives.

Can't say much about the other songs. You could say they went a bit to far in trying to make the album a masterpiece but instead making the second side a tad [&*!#]e.

Part from that it is a must have for any prog fan as it contains probably the best opening track from any prog album let alone any album.

4 1/2 Stars.

All ELP fans should have one.

this great album is simply the best!!! keith emerson is the most important pianist inside the progressive rock's scene... the song "tarkus" is a moment of very pleasure of the humane senses.... it is a masterpiece of progressive music...this album is dedicated to the tecnic sound and to the friend at the Offord..this is an apocaliptyc album!!! thanks emerson for this incredibil emotions..

Tarkus. What a mind-blowing landmark of prog rock this album is! I mean what other album opens with such insistency and then proceeds to captivate you with urgent melodies and astonishing instrumental prowess . And what is astonishing about the epic title track is how artfully Emerson & Lake weave their various pieces together. The segues are so skillful that the listener is both aware of them and yet not too aware of them; each piece evolves organically from what precedes it. And Palmer's contribution is essential; without his percussive accompaniment, this piece would not be half what it is. I've never heard a drummer better utilize his drum kit to support and drive such a variety of music. Edward Macan has an insightful discussion of this song-cycle in his "Rocking the Classics," a must- read for all serious prog fans.

"Tarkus" is proof that ELP only made their best songs when all three contributed creatively in equal amounts to each piece. And I think this is the most difficult kind of songwriting arrangement, because each member has to allow the other two to assume partial control over what has been submitted.

A similar example of this type of collaboration on this album is the way Emerson contributes to "The Only Way (Hymn),"---what must have initially been a Lake piece. Following Emerson's instrumental opening church organ section, Lake delivers his signature melancholy melody and lyrics. Then, smartly, Emerson switches to an acoustic piano to accompany the rest of Lake's song. Abruptly, without a break , "Infinite Space (Conclusion)" begins with its acoustic keyboard journey to the outer fringes. These two tracks are really one piece, and it's the contrast of the two that produces that ineffable prog music experience. This piece is another example of how the ELP chemistry was a complex mixture that produced an aesthetic phenomenon that far exceeded what each of its components could achieve on their own (to say the least).

Five stars. This album is one of the best of the founding generation of prog masterpieces.

Well, I'm going against the common view on this one. It seems everyone here finds the song Tarkus a huge masterpiece, while side 2 disappoints. I couldn't disagree more about the second side. I mean, Tarkus is Tarkus, there isn't too much you can say about it, other than the fact that it is one of the greatest compositions ever. But side 2 is incredible. It truly is.

Tarkus: Like I said, it's hard to describe. a) Eruption: Hard to think of a better opening to an album. That 5-beat-per-measure riff blows you out of your seat. b) Stones of Years: The first time I heard it, I thought, "Oh man, why is it mellow? Eruption was awesome!" But then, maybe 4 or 5 listens later, I realized that this second section is as good as or better than Eruption. Lake appears here (and very well at that), and the organ solo in the middle is especially awesome. c) Iconoclast: Goes back to the Eruption theme. Perfect entryway into... d) Mass: Again, Lake sings again, with another keyboard solo in the middle. Both are perfect. It's tough to go too far into it, because a word has not yet been invented to describe it. e) Manticore: Another instrumental section, with a really cool 3-beat keyboard riff, and then into... f) Battlefield: Possibly.... possibly... the best section here. Maybe, I'm still not sure, even though I've listened to the album at least 300 times. All I know is that Battlefield, on its own, is a towering masterpiece. g) Aquatarkus: ELP goes out on a bang.

Jeremy Bender: Ah, here it is. Side 2. Well, JB is under 2 minutes long, but it is still better than 99% of music out there.

Bitches Crystal: No one can deny the quality of this song. Kicks off fast and never looks back, ELP having a good time.

The Only Way (Hymn): Very, very overlooked song. Organ and piano here are fantastic. Lake also delivers a very captivating performance here.

Infinite Space (Conclusion): Instrumental, with an alternating 3-beat then 4-beat per measure riff. Piano takes lead here (as always), and it follows up The Only Way well.

A Time and a Place: The rocker on the album. Nice contrast to the other songs. Rocks harder than the others, while maintaining the ELP quality.

Are You Ready Eddy?: This song makes me laugh every time I hear it. This is ELP having a blast playing their music, and it also shows Keith Emerson randomly hitting his piano, but somehow, it works. This is the ultimate contrast on the album. It ends the album differently than you would have expected, but eventually, you realize that it couldn't have been done any other way.

This is a 5 star album, no matter which way you slice it. 5/5 stars.

Tarkus is my favourite album by ELP. This is an essential piece of music for any decent prog compilation that so very nearly achieves the five star rating. This album is let down by "Are You Ready Eddy", although this is just a mess around track, I find it quite disturbing even if it was the early seventies and could probably have been left off. A very bad closer to such a good album.

"Tarkus" is one of the best epics I have heard alongside "Echoes" and "Supper's Ready". This piece has a very warm and uplifting intro which really pulls me in. This suite is a fantastic journey of great keyboard and bass sections. It doesn't get overblown or dragged down by extensive solo sections, which was my main complaint of the debut album. There are some very emotional vocal, guitar and keyboard parts on this track. This is probably the best ELP work I have heard and this track is a masterpiece.

"Jeremy Bender" is a nice piano tune with some great vocal work. It's very happy but compared to the incredible epic that it follows it definetly does not seem as good. "Bitches Crystal" and the other tunes before "Are You Ready Eddy" have the same fate although they are really good pieces of work. These are only short pieces so it is nice that they have been included.

Overall, this is an excellent piece of prog rock. ELP get an amazing sound from just a three piece band. The production is flawless. It can be a stretch to listen to but not really much more than any other major prog pieces. It took longer to click with ELP then when i listen to bands like King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Yes. Greg Lake is definetly the strongest member on this album but it is a great group effort. Just misses out on a 5 star rating because of the last track and perhaps if the shorter tracks had been placed before the epic 20 minute opener they would have seemed more impressive. Still this is very close to being a masterpiece and is essential for any good prog collection, don't listen to the doubters like I did.

The second ELP album is a far more cohesive effort than the first. First you have the master work of Tarkus on side 1. What can be said other than that it is essential keyboard led Progressive Rock! Side 2 though is the bone of contention for many! On first hearing I was also a little dissapointed, but theres gold in them hills if you listen! Ok Jeremy Bender is there obligatory jokey song, a minor piece, but fun nevertheless. Bitches Crystal is a rocker, with great performances throughout. The Only Way/Infinite Space I really love. It starts with Church organ accompanied by Lakes Church Choir voice and finishes in a piano/bass/drums played theme which is reiterated and explored.Brilliant! A Time and a Place follows, which is another good band piece with a howling Moog ending That reminds of Tarkus itself. Ok the last track Are you Ready Eddy? aint so hot, but Its not rubbish either as its nice to hear ELP loosen up a bit.

The best ELP album, IMO, although I admit I have not yet experienced the much maligned 'Love Beach' Like many other prog bands ELP enjoyed the prog glory days, with a string of strong albums which staked their place in the genre. Tarkus, for me is where the classic Hammond driven sound of ELP, much in evidence of their their excellent debut album, meets the excitement of Brain Salad Surgery. The Tarkus suite itself is how I would selfishly like ELP to sound most of the time, and I guess this is why I'm not really a fan; too many ballards and throw away songs in their repetoire.

However, Tarkus is a triumph. It grabs your attention from the outset and leaves you breathless, wondering how on Earth Keith Emerson managed to play the whole thing from beginning to end, without sustaining some kind of injury!! Tarkus is a work for peace, taking us through musical chapters and a variety of moods and changes of style, and pace. It's one of the best prog epics there is, and sits alongside the likes of 'Close to the Edge' by Yes and 'Suppers Ready' by Genesis as an all time classic.

I award four stars for this suite. After the title track the albums takes an unfortunate nose dive IMO. With the exception of the excellent 'Bitches Crystal' and 'A time and a Place' the rest of the album is comprised of time wasters like 'Jeremy Bender' and 'Are you ready Eddie' and pompous innapropriate excursions into the realm of dubious taste and ill judgement with 'The Only Way' (a Hymn)

Tarkus is worth getting for the title track alone, which wont let you down, which with the other two good tracks is a respectable amount of material overall, to justify the rating for the album. It's a shame ELP were generally so inconsistent, their potential and talent was enormous.

After seeing and hearing ELP'S version of "Fanfare For The Common Man" on TV one evening I swore I laughed and swore again that I would never purchase an Emerson Lake Palmer album. EVER! But curiosity has got the better of me and after all I was only 16 at the time and engrossed in the world of head banging bull[&*!#] for all my sins. Now, I'm not the worlds greatest progressive rock fan but as a fan of King Crimson decided to get Tarkus due to the presence of Greg Lake. I have always been drawn to his vocals and like the quality of his voice, as pompous as it may have seemed drenched in the orchestration and overblown arrangements of "In The Court Of The Crimson king", "Epitaph" to name but two. Tarkus is different. For me the quality of the music is not as strong and distinctive as the Robert Fripp envisioned King Crimson or even those other prog heads Yes. Some of the patterns on the first side were interesting, even enjoyable with some excellent keyboards and time shifts but as the album wore on the more bored I became and the less adventurous the music would drag. As has been noted many times before the second half of the album is an average minus. "Are You Ready Eddy" might have been a bit of farting fun in the studio getting ready for their producer Eddie Offard, but what was the point in adding this to the album? Point? None in my book. In stark contrast,"Eruption" starts us on what could have been a wonderful journey but by the time we get to "Are You..." I for one felt short changed, mugged in fact... Tarkus might have been a good idea but it is an unfinished and loosely thought out idea, very uneven. Sure they all may be great musicians but they might have went off a little here, even a bit out there. Just like the cover art work. What the hell is that all about? It might take a few years to get the point behind Tarkus but I think I'll let it pass me by.

Quite good aggressive music on this album! I don't see this as a complete masterpiece, as there are some annoying numbers on this one like "Jeremy Bender", and also "Are You Ready Eddy?" sounds bit like a joke, though I'm not against good ol' rock'n'roll. "Bitches Crystal" is maybe the best track of this album in my opinion, it's quite short but it has good ideas and the piano playing is just so great! "The Only Way (Hymn)"/"Infinite Space" is a fine suite, and it's lyrics have caused some heated debates! "A Time and A Place" is again a fine aggressive composition. The title epic "Tarkus" is also very good, but not maybe the greatest epic that I have heard. There are lots of weird percussion sounding keyboards, and along with Carl's furious drumming these create a very violent and imaginative sound worlds. Some of the short middle parts sound like Weissmüller's Tarzan riding on the back of a rhino stabbing it. At the finale we can hear the legion of Daffy Duck clones marching to the sea, and we are left alone at the shore thinking what it all was about.

This album contains what i consider to be EMP's best work-"TARKUS". this is an amazing work and I would recommend this album to be bought for this epic track alone. "The only Way" and "Infinate Space" are also excellent work. everyother track is questionable.

Really amazing work. I bought the CD remastered four months ago, and I'm still surprised about this. We not every thing here its that amazing, you can here a song call are you ready eddy thats its more like a rock & roll dong that progressive efort. well lets go to the main part "TARKUS" a 20 miunte epic. tho songs contain everything from the very well played drums from carl palmer to the very apassionate solos of greag lake. no forget abut emerson that his all amazing orans and moog give this edpic song a more ntrincate sound. from the begining to the end this song goes to very calm pasages to heavy ones. this song worths and maybe "infinate" space and "the only way" make a well complement to the major piece. the others just fill the space but you wont notice about this. A MUST HAVE FOR THE FANS AND PROG MUSIC LOVERS.

For many years I could not listen to ELP because I never considered them as really important artists partly due to this album. I owned this LP but never liked it and never really bothered to acquire the taste for it. I always considered Emerson as a technical showman rather than a musician or composer, and a sort of "hendrix of the keyboards" virtuoso who could appeal only to teenage fans starting to explore the prog music. Thus the sound of ELP never had an important dose of emotions and "poetic" touch that sported the works of say GENESIS or YES from their peak. However I liked the Lake's vocals and his easy ballads accompanied by guitars which gave more emotions to Emerson's technicality. "Tarkus" has both good and bad moments, the epic title suite is interesting but fails in comparison to "Suppers Ready" or "Close to the Edge", having best moments in "Mass" and "Battlefield". "Jeremy Bender" sounds like THE BEATLES piano- music hall tune, while the closing "Are You Ready Freddy" is a dumb rock'n'roll cliche. Again Lake saves the quality with "Bitches Crystal" and "Time and a Place". Overall, listening again today I can more appreciate some overlooked moments of this album, but still I cannot say this is essential piece of prog.

After reading the preceeding review I just had to throw my two cents worth in! I would attest to all said critique save the 'first five albums' recommendation... I feel "Pictures" is the worst rendering of Mussourgsky's masterpiece I've ever heard (Having said that I would have to recommend Tomita's a the greatest I've heard). Also, the 'B' side is completely redeemed by "The Only Way" which rests in some hearts as the greatest single effort in this groups repretoire. Gothic, ominous and with the tightness of a chamber ensemble reminiscent and prefiguring the glorious "Endless Enigma" suite from Trilogy. How can a fellow choose a favorite from these four masterpieces? It's like choosing between apples and oranges. I think of the expression I once heard and agree with... 'My favorite is the one I happen to be listening to at the time!'

A masterpiece of prog that every one should NOT miss .

This album is definitely a masterpiece of progressive rock from the glory days of seventies. The epic Tarkus that opens the album is really the thing about this album. It comprises seven parts that connect beautifully as one cohesive whole. It stands out excellently as a legendary epic with twenty minutes plus duration. Amazingly, every time I listen to this epic I never feel that the track consumes that long as at the end I always feel like "Is that it? How come so fast it reaches the end of the epic?" And you can guess what I usually do. Yes, you bet! I repeat this epic for second time before I proceed with next track. Why? Simply put this epic delivers fabulous musical experience for me from first part "Eruption" where I usually amazed with the fact that it's played by three gentlemen - how can three people can produce a music with very high density? The Hammond organ and keyboard played by Keith Emerson is really stunning - dynamic and inventive. The bass line by Greg Lake is also excellent. Carl Palmer delivers his machine gun drumming flawlessly. Enuff to say that this is an excellent outfit. The music flows dynamically with frequent tempo changes to second part "Stones of Years" where Lake delivers his powerful voice with various style. This part is dynamic and energetic, composed and performed in symphonic prog style with soaring organ works and inventive drumming. It then moves dynamically to "Iconoclast - Mass - Manticore" with energetic style and it slows down in "Battlefields" with great vocal. The "Aquatarkus" concludes the epic wonderfully.

"Jeremy Bender" is a short track with piano as main rhythm section, performed elegantly with an excellent combination of vocal and drumming. It's not typical ELP song but I do enjoy this track. "Bitches Crystal" sounds like opening of Tarkus at the beginning but when the vocal enters it sounds differently; combined beautifully with inventive piano outfit. Greg Lake sings in unique style with high register notes. The piano solo is amazing, combined with solid bass lines and great drumming.

"The Only Way" is a mellow track with killing melody. It starts with melodic organ solo opening in classical style. When the tiny vocal enters the music, it even makes the music much more melodic with killing notes on vocal. In the middle of the track the piano solo turns into jazzy style. Marvelous! It continues seamlessly to "Infinite Space (Conclusion)" where the piano / organ expands its inventive work beautifully. It continues with "A Time and A Place" with great vocal and soaring organ sounds. These three tracks must be listened continuously as they form like a small epic if you listen to them eventually. Even, I recommend you to listen to this album in its entirety from first epic to last track.

The concluding track is the band's interpretation of rock'n'roll and an appreciation and tribute to Eddy Offord - the Engineer of this groundbreaking album. It's kind of loose leaf if we compare with other tracks but as I have listened to this album for years it finally has engrained as part of the overall theme of this album.

Simply put, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED man!

Progressively yours, GW

The Context: I remember vividly that I knew this album years after I was so familiar with Brain Salad Surgery where one of the songs "Karn Evil 9" really BLEW me away and has become my all-time favorite. I owned Tarkus through Monalisa cassette (which I still keep it until now even though I have the CD issued by Rhino). Whenever I listen to this album I always remember my childhood where rock music was like daily rice (bread is not common in my country, especially my childhood in small town Madiun) and nothing in life so interesting than rock music - not to mention the boring thing about studying uughh ... So, I must admit that even until today I'm still touched with this album. To put precisely on what I feel about the impact of this album to me, I would rather put it with my locality term: nggeblak! Yes, you bet! This album makes me stunned; my mind seems paralyzed enjoying the wonderful harmony this album has infused into my ears, my mind and my heart. Thanks ELP! You make me delighted.

It makes to the most important work of EMERSON LAKE & PALMER and the monument of Prog Rock to my desire. Wonderful of suite "Tarkus" is the greatest. I do not understand why this album is evaluated low easily. Other songs are also wonderful. "The Only Way (Hymn)" is very beautiful.

This Is ELP. ***½ but I rounded it up to 4 stars because I think this album is exceptionally good for ELP.

The first 7 tracks listed are actually one song, the Tarkus suite, which alone deserves 5 stars. In my humble and honest opinion it is one of the finest pieces of rock music ever composed. It obviously contains loads of Keith Emersons' classy keyboard wizardry, those soaring Hammonds and the pioneerng Moog sounds, but Carl Palmer and Greg Lake also contribute with their skills, Mr. Palmer beating his drums frantically and Mr. Lake playing some mean guitar (and singing in a very fine way)! The track is just so innovative, so progressive, full-blown, Hammond-driven, über-technical, full of catchy melodies and hooks to grab on and never let go! Mindblowing stuff to say the least. This track also has a special meaning for me as it was one of THE tracks that made me a fulltime proghead. When I heard this for the first time, I was hooked and realized there was no turning back! That's the power of prog.

The bunch of shorter songs also has some gems, although Are You Ready Eddy and Jeremy Bender are terrible, that being the reason why I said 3½ stars at the beginning. Bitches Crystal, The Only Way etc. are great stuff though.

This is ELP at their best. They never quite made anything as good as this again. It's a shame really, as they had the potential and the skill.

For their sophomore album, ELP had become a tighter musical ensemble, a factor that allowed them to create a more varied and more interesting album than its predecessor (which was quite brilliant, per se). The fact that the band evidently felt tighter was accompanied by the overall increase of their musical imagination - how can you lose when you've got solid companionship and excellent writing, all at once? You can only win, and a real winner the 'Tarkus' suite is, indeed. Labeled as one of the most definitive moments of the golden era of prog, I must say that there is no way that you can overrate this amazingly electrifying seven-part sonic monument: the only mistake you could eventually make is underrate it, and that I won't do, no Sir. Lyrically centered on the subjects of war, oppression and social alienation, this suite's structure is focused on its instrumental components - 'Eruption' provides from second one the incendiary spirit that will burn the air the listener is breathing for the following 21 minutes. 'Iconoclast' and 'Manticore', each in its own turn, will recapture that same spirit relentlessly and mercilessly, with the closing 'Aquatarkus' bringing an added touch of psychedelia and the ultimate 'Eruption' reprise. The sung parts, meanwhile, go flowing through different moods: contemplation ('Stones of Years'), subtle irony ('Mass') and sympathetic sadness for the fate of all mankind ('Battlefield'). These sung sections are not without bombast, although 'Stones' and 'Battlefield' obviously bear a more melodical structure; it is the instrumental interlude of 'Mass' that is more related to the explosive drive of the non-sung sections. To cut this long story short, the 'Tarkus' suite is the defining moment for ELP as a major prog statement, since it epitomizes the energy, the aggressive bombast and the challenging musical intelligence that this paradigmatic trio used to deliver at their peak. and let me tell you that this band has many peak moments in their overall repertoire. The second half of "Tarkus" is far less epic, finding the band exploring other musical trends that they gladly incorporated into their prog input. Unlike some other reviewers who find themselves a bit let down (to say the least) by what they find after the opening suite, I happen to think that side 2 is equally impressive, although in different terms. The diversity of sonic sources that are featured from 'Jeremy Bender' all the way to 'Are You Ready Eddy?' is delivered by ELP with ease and technical prowess, even when they leave seriousness behind and let themselves go in a sort of musical fun fair. The display of piano-based jazz rock that appears in 'Bitches Crystal' proves that Emerson doesn't necessarily need a Hammond or a Moog to create sheer keyboard energy. Also jazzy, but rooted in the old days of 50s beat clubs, and occasionally combined with Baroque nuances, 'The Only Way'/'Infinite Space' shows the band driving things down a notch, but still portraying a ballsy feel to it. A special mention has to go to the well ordained dialogues between the grand piano and the drum kit. 'A Time and a Place' sort of reminds me of The Nice at their best, but of course, since Emerson is a more matured musician and his companionships is more brilliant, you can tell that this song surpasses the boundaries of the seminal days of prog and gets allocated on a more robust realm. 'Jeremy Bender' is a down tempo Cajun number that serves as an excuse for some humor: this one should be enjoyed as a taster for the more accomplished (and equally frivolous) 'The Sheriff' and 'Benny the Bouncer'. 'Are You Ready, Eddy?' is ELP's 'Great Balls of Fire', making it a tribute to their hard-working sound engineer - now we've got humor plus a warm touch of camaraderie. Conclusion: "Tarkus" is one of the most relevant masterpieces of the essential era or prog rock, and as such, it deserves no less than the maximum ProgArchives rating.

Tarkus is an excellent work. I surf in multicolor waves when I listen it. This record has a crazy keyboard and drums with an ancient militar taste, variety of sonic forms. It is like the life, sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter. I close my eyes and I'm witness of a fantastic battle. I think Tarkus is a necesary addition in your collection. However Jeremy Bender is a little ugly ballad and Are you ready Eddy? Is a rock and roll song which doesn't coherent with the rest of the album.

A mediocre album with one of my favourite songs of all times (Tarkus). So, if you want to get this album, get it for that track alone, because the rest is not that memorable.

Tarkus (11/10) is my favourite ELP piece, and may be in my top 5 songs of all times. Starting with a great jam, it sets the tone of the long piece of art. Then it switches back and forth the overly beautiful Singing sections with great ELP jams. The second half of the song is my favourite, which has my favourite organ solo of all times (the hammond organ used in a percussive way, until it goes berserk and accompained by a screaming electric guitar line). This is also the first ELP song that has military-like percussion. Another highlight has to be the cheap-sounding keyboard riff that really works, followed by a funny sounding synth solo that is very entertaining over a military rhythm. The song ends with a reprise of the intro.

Side B (5/10) : All songs are really mediocre, and some are downright awful 'are you ready eddy' 'jeremy bender', etc. However, some songs are good such as the hammon-organ showcase of ''a time and a place'/ I barely listen to side b anymore, only the amazing Tarkus suite

My Grade : B

I can remember the first time I had heard this. I was a young man then just starting on a quest to listen to the best musicians. I had been listing to the self titled and just had obtained Trilogy when my friend said "you have to hear this".

From the Eruption to Aquatarkus it just blew me away. I listened to it over and over for about 2 weeks. The first thing that struck me was how complete this piece of music was. The jazz overtones in Eruption to the almost perfect vocal line in Stones of Years the first two passages fit together like a lock and a key. Then the organ solo in Stones of Years made me first realize you can play rock without a guitar! To the Iconoclast to Mass with that torrid organ and percussion solo, outstanding, Building, Building until its release of the note held by the organ fading into a synth fading into a Guitar, Magnificent! Battlefield still as haunting today as it was then. Aquatarkus booming across the speakers to the final fanfare. Whew! What more do you need.

That song is for sure one of the top three examples of what Progressive rock is. The other 4 songs are ok but really have nothing to do with the fact that Tarkus is essential piece of prog history, development and a definition you could hand to someone and say this is prog. 5 Stars no question

One of the most lopsided albums in the history of prog. Make no mistake, the "Tarkus" suite is one of the defining moments of progressive rock, with Emerson's Hammond organ playing and highly inventive layers of Moog continuing on admirably from the first album, building their legend. It's not only their best extended piece, but it also shows that they could do long-form original works and do them well, showing that they were about more than rocked-up classics.

Still, there is the matter of the B-side to contend with.

It's not a total wash. "A Time And A Place" is a nice attempt at writing a new version of "Knife-Edge" based on original themes, and if it has any sort of fault it's that it's too short. And "Infinite Space" spotlights some wonderfully dissonant (he loves that tritone!) piano playing from Emerson. Unfortunately, you have to make your way through the dull, Bach-sweetened church organ ballad "The Only Way" to get at it. The infamous ELP bad lyrics rear their ugly head here, but not for the first time. That dubious honour goes to "Bitches Crystal", a morass of detuned toy-box piano and embarrassing screaming vocals from Lake (who is many things. A hard rock vocalist is not one of them). And the less said about the lame, unfunny "joke" songs that bookend the B-side, the better.

Sadly, it looked like the B-side was to become the rule rather than the exception for ELP in the future. Bad precedent to set, guys.

This is the followup to the great eponymous debut. It has many great, spine-tingling, prog-defining moments, and Tarkus (the song) is essential prog and essential ELP. Even the second half has some great ideas.

Anyway, Tarkus starts off (in Eruption) with a wicked keyboard solo that reminds me of the way Close to the Edge starts off with that chaotic, hectic guitar solo. The thing is, this came out a year before Close to the Edge, and not many 20 minute rock songs had been written by that time. (Although I'm not knocking Close to the Edge by any means- I love it to death). The vocal melodies are all great too, the first and third vocal sections (Stones of Years and Battlefield) taking a more mellow and ominous approach, while the second one, Mass, features sort of a typical classic rock melody lifted to great heights by Greg Lake's angelic voice and Emerson's great keyboard work, not too mention the constant backbeat Carl Palmer has going. This song doesn't get boring for one second, and features some of the best keyboard lines ever, especially third part, Aquatarkus. The other two sections I did not talk about, Iconoclast and Manticore (also the name of their record label) are mostly keyboard dominated rocking bits.

Side Two starts off with one of ELP's less terrible, somewhat goofy songs, 'Jeremy Bender.' While some of the lyrics are a tad goofy, its all in all a nice relaxing, Beatle- esque piano song. Bitches Crystal has some good melodies and cool keyboard playing, but it is not a very unique track in terms of prog rock. The Only Way features an alright melody made better by awesome organ, with some rocked up Bach parts in it. This song segues into a keyboard dominated instrumental (Infinite Space) which is good because its not super long. A Time and a Place is one of ELP's best songs I think, with a great melody made epic sounding by the organ riff played in between Lake's vocal lines, and the bridge is hard rocking and fantastic. An awesome song. Are you ready Eddie is not to my taste, being one of those goofy sounding 50's rock songs, which, unlike Benny the Bouncer or Jeremy Bender, does not have a single shred of a being a relatively good song, so it is completely worth the skip button.

So I'd say this album is an excellemt addition to your collection, while Tarkus and a Time and a Place are essential prog rock track and essential ELP tracks if you are looking to get into them. The other songs are pretty good, non-essential though, except for Are you ready Eddie, which is horrible altogether.

Tarcus, to my opinion, is THE best ELP album. A unique and touching album. Should sit at every proglover's shelf. In the centre, of course, there's Kieth Emerson with the organ/piano. his jazzy/cool/amazing/divine style leads in all of the songs. As opposed to other albums, this album's lyrics are very good.

Tarcus itself is a great multi-episode creation. It just roots you to your sit. Simply amazing.

But if you thought all the goodies end here your'e quite wrong. That's because EVERY track after the Tarcus episodes is almost as good as Tarcus! The amazing "The only way" is even as good as Tarcus.

When I got the album I couldn't stop hearing it for a long period of time. It's worth every dollar/pound/euro etc. spent on it.

It's my second (after Crimson's "Lizard") all time favourite album, and it gets the 5 stars grade (it deserves) from me.

"Tarkus" (the theme) has got to be the most representative composition of progressive rock. It´s the best example of what prog is. The playing is impressive, the structure could not be more complex and is also entertaining and appealing throughout.

Some may call the rest of the songs in this album "Filler". Still, there are at least 4 more songs full of energy and great playing. "Wish you were here" could get the same opinion with "Shine" and the rest being filler. There is an ocean of prog difference between these albums.

Tarkus lies in the bastion of the great moments in early 1970s British progressive rock. As an ELP fan, my review of this album could be viewed as somewhat biased, but I am a fan because of my enjoyment of the band's music. I enjoy the band because I enjoy the album so in that sense I can be as objective as anyone else.

"Tarkus" is an experimentation with classical sonata form in rock music. After the opening implosion of the 10/8 rhythm, we hear the first theme in the Moog synthesizer. This opening acts as an expostion. The 10/8 rhythm and theme will return at the end for the recapitulation called Aquatarkus. In between we have several sections, in the tradiion of Mahler, that act to develop the drama of the piece. The The narrative of "Tarkus" is an anti-war story that speaks to the tragedy and senselessness of war, which is an easy subject to feel sympathy with. Written at the height of the Viet nam War, it was quite timely. The strong point of the piece is the intricate interplay of the keyboards and the drums. Here Palmer is still working with his five piece, Buddy Rich styled set, but with the use of a phase shift and other studio effects, he obtains some interesting sounds. Emerson's use of the moog here is interesting. He creates unique and intersting sounds, enough so to make the piece wholly enjoyable. The weakness or strength of the album is that the themes act as caricatures, rather than strongly developed herioc fanfares. The is often a satirical element to early ELP and this is a classic example. The problem of ELP lies in Greg Lake's inablity to write a good chorus. There are none in Tarkus, as opposed to Yes' Tales or Close to the Edge, which also use sonata form and have some good choruses. In ELP, the function of the chorus is left to the keyboard, as in "I Believe in Father Christmas, " which works because Emerson plays the Prokofiev theme on Moog for a chorus.

Side Two highlights some interesting songs, but is mostly filler. "Jeremy Bender" is a fun song that satirizes the drag identified in Bowie, Lou Reed and NY Dolls. After Tarkus, the subsequent ELP albums would include a barrelhouse blues piece that was comical in nature: The Sheriff, Benny the Bouncer or Barrelhouse Shakedown Blues; these are a reminder that as serious as the band was about their music, it was always about humor and fun. "Bitche's Crystal" is a fun piece in a jazz waltz time that is one of the highlights of the band. As for the rest of the album, yes, there is filler; but filler that quotes Bach.

"Tarkus" is arguably ELP's masterpiece and one of prog's finest moments. So, why a mere four stars, and from someone who's an unabashed fan of the group? Because, as many ELP records, it is a flawed masterpiece. The sheer magnificence of the title track, 20 minutes of pure prog glory, is somewhat marred by an excess of filler in the rest of the album - namely, the tracks called "Jeremy Bender" and "Are You Ready Eddy". Mind you, I find them both amusing, but also quite out of place on the same record as a career-defining tour de force like the awesome title track.

"Eruption", the first movement of the "Tarkus" suite, builds up until Emerson's synths literally explode from the amps, backed by Palmer's precise, intricate drumming; then things slow down for Lake's first showcase, the wistful "Stones of Years", in which he proves himself once again to be one of the greatest vocalists on the scene. After this moment of relative quiet, things heat up again with "Iconoclast", "Mass" (another Lake showcase, complete with bitingly ironic lyrics) and "Manticore", leading up to the two final movements, the real triumph of the album. In "Battlefield" Lake shows he can play a mean lead guitar (his solo reminds me in a way of Gilmour's style), though the track is best remembered for his utterly wonderful vocal performance. Then "Aquatarkus" (one of the greatest instrumentals of all time) brings everything to a close, with Emerson and Palmer again involved in a show-stopping demonstration of their respective skills.

I know opinion is divided on the remaining tracks on the album. Personally, I think "Bitches Crystal", "A Time and A Place" and "The Only Way/Infinite Space" are all more than adequate tracks, though no masterpieces. On the first one, Lake's vocals sound a bit strained, as the track would have been more suitable for a voice such as Ian Gillan or even Glenn Hughes - though musically it is a very interesting experiment of blending prog with jazz and hard rock. "A Time and A Place" is also quite good, though nothing earth-shaking; more interesting is "The Only Way/Infinite Space", with Lake singing his rather controversial lyrics while accompanied by a church organ! Of the other two songs, the so-called 'funny' ones, I think the less said the better.... As I stated before, they might sound nice on a completely different album by a different band. Why ELP needed to include that kind of 'light relief' in most of their records is quite beyond me. So, if I could I would give "Tarkus" 4,5 stars. As someone wrote on this website, the suite alone would deserve 6, but those two tracks prevent it from being the essential item it should have been. Nevertheless, you should get it, if only to lose yourself in the utter bliss provided by the title track!

Tarkus was my introduction to ELP. My first impression was that this is a very good effort, but after learning more about the band, my admiration towards Tarkus has diminished somewhat.

The title track is a 20min+ suite which consists of seven movements. The story and the musical line builds itself quite nicely, but my problem with Tarkus is that as a composition, it doesn't reach anywhere near the heights that ELP did with Karn Evil 9 a year or so later. The melodic lines aren't very inventive and the basic sounds are quite raw and unfinished. This is particularly astonishing, because their engineer was Eddy Offord, and although Greg Lake was the producer, I think Eddy must have had some say.

The B-side (what's that? asks the youth...) doesn't really raise my eyebrows. None of the tracks is notably good, and the last one (infantile 'Are You Ready Eddy') almost spoils the party. The obligatory Bach quotation by Keith is in The Only Way (Hymn).

Tarkus is not a bad album, and it has its place in the history of prog and ELP, especially because it went top of the charts in 1971, but its importance lies in that it shows how the band progressed via it from a promising group of individuals on their debut album to a nearly complete masterpiece on the follower, Brain Salad Surgery.

Wonderful disc from ELP in which, through Emerson, we understand the beauty of the sound of the Hammond organ and moog synthesizer on Side A of the disc but above all on Side B we hear wonderful piano especially in 'Bitches Crystal' and in 'Are You Ready Eddy?'

Tarkus is the second album from ELP and sees the group in full flight. Although most ELP fans can all agree that the title track that takes up the entire first side of the album is one of the greatest tracks that the group ever produced, sadly a lot of people also consider the songs on the second side as "throwaways", I disagree with this for two reasons, 1) The songs are of course lighter, and after a full twenty minutes of the intense Tarkus I think that a few lighter, more simple tracks help the record overall to keep things from going too over the top, or becoming too serious. 2) A lot of people have this impression that ELP were extremely pretentious, and took themselves too seriously for their own good, obviously then those people have never heard "Jeremy bender" or "Are you ready eddy?". There is a lot of great humour on the second side of the lp and it shows that the band had another side to them, and weren't always interested in "showing off".

Tarkus could be considered to be the bands first true epic. Innovative for it's time and with some excellent ideas, the band really seemed to be getting somewhere, or so you would think. In fact, around the time that keyboardist Kieth Emerson was developing the project he decided to show his bandmates a rough idea of what he was working on, Greg Lake was horrified, and remarked that if that was what he wanted to play he'd better find somebody else to play with him. But having already booked studio time Lake was convinced that he should at least give it a try, soon afterwards Lake began to fall in love the project, and things began to take shape. The track proved an unusual one, An ominous vocal intro opens for an edgy section that had a 5/4 time signature, this was unusual for the time and sounded odd, but at the same time, absolutely great. One thing thats great about tarkus is that it contains some of the best lead guitar from Lake on an ELP track. Tarkus is broken into many different sections and with Lakes lyrics and the illustrations on the sleeve, it begins to tell a story, muddled but at the same time interesting. It is a piece that I dont think will ever be forgotten as long as there are people who are interested in music that was innovative and broke boundries.

Side two may not be as powerful, but it is still very enjoyable. The first song "Jeremy bender" is a spirited and catchy little tune with some of the wildest lyrics Lake ever wrote "Jeremy bender was a man of leisure, took his pleasure in the evening sun, laid him down in a bed of roses, finally decided to become a nun". Other highlights include "Bitches crystal", another "barrelhouse boogie" piano type song and the slightly harder edged "A time and a place" , While neither of them would be considered the best of ELP, they are great tracks. Also "Are you ready eddy?" should be mentioned just for its "throw caution to the wind" type attitude that proves to be a great way to end the record, with a bit of humour!

Overall the album may not be as strong as the two masterpieces that would follow "Trilogy" and "Brain salad surgery", but it is an excellent addition to any progressive rock collection, and a must have for ELP fans.

The title track is pure brilliance. I'll agree with everyone else that the second side is bad so you know what? Don't listen to it! Tarkus and Karn Evil 9 are really two of the greatest prog songs of all time. I'm a keyboard player myself and Tarkus is a true inspiration to me. I'll transcribe some of the lines and practice them, especially the solo on the second movement. The hammond organ in progressive rock is a match made in heaven.

I disagree with those who have said that there are throwaway tracks on this album. Frankly I do not beleive there is a single throwaway track on here! The band may not be playing to their full talent, and I certainly feel that their personal best (in my opinion), their self-titled debut, is a far cry from this, but this is still very good. ELP are such excellent musicians that even when they don't try too hard they still rock! Another thing I find is that perhaps the track positioning is what is getting to those that criticize this album more than it deserves. Imagine if the title track was positioned last, therefore saving the best for last and not giving the listener predisposed opinions on how good the next songs should be. To put Jeremy Bender, the worst track on the album, right after Tarkus will surely upset those with high expectations after the title track! Using the same trick Pink Floyd did on Meddle, this album may have gotten better results from the listeners if the masterpeice of the album played last. If people still think the songs after Tarkus suck regardless, that's ok, everyone is entitled to their opinions.

Tarkus: Obviously the best track by far. The song starts with a synth and then bursts into a typical dark, fast-paced ELP jam (Eruption). After its exciting start, the song eventually quiets into a calming, slower-paced part, with soft vocals from Lake and steady keyboards from Emerson (Stone of Years). Iconoclast creates another Eruption- Style part. Mass is a solemn but slightly jazzy part with emotional vocals from Lake and steady keyboards from Emerson. This begins to become faster and faster, with a repeating guitar chord that starts to become annoying after a while. Manticore is another part similar to Eruption and Iconoclast, after which Battlefield, a very good part of the song, begins. Is even more solemn than Mass, and also rather sad because it paints a picture of the destruction Tarkus (a gaint armored armadillo) has wrought. Lake's guitar whines in sympathy, and Emerson's Hammond, piano and synths carry a repetitve but enjoyable tune. Afterwards the final part, Aquatarkus, tells the tale of how the armadillo leaves to live in an ocean or river (I think?). It is a rather humourous enterpratation of the main theme in Battlefield with a faster tempo and a strange synth. The song ends with the beginning of Eruption, perhaps explaining that Tarkus is now terrorizing the creatures in the water. I forgot to mention that through this all Palmer is doing is usual excellent drumming.

Jeremy Bender: It's OK, but pretty bad. It's a slow paced song lead by Emerson's piano. The really annoying thing for me was the clapping engulfing most of the song- without it the song would improve. Lake's singing is a little off-key. Regardless, even this is listenable and not really a throwaway track.

Bitches Crystal: This is really good! A very silent synth or other keyboard begins, with a sudden burst or drumming and loud piano. Lake's vocals are great, but there are some screamy parts. The piano is very good, and it takes up most of the sound, but sometimes the silent synth/keyboard returns, with other synths as well. It's fairly fast-paced.

The Only Way: Starts with some Bach, and then changes to a very solemn hammond- based music. Lake's voice is quiet, and the lyrics are interesting.Almost no drumming.

Infinite Space: The title is a direct lyric in the previous song, and it also starts right after the previous song. In fact, I don't know why they didn't just make them both into one song! A repetitve tune is played on the piano, and there is no singing. Once again, little or no drumming. It is slow-paced but quite fun to listen to.

A Time and a Place: Excellent! Very dark and agressive, and strong Hammond Organ. Screamy vocals from Lake and great drumming from Palmer. Random lyrics, such as "Butter, Milk Cream/ You dance on a beam."

Are you Ready Eddy: Certainly the most fun the band had on this album, especially Emerson. The lyrics are rather odd. Lake's vocals echo, and are sort of distorted. The piano is very loosely following the vocals, but is cool. Mock-60s little voices follow Lake's saying "Ready Eddy Eddy" over and over.

So, this is an excellent album in my opinion, and I strongly beleive it is better than many before me have painted it to be, though they are entitled to express this. While not their best, it is far, very far from being their worst. If you hate piano, some screamy vocals, and agressive, loud music don't buy this. Otherwise, do! But if you are a newbie to ELP, start with their self-titled debut or perhaps Brain Salad Surgery. I hope you enjoy it as much as I!

Let me express my great appreciation to the most classic ELP's album! Not the most coherent, though, since the six short tracks that constitute its second half. Nor my favourite one, by the way, being the best Trilogy.

I've heard it for the first time fifteen years ago and still having great pleasure every time I put my headphones on...

...the Tarkus suite was recorded in just six days... ...Tarkus...passion and turbulence!

4,5 stars!

This 1971 release is absolutely brilliant. The title suite, Tarkus, is a song comprised of 7 movements, all equalling out to almost 21 minutes in total length. Depending on where you stand with Prog-Rock, this could mean either Heaven or Hell for the listener. The best way to describe the Tarkus suite is "unrelenting." The beginning slams you into Drive, and there's no turning back. Keith Emerson is often called the keyboarding wizard, and upon listening to this track, you begin to understand why. Emerson's keyboard assault branches out in all directions, with Carl Palmer keeping a tight precision with the rhythm, matched with Greg Lake's phenominal bass work. After the Tarkus suite, the rest of the album tracks generally scale to about 3-and-a-half minutes. Many people who generally enjoy the Tarkus suite consider the rest of the album as mainly filler material. I disagree. Although I love the Tarkus suite, I find the rest of the album to be genuinely decent as well, but not so much ground-breaking as the title suite. An album that broke the mold with Prog-Rock, and for any true Prog fans, a definite must-buy.

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4.5/5.0

What, this masterpiece is number 97 in the top 100!? I just can't understand why this album is that underrated. This is clearly a masterpiece, whatever one could say! I mean: if in 100 years you wanted to show someone what the prog-music of the 70s was like, you have to listen to Tarkus!

There are many groups which took a lot of influence from Emerson, Lake and Palmer (groups like Pär Lindh Project, as an example), because ELP was original, creative, and there music is imaginative, with a huge drum, MONSTRUOUS keyboards and what a voice! I vae a DVD of them in a show in 1973 and it's simply amazing. ELP is not nly about music; it's an experience!

Musically speaking, my vision of a post-apocalyptic Earth is approximately what Tarkus makes me think of. And whatever some people may think, music is all about this: recreating emotions and travelling through music in mind or time. This music is emotive, rude, violent, yet in all its dysharmony there is some symphony in the chaos.

Tarkus is not only an album: it is an experience. Sure it is not perfect, but not many albums are perfect. However, on balance this is close enough from perfection to be described as a masterpiece!

I have to agree with most of the other reviewers. "Tarkus" is the stand out song while the rest is pretty much filler (especially "Are You Ready Eddy").

I first heard the song "Tarkus" on the live album "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends..". Compared to that uptempo version, this studio album version sounds lethargic. However the "Eruption" sounds on the studio album sound more "organic", "woody", "ballsy".

Since I think the only good track is "Tarkus" and I like the live version better, I won't rate this album quite that high.

Most likely ELP's most ignored album, Tarkus is a stroke of musicmanship and mastery that can only be clessic Emerson Lake and Palmer. Their sophomore album, it begind with the utterly brilliant "Tarkus", the tale and the adventures and misadventures of a giant armadillo tank. It is essentially a brilliant 20-minute keyboard solo courtesy of Mr. Keith Emmerson. Greg Lake's amazing vocals and lyrics paint the story of war, yet it's very subtle: There is no mention of Tarkus nor of his accomplishments, insted there are lyrics of war and battles fought, keeping the song's subject matter brilliantly subtle. "Jeremy Bender" is to ELP as "F*** a Dog" is to Blink-182. It's a joke song, a song meant to make parent's faces turn white. Of course "Jeremy Bender" is far more tame than anything Blink ever did. The rest of the album is an amazing ride as well. Be suer to check this one out if you love symphonic prog!

tarkus is one step behind of trilogy and brain salad surgery... the problem of this album is that seems to be two different albums... the A side is magnificent, is an incredible conceptual song of 20 minutes that keeps you caught from the biginning to the end. but the B side is a lot of short songs that got no relation with the A side. anyway, there's some great songs there: bitches cristal is a great song, violent and full of rage. the only way is a beuaty and powerful song, but the second part, infinite space, is less interesting. but the songs that really ruins the B side are jeremy bender (an inoffensive ballad), and the terrible are you ready eddy?, a far west song that finishes a great album in the worst way.

This was my first ELP album and I totally fell in love with it, especially with the 20 minutes, epic; "Tarkus". The lyrics kicking off with "Has the dawn ever seen your eyes" is very powerful to me. The first part of lyrics seems to be related to someone who is making bad decisions, I tend to assiociate songs with people so I somehow enjoyed the song even more. Musically the song is also pretty amazing, if you like piano and keyboard stuff you'll be in heaven! The songs following the first track are more accesible and easy to listen to but still extremely good, a great continuation. I canno't give less than five stars for this essential album!

Containg ELP's other epic, the title track "Tarkus" tells a story about war, but exactly what it is saying is a bit confusing. The entire song is amazing and and easy listen. Divided into 7 parts, four of them are instrumental, each with thier own unique sound. The other three parts coantian vocals which are some of the best I've heard from ELP. Each set of lyrics also contains different syles of vocals and it's own unique sound. It sounds more like you are listening to seven short songs rather than one long epic masterpiece

Then there's the controversial B-Side of the album, which really isn't all that bad. The only weak songs are "jeremy Bender" and "Are You Ready Eddy?", the latter of which is so short, it's not that bad to the end of the album.

"Bitches Crystal" and "A time and a Place" are both neat hard-rockers which fit well with the style of the album

"The Only Way"/"Infinite Space" is a mediocre song, but still has cool instrumentation.

5 stars for Side A and 3 for side B

Tarkus is one of the greatest masterpieces of prog music and ELP's best album, IMO. It opens with the 20-minute epic title track, which is divided into seven pieces, all equally awesome. The highlight is Lake's "Battlefield", which carries a poignant anti-war theme. "Aquatarkus" is a strong and interesting finisher by Emerson, who is the dominant force on the entire album, writing all the songs, more than half of them by himself. It is his greatest achievement as composer. Many put "Karn Evil 9" as high or even higher, but there is no doubt that Tarkus is the better piece of the two.

Side two, although hardly a match for the first, is still strong in it's own right and is a necessary slow down from the bombastic first part. "Jeremy Bender" is an amusing little song with a very melodic chorus and a nice vocal performance by Greg Lake. It is the album's humouristic piece and lightens up things after the dramatic and poignant "Battlefield". "Bitches Crystal" is a fast song with some great Emerson piano playing. The comes the second highlight of this record, the quite moody but still optimistic "Hymn (The Only Way)", which is in my opinion the best song ELP ever recorded. With it's classical feeling, the baroque church organ opening and Lake's gorgeous vocal, it gives the album another epic and poignant moment. It is followed by "Infinite Space (Conclusion)", a jazzy instrumental which serves as a conclusion to the previous song. It is the first track where Carl Palmer is credited. "A Time and Space" is a good closer, that is it should have been. But for some mysterious reason, ELP chose to add a terribly lame Jerry Lee Lewis ripoff called "Are you ready Eddy?", and dedicated to their engineer. This was really unnecessary and spoils the overall impression somewhat.

Still, Tarkus is an incredible album that showed how ELP matured in such a short time after their formation. For a sophomore album, it really is a wonder how good it is. It's probably the best sophomore album ever. So to sum it all up, "Tarkus" is the epitome of what a real ELP and prog album should sound like. Melodic and meaningful songs and a long and ambitious symphonic piece. That's the way to do it boys!

ELP is comprised of ex-King Crimson member Greg Lake, ex-Nice member Keith Emerson, and ex-Atomic Rooster member Carl Palmer. Together, they were at the forefront of the classically based keyboard dominated trios in the world. Their first album, a self titled debut, was a nice balance of group and solo efforts from each member. Their second album, titled Tarkus, featured one of the (arguably) greatest epics ever written. The first side of this album is comprised of the Tarkus suite, a song pertaining to lost soliders of war and a giant armadillo tank (sounds a bit bizarre, eh?), but the album is marred by a mediocre second side of somewhat silly material that really throws the mood of this album off a lot. The musicianship is superb here. Emerson continually shows that he deserves to be mentioned as rock's greatest keyboardist. His intricate and overly complicated organ patterns and soaring synthesizers are the main focus of the album. Greg Lake has always been a strong vocalist, but this album really shows his talents at their fullest. His bass work is also among his most intricate and interesting as well. And Carl Palmer is stunning on this album, keeping the band in time even during the most tricky circumstances. It's a recipe meant for success, but does it come out on top?

Tarkus opens the album with strong ascending organ runs and smooth bass lines all backed by precision drumming. The song goes through many different emotions, but the best part is definitely the Aquatarkus section, in which Emerson shows off his incredible synthesizer skills. The entire first side of the album is a masterpiece of progressive rock, in my mind at least. But the second side of the album is where things go from masterpiece to just good. Jeremy Bender has an interesting and winding piano motif, but a a bland Lake vocal and some uninteresting drumming really hurts the song from becoming a great song. Bitches Crystal is a pretty forgettable tune, nothing very special here. The Only Way and Infinite Space have this continuity thing going, where it would appear that the two songs link together. There are some recurring themes within the 6 minutes, but it's nothing terribly strong or memorable. A Time and a Place is another forgettable throwaway, expect nothing particularly special here, as well. Are You Ready Eddy? is the best song on the second side. It has this great feel to it that really shows the versatility of the group (as well as the jokey nature, as the song is dedicated to Eddie Offord).

Overall, Tarkus is a pretty interesting mixture of serious epics and jokey throwaways. If the album was solely comprised of songs in the vein of side one, I would have given it a masterpiece rating. But because that isn't the case here, and the songs on the second side are mostly forgettable, save for a few interesting tracks (Are You Ready Eddy?, and to some degree Jeremy Bender). In the end, most fans of symphonic prog should pick this album up solely based on the strength of the epic on the album. 3.5/5.

Alright, now things are starting to pick up. "Tarkus" shows ELP in the form in which the general public knows them best: pompous, self-indulgent, flamboyant (in a proper manner of speech), and completely ignorant to musical trends. ELP confesses to being guilty as charged, but they frankly don't care. And they shouldn't. Because what the nay-sayers are missing out on is one of the most energetic, virtuosic and genius bands of the 70s. And unlike their contemporaries Genesis and Yes, they sound like the 70s. They're as aggressive as any metal band of the day. Yup, this is no half- neutered "nerd-rock". This is real rock. And it's prog. And it's great. Or at least, the first twenty-one minutes are.

The problem with ELP is that they had trouble producing a consistent album. The debut was excellent all throughout, but was more like a collection of solo projects than a unified work. This is a problem that the band would apparently suffer from much more in their post "Brain Salad Surgery" albums. (I say apparently because I don't own any of them.) Their two best known albums "Tarkus" and "Brain Salad Surgery" both suffer in a similar way. Both albums feature a brilliant side-long epic and several shorter songs that are mostly filler. About seventy-five percent of both albums is brilliant, but the other twenty-five percent brings them down several notches. "Trilogy" was the only album that they released that demonstrated something even close to consistency.

But let me emphasize this: When ELP are good, they're REALLY good. And the "Tarkus" suite is good. With seven parts, clocking in at nearly twenty-one minutes, and released in '71, it predates all of the other major epics (Close to the Edge, Supper's Ready, Shine on you Crazy Diamond, Gates of Delirium, Dogs, etc.) of the prog movement. From "Eruption" to "Aquatarkus", it shows ELP at their most frantic and technical. The highlights are Emerson's keyboard solos, but Lake's beautiful voice takes the front occasionally, too. The suite begins with "Eruption", a short but frantic explosion of Hammond organ in 5/4 time. The madness calms itself into "Stones of Years" where Greg Lake takes the reins. The first line of lyrics in the song always sends shivers down my spine, "Has the dawn ever seen your eyes? Have the days made you so unwise? Realize you are." Great entry, Greg. The calmness doesn't last for long though, as Emo breaks into one of his finest Hammond solos, and that's saying something. "Iconoclast" is a brief and violent interlude reprising "Eruption". It speeds on into "Mass", my personal favorite movement in the whole ordeal, and a great rocker. It features an excellent "stammering organ" solo from Emerson, and Lake's first entry on lead guitar. Talented man. "Manticore" is another brief interlude linking "Mass" to "Battlefield". This is a haunting Greg Lake tune with a soulful guitar solo and great lyrics. "Clear the battlefield and let me see/all the profit from our victory." Greg's lyrics range from excellent to horrendous, and fortunately the whole of this suite has some of his best. The concept may be about the life and times of a mechanical armadillo, but Greg doesn't approach it in an obvious way, thus masking the weakness in the storyline. The finale is "Aquatarkus", a Moog Modular bonanza that shows the main riff to "Battlefield" in a completely different light. A reprise of "Eruption" takes the suite to the end of its twenty-first minute, and the listener wonders where the time went. The first time you listen to "Tarkus" from start to finish, you won't believe that you've been listening for over twenty minutes.

The second half of the album is scattered and directionless, and much as it has its undeniable moments of brilliance, it doesn't equal the raw power of the title suite. "A Time and a Place" is a great, albeit short, organ rocker. "Bitches Crystal" is kind of cool too, but nothing spectacular. In place of the customary ELP classical interpretation, there's a "The Only Way/Infinite Space", which has quotes from J.S. Bach. Once again, it's okay but not great. The remaining songs "Jeremy Bender" and "Are you Ready Eddy?" are more or less completely worthless. Pure unadulterated filler. The excuse that ELP used was "Well, our music is generally so dark and menacing; nobody'd be able to get through the whole album if we didn't include a little comedy." Anybody who thinks that this album is dark needs to listen to some Van Der Graff Generator.

Don't get me wrong, the album's still great, and the "Tarkus" suite alone is more than enough to launch this one into the stratosphere of prog rock classics. However, for every swan there's a crow, and not everything ELP did was as good as everything else. Even if it's on the same album. Buy it anyway.

This is one of my top best albums of all time. I had heard the Tarkus suite a long time before I even knew what prog rock was, but I never took the time to find out who was responsible for it. Later I got introduced into the great world of prog and discovered ELP. After that, Tarkus became one of my favorite epic songs ever.

The album begins, of course, with the title track which is a 20-minute trip to prog heaven. Eruption is the most powerful intro I have ever heard in my life. I'm amazed at the incredible compositional skills of these guys, especially Emerson who composed some parts completely by himself. I don't know exactly what the story of the armadillo is about, but apparently it goes like this: It comes out of a volcano, kills a few odd-looking creatures and then goes into the ocean. Well anyway, Tarkus is IMO a milestone in the prog genre and one of ELP's most magnificent creative efforts.

The following songs on the album are all shorter, friendlier tracks. Neither compares to the killer epic but I also find them very enjoyable. Jeremy Bender reminds me of The Sheriff song on Trilogy. Bitches Crystal is a great tune with a nice jazzy feel provided by Emerson's unique piano work. The Only Way and Infinite Space are very proggy tracks IMO, the first one even includes some stuff composed by Bach!. A Time and A Place is the highlight of the second side, featuring once again Emerson's incredible Hammond organ, I also love Lakes vocals on this one. The last song on the album is the humurous Are You Ready Eddy?, which was dedicated to their sound engineer Eddy Offord. I actually find this one enjoyable in a jokingly kind of way, there's a moment on Emerson's solo where you can tell he didn't know what to do so he just banged the keys on the piano!.

The title track alone is worth the price of the album and I recommend this to anyone looking for top-notch symphonic prog. A MASTERPIECE OF PROGRESSIVE MUSIC!!!

Well...Tarkus is quite good...The suite is a very well crafted piece that I very much enjoy, especially Battlefield and Eruption. Its so musically intricate and difficult to play, they are perfectly in time and tune with each other, its amazing. Jeremy Bender? Catchy tune...nothing to write home about. Bitches Crystal? eh...well its not bad, I give it a listen. The Only Way? I absolutely love the tune and the Bach...the lyrics blow though...I like it when Lake doesnt try to take on issues...I believe in Jesus which makes the lyrics almost unlistenable. Infinate Space? Pretty good, I like hearing them just play. A Time and A Place? Good rocker...good organ solo, lyrics definatly not top notch though, Lake had much better on other albums. Are You Ready Eddy? Obviously its a throwaway...I won't blame them its interesting but I dont listen to it.

In all, if your an ELP fan, by all means, get this. If not, DONT START WITH THIS ALBUM! Its good but the lyrics on all the songs except "Tarkus" are subpar. The instrumention is pretty good but not the peak.

Maybe I shouldn't review this album, but I am going to anyways. I say this because I only listened to the tracks on the second side twice, and that was all I could take. However, the first side, the Tarkus suite, I listen to constantly. In my opinion, this is THE best song that ELP ever turned out, and also this is one of my favorite prog songs of all time. I don't think that the songs on the second side are horrible or anything, but they pale in comparison to the Tarkus track.

That being said, even if you only listen to the first side, the album is worth owning. The Tarkus suite is a prog monster that is easy to appreciate. It is chock-full of synthesizers, organs, and keyboards. This song sounds to me like the archetypical prog song. If you wanted to show someone of good example of what prog is all about, this would be a good song to play. For the most part the song is hard, loud, and bombastic. The song starts out with Eruption which has one of the coolest intros I have ever heard to a song. It is so powerful and rocks so hard. Basically, after that there is a song with lyrics, followed by another instrumental, another lyrical song, another instrumental, one last lyrical song, and ends with an instrumetal. I won't go into depth for each section, but each section is just as good as the others. Each lyrical song also has a solo in the middle of it. Each solo is astounding in its own right. Even Greg Lake has a guitar solo that is very good in the Battlefield section.

The last section Aquatarkus, some would say, is kind of anti-climactic. I actually think that it fits in well, at least in my mind. I like to think of the first wimpier sounding part of aquatarkus as some creature (aquatarkus) sort of barking and making noises at tarkus while circling, trying to intimidate tarkus. Tarkus responds by letting out a massive war cry, represented by the re-statement of the theme from Eruption. Of course this causes aquatarkus to be completely obliterated. Granted, this sounds a little out there, but it works for the song and it works in my mind.

In conclusion, Tarkus is an essential prog song, but I can't really recommend the rest of the album. Either buy the album for the Tarkus suite alone and maybe you will enjoy some of the other songs on the second side; otherwise, download the Tarkus suite if you can. I am giving this album four stars because the first side carries the whole album, and it is one of the best sides of an album in all of prog music.

Side 1: Epic Masterpiece. Side 2: Trvial Entertainment. The first track is full of everything you'd expect and want from a prog suite: good musicianship, original ideas, great arrangements; it's even phenomenally epic and exciting. Nearly the entire second side, however, isn't anywhere near up to par. The magical atomosphere, the passion and enthusiasm of Side 1 are lost and forsaken for Side 2, with the exception of some parts. But even still, it's not masterful or mind-blowing or epic, and leaves the listener extremely unsatisfied.

"Tarkus", as a whole doesn't match up with its brothers (or sisters?) in that it seems to have two sides to it. One side is serious and epic like the "Tarkus Suite" and the other is kind of joking around with songs like "Jeremy Bender." These bear some resemblances to early, Syd Barret- era Pink Floyd and carry the same humour. Of Course, the "Tarkus Suite" is arguably the very first Symphonic Progressive Epic written at least a year before counterparts Yes and Genesis constructed their first epics. The "Tarkus Suite" in its self is different to most other epics as it is very heavily keyboard based and like many epics carries a vague concept. "Tarkus" is basically about a half- tank half-armadillo creature named Tarkus, and the suite shows some of his enemies and also the effects of war.

The "Tarkus Suite" is very moving, especially in "The Battle Field" in which Greg Lake shows us that he can play guitar. This section in particular conjures images of a revenged battlefield and fallen/massacred people strewn in the midst of war. Similar to Yes's 'Gates of Delirium', but in this regard "Tarkus" is more effective. The piece begins with an intro into Tarkus, which is rightly named "Eruption" and is the birth of Tarkus and of war. The song then moves into "Stones of Years" in which the first set of vocals come in as "Has the dawn ever seen you eyes." This section is accented by an electric organ and moog synthesizers and is quite moving. Following this is "Iconoclast", a violent instrumental section with furious percussion, bass and stabbing keyboards. Next comes "Mass", a sort violent jazzy section with flowing lyrics and grand synthesizers. Next is another short instrumental section called "Manticore", a Manticore being a half-human half-lion creature. Manticore is one of Tarkus' greatest enemies and what follows is a fight between the two creatures. "The Battlefield" comes next and brings with it a truly epic feel with excellent musicianship which must be heard to be believed. The closing section has two parts, the first is a military sounding march which is brought on by a snare drum and synthesizers, the second part is the re-birth of Tarkus and is a repeat of the beginning of the song.

"Jeremy Bender" is next, not much to say about it, very average and is one of two out of place songs. Next is "Bitches Crystal" another song following the "Tarkus" concept, except with no references to the actual creature. This song and the next three to follow seem as one song as they all follow a theme of war and destruction. Real Post-war music. Lastly is the comical "Are You Ready Eddie", the other out of place song, not bad though!

1. Tarkus Suite (5/5) 2. Jeremy Bender (1.5/5) 3. Bitches Crystal (3.5/5) 4. The Only Way [Hymn] (4/5) 5. Infinite Space [Conclusion] (3.5/5) 6. A Time and a Place (3/5) 7. Are You Ready Eddy- (3/5) Total= 23.5 divided by 7 (number of songs =3.357 = 3 stars

Good, but non-essential

In the end "Tarkus" comes in as a healthy three stars, good stuff and although "Are You Ready Eddy" may seem out of place on "Tarkus", it is a mood lifter from the rest of the album which is dark and mournful. "Tarkus" is truly a ground breaking and meaningful album and it has the potential to be a rewarding album to all, though many may not see it. I'd recommend "Tarkus" to Symphonic Prog Fans to get a glimpse of the very first progressive epic (to my knowledge.)

I had the opportunity to listen to TARKUS au complet probably 4 or 5 years after its release. Certainly the early hearing of band works like TRILOGY or BRAIN SALAD SURGERY, chronologically newer, may have affected my discernment, I think but it didn't impress me too much, then, and even today it says very few to me. Well, with age I've become more condescending and I've spotted some points in this album that are really pleasant.

First, the cover, impressive, haunting, well in accordance with the times when the album was released. The battle between the hybrid Tarkus and the hero Manticore is nicely displayed. Second, and more important, the suite which bears the album name: "Tarkus", a epic-like song that has grown intensely in my taste. The more I hear, the more I like the opening track. It contains fine moments, even discounting the intro, with its arrangement resembling a kind of soundtrack. As the song continues EL&P show their higher musicianship and the listener is introduced to a series of enjoyable parts, very melodic and symphonic, all backed by some of the most luxurious Greg Lake's vocals, who personally provides another great moment, with his rare guitar solo, in the segment 'Battlefied', a peak, doubtlessly.

Other tracks are less inspiring: "Jeremy Bender" has a mixed western-vaudeville atmosphere, which is funny, cheesy, and nothing more. "Bitches crystal", has good instrumentation, especially Keith Emerson's keyboard playing that disguises song weakness. Vocals are disappointing with Lake screaming more than singing.

"The only way", a hymn based upon some Bach's theme, is fair but lyrics are catchy and indulgent, even being beautifully soothed. Greg Lake compensates here greatly the flaws noted in the previous track. Maybe if this song should be extended it could be better appreciated. "Infinite space" seems more a rehearsal than a full track. The jazz connotations add few, the song is poor - a waste of time.

"A time and a place" brings again Lake screaming instead of singing, which is a shame, considering his marvelous and tuned voice. Emerson's keyboard acrobatics are a clear attempt to give some soul to a completely tasteless song. Final track, "Are you ready, Eddy?" brings some amusement with its rockabilly style, and that's all.

In the end, we have to recognize that "Tarkus", the song, saved TARKUS, the album. The splendid epic makes this album good, even not being essential. Final rating: 3.

Tarkus is another piece of mastery. After their dubut, ELP tried to produce a masterpiece in term of progressive suite. Yes, the title track is one of the best prog composition of all time. From the massive beginning through some brilliant vocal and even guitar passages (e.g. battlefield), this song is worth five stars. And it would seem that nothing can destroy this value.

Unfortunately, the second side of the album is not as good as the title track. It has its moments, I personally like Time and a place and Bitches crystal, but Jeremy Bender and Are you ready Eddie don't fit to the concept. I don't think they are bad, but their foolish hooray sound somehow decreases the value of the whole album.

It's a pity, but I have to give it only four stars. Nevertheless, this album is necessary for all prog fans if only for Tarkus itself.

The classic of all classic Prog Rock albums, if you love Progressive Rock and have not bought this album.. Leave your PC NOW!!! and go out and get it (or just click IE.. and do it the easier way)

Tarkus is my favourite side long track of anything! The change of music styles are formidable.. Fantastic stuff!.. Different movements, of varying styles make this a real prog classic!

Jeremy Bender.... Nice little track, about a guy who is a little bit unstable from the sound of the lyrics!

Bitches Crystal.. one of my fave tracks on the album.. very heavy!!! needs to be played LOUD!

The Only Way.. Ah yes, half hymn half jazz.. the first stage towards Jerusalem perhaps?? I like this one..

Last two tracks sound as if they have been thrown together at the last moment

Time And A Place.. Ermm.. Not a favourite, still classic prog though..

Are You Ready Eddy?... Rock N Roll!!! All about a certain producer/engineer called Eddy Offord! Bit of a laugh this one.. Track to get your rocks off..

As others have said, it's half an album.

Tarkus is a suite that represents some of the best ELP material, for 20 minutes anyways. The second half of this album is completely and utterly useless unless you're in a laughing mood. The well known themes combined with ELP's idiosyncrasies on the 2nd half may have been intriguing at the time, but are impossible to take seriously now. On the other hand, Tarkus is a wonderful little piece and quite possibly the best of all of ELP's material.

Greg Lake's vocal work really stands out here, and I believe it's what really makes this track even better than the intriguing instrumental interplay. The production makes the keys/hammonds have a distinct flavor, a sort of vintage quality to the music that's perhaps unreproduceable. I find Tarkus much better than Karn Evil 9, which I found more aimless (and not really cohesive as a suite to begin with).

If some elements of the debut had been incorporated into the B-side of this record, it is very possible it would be looked at as one of the defining pieces of the genre. Unfortunately, the 2nd half is marred with inexcusable rubbish. Good to have for one track and to see the genius the band did possess, as Tarkus is a hell of a song.

This is the album that would have bettered the eponymous CTTE by Yes if it had just had a better second side. The title track is about the best thing ever put down on 1 side of vinyl, but god were they short of ideas for the second side. I'm a dyed in the woll ELP fan but that second side has probably been on my turntable half a dozen times in 30 years.

On a star rating I would give this 6 out of 5 for side 1 but 2 out of 5 for side 2 - having said that the title track is good enough to have produced a 1 sided album & given it 5 out of 5. It has everything that you could ever want in an album track, feeling, intensity, emotion, just everything.

What a two faced release this is! We have Tarkus, the title track, a 20 minute epic piece of music sprawling out a full side of the record, and then we have side two, with a half dozen less inspired works. In any event, this is an absolutely essential album from the classic progressive era, even if it isn't the most well rounded creation.

After the successful and promising debut, the trio of egotistical though extremely talented (sans Greg) musicians have bigger fish to fry. The reason why I have never really been too warm to Greg is related to this album. On the ELP documentary "Beyond the Beginning" Keith tells about Greg's feelings about composing a larger scale piece of work for their next album. Apparently Greg didn't like this idea and wanted to stick two the song format type of record. Maybe Greg Lake was the oppressive force making this album so diverse in content and quality? Could this have been a 40 minute, incredible keyboard driven masterwork?

Side one certainly fits that description, but the size scaled down to about half. It is one of the most consistent works of its size I know of. The manipulation of keyboard instruments is just surreal. In points the Hammond organ sounds like a percussive instrument, in others a flowing orchestra. The solos are so well constructed and executed, conclusively incredible. Carl Palmer is generally excellent, though occasionally off time, his drums add to the exact accompanying nature that I greatly enjoy in percussive instruments. There are also some really great basslines from Greg, and a spine chilling guitar solo. I would have preferred it to be absent of vocals, but they aren't too bad either.

Side two is admittedly less spectacular, but I find much joy in the unfairly maligned Jeremy Bender. Whimsical lyrics and tight instrumental ideas. Classic! The rest of the record is sort of like a weaker version of songs from the debut. "Are You Ready Eddy?" is especially terrible, though.

Classic point of reference, this is a essential additon to all progressive rock collections.

The progressive rock.

There it goes, my 100th review is dedicated to my desert island record - to an ultimate masterpiece: the immortal Tarkus. And I will rate it with highest possible rating without letting the side-long suite, "Tarkus" to affect my rating.

I discovered this gem in my late teens, and now at the age of 30 I'm still discovering new details and hidden chapters of this monstrously spectacular story. My first rendezvous (or shall I say: impact?) with this album happened when a friend borrowed me dull-sounding copy's copy's copy's copy of Tarkus on an old BASF tape. It struck me hard and changed my life.

And than it struck me again, when I finally obtained my own copy, I realised that the album cover (which I never saw before) is exactly the same as I expected it to be. Do you believe in coincidence, destiny or supernatural powers? However, this record changed my life indeed. I was convinced (well, still I am) that every note and sound on the album is telling the story and painting the picture exactly as I imagined them in my head. I would like to say: this album is mine, interacting with me in some parallel universe. I don't want to sound like Charles Manson, but I hope you get the picture how strongly this piece of art affected my life.

Armadillos, hymera, the battle between good and evil, war, science-fiction motif? Everything is here, and none of the above.

Thousands of Tarkus reviews are done in the last thirty (and more) years, with many of them utilising deep dissection of the plot, focus, musicianship, lyrics, concept and everything else that could possibly be related to the album. Thesis about Tarkus is not uncommon thing. More than half a dozen doctorates were written about Tarkus' length. That's right, people gained PhD title because of this record.

And all of them presented less then one percent of knowledge to an average listener who never had a chance to be purified by listening to the album.

Perhaps it's time for a philosophers to start writing reviews. Or lunatics.

The main motif of ELP's career is humanity and human being itself, and Tarkus is the core of ELP's career. That is precisely the same motif present in all the art that human race created during the history. The motif is often represented by demonstrating different aspects of human madness - usually through the typically human sociological phenomenon - the phenomenon of war. These two parameters are interacting, and the link between them could be considered a root, while occasional branches are questioning and examining all other aspects of human nature and society.

Why that war-madness relationship? I got that idea while listening thoroughly Tarkus, and later, when I discovered other ELP's albums, that theory was confirmed several times. Let's take a chronological look: on their debut, we have "Three Fates", for example - but finding the same motif there could be a huge stretch, and it will probably sound as "Paul is dead" theory during the Beatlemania; and if you want to find an ambiguous proof, you can find it anywhere. No. The picture is worth one thousand words, but the music can evocate an infinite number of pictures. But let's try with another example: Tank. It's not only the three-part showmanship, actually you can trace the development of a story of tank (and a tiny soldier-driver inside), where the first part is introduction and training if you want, drum solo is, of course, a battle with enfilades, and third part is discovering lunacy, the absence of fear, and a pure destruction. The similar motif reached its peak on Tarkus, and on Trilogy you can experience the same story while listening Abbadon's Bolero. Speaking of wars and battles, should I mention Karn Evil 9 too? Even during the days of ELP's reformation, when their inspiration batteries were worn off, you can find similar plot in Changing States, for example.

Considering the music itself: it's impossible to describe it. Before any possible jumping into conclusion that I am defending "Tarkus vs. rest of the world" attitude, I will say that every piece of music is indescribable; you can only describe your own impressions and emotions, or do the analysis of the matter or compare it and observe who influenced who - but for the music, even the best reviewer in the world will always be in the gray area. That especially goes for good music.

From the historical, and, I must say, mathematical point of view, I can't cope with this masterpiece. As I said, there are numerous analysis around, published on the web, in the books and elsewhere, with different amount of "dissection depth". I remember that I've found several sheet music transcriptions of Tarkus, each of them slightly differing from another. No surprise there's no many Tarkus sheet music books around.

The music on Tarkus is new, fresh, innovative and groundbreaking. The roots of it could be found in the works of THE NICE, of course, in the classical (and contemporary classical) scores, and in the jazz. I am often foreseeing traces of Thelonious Monk in Emerson's piano pieces. There is a perfect amalgam between classical and jazz approach in the "Infinite Space (Conclusion)", where bass and piano are playing the pattern that is almost entirely unison, except for the last note in the sequence which is played in the semi-note interval, producing brilliant dissonance and creating an extraordinary mood. "Jeremy Bender" is also worth mentioning, with a ballad mellow melody with an influence of music from a Romanticism period, but the whole thing was actually derived from relatively simple ascending chords with occasional spices of jazz.

There are many details that could be observed through the lenses and offer another proof that Tarkus as a whole is a piece done by three musicians, each of them undoubtedly bearing the title of genius. But since we, mortals, are seeing only the top of the iceberg, I wouldn't observe the piece in its entirety. I could mention "The Only Way (Hymn)" - where Lake did an extraordinary vocal performance, and lyrics once again fit into my theory of war-madness thread. Emerson's intro on organ, with hypnotic pedal tone and absolutely weird but gorgeous approach to the fugue is incredible. I really doubt I will hear something half as good in my lifetime. And they dared to overdub their vocals underneath the pedal tone (although quietly) and gave the song a scent of rock music and, I dare to say, banality? But I never heard anyone complained about it. And why complaining? It works perfectly.

Tarkus..what impressive peace of music, and art...

This album is a complete masterpiece, maybe the complete album is not really THE ELP album, but, the first song, the most important, and the one that gives name to it, makes it a complete masterpiece of symphonic prog rock of history.

Twenty minutes that never let you breath for even a second, Emerson is doing the best he knows, he is THE genious; Palmer, that follows him, and makes a rythm hard to believe, powerfull, incredible; and Lake, with a marvellous voice, and in a great lavour with the bass, the electric and acoustic guitar.

This album is an obligation to every symphonic prog fan, and of course, to the ELPs fans, no more words, they can not explain the size of this masterpiece.

5 stars, no doubt about it.

This was the album with which I discovered ELP on my hospital bed in 1972. There was a very good programme called "Impédance" on the Belgian radio (thanks Jacques and Pierre). It was broadcasted very late on Saturday nights. To air numbers as "Tarkus" was rather audacious for the time (not only the lenght but as well the genre).

So, let's start reverse with this album : first B-side because there is also a B-side you know! About eighteen minutes long, so not too long to suffer as a lot of us have done while listening to this portion of the album (which is not too often in my case).

IMO, "Jeremy Bender" is the poorest number of the album (and one of the all-time ELP worst one). "Bitches Crystal" is a mix of the traditional ELP sound and jazz. It might well be one of the best number of this side. "The Only Way" is very pompous in the first part and jazzy again during the second. Not too bad an interpretation, after all. The jazzy mood also prevails in "Infinite Space". But the whole of this number is pure repetitiveness.

"A Time And A Place" is the first and only full true ELP number on this side of the record. Very powerful band with Keith playing at his best. Carl hitting the drum kit like a master (which he is) and Gregg singing a bit more rageously than usual. It reminds me the title track. Great number, really. The funny and revival (!) "Are You Ready Eddy ?" closes the album very strangely. Not really within the ELP standard to say the least.

Like most of us, I hardly listen to this side. I had completely forgotten that it held even average songs (not to speak about a very good one). At least, thanks to this review I have discovered the other side of this work again.

Of course, there is one number on side A. And what a number ! A fabulous and all- mighty intro featuring an explosion of sounds (hence its title : "Eruption"). ELP could not have found a better title. The band truely erupts the music with all their energy. Fabulous.

"Stones Of Years", on the contrary is all subtlety and harmony. ITCOTCK sits just aside. The instrumental section will, again be very energetic. Two wonderful moverments in this seven-piece suite. "Iconoclast" reminds "Eruption" and is all violence again. No time to relax so far.

"Mass" is a bit weaker, somewhat hectic. "Manticore" is again a strong and short piece. It takes some of the "Eruption" mood to give some consistency to the whole.

"Battlefield" features again some very nice vocals. I have always like Lake's voice. This track is a brilliant showcase for him. A good guitar break (there won't be many in ELP's work) will add a special flavour to this section.

These short parts flow brilliantly the one into the other; making this number a great piece of prog music. The band sounds very unified. This is really an exceptional number. What if, like Tull, they would have expanded a bit further on side B ?

Well, I'm not really sure it would have lead to something like TIAB, since there are some weaker moments during the last part "Aquatarkus" (the intro of it, actually). The finale is as powerful as "Eruption". This song which lasts for more than twenty-minutes is so great that the listener will never get the impression that it is so long. This is the mark of the greatest.

This number alone is worth five stars of course. It ranks to the greatest epics of the genre and defines ELP style perfectly. I could listen to this one endlessly. But I can honestly not rate the album so high. For stars for the whole.

ELP revolutionized the 70's rock scene by developing a new standard in exploring the keys sounds.The geniality and unlimited talent have no borders here on this album, and put together, generated a level of music never achieved by anybody else as of yet. This is simply a masterpiece, a 5 star without question. This album stands in time, even now after almost 40 years, and an essential for many musicians from today. Tarkus made me opens my eyes in prog, was not Nursery Cryme, not Pawn hearts, not Aqualung not even Look at yourself (witch i love and respect all these albums), was Tarkus with his unbeliveble key parts. Absolut every track is mind blowing. If you don't own it, go get it NOW. If you have listened to ELP's other releases and didn't like them, give the trio another chance, you're missing the best prog-epic ever. This is a classic of classics of prog, the best ELP. 5 stars

This was the first ELP album I owned, though I actually heard Brain Salad first. I can't argue with other reviewers who feel that the Tarkus suite is the highlight of this album. Without a doubt it is one of, if not the, best things they ever did. Fantastic instrumental sections that leave you breathless, Lake's best lyrics sung when he was in his prime, even a good guitar solo by him in Battlefield. And Palmer, well, I just don't know how he can play so incredibly tight and perfect at such speeds and such rhythmic complexity. The suite is definitely the best part.

For myself however, I think the second half of the album comes close. Okay, so Jeremy Bender is pretty lame. At least it's really short. And Are You Ready Eddie? is a boogie woogie type number that seems to be relating some sort of inside joke. It's the kind of thing that you would expect would have shown up many years later on a box set as a rarity or outtake, not something you would finish an album with. So I deduct a star for those two songs, fair enough.

But Bitches Crystal is a fantastic song with some of Emerson's best keyboard soloing in the middle. Fantastic vocals and very interesting and complex bass line on top of Palmer's incredible drumming. One of my favorite ELP songs. In hindsight, the lyrics for The Only Way are quite overdone and immature sounding. But when I was 19 years old, I loved them. And the music and vocal melody are excellent on this song. The coda piece to this song, Infinite Space is an interesting rhythmic exercise that I still think is great, even if it's not at the level of the title suite of the album. A Time And A Place is not a terrible strong song I admit, but it isn't bad either. I can listen to it and enjoy it, even if it doesn't leave the kind of impression the other, better, tracks leave. Hey, it's better than Jeremy Bender and the song that follows it anyway.

I agree that if the whole album was to the level of the Tarkus suite, it would be 5 stars for sure. But I still think it deserves a solid 4, because the other material (excepting the two "joke" numbers) is really quite good as well. This was ELP quickly approaching their peak and working towards that peak (BSS).

"Tarkus" is an mixture of epic excellence and head-scratching zaniness, the title track being one of the band's best songs ever while later songs range from bad to mediocre.

Starting with the good, "Tarkus" features all the soaring bombast and dynamic compositions one should expect from any classic prog band worth their salt, featuring some killer playing from all memebers. Lake's voice is featured more evenly throughout, but Emerson's dexterous keyboard dominates the melody and instumental passages... maybe a little overtly, but its hard to deny his talent.

As for the other songs, they may be fun for an occasional listen but don't come close to the quality of the title track. "Jermey Bender" and "Are You Ready Eddy?" are just fun for the sake of it, but hardly demonstrate the band's talent. This, and the sometimes overwhelming organ/keyboards of Emerson make for a good, but not great listen overall.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

After bedazzling the music world with their brilliant debut, this terrific trio set out to do something even more challenging. Follow it up with an album that was just as good. And, to their credit, they almost did. "Tarkus" is a well constructed record that further advanced their reputation as progressive music trailblazers in the early 70s. You gotta admit, no one else was doing it quite the same way as Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Side one of the LP consists of the adventurous and legendary "Tarkus" suite. The first segment, Keith's "Eruption," is one of the most intense, jam-packed 2 minutes and 43 seconds in prog rock. The 5/4 track is tighter than Pavarotti's waistband and it is a textbook case of organ, synthesizers, bass and drums working together like a well- oiled, high-torque machine. On top of all that its extremely complex arrangement will make your head spin. Few albums start this splendidly so it's not a big surprise to find that the next phase, "Stones of Years," struggles a bit to keep the momentum rolling on that spectacular level. It's a heavy, slower-paced tune with Greg singing cryptic lyrics about a metallic armadillo but, while Emerson's organ solo is interesting, things take a much-appreciated swing upward when they rip into Keith's "Iconoclast" and tear it up again. It's got a supercharged riff that they steer through difficult and intricate changes, showing how amazing these guys are when they're in sync.

Next Greg sings "Mass" with conviction yet it's the staccato organ lead that gets your attention as the spicy interplay between Keith and Carl grabs the spotlight. After the short-lived "Manticore" section we get a brief taste of Lake's still-developing electric guitar skills that mark a low spot in the proceedings (He would get much better in the years ahead, thank heaven). The pity is that his amateurish noodling takes away from the majestic theme of "Battlefield" going on beneath it. An unusual Moog sound performed over a marching drum beat takes us into the finale of the piece, Emerson's "Aquatarkus," which also reprises the stupendous 5/4 power hook of the opening salvo that got things off to such a wild, driving start. The big finish is suitably flamboyant but somehow I get the feeling that the side-long saga just didn't come off as well as they had hoped it would. Having said that, however, if they would have had six weeks to polish it in the studio instead of six days I have no doubt that it would be near perfect.

Displaying what would become a distracting habit for this band, "Jeremy Bender" is a detour into corny playfulness that stumps me to this day. It's pretty much a nutty saloon-style drinking ditty complete with honky-tonk piano and silly limerick phrases that must have amused them no end. Whatever. At least the next song redeems them as it's one of the highlights of the album. "Bitches Crystal" is a jazzy piano-driven number that benefits greatly from tasteful synthesizer work and mood-changing dynamics to create a fascinating kaleidoscope of musical colors. On top of that, Greg's passionate and almost furious vocal is strikingly arresting and shows a completely different side of Mr. Lake.

"The Only Way (Hymn)" has Keith manning a huge cathedral organ as Greg sings some virulent anti-religion lines that include a strange reference about God losing six million Jews before telling us that we have to do it ourselves (or something). Emerson manages to throw in a little bit of Bach to liven things up halfway through but the best thing occurs when they segue into "Infinite Space," a 7/8 piano-led instrumental that moves at a fast clip. As much as I like Keith's organ virtuosity, his skill on the eighty- eights is often breathtaking and that's the situation here. Excellent job. The mighty Hammond B3 makes a triumphant return on "Time and a Place," a typical ELP tour de force that rumbles like a freight train for three thrilling minutes. "Are You Ready Eddy?" is a stress-relieving, spontaneous session outtake aimed at their burgeoning engineer, ending the album on a lightheartedly loose but undeniably rock & roll note.

I can't help but think that this record might have sold a few more copies if it weren't for the horrendous cover and inside liner art. It's ugly and it certainly made me (and probably others) think twice when I first saw it in the racks in 1971. When compared to the other beautiful and stunning pictures that adorned their debut and the incredible "Brain Salad Surgery," this cartoon-ish nightmare looks like it was done by a kindergarten toddler. Inexcusable. Anyway, as far as the dreaded sophomore jinx goes, "Tarkus" beats that superstitious myth to a bloody pulp. While it's not the acme of their career, it still has the ability to make your hair stand on end time and time again. You could do a lot worse than to spend forty minutes with this impressive collection of progressive rock, that's for sure. 4.2 stars.

Very much lile 2112 by Rush, Tarkus is an album consiting of one side hit and one side miss. Title track is great, it's such fun to listen to and try to follow Keith Emerson's keyboard runs, and Carl Palmer does some really fascinating things with his drum kit as well. These two men make for an extremely interesting technical composition, where no two minutes sound the same and all parts are equally good. In short, a great journey from start to finish which might, however, take a few listens to fully digest.

To be honest, though, i'm not a big fan of ELP in the first place. In part because i find their find their music cold (maybe because of a lack of guitar, maybe because Keith Emerson is the poster-child of "showy playing"). Besides that, i find that most of their shorter songs are "fillers" (Benny the bouncer, the entire side 2 of Tarkus) and that their longer pieces tend to drag at some point (such as the middle section of KE9). Tarkus is a winner simply because it is furious enough, coming at you continiously for 20 minutes straight without ever dragging, to be interesting. Plus i find the lyrics, if not good, then at least entertaining, and there is a lot of different keyboard sounds from Keith going on. I also like the album art, very classic.

So if you're are a fan of this kind of cold, technical music that ELP stands for, you might find even the second side slightly interesting, and if you've never heard ELP, Tarkus is a good place to start as long as you don't expect much more than 20 minutes of good music.

As a fan of the reviews by Sean Trane, who tends to mix a "how good is this album in the sack?"-variable to his reviews, i would like to say that Tarkus is by far the WORST song to listen to while "getting it on". Especially the "Aquatarkus"-section is a big no.

Anyway, three stars for this classic album. Get it, listen to side one, and use the other for writing notes on.

Talking about 'a giant leap for mankind'. (Or at least for three of us!) TARKUS' A-side was almost as stunning an advance on ELP's debut album as YES ALBUM was on TIME AND A WORD. Keith Emerson's composing and keyboard playing (particularly his Hammond organ soloing) suddenly reached exciting new levels. You can tell how happy he was that he'd finally found a drummer and a bassist with whom he could develop his most audacious ideas. Many, many moments still leave me speechless, and even one of ELP's actual SONGS still sounds majestic ('Battlefield', in case you'd like to know) - in spite of those ghastly Lakean lyrics. Strangely enough there's little use of synths: they would really only come into their own in 1972.

I completely agree with most other reviewers that the original album's B-side is a bummer, so if you're just after the 'Tarkus Suite' and want virtually all of BRAIN SALAD SURGERY into the bargain (together with loads of other material), buy THE ATLANTIC YEARS (1992) instead. It's still available secondhand, but I warn you: it has one of the cheapest cover pictures I've ever seen...

Rating: Four stars for the A-side; two for the B-side.

1, Tarkus A great suite. Emerson starts off with some fine Hammond playing with a heavy sound and great bass from Lake. The vocal part is really atmospheric and in a latter fast passage Greg lake plays a fine guitar solo on the electric guitar. Of course, he´s no Robert Fripp, but good nevertheless. He even gets another one in a slower passage around the fourteenth minute, backed by Emerson. Carl Palmer´s drumming is excellent, especially in these faster passages. The track builds up on dramaticism as it progresses and it sounds great. The way the fast passages change with the slower ones is great. Still, Emerson´s moog solo (or what it is) starting around the seventeenth minute is too much to swallow. It is too long, boring, has no real melody or atmosphere to it and it sounds useless. However, after it ends the track gets better again and after a nice organ solo, the track concludes with a powerful climax. 5 stars

Jeremy Bender Filler, and it´s not even decent. A barr oom sounding track with a weak melody. Probably if Kinks did something like this in 1967 I would like it as afunny miniature, but not as it is done by ELP in 1971. Lake´s voice isn´t even fitting for this kind of stuff. 1 star

Bitches crystal A short jazzy mess with Emerson dominating on the piano. Lake doesn´t even sing, he just shouts. At least Palmer deserves some good mention as the drumming is marvelous. 1 star

The only way (Hymn) As the subtitle already suggests, this is a majestic track with a Bach like organ and a gorgeous vocal performance from Lake. A faster part follows, where Emerson switches to the piano and Lake plays some marvelous bass. 5 stars

Infinite soace (conclusion) Again, the title suggests what we have here. It is a conclusion to the previous track. Essentially, it is just a filler with jazzy piano from Emerson, who is at times joined by Lake and Palmer. At leads the track has a nice vibe to it. 1.5 stars

A time and a place A heavy rocker with raw vocals (mostly shouting) from Lake, gritty bass playing and Hammond organ. Very energetic and the melody is good enough as well. 5 stars

Are you ready Eddy A conventional uninspired a conventional rocker . At least the dissonant piano solo by Emerson is nice, as it creates contrast to the formulaic melody. 1.5 stars

Overal rating: 3 STARS

GOOD, BUT-NON ESSENTIAL. HOWEVER? I WOULD STILL BUY IT FOR TARKUS

I always believed it's unfair to use ELP as the example of the most self indulgent, excessive and pompous Prog, people like to blame them for how much mainstream critics and audience hate or ignore our beloved genre, but I tell this people get "Trilogy" and if you find it too complex, go and buy "Saturday Night Fever" because Prog is not for you.

But each time I listen "Tarkus" I feel closer to the people who believe ELP are sometimes excessive, after a soft but good debut and because people expected too much from the first Prog supergroup, they valued more complexity and empty virtuosity over musicality, Palmer and Emerson seem to be in a ciontest trying to prove how fast they are and lake has troubles with some tracks (Something I never expected from him),

Of course if they wanted to be a Prog band they had to do a pompous and overblown epic, better if multi part and better if they created an almost impossible to understand concept, this may work for Genesis because Peter Gabriel is a hell of a lyricist and has an incredible imagination, but that's not the strongest point of Emerson, Lake, Palmer or Sinfield when they recruited him.

The band starts the album with the supposed "Piece de Resistance" the overblown Tarkus, divided in seven parts all created to prove how proficient they are at their respective instruments, the Sci Fi mythological concept is secondary, it's only an excuse, I find no coherence or melodic support, the more complex the better, except for the vocal sections by Greg Lake, pretty forgettable.

They blend Symphonic, Jazzy sections, Crimsonian references and of course lost or organ and drum solos, they proved they are excellent performers but the composition is less than average IMHO, in some moments they seem to regain control but they loose it almost instantly in their desire of being better, louder and more complex than anybody else, goals that they never achieve.

Jeremy Bender is simply a nice saloon tune with a vertical piano, catchy but nothing special.

Bitches Crystal is the point where I use the skip button, no feet or head, they got lost between Pompous Prog and Free Jazz, even Greg who gives coherence to the most bizarre tracks is unable to make this track barely decent, Keith butchers the piano and maybe the highest point is Palmer who remains accurate as always.

The Only Way starts as a good (at last) atheist hymn paradoxically performed using the St. Mark Church Organ. They try to be original and irreverent but the phrase "Why did he lose six million Jews" would be laughable if didn't sounded so racist and disrespectful to the holocaust. What started strong ended being ridiculous.

The Only Way is a relief, very good track, martial, rhythmic, well developed and solid from start to end, a "rara avis" in this album without feet and head. Nothing spectacular either but above the level of the album despite is mostly a long introduction that leads nowhere.

A Time and a Place is another song that doesn't make sense at all, it's so badly done that he band plays highly above the vocal range of Greg Lake, letting us notice that his voice has severe limits, the rest is mostly organ and Moog masturbation with Palmer bombing us with his accurate but worthy of a better album drumming.

Are You Ready Eddy? is only a joke and nothing more, entertaining Rock & Roll just in the way any band from your local pub could have played, the album starts as it begins..weak.

Compared with "Love Beach" or "In the Hot Seat" , "Tarkus" is a masterpiece (well, almost any album wins with this comparison), so I can't rate it with one star, now compared even with the naïve and relatively simple self titled debut, "Tarkus" looses, so I have to go lower than 3 stars.

To be fair, it's an average album which would mean an impossible 2.5 stars rating in our system, so I will have to go with 2 stars, very disappointing, because average for other bands is poor for a supergroup as ELP,

Still I can't understand all the noise and praises I heard about it, but being that everybody seems to enjoy "Tarkus" except me, so i won't dare to say avoid it, only wiill say that for me is one of the weakest ELP albums and I wouldn't buy it again even if somebody steals my CD.

Let's agree not talk about the amateurish album cover art, which has to be, to this day, amongst the worst ever created. It's sad: Yes, and for God's sake even Uriah Heep, had Roger Dean and his surreal 'scapes. ELP had this crap. Fortunately, there's the music...

The twenty-minute title track is about as good as prog ever got. Ya want some 5/4 rhythm ya got it, and they make it sound so effortless, just another little song they're playing for us. If you had a chance to see them live during this era, you know it WAS effortless. Man, were ELP dealing. Emerson's percussive C3 just drives the songs, Lake is as good a bass player as there was at the time, and Palmer is no slouch. A pompous critic would say something like 'this is arguably the first extended prog masterpiece." I'll forgo the 'arguably' and state, this is the first extended prog masterpiece.

As Hendrix was to the Stratocaster, Emerson was to the Hammond, but not merely in terms of mastery of the instrument. Emerson unleashes the catalogue of sounds that every organ player henceforth would strive to duplicate. It's that innovative, and that good. And it's that hard to duplicate, because not every Hammond player had Rocky as a keyboard tech. There's more synth on Tarkus than on the first album, but still it's the Hammond that dominates. I hadn't listened to this in a while, and it's my loss.

Unfortunately, as is common with ELP albums, things flag a bit on what was the second side of the LP. Jeremy Bender is fun, but nothing special. The Only Way is Emerson's obligatory pipe organ thang. But Time and a Place is ball-crushing hard rock in the vein of Knife-Edge from the debut. But basically most of this is filler -- wouldn't do to release a one-sided LP.

Once again, only a 4. But you wouldn't want to be without this one.

As close to 4.9 stars as possible!

This was one of ELP's monumental albums. The track Tarkus is part of the definition of progressive rock. The title track tells the story of a Tarkus (apparantly an Armadillo with tank treads and guns on its shoulders) which is born at the beginning of time from a violent volcanic eruption. It then goes accross the world killing other killing machines/animals because it despises their existance, while it does not comprehend its hypocritical ways. When finally the Tarkuks comes accross the Manticore, the Manticore shows the Tarkus its ways, and the Tarkus then does battle with the Manticore, eventually being defeated. It then goes to the water and drowns itself, but is reborn again out of the sea.

All the while, ELP takes you on a sonic ride. Keith Emerson attacks his keyboards, producing some of the best keyboard work in all of prog. Carl Palmer shows why he's the drummer, and Greg Lake's brilliant voice rises above it all. On this album, ELP hit the top and stayed there until their break up. All I can say is listen to it, and you will be blown away by the musicianship and and the compositional skilll of ELP.

Of course, an amazing album does have its weak parts. Some of the tracks on the b side are some of ELP's 'honky tonk' piano peices. While Time and a Space is a hard rocking organ peice in the style of Knife Edge that is highly enjoyable.

Summary: This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and with the exceptions of some of the b side stuff, one of the best albums I've listened to. If you're a fan of prog/ELP, I highly encourage to get this album, so 4.9 stars.

Yust like most reviewers allready pointed out the Tarkus suit is a prog classic and rightly so 20min pure progrock at its very best, to bad side to is not on the same level, normaly i dont like to use the word filler i dont think there is sutch a thing as a filler track even a short instrumental number can have a purpos like linking toghter 2 bigger tracks, but if there ever was a filler its jeremy bender totlay pointles litle song that dont realy go or do anything good. ELPs other 2 trys at short comic songs The sherif and benny the bouncer where much more succesfull and funny. Bitches crystal is beter a hard rocking litle number thats pretty good, then its time for some religion bashing how sweet, 3 slow and i gues pretty boring tracks with typcial emmerson piano they are okay but nothing special. The album ends with one of ELPs most infamus songs Are you ready eddy, its the guyz trying to play a typicla simpel rock song and its nothing special not bad not good. Well if side 2 hade been as good as side 1 we hade been talking 4.5 or 5 stars but now side 2 drags the album down very much so i give it 3 stars it is a classic prog album after all.

The best efforts from ELP. I would say, this is the band's greatest album, not the overrated weak Brain Salad Surgery. Brain Salad Surgery contains too much weak materials. But this album, absolutely strong.

Opens with the 20-minute title track. The song was divided into 7 parts, and none of that parts heard weaks. It was an outstanding keyboard stuffs by Keith. Mainly, the greatest arrangement ever produced by a group of band. In usual, ELP will always made a funny song. In this album, "Jeremy Bender" is similar to Brain Salad's "Benny the Bouncer". Then, "Bitches Crystal" is rocker, the arrangement was not so complex. My favourite song in the side 2 of this album was "The Only Way/Infinite Space". A religious ballad sung beautifully by Greg, very good to be hear by anyone. "A Time and a Space" is another rocker song. And the last track, "Are You Ready Eddy?" was an intersting R&R track.

I completely satisfied when purchased this album, so I would give 5 stars for the ELP's best album. Wanna buy? Don't ask!

Quite a few people say that this album can be divided into two parts: the excellent suite "Tarkus", and the rest of the album being mediocre filler tracks. Let me just say that the "Tarkus" suite in itself is a masterpiece, and if that were the entire album, I would give it five stars. However, while I agree that the second half is weaker than Tarkus, I wouldn't go so far as to call it filler. While none of the songs are masterpieces, none of them are completely bad either. The standouts on this side are The Only Way (Hymn)/Infinite Space (Conclusion) and A Time and A Place. Jeremy Bender, Are You Ready Eddy?, and Bitches Crystal are all weaker, piano driven tracks with a pseudo-ragtime feel. Again, not bad, but in light of the fact that they follow a piece as magnificent as Tarkus, it's really impossible for any song to appear to be a masterpiece.

ELP. The band that got me into prog. Tarkus is a great album all the way through in my opinion. Sure the title track makes the rest look weak but take Bitches Crystal, The Only Way, Infinite Space, and A Time and a Place by themselves and they are all great songs. The title contains one of the greatest keyboard rhythms (I can't call it a melody) I've ever heard and some very memorable vocal parts. The track changes pace many times and just becomes one of the most epic songs of all time. Any album with Tarkus on it deserves 5 stars, and the other great tracks don't hurt either.

3.5 stars. Well I do like this better than "Brain Salad Surgery" and the title track in my opinion is one of their best ever composition. It's just too bad the final 6 tracks weren't a lot better.

"Tarkus" opens with some incredible interplay between Emerson and Palmer. Emerson is the star of this first section though. Just incredible ! When Lake starts to sing a calm arrives in the "Stones Of Years" section. This reminded me so much of KING CRIMSON's debut album when I first heard it. Lake's vocals had a lot to do with that, and how mellow it is. The "Mass" section is another amazing instrumental piece. Kind of cool to hear Lake playing some electric guitar on the "Battlefield" section, and he's not half bad either. Nice sound during this passage. "Aquatarkus" ends this epic track with Emerson again taking the lead.

"Jeremy Bender" is a silly song like the final tune "Are You Ready Eddy ?". "Bitches Crystal" is an uptempo song with aggressive vocals. Check out the piano 2 minutes in. Not a fan of the song though. "The Only Way(Hymn)" features church organ and seemingly anti-God lyrics. "Infinite Space (Conclusion)" is a tasteful drum / piano instrumental. "A Time And A Place" features some incredible organ.

This is certainly worth tracking down just for the title song alone. Another inconsistant record though.

Ah, the legendary Tarkus album. Maybe the "b" side doesn't deliver as well as the "a" side, but this is truly a masterpiece of progressive music, in fact of music in general. This album and "Brain Salad Surgery" are my two favorite ELP albums (it's hard to pick a favorite between the two for me) mostly since the whole band plays and works together. But all that aside, I'll talk about the music. I try not to say too much that's already been said.

"Tarkus" - 20 minutes of perfection. Unlike a lot of 20 minute (or over 20 min.) progressive epics, "Tarkus" does not fall victim of getting its length from using "filler" or just long, slow, atmospheric passages. From the second it starts to the end, it just keeps on rolling and doesn't look back. The first time I heard this, I couldn't believe it, it was just amazing. I listened to it every day for about a month after my first listen. I still listen to the whole piece now. It never gets old and the more I listen to it, the more it amazes me that these three excellent musicians made such a masterpiece. It is musically and conceptually perfect. Who knew such a work of art could be made from an idea of an armadillo-tank and a 5/4 figure? Wow. This piece alone is worth the money. If you haven't heard it, you need to hear it as soon as possible.

"Jeremy Bender" - Basically a short song that is first of ELP's comical ragtime pieces. No, it's not terrible like everyone else says. Alone, it's a fine, decent little number. However it is just wrong to hear this after the dramatic ending of "Tarkus". It's actually quite funny in that sense.

"Bitches Crystal" - A neat, hard rocking number that has Greg Lake using his loud and raspier tone. Nice fast paced groove with some brilliant piano work from Emerson.

"The Only Way" - My favorite piece on the "b" side of the album. It is a lovely piece that is a rare gem in ELP's repertoire. Starting out with a Bach quote on the church organ, Greg Lake enters with possibly one of his most beautiful and impressive vocal lines ever. The real fun begins when you hear the piano, bass, and drums comes in at the second half of the piece. It flows very well and this section is just gorgeous.

"Infinite Space" - An instrumental that some say is tedious, but I find it a unique way to end the "The Only Way". A neat bass figure dominates most of the piece with some lead lines on the higher register of the piano. Nice machine-like drumming from Carl Palmer, very similar to the same sound on the "Tarkus" suite.

"A Time and a Place" - The second hard rocking number on the "b" side. Reminds me of "Knife Edge" from the debut album; a straight forward progressive rocker that truly defines the classic "ELP sound". Frenzied glissandos on the Hammond organ from Emerson with some powerful vocals from Lake and lightning fast drumming from Palmer, especially the rapid fire single bass drum he provides throughout.

"Are You Ready Eddy?" - Hahaha! This song always cheers me up. It's crazy how ELP end an album with this, but I got to admit that it's ELP's humor that just makes them my favorite band. Sure it's not a masterpiece or anything close, but let's face it, the guys are just having fun here dedicating a silly song to their engineer, Eddy Offord. The best is when Emerson and Palmer yell "[h] am or cheese!" at the end. Hahaha. classic way to end an album!

Well, to some it up, this is one of ELP's finest albums, possibly their height of their creative opus. Some people will disagree with my like for the second side of the album, but everyone has a right to their own opinion. .But that aside, the "Tarkus" suite is fantastic and there's no one I've heard of that dislikes the suite. Also, I must add that Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer make some of their best appearances on any ELP album. These three musicians put out some of the most virtuosic performances in the history of music. It is unbelievable what these guys can do! Essential: a masterpiece of progressive music. 5 stars.

In my opinion Tarkus is an album composed by 2 Ep's. The one is Tarkus suite. A 5 stars suite. Great climax of ELP music, with great atmospheres and power. Every listen is a new experience. But in definive is also the more easy ELP composition. The second Ep's of Tarkus is... The rest of the albums. Ok, this is a 2/ 2,5 stars Ep's. Because like in other 70's albums one is the great compositions and other compositions are in the album only for arrived to 35/ 40 minutes. In general, it's necessary to admit it, Tarkus is another epochal album. And if you love Prog Tarkus is another album to have.

With Tarkus, ELP continued to define prog rock at the time. Made up of the sidelong suite and five shorter tracks, Tarkus has very different sides. The title track is one of the first prog epics, along with King Crimson's Lizard and Pink Floyd's Echoes. It is much more developed in theme and story than the two contemporaries I have just mentioned, even it it is a bit hard to interpret. In addition to the developed theme, Tarkus is very complex musically. It revolves around a 10/8 or 5/4 time signature and shows Keith and Carl heroic on the instruments. Lake does his part as well. His guitar solo is very nice and shows that he is quite underrated as his voice sometimes overshadows his musical ability. Tarkus is one of prog's most important and greatest epics.

The second side is another story. It is not as bad as people make it out to be, but an underachhievement for ELP's ablities. Jeremy Bender is not one of my favorites. Are You Ready Eddy? is funny in theory and as an inside joke for their producer, but is not very good musically. Bitches Crystal and A Time and a Place are good songs. The Only Way and Infinite Space hold side two up a lot. They rearrange another Bach song and it works well. Some people don't like their rearrangements, but they great to me.

Overall, Tarkus is essential but littered with subpar material on side two.

Like many have said, this album is split. The first half contains only one song, Tarkus. This song is the song that got me into prog. It is a perfect example of progressive rock. 10/10. The second side though, I don't enjoy it very much and almost always stop listening to the record after Tarkus Very boring and just doesn't entertain me very much. 4/10. Overall I think anyone who likes prog and doesn't own this record would love most of it.

Review 2, 1971, Tarkus - Emerson, Lake And Palmer

StarStarStarStar

Tarkus, though it doesn't (for me, at least) have the same consistent quality and emotional impact as their debut, is the album that really fixed the future of ELP, and the title suite is definitely vital listening for any progger. Although I can see where much of the criticism for the rest of the album comes from, I think it's not as bad as some make it out to be. Even the much-maligned "filler" Are You Ready Eddy and Jeremy Bender have charm, energy and sarcasm, which works for me, and only the fairly cold 'Infinite Space' and the organ intro to The Only Way fall down a little. Lake's sometimes guilty of producing dubious lyrics, and in particular the words to the atheistic The Only Way are too confrontational and feeble for me.

The second side begins with the whimsical Jeremy Bender. The light elements might grate a little with the dark, brooding title track just before it, but if you see the second side as a completely separate entity, it opens it nicely. Lake's lyrics are amusing enough, the piano is good. Palmer is obviously able to merge his drums impeccably with just about anything, and this track is no exception. Lake's voice is good, and the clapping doesn't spoil it at all.

Next we have a winner, the unfortunately named Bitches Crystal. It enjoys a twisted sense of humour, with the nursery rhyme introduction and reprise hilariously contrasted with the main drums, bass and heavier piano theme. Lake's voice, though not as sublime as usual, and occasionally overstretched, and bits of moog and overblown lyrics thrown in for good measure. It ends well, and is a great track in its own way, and perhaps the real proof for me that ELP did have a sense of humour.

The fourth track on the album is of a different sort. There's a classical organ intro, apparently Bach, but, as with most classical organ I'm not particularly fond of it. You then have a less showy organ part subordinated neatly to Lake's superb voice and slightly tacky atheistic lyrics (I don't care, if he can write Just Take A Pebble, he can do more than brief couplets and triplets :p). They're probably too strong/tacky for some people, I've learned to tolerate them. However, that's where it picks up. Palmer and Lake come in, and Emerson switches to piano, to create a beautiful, memorable trio. If it wasn't for the opening and lyrics, this would be ELP at their best. Still a great track.

The conclusion, infinite time and space is mostly a trio, with the briefest of drum solos, and a quick piano solo too, but, without Lake's voice, sort of cold. It also feels a little too deliberate at times, but Emerson's piano overlaying over an already stand-alone part nearish the end is quite neat. Compared to Emerson's usual prominence, it feels like Frippertronics. The song's got some character. Still good material.

Hammond organ, moog and drums drive the next song to a decent synth-and-drum based conclusion that sort of reminds me of some of Toccata. The lyrics are mostly nonsense, but sound good, and Lake's voice is again strong. Unlike in Bitches Crystal, the song is serious enough that Lake over-extending his voice to what basically is screaming doesn't help. The hammond riff is solid and overblown. The drumming here's particularly noteworthy, and the heavier keyboards provide a nice break from the acoustic-dominated second side. If you're a big BSS fan, this is probably the second-side track for you.

Are you Ready Eddy is a quirky rock and roll song with absolutely hectic piano, loads of energy, excellent drums and entertaining, sarcastic lyrics. It may not be the most complex, soul-searching prog song ever, but its fun (and partly inappropriate) to sing along to. The vocal effects only enhance this. This and Jeremy Bender sort of acts as bookends for the second side, and they give a relief from the pomposity of Tarkus much more effectively than some of their other light songs.

In conclusion, I like the second side. It's got a lot of great material, and nothing really intolerable. It's not as superb as ELP, or as progressive and overblown as Brain Salad Surgery, but it shows a lot of development in the band, and their musical direction, while never being really pretentious and humourless enough to lose the listener.

Oh, and the first side's quite good.

Rating: Tarkus is a masterpiece, the rest is good. Four Stars.

Favourite Track: Tarkus (surprise!), more specifically Battlefield

--- More seriously:

The Tarkus suite is really essential listening for any progger. It feels very deep, switches mood frequently, has Lake's best lyrics, nicely used vocal effects, great bursts of lead guitar on battlefield, changing Hammond sounds everywhere, moogs occasionally added in for good measure, and the unique drumming that fits this bizarre mix. Eruption begins with Lake's voice multi-tracked and slowly rising in number to meet the cymbal crescendo, Hammond organ to fit the track's name, moog that evokes the lava depicted in the album booklet. The bass is there, but only really as an atmospheric and rhythm section addition, and that works great for the song. This moves on the quieter hammond and bass section beneath Lake's beautiful vocals on Stones of Years. Everything is here, all working together, and nothing too dominant. The bass becomes a little more pronounced and provides the real rhythm while Emerson and Palmer overpoweringly provide the main tune. There's another similar vocal section. Iconoclast is solid and instrumental, while the following Mass is a bit acquired, but good once you get into it, and the trite Moog and low vocals defuse some of Tarkus' pretentious aspects. The instrumental section in the middle is great and Lake's guitar 'solo' is good.

Manticore is a fairly intense instrumental with masses of quirks, and music that suggest a battle more skilfully than The Gates Of Delirium (*beats off Yes fans with hammond organ*) ever did. Battlefield is the best section of a superb suite. Surprisingly emotional and dominant drumming, soul-wrenching lead guitar, beautiful singing with deep, war-related lyrics, and haunting organ-work that manages to somehow lead *as well*. Aquatarkus is a good return to the main theme, sprinkled with bits of moogage, and a great conclusion. This suite is essential prog listening.

Genious. Every beat, every note left me on the edge of my chair. It is and was magnificent. Perhaps the only and best way to describe it is pure genious.

That being said about the first brilliant 20 min. or so song, just about all I have to say about the album is, it was complete crap! Well worth it just for the first song though.

That's all I have to say.

Tarka the metallic otter (sent for an early bath) 0 - A very badly drawn mythical beast 1

'Tarkus' - The title 'suite' has now quite rightly entered into history as a hitherto unprecedented measure of how we now appraise those occupied in the creation of progressive rock music of any conceivable style, and is perhaps this records greatest and enduring legacy. It served almost as a 'blueprint' for much of the Italian symphonic Prog movement and has been a source of inspiration for musicians and composers ever since.

I was searching for what one of my heroes, John Coltrane, wanted to create - walls of sound. I thought, I can dig that, but I'm going to go another way to get that across, with electronics and the Moog synthesizer and everything else. Keith Emerson in 2014

I do think it significant that Emerson's compositional style has been an acknowledged influence on other instrumentalists apart from just keyboard players, in contrast to Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz, Tony Banks, Dave Greenslade & Rod Argent etc.

There are palpable traces of Bartok, Ginastera and perhaps Zappa throughout Emerson's creation and he chose wisely in allowing for the danger of the whole 20 minutes alienating his audience, to contrast the 'Eruption - Iconoclast - Manticore - Aquatarkus' instrumental sections with some more conventional song based material utilising Greg Lake's vocals. This technique served ELP well throughout their career and the overwhelming success achieved by Tarkus simply endorsed its repeated use on subsequent albums.

The material that comprises the remainder of the album is often either overlooked or dismissed as inferior to the Tarkus composition, but I feel that this is unduly harsh and think it long overdue for reappraisal.

'Jeremy Bender' - Where Floyd Cramer meets a defrocked cross dresser and after a boisterous night on the turps, duet on this whimsical number at 3 am before being led away to the cells in preparation for the trial. Often dismissed as ' filler' but good fun and Emerson's piano is always worth some of your time. Avowedly (but tenuously) based on the old folk song Oh! Susannah

'Bitches Crystal' - The waltz rhythm's stubborn refusal to 'kick ass' has been a constant source of frustration to many a rock muso, and it took Palmer and his two buddies to teach them how to make this normally 'effete' pulse decimate hindquarters. All manner of stylistic bases are covered from jazz piano, blues rock, classical and even that tinkling 'ice cream van' music alluded to in the title. I also love the way ELP achieve a satisfying blend of the acoustic instruments and the Moog. Judging by some of their contemporaries efforts at around the same time, this is not as easy as they make it sound here. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the inspiration for this piece was provided by one of Keith's acknowledged musical heroes Dave Brubeck's hybrid 10/8 boogie Countdown from 1962.

'The Only Way' - The lengthy Bach quote is used I suspect, not for any musical purpose but to set up the right 'pious' atmosphere for Greg Lake to subvert with his attack on religious hypocrisy and self serving belief systems. It's not very often that ELP ever strayed anywhere near political, religious or social controversy as they do here, and whether they got their fingers burned or not, I do wish they had been as forthright with their views as they are on this very moving atheist rallying call. Compared to Greg's usual preoccupation with mythical beasts, love affairs that throw the planet off its axis and fantasy literature, this is 'gritty realism' by comparison.

'Infinite Space' - A criminally ignored track in their repertoire, probably because of its pungent Bartok harmonies and incessant bludgeoning 7/4 meter. I love this unreservedly for its sheer immovable force and the way Emerson harnesses some startling (Hungarian?) modes and scales in the creation of what seems at the outset, an extremely unlikely melodic denouement. Recorded on Advision Studios resident seven foot Bechstein piano.

'A Time and a Place' - Starts off rather unpromisingly as a simple syncopated Zep influenced hard rocker but improves significantly once we reach the solo and the glorious ending. The former contains what must be the most visceral and 'bowel emptying' organ sound since records began while the latter is a classically hued feast of Moog synth that you just wish would never end. Stunning. The cake ain't too hot but Emerson's icing makes up for it.

'Are You Ready Eddy? - If only the answer had been 'No'...... we would at least have been spared this sub Pythonesque 'dicking about' that has become the ultimate ELP stocking filler. File under 'hammy' AND 'cheesy'

If memory serves me correctly, I think this was the unholy trinity's sole Number One album in the UK, and on the evidence of what is presented here, seems slightly ironic that such widespread endorsement was granted to what is perhaps the weakest of ELP's first five. That it not to say it was undeserving of such sales figures, but of all their early 70's records this is the one that has aged the least gracefully.

I would guess that the reasons are mainly down to the use of some rather dated studio techniques and effects which although de rigeur for the time, stamp '1971' indelibly onto the production to its detriment. Lake's multi-tracked harmony vocals and Palmer's phased drum kit rolls are two such instances, together with some rather kitsch and self-parodying 'freakout' rock guitar. From what little documented evidence I can gather, there was apparently considerable pressure brought to bear on the band by their record company to get the album out and into the shops as quickly as possible to appease fan demand, so this may have engendered some production 'short cuts' being used.

However, what has always been abundantly clear, is that we are not going to pull down the Taj Mahal just because it does not conform with our idea of modern architecture.

PS Tarkus really IS named after Tarka the Otter (check Emo's autobiography if you don't believe me)

Every time I listen to this one and read the reviews here I can't help asking myself, how can someone rate this album under 5 stars? Because for me this is the most impressive and best prog album in history + it is somewhat underrated .

Tarkus summarizes all the aspects that make prog what it is and takes them to the extreme: highly pretentious and pompous; meaningful and well written lyrics (both serious and humorous); top-notch and highly precise musicians; and a 20 minute suite (I think this fits the pretentious category...).

The lineup is really impressive: Greg Lake (King Crimson): with his distinctive and beautiful voice added to his strong bass support to the music; Keith Emerson (The Nice): the man who helped to revolutionize the use of keyboards and one of the founders of the symphonic prog genre; Carl Palmer (Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster): a highly skilled percussionist (almost orchestral) who is also capable of playing (as shown on this record) jazz and rock; and Peter Sinfield (King Crimson) as lyricist and lyrics play a major part on this album.

The Tarkus suite presents quite a mix of styles (as most prog does): here we have some 20th century classical music (mainly Bartok and Ginastera, both composers with which Emerson seems to be somewhat obsessed) fused with jazz ala Oscar Peterson and the rock element is always there (this is progressive rock after all!).

What can I say? here we have some of the iconic and most acclaimed musicians in prog at their best: It has some of the best vocals that I've ever heard, the legendary moog and organ sounds leading the music with some piano and a drummer/percussionist that changed the way I see a rock rhythm section. Added to all that we have some of the escence that made In The Court of The Crimson King a masterpiece(brought by Lake... but this is for another review), it has at least 20 over 5 stars in my book.

OK, the second side is nothing compared to the first but it isn't bad at all, from Bitches Crystal to Time and a Place we have a bunch of magnific tunes:

Bitches Crystal with its crazy atmosphere and vocals, great piano work and strong drum work deserves being hailed as a classic prog song.

The solemn The Only Way/Infinite Space combo is worth listening to experience the grandeur of Emerson playing a church organ and some jazzy lines on the piano; Lake's voice isn't bad at all , while Palmer is more on the background but still powerful. (this is the kind of pompousness that I love!).

A Time and A Place closes the "serious" part of the album with a great team effort that again is pretentious and pompous but well played and fun to listen.

The touch of humor provided by Jeremy Bender and Are You Ready Eddy? help digest the dense content of the rest of the album... and I think they are a valuable addition to the record because I think that nothing should be taken to seriously (and people such as Zappa, Wyatt, Hillage and Sinclair would probably agree with me)

This side might not deserve a 5 star rating but at least 3.5 (or 4...or maybe even 4.5....).

Lyrically its just amazing: antiwar message (Tarkus)+ "political" and religious criticism (The Only Way) + humor (Are You Ready Eddie and Jeremy Bender) + mysticism (Bitches Crystal) + confusing and apparently meaningless philosophical lyrics (Time and a Place)

The average between 20 and 3.5 (+bonus 1 for lyrics) gives 12.75....still a 5!

People normally assume that being pompous and pretentious is a bad thing... but I consider it to be a compliment when the artist delivers enough quality to match his pretensions and pompousness (which is the case with most ELP albums). And this is one of the reasons why I love prog....

If you like prog and don't mind it taken to the extreme this is an essential!

It's all there, yet there's something lacking. And it's not only the artwork.

This is a great album but not a complete masterpiece. First of all I think this album has a problem with its balance. There is this monster epic (in every sense of the word with Tarkus and Manticore) which blows people away (including me) until this very day. Then there come six tracks of very different atmosphere. I don't think they are all throw-aways but they provide no appropriate ending to the album, especially not the infamous Are You Ready, Eddie.

TARKUS: a suite in seven parts about the cycle of life and violence (as far as I understand it). Eruption (birth of Tarkus) is my favourite piece of the suite (has there ever been or more fiery instrumental intro to an epic than this one?). Except for Mass and Aquatarkus I think all parts of the epic deserve 5 stars.

JEREMY BENDER / ARE YOU READY EDDIE: both weren't really necessary, were they, guys? Jeremy Bender is at least cleverly placed to give us some time to breathe now the epic is done.

BITCHES CRYSTAL / A TIME AND A PLACE: both little nice prog tunes, way more aggressive than one would ELP expect to be. I like them a lot, especially the latter. In the same vein as LIVING SIN from the Trilogy album (a little devilish triad).

THE ONLY WAY / INFINITE SPACE (segue): The Only Way is based on two works of classical composer J.S. Bach and is therefore accomplished. There is an ironic tension between the music and the lyrics: Lake is obvíously very critic of religious beliefs - but Bach's music is that of a very religious man...

Infinite Space seems be there only to bring The Only Way to an end - and it takes them more 3 minutes to do so. They had an album to fill. And yet I think there's another reason behind this track and why it segues. Maybe the variations of the theme are a hidden tribute to Bach, the undisputed master of the art of inventing variations. I believe the title of the track hints at something similar (the infinte space of variation or so).

So, there are some shortcomings that keep me from giving the album 5 stars: the artwork, the strange tale of the epic, Mass, Aquatarkus, Jeremy Bender, Infinite Space, Are You ready, Eddie. But this album is nevertheless a must have for every decent prog household.

Favourite Tracks: Most of TARKUS, BITCHES CRYSTAL, A TIME AND A PLACE, THE ONLY WAY.

Hello everyone in Progarchives. This is my first review (the first time I write in English in the net too) and i pick Tarkus not because it was the first prog-rock album i heard (it wasn't), or it is in my top ten list (no), but because Tarkus represent the moment when i said to myself "Man, I love this kind of music". I think people may like Pink Floyd or a little Yes without love progressive music, but if you like ELP you're lost. Of course Tarkus began with the seven parts Tarkus suite, an amazing 20 minutes song that shows the best side of ELP, that musical aggressiveness thanks to the great interplay between the genius of Emerson's organ and the genius of Palmer's drums. The bass and voice of Lake balance perfectly the other two monsters. The band never did nothing better so you must have this. Then came what it was the side two of the lp. Most people don't like it, others hate it, I don't. Bitches Crystal and A Time And A Place are great short songs too. The Only Way is an adaptation of a Bach work, Emerson use a church organ and Lake delivers atheist lyrics, good irony and good song. Infinite Space is the end part of The Only Way and a instrumental piece and it is ok. Are You Ready Eddy' and Jeremy Bender are just for fun and if you don't like just put Tarkus suite again. It is not a perfect album at all but when it's good it's so great that five stars it deserves. There's only a bunch of records in that category. Please forgive my bad English Peace & Prog JP

Tarkus the song gets and A Plus. No big surprise there as everyone who reviews this album says basically the same thing. It is 20 minutes of Prog Rock bliss. The rest of the album is not nearly as good, but the tracks are not horrible. 'The Only Way (Hymn)' and 'Infinite Space (Conclusion)' are both pretty strong in my opinion. This is a no-doubt 4 star album in my books.

ELP's second album, Tarkus, suffers from the same problem their debut had, but there's more of it now. That problem is basically filling up an album with stuff when you don't have enough well-written material to complete the job. Probably the best example of this is the entire side two of Tarkus, consisting of six short tracks. The first side of the album contains the amazing seven-part suite, 20+ minute title track about the military-industrial complex and the futility of war. It's a bit deeper than that and worthy of a critical study by academia.

So what this album ends up doing is giving the listener the best and the worst of ELP on alternate sides. It really does have that Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde feel to it. But what is most disappointing about it is that when you are finished with the Tarkus suite, it's a steep downfall into mediocrity and at best laughable fodder from what are supposed to be skilled craftsmen of their art. Oddly enough, Greg Lake was not pleased with the Tarkus suite when Emerson first brought it to the group, as he apparently saw a different direction for the group. This conflict between Lake and Emerson would continue to grow.

Because half this album is sub-par at best, I can't really give this more than three stars. But I must say that the Tarkus suite alone is worth getting this as it is probably one of the best tracks ELP ever created. A must-have for ELP fans. Newcomers to the band should get their debut, Trilogy, and Brain Salad Surgery before considering getting Tarkus.

I took the Tarkus test when I first heard ELP many years ago doing their ultimate epic on a live album. I sought this album out to add to my collection as it certainly is one of the best this band has to offer. In every department the 20 minute Tarkus epic is mind blowing, and a prime example of the progenitors of symphonic prog with the virtuoso musicianship of the three band members. Tarkus is in many parts which makes perfect sense on each listen as there are defined breaks in structure as each movement begins. The track acts as a type of multimovement suite in the same way a classic piece of Vivaldi or Beethoven is structured. There are times of serene beauty and these are complimented by washes of synthesizer and cymbal splashes. The pace gets hectic with each movement progressing into jagged guitar solos and percussive showmanship. The vocals are memorable, and burst in and out of the cacophony of sound.

Tarkus is quite simply quintessential prog and if you have not heard it, treat your ears to a listen at your nearest convenience - you will be astounded by this bombastic masterpiece. The other tracks on the album are surprisingly ordinary when compared to the title track.

We have 'Jeremy Bender', a satirical piece of nonsense that is annoying at best, though is not as bad as the Elvis impersonation of "Are you ready Eddy?" - actually the less said about this the better.

'Bitche's Crystal' is a great track that rocks out. And the other tracks are passable. So it is a flawed masterpiece, experimental and, as most ELP albums are, full of brilliance and yet scattered throughout are cringe-worthy moments. I still think this is a worthy addition to a prog collection because 'Tarkus' is one of the best tracks I have ever heard, and in 20 minutes never manages to become boring.

Better than this album however is the brilliant album you must hear before you die, 'Brain Salad Surgery'.

"Are your ears full?"

Emerson Lake & Palmer's second album was simultaneously more and less ambitious compared to their eponymous debut. The greater ambition is primarily evidenced by the 20 plus minute, multipart suite Tarkus that takes up the first half of the album. This is a wonderful piece of music and one of the band's greatest achievements even though my favourite version of it is the live version on Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends. The concept and the accompanying cover art picture is however more than a bit silly.

The second half of the album consists of shorter tracks and these are a bit of a mixed bag. Jeremy Bender was the first of its kind and is in the comedic tradition of The Sheriff from Trilogy and Benny The Bouncer from Brain Salad Surgery. The real throwaway here is however the album closer Are You Ready Eddie? which is a kind of ode to producer Eddie Offord. This simple boogie rocker should really have been left off the album altogether. The rest of the songs are all good even if not quite as good as the band's best efforts. Bitches Crystal also exists in better versions from live recordings.

Overall, a very good album but in my view the least good out of the group's first four studio albums.

The first side of this LP is really what makes it a classic among the prog albums. I've never been a big fan of ELP myself, but the Tarkus suite, as people call it made me do this review, even though there are more than few of these. First of all, it's obvious, that ELP has among them the three most creative players of all time. To be frank, I think, in late 60s a band called King Crimson lost the best thing that had happened to them, and that was a singer who could create an atmosphere to make each song great. I'm a huge fan of Greg Lake, as a singer especially. I think his singing is very pompous and influental and yet working.

About the first side of the LP, there's really good melodies and great tunes together with great singing. All this together makes it a masterpiece. There's really not one part that would bring the other one down. Ok, so I might be a bit biased here, but the way Mr. Lake goes about with his lyrics as astounding. I recall hearing a lot of praise on Keith Emerson, and it's clear he's the main man creatig the songs and the image of the band. The first suite needs to be heard to understand why this band is considered one of the big, groundbreaking prog bands.

Now the part that I don't like about ELP. The second starts with a Jeremy Bender which is a ragtime song, pretty boring and really out of place here. Of course, it brings you back down after the first track, but still. You'll soon find out what I mean with this being a sad affair.

Bitches chrystal is very hectic. Close to a Gentle Giant style. If the band is able to produce great melodic parts and songs, why should they try something of a cacophony like here? I think the reason is, that the band has not found their way or how/what they would really like to do. Basically have too many ideas. Again, the best part here is Lake's singing, and of course the playing is great, but...

I get the feeling, that these guys didn't just want to make prog, they wanted to leave their bands and set up something where they could do everything they want without restrictions. That's why we've got ragtime, mess, and the next one is a church-organ hymn.... huh? At least the lyrics are pretentious in The Only Way (Hymn). The message against the holocaust sound a bit lame after what we've heard on this album. However, if you ignore the lyric, the song gets a bit more interesting after half of it is played.

Infinite Space (Conclusion) sounds like it's made for the piano to have some freedom. The toc toc drumming gets a bit annoying after a while however... I'd love to hear an ongoing background rather than the toc toc. Of course, it's groundbreaking prog, but I never like the idea of making strange timings by adding extra breaks.

A Time And A Place however is again a song that I would include to the first side with the Tarkus suite. it's very powerful and ongoing with good singing. The drums are very groovy and the lyrics aren't as pretentious. This is exactly what ELP does best and why I want to review it. But...

ELP included songs like Are You Ready Eddie to most of their albums. This along the ragtime in the beginning of this side of the LP is really something I can't understand. Why? I think some people were ready to take them seriously already, and then they go do this... Horrible rock'n'roll with extremely stupid lyrics and background voices... No.

No, this album could be excellent if they'd take a lot of songs away. It's amazing how it can vary so much from utter greatness to awfulness... I'm going to have to give this one just the 2,5 stars. Because it's a good album, but only for ELP fans. If you were trying the band out, I'd recommend something like Trilogy or ELP. Sorry, it drops to 2, I'm disappointed.

My first album that I can say it's a masterpiece. And the best music from ELP. OK it's true that I listen to the second part more rarely(maybe half that much) but it's really good too.Tarkus was the first 20+ minute epic I heard (in rock). And it's still one of my favourites of all. I dare say it matches with a classical piece. It has a very unique feeling in all parts. I'd like to point out Aquatarkus which is the turning point: begins with slow introduction, then it becomes a funny millitary march with the same melody. The conclusion brings back the first theme, of course.

After such a fantastic piece, we have to rest a bit, therefore is the second side. Anyway, there's a great stylistic diversity in the songs, which is refreshing after the absolute music of Tarkus.

This is one of those cases where one masterpiece carries an entire album, not just making it worth having, but making it essential. This is not to say that there is nothing noteworthy on the second half, however.

"Tarkus Medley" Rivaled only by the incredible "Karn Evil 9," the title song is their musically tightest composition. Even though the title would suggest that the song features several distinct but related pieces strung together, it is sometimes difficult to know when one segment ends and another begins. The song begins in a deceptive way: A smooth wall of Greg Lake's vocals build tension until the volcano gives birth to Tarkus, a half-tank, half-armadillo monstrosity. This birth is represented by a bombardment of keyboards, bass, and drums in 5/4. The first verse is somewhat sedated and immediately memorable. Emerson's organ runs clicks away in a percussive frenzy. Lake's bass notes are appropriate for each and every chord. There are brief but pleasant electric guitar bends with a tone that would be heard again on their hit "From the Beginning." Palmer bashes away. When not relying solely on organ, Emerson pulls some attention-grabbing sounds out of his Moog. Thirteen minutes in begins what I would consider to be the most fascinating part of this song; the recurring motif between verses is one of the best bits of music ever composed in progressive rock history. A variation of that melodic idea is used to usher the song to its conclusion, which is a reprise of the beginning. While the mythology behind this song may not be all that clear, what is perfectly clear is that this piece is an extraordinary example of progressive rock of an epic magnitude.

"Jeremy Bender" This extremely short song has honky-tonk piano playing throughout, with Jim Croce-like lyrics, only more flippant. The words are about cross-dressing, and after listening to the giant wonder that came before, it makes one question how the band could reasonably follow it up with this.

"Bitches Crystal" Had the band put more effort into it, this song could have been reworked to be a shining example of progressive rock. The makings are there- groovy bass, ranting lyrics, powerful drumming, excellent keyboard work in between lines. Throughout the verses, the piano is repetitive, and would have worked better as an organ part. Most of the time, the band would have been better served if Emerson's contribution consisted mainly of organ and Moog instead of tacky chorused piano.

"The Only Way (Hymn)" Lake sings a pleasant melody over Emerson's church organ. The anti-theistic lyrics are cynical, almost to the point of being snide ("Can you believe God makes you breathe? Why did He lose six million Jews?). Soon after, the group plays together, a lively bass and piano part, but there's little more to this one.

"Infinite Space (Conclusion)" Compared to everything surrounding it, this "conclusion" is rather plain, mostly using a 7/4 structure for Emerson to tinker with the piano over. There are some interesting runs, both on the piano and the bass, but overall, this is a tedious track.

"A Time and a Place" Like "Bitches Crystal," this song could have easily worked as part of a longer piece. Emerson is back on his percussive organ, and they give a sound similar to the Tarkus Medley. This is a very good effort.

"Are You Ready Eddy?" This tribute to their producer is, frankly, a terrible way to conclude the album. If someone had heard this before anything else, they would likely assume that ELP were clones of Jerry Lee Lewis. With its boogie-woogie piano playing and cheesy reverb on the vocals, this song can't be taken seriously.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus 1971

Tarkus continues the technical aproach of the first release of ELP. The sound is somewhat more dark. The keyboard played by Emerson, bass & vocals by Greg Lake and drums by Carl Palmer sound really eclectic and by this time they really had developed the sound what was so influential for other bands, especially Trace and Triumvirat. But the main advantage of ELP aboth the other mentioned bands was that ELP had the great vocals of Greg Lake (primarely King Crimson).

Keith emersons shines on keyboards/organ and is changing themes and soundings so quickly that it becomes really exciting. In comparison with Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson's soundings are far more direct and less spacy. I really like the highly technical and difficult rhythmic melodies.

Side one contains up-tempo dark soundings, slower pieces and some symphonic intervals. Side two starts with a piano-pop song. I think they started side two with this easy sounding song so the listener could take a deep breath before starting again with the dark up-tempo eclectic compositions.

The ending song is a rock 'n roll track. This is a weak ending for such a good record. I don't know what kind of philosophy they made up to justify such an ending but I can't make one up.

This record would've been a 4,5 / 5 star if the ending wasn't this bad.

Tarkus is the second studio album from symphonic prog rock act Emerson Lake & Palmer. I remember when I purchased the LP in a second hand store back in the nineties. I was drawn to the album by the strange Armadillo/ Tank cover artwork and I remember thinking to myself that it had to be some really weird music. As it turned out the music on Tarkus isn´t that weird, but it certainly was different from anything I listened to back then.

As on all releases from Emerson Lake & palmer Tarkus is dominated by Keith Emerson´s organ, piano and synth work ( Moog). Lots of bombastic classical influences and fast runs. Every keyboard players wet dream. Carl Palmer´s drumming is also extraordinaire and really exciting most of the time while as always with Emerson Lake & Palmers releases I don´t enjoy Greg Lake´s input much. His bass playing is good and he also shows some average guitar skills but his singing never suited my taste. Every time he starts to sing the music falls flat on its face IMO.

Tarkus is dominated by the side long title track which is by far the most interesting piece here. I really enjoy the fusion like opening. Greg Lake´s singing is tolerable on this song. The short songs on the album vary in quality. Jeremy Bender is an absolute horror. It´s ELP trying to be funny, but it seems a bit humourless to me. The last song Are You Ready Eddy? is just as bad. Again the so called humour is waisted on me. Bitches Crystal, A Time And A Place and The Only Way (Hymn) are all good tracks while Infinite Space (Conclusion) is a bit too repetitive.

The production is excellent and very enjoyable. I especially enjoy the sound of the organ and the perfect drum sound.

Emerson Lake & Palmer has never been my cup of tea. I´ll acknowledge their outstanding musicianship anytime, but their compositional skills are questionable IMO. I´ve always considered their music to be a bit cold and emotionless. Tarkus is one of their best albums though and it deserves a 3 star rating.

How to qualify an album like TARKUS? While the first side contains the best epic of all time , the other one is supposed to have the so called filler songs.Does the proficiency of TARKUS make it up for the B- Side , or is the B-Side as good as the opener? Stay tuned.

Actually , it's none of the above. The much maligned B-Side it's pretty good , it just does not feature a monster epic but 6 short songs that shows us all that ELP were capable to do at the time. This goes from joke songs , classical adaptations and hard rock numbers.

The album opens with a cute little song called TARKUS. This pompous , overblown , self indulgent and pretentious epic , has the quality that distinguishes the memorable ones from the forgettable ones: This 20 minute song feels like a 3 minute Top 40 hit single to me. And you know why? Because of it's cohesiveness , every note is where it should be , every section has a purpose and even Lake's vocals fit with the mood of every section perfectly. But... the story regarding Tarkus is quite dull actually , everyone knows it : A tankmadillo that was born from an egg from a volcano and is beated by a manticore. Even if it was made to be a critic about war and the cruelty of it ( which you can tell mostly from the Battlefield section) the quality of the story is sub par. But this guys are musicians , not novelists so I guess I can't blame them and I will not. Since their main concern was the music and it was exellent I will award side A with the highest mark.

Now to side B. After such an effort as TARKUS , did they have any fuel left in the tank? Not much , but it still well administrated. First joke song in ELP's career is called Jeremy Bender and I like it since it's relaxing and if I am in the mood ,may even sing it. It reminds me of the shorter songs of the White Album for it's western motif , probably Rocky Racoon or Don't pass me by. C'mon it's just a minute and a half , don't be so harsh!

Bitches Crystal , it's a fast hard rocker in which Emerson plays a great acustic piano solo. And Lake gives his most over the top performance ever , one thing is certain: He is not Ian Gillan. Fourth song it's called The only way/ Infinite space .Musically it's exellent , it features a church organ like the The Three fates but not as loud I think this makes the song more enjoyable. However , the lyrics are some of the worst in ELP's 70's period. I am lucky since I like in a spanish speaking country and nobody cares but I guess that hearing such cheesy lyrics in the UK or the US must be either pathetic or hilarious.

The album closes with two songs that run under the 3 minute mark: A time and a place and the infamous Are you ready Eddy. The first one is a hard rocker much like Atomic Rooster or Uriah Heep , nothing spectacular but still a nice track. The last one is just a joke song about ELP's album producer. Like I said with Jeremy bender , don't be so harsh!

Suming up , the B side can't be regarded as a landmark in progressive rock. I would award it 3 stars. However , the magnificence of TARKUS takes this album to legendary status. What would have been of our beloved genre without 20 minute monster epics?

NOTE: In Tarkus's case PLEASE don't judge a book by it's cover!

For the background, maybe it's hard to realize but in 1971 rock music didn't exist in the shape of melodic almost classical form. To precise what I mean I'll try to describe the background. In 60's almost every band was influenced by blues. Even groups who were labelled hard rock (vide Led Zeppelin) didn't scratch the matter of what REAL rock became. There was no hard and heavy drive in that. OK maybe Black Sabbath did a little progress at the time recording Master Of Reality album but still you can't find that positive feeling in that. It's based bluesy. And I'm not saying Emerson Lake & Palmer discovered classical rock with Tarkus cos they didn't. But they put first step which was beginning of totally new era for rock. They still play it the bluesy way on Tarkus (as any rock band at the time) but you can also hear bits that were later extended and became main part of any rock arrangement. It was right time to say goodbye to old blues. It's time for joy. First half of Tarkus is excellent. This 20 minute long epic piece is fine proof that ELP didn't want to get stuck in dead end street. Keith Emerson's work is of course brilliant and he mixes jazz and blues with classical music. Greg Lake and Carl Palmer just play the rhythm parts with power and precision. It's good to hear something like that from progressive rock band in 1971. Why I am saying that. I'm saying that because you won't find it in Yes or King Crimson. ELP are definitely more precise and play with virtuosity. Plus I'm not finding here boring improvisations. From the gloomy jazz from hell of the first part of that suite (Eruption) to very melodic and rock and roll flavured Mass. You must taste it. And of course I'd like the whole album to be like that. Unfortunatelly side B of Tarkus isn't so amusing and I guess guys didn't have enough ideas for the whole LP. Ok The Only Way and Infinite Space seem to be composed the way first half of the album is but the rest is absolute waste of time. Jeremy Bender is a silly song and same goes for Ready Eddy. Simple doesn't mean it has to be silly. I still like The Sheriff and Benny The Bouncer from their next released. But this time they just filled album with songs to make it LP. Despite of that Tarkus is excellent album and if not the must it's highly recommended.

A very difficult album to review, although I know it inside out. The first side, the title track is fantastic. Well, I have always believe track 1-7 is one song called Tarkus. Maybe I am wrong. No, it is actually named Tarkus at the live albums so I am right. Anyway, this is one piece of fantastic music. One of the best pieces of music ever written in progressive rock.

My problems starts with Jeremy Bender. It is an OK music hall song, although the opposite from the opening title track. It is like light vs darkness. It is not a bad song, but I question the inclusion of this song on this album. Bitches Crystal too is nothing special. It is another music hall number. The rest of the album is also throwaway material. Which makes this album difficult to review. This is most definate an Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde album. It is frustrating because the title track is a 5 star and the other stuff is 2 stars. Frustrating !!! But the bad stuff is only ten minutes long and the brilliant stuff well over twenty minutes long so I push it up to four stars.

4 stars

There are 260 reviews from this album in the site,most of which say basically the same thing:Tarkus is a an album that is on it's fist side an unquestionable masterpiece,and in the other,a bunch of banal numbers. I can't say I agree with this.Here's why.

The Tarkus suite is,indeed,a masterpiece,if ever there was one.It is,however,extremely demanding,specially considering ELP is a 'mainstream prog' band.It may take the casual prog fan a good 5 or 6 listens all the way through to get the big picture.If you're not used to prog,that number can be substantialy increased.Plus,unless you're willing to like it and show good will,there's a risk of this lenhgty piece become a boring 20 minute epic.I find important to say so,because the way people talk about this song in reviews,may pass the impression that this is love at fist sight.Trust me,it isn't.When one finally gets to understand it,Tarkus proves to be a wonderfull suite of changing moods,variating between extremely agressive and wonderfully melodic,in the apocalyptic last minutes.It's very hard to describe this song,as I think many will agree.The best clue you could get to how it sounds is hearing the rest of early ELP's work,but even that sounds very distant to Tarkus,a song that seems to have a life of it's own at times.

And as it fades away and the vynil side must be switched,a dramatic changing of mood,to which most people seem to hate.I actually like Jeremy Bender,a song very close to Trilogy's The Sherif.But if one happen to find that awfull,there's not much to worry about:it clocks around 2 minutes.The following track,Bitches Crystal,is a wonderfull trip through jazz,but one that people don't seem to aprecciate.I guess they're just so busy complaining about the album's Side B that they automatically despite every song on it.Just ignore them,this is a great prog song.

The two following songs are really nothing special,but they don't bother me that much.My only complain is that as soon as Bitches Crystal is over,there's really no motivation to hear the album to the and,aas all the following songs are very weak.Are You Ready,Eddy? is easily the worst track on the album,if not in all of the band's early repertoire.It is simply annoying,I wonder what was the band thinking when decided to close the album with this.

Tarkus alone would probably be enough to grant the album four stars,but there's at least one VERY good track in the second half,despite what people would have you think.I'd take a shot and say that Bitches Cystal matches anyrhing in their debut.

Personally, there aren't many prog.rock bands that can hold my interest for more than 10-12 minutes per piece of music. ELP, YES, GENESIS and RUSH are the few exceptions. The _Tarkus Suite_ is one of the finest examples of the prog.rock suite out there(over 20 minutes)...the others being YES's CLOSE TO THE EDGE, GATES OF DELERIUM and AWAKEN, as well as RUSH's _Hemisphere Suite_ and GENESIS's _Supper's Ready_. Others being Caravan's _For Richard_, _Nine Feet Underground_...and the 2 Matching Mole and Hatfield & The North studio recordings(collectively). Some of the German electronic bands can manage the 20 suite competently, as well(Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Ashra, etc.). Not much to add here about ELP's _Tarkus_ that hasn't already been written other than it's a keyboard lover's delight. I haven't heard anything since that has brought to that mysterious gothic place since. The only low point of this album is _Are You Ready Eddie?_, but it's joke track to begin with and they placed that turkey at the end of the album. Had they placed at the beginning of Side B, it would be questionable(as in...wow, you've just killed a classic album, guys!). The other classic here are the heavy duty _Bitches Crystal_ and the spacious _Infinite Space/The Only Way_ which reminds me of ELP meets Thelonius Monk. Nice time changes. The heavy rocker _A Time And A Place_ would not be out of place on something like Deep Purple's _Fireball_. Another great track. Jeremy Bender? A competent short track, sounding Pete Sinfield-influenced lyrically, but nothing amazing. Nothwithstanding the flaws of Tarkus, this gets a 5 star rating since the annoyance factor is very limited. Another great starter for those wanting an introduction to prog.rock. You can't go wrong with TARKUS>

I would almost never be able to call an album a masterpiece if I did not like every song on the album, but Tarkus is the exception. As many reviewers on this site have said, side 2 of Tarkus is far inferior to the title track and many have called it just filler. In many ways, I have to agree with these reviewers, but I strongly disagree with the extent to which it drags down the quality of the album. The shorter tracks on side 2 get criticized because they pale in comparison to the masterpiece that precedes them, but in actuality most of them are decent songs and nothing is unlistenable.

Enough about side B, lets get to the reason this album is a masterpiece, the title track. Tarkus is an epic that every prog fan, even those critical of ELP, should love. Do not be confused by the way the tracks are listed on this site, it is all very much one song that flows perfectly through the different parts of the song. The track maintains a high degree of energy as all members of the band deliver outstanding instrumental performances. For me it is definitely one of the greatest compositions in progressive rock history and it makes this album absolutely essential for a progressive rock fan. I know many people are divided over ELP, and I am not a huge fan of the band myself, but I consider Tarkus to be absolutely essential for any prog fan.

Sometimes the involution can be pretty awesome

Tarkus is one of Emerson, Lake and Palmer best-selling albums and their best-selling studio album. Tarkus was one of the key albums that made the band famous, along with Pictures at an Exhibition, and, in my sincere opinion, is the band's best album, being followed by the also excellent and all-time favorite of almost every ELP fan Brain Salad Surgery.

Despite the importance of Takus, the album is seen today with indifference by many and, dare I say, as a frugal and minor release by the band. All of those opinions, which, I might add, are mostly erroneous, tend to support, overall, that this album was not so important because the only relevant thing it had was the epic side-long song with the same name as the album. Indeed Tarkus is, by far, one of the best songs ever recorded by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but that does not outshines the other half of the album, which, I might add, is just as good as the said epic. The thing is that the second half of this very album is not as easy to listen or as catchy as the epic, so people tend to put the second part of the album aside and only value what they can get more easily, and as a result you have so many unfair reviews and ratings (to say the least) of the brilliant album.

Regarding the songs, musicianship and other features, there are somethings I would like to say

In Tarkus we have the debut of the classic Emerson, Lake and Palmer sound, as the music they presented in their debut was way too experimental, heavy and acid, when compared to their other albums. So it was in their 1971 album that the pace was set for their later albums such as Trilogy and Brans Salad Surgery. Blues and jazz influences, heavy classical music influences, moderate usage of dissonances and atonalism (though they were pretty common in their music), great deal of virtuoso playing, usually uplifting musical themes in major keys and western/country American musical themes.

The epic song Tarkus is a concept song that tells the story of a creature of some sort named Tarkus and its journey. It was born from an egg / stone erupted from a volcano. When the egg / stone hatches the armadillo tank starts its journey and fights and defeats a series of strange animals during it, including a manticore. At the end of its journey, Tarkus goes to the sea. This concept's main theme is the involution: life came from land (instead of coming from sea) and then went to the sea (instead of going to land), so its a reverse evolution, an involution.

In the second half of the album we have a series of small songs with varied themes, usually regarding small stories. The second half of the album also have a wide array of musical themes, going from traditionall rock and roll, like in Are You Ready Eddy?, to classical music, like in The Only Way (Hymn) and Infinite Space (Conclusion).

Grade and Final Thoughts

Tarkus is my favorite Emerson, Lake and Palmer album and one of my all-time favorite albums, so it shouldn't be hard for me to give a high grate to the album. Besides, Tarkus was a historical album for progressive rock whose importance MUST be noted at all times. For all those reasons, and many more, 5 stars to this fantastic and revolutionary album.

Emerson Lake & Palmer's second LP is enigmatic and perhaps even a bit tantalizing. The prog super trio, who have often been accused of being too self-indulgent and too inaccessible, somehow find the balance of passion and haunting melodies to go with their usual technical bombast. From the ferocious "Eruption", the beautiful "Stones of Years", to the regal "Aquatarkus", the epic first side Tarkus suite is indeed a prog masterpiece, and it leaves the listener breathless.

Although not as strong as the epic first side, the second side stands well on its own. "Jeremy Bender" is crudely humorous effort, and "The Only Way" is thought-provoking if not a bit controversial. The angry overdriven sounds of Keith Emerson's Hammond B3 on "A Time and a Place" make it a memorable listen. Furthermore, "Bitches Crystal" and "Are You Ready Eddy" are fast movin' and rockin' little numbers despite the band's occasional propensity for silliness.

Overall, Tarkus is among ELP's best work, and it is much more than a one sided listening experience. Sure, the chops are there as always, but so is the passion, the melody, and the humor. It is a highly recommended recording for all fans of progressive music, and I gladly give it 4 stars.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, E.L.P. for short, is one of the more self indulgent band of Prog Rock and in Symphonic Prog it is difficult to see a self indulgent band as E.L.P.. 'Tarkus' is not a normal album, in this sense.

'Tarkus' suite is a great band song, because a song it is. Simple composition 'Tarkus' is a composition with great melody and heavy arrangements but not for this fact heavy or difficult. But if you think that 'Tarkus' is a easy composition... I think that 'Tarkus' is one of the more good composition of '70's for pathos, technique, inventive and symphonics.

The rest of the album is Rock, not simple and good for Progsters. 'Are You Ready Eddie?' is only a joke. It is not only my opinion but the second part of 'Tarkus' (album) is not good and in comparison to 'Tarkus' (suite)... This second part ruin the perception of 'Tarkus' suite.

Keith Emerson is the dominator of this album. Emerson's keyboards, great in 'Tarkus', ruin the rest of the songs with its grandiloquence. Good Palmer drums and good also Lake bass and voice.

But this album is not only 'Tarkus' (suite).

Tarkus is in my opinion the best Emerson, Lake & Palmer, using complex time sigantures and many parts. The title track, Tarkus, is an excellent piece of prog, and an important milestone in music. Eruption starts as a fast 10/8 time signature giving us the feel that Tarkus is a war machine, and is willing to fight anything that stands before it. Stones of Years is where the vocals start. Greg Lake sings about Stones (of Years, I suppose?), using a metaphore, I believe, that Tarkus is deaf, and cannot hear the screams of the people he kills, or whatever he does. The title track is very long, which means I cannot expain the whole song, but the story is of an armadillo-tank which destroys everything in it's path (Eruption, Stones Of Years, Iconoclast, Mass), which then finds a Manticore (Manticore). Tarkus then fights the manticore, and loses, thus resulting in the death of Tarkus, and the end of the title track (Battlefield, Aquatarkus).

Greg Lake's vocals just stun here, singing soft when the music is supposedly loud, and loud when the music is soft. Keith Emerson is the main man on this album, with piano riffs coming out of every corner, and insanity all around him. Carl Palmer's drumming is just plain awesome. Whether it is 10/8, 4/4, or 36/16 (which isn't on the album, btw), Carl Palmer just does it.

Excellent album. It's a great buy if you're new into prog, and want to get harder into Symphonic Prog, or are an old fan of ELP and just never got around to listening to the album.

If you really think hard, everything you could possibly love about prog rock is all present on the title suite, and everything you could possibly hate about prog rock is here as well. Why such a paradox?

Listen to the ''Eruption'' theme and you'll see what I mean. Given any person, they'll either cry foul and say that ELP have lost their minds wallowing in pretentious excesses or become absolutely blown away by everything presented. Every last trait that any progger could love is presented on this piece; the length (barely over 20 minutes), an odd metre here and there, massive amounts of keyboards, an epic story, blistering drumming, intricate bass, powerful vocals, etc.

I really enjoy ''Tarkus'' simply because of how well I thought it was pieced together; the instrumental-vocal-instrumental type of setup may be typical, but it's enjoyable. My favourite bits are the instrumental sections as the vocal sections contain solos that drag out too long. And unlike most epics, I can't wait to get to the end of the piece (''Aquatarkus''), and when it's all over, I wish that it couldn't end. Even with all of the over-pretensions, even if I have wrote off other epic pieces, ''Tarkus'' just seems to grip me in nearly every possible way without explanation.

The rest of the album is just throwaway. Reminds me of Rush's 2112 album but with a stronger epic piece and overall weaker B side tracks. I admit to liking ''Jeremy Bender'', but everything else has either boring stuff, redundant ideas, awful vocals or outtake-like humour. It drags the whole album down.

Remember kids, overplaying anything is bad for your musical health. That's why it only gets three stars despite the awesome epic piece. Say 3.5 if you want to push buttons.

I have to give the band credit in one regard - they were certainly trying to expand their sound with the title suite. It's not very successful, though, in my opinion, and despite the influence Tarkus itself has prog even to the present day, it doesn't stand up on its own merits in the same way the other classic prog epics do. It starts off fine enough, with a deliberately frustrating keyboard riff and some solid if somewhat tasteless keyboard fills dancing over it (get used to that - Emerson *dominates* this album). The instrumental work is fine, and develops reasonably well for a few minutes. And then...the album breaks down. As soon as the first vocal section is introduced, it becomes painfully obvious that the Tarkus suite is a patchwork (not a medley, mind you - a patchwork) that is no more than the sum of its parts, and its parts aren't all that good to begin. Lake's vocal melodies are completely orthogonal to the surrounding keyboard work, which gives me the impression that once again ELP is superimposing Lake's love for vocal-driven pop songs over Emerson's pomp; this band was pretty much constantly falling apart at the seams.

I find the vocal sections themselves pretty bad when taken in isolation, as well. The melodies are repetitious, joyless, and unconvincing; the lyrics are unbelievably stupid. It's interesting to note the "controversy" the band members have over the song's meaning - this is, of course, not because the song has any depth, but because they literally have no idea what they are talking about. A rare feat, even in the field of prog rock, that makes Yes look humble. But enough about that! We have an awkward transition about halfway through the song to another keyboard riff, and yet another Lake-led section, this time about a preacher - the melodies remain cringeworthy, and this time around the timing seems ill-suited as well ("hair on his head, he's dead" - gross) More of the same until the band resorts to using the 5/4 riff from the beginning again, at a faster speed and then morphed into a triple meter (9/8, I guess?) alternation of it. Structurally, I find this annoying - the song is patched together, and the band falls back on this riff whenever they're unsure to go with the song, which is often. Then more keyboard fills, a mediocre bit of guitar, and we're pretty much done. No serious interplay between the three virtuosos the band has at its disposal, no changes in timbre, dynamics, or mood to justify its length, and overall a disappointingly fragmented suite. I don't know if this points to ELP's trouble with maintaining thematic content in the absence of classical compositions to borrow from; in either case, Tarkus has its moments, but on the whole I could easily leave it. Emerson drives the sound of the band forward a bit with some interesting keys sounds, especially following the first vocal section (that popping timbre that the band probably popularized in so much neo-prog via this song alone), but this comes off more as gadgetry and flashbang than meaningful composition.

The second side of the album fares even worse. The inclusion of Jeremy Bander and Are You Ready Eddy? are extremely questionable, and frankly they're so bad that they border on being insulting to the listener - grasping at straws to fill an already brief record with any material available. They keys on the two-part (I guess it's supposed to be two-part) Hymn and Conclusion are fairly nice, but glib as ever, and the one time Lake finally comes around with a solid vocal melody ("People are stirred..." Interestingly, Symphony X copped this for their classic Candlelight Fantasia, though I believe Russell Allen has a nicer voice) it's instantly run into the ground through repetition (not to mention more lame rhyming couplets). I certainly wouldn't pay money for side 2 - given the choice, I'm not even sure it's worth listening to. The band sounds like they just do not care.

I am giving this record two stars, because of parts of the title suite. The first few minutes are promising, and it is worth your time to hear it on the whole because of its innovations in flashy prog keyboard play - both from a historical perspective and for the song itself. But no way does this record deserve any more than that, sorry!

Tarkus, Emerson Lake & Palmer's second album is one spectacular, if flawed, piece of work. The title track remains, even almost forty years later, as one of the most fantastic, and most cohesive, prog rock epics ever recorded. Many long epics sound like many songs joined together to make them into one long song. But this one, with it's complex interwoven themes that pop up throughout the work, flows perfectly from one section to the other, often referencing back to previous ideas, or previewing sections to come. This is just a work of genius.

The second half (or slightly less than half) of the album is not bad either. While the songs are not as spectacular as Tarkus, they display the inventiveness and versatility of this remarkable band, whether in the honky tonk of Jeremy Bender, the more straight forward rock of Bitches Crystal, or the solemnity of The Only Way. And how can you not love the bravery it took to write a song espousing atheism, as the latter title did?

The only blemish I find on this album is the closer, the annoying Are You Ready Eddy?, an homage to the fabled engineer, Eddy Offord.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Second ELP album isn't as good as the first was. First album part is all "Tarcus" medley - long 7-pieces composition in ELP classic tradition. It means, based on keyboards sound with some piano and bombastic drumming. Being a best album part, this composition for me isn't all bad, but is too cold and uninspired. And often too long.

Another LP side is filled by six short and more simple and rhythmic compositions. Still nice in some instrumental places, they are all r'n'r, jazz or even rag-time based,sometimes King Crimson alike sounding. Common sound in general and Lake's vocal in particular is more energetic,even aggresive, but it isn't for band's good.

Still strong album, but step back from great debut.

Tarkus was my first experience with ELP, and I was very impressed! The sound achieved by ELP is quite different from most of their contemporaries, as it seems to take from classical music much more- Tarkus plays out more like an epic symphony than a rock song. And though it's not really right to judge a book by its cover, the artwork on Tarkus is simply an epic win, and I must say that it does accentuate the music!

The infamous title track is, in my opinion, one of the flat-out best examples of pure progressive rock ever made- everything that characterizes progressive rock, from the multi-part suite format to strange time signatures to the instrumental virtuosity, scream "PROG" like few others. If you want to know what this whole "prog rock" thing is all about, Tarkus is a great place to find out! Anyway, the song itself is amazing- despite being 20 minutes long, it is never boring at all, and feels a LOT shorter than it really is- many times I have gotten to the end of Aquatarkus (the last part of the song) and thought "it's over already?!". Tarkus (the song) is a thrilling, engaging suite that is matched by few others. The second side of the album is where most people see problems. Jeremy Bender is a short, playful tune along the lines of "The Sheriff" and "Benny the Bouncer" from their later albums. "Bitches Crystal" is an energetic rocker featuring some great vocals from Lake. The Only Way is a nice church-hymn type song, and the followup, Infinite Space (conclusion) is a cool keyboard-dominated song. A Time and a Place is another song with great vocals, a lot like Bitches Crystal without the menace. And to end the album is Are You Ready Eddy, which is, in my opinion, piffle. However, what you have to realize is that it was essentially a big joke, so don't treat it like like another song- treat it like an amusing little note at the end of the album to remind you that Emerson, Lake, and Palmer were human too, and they had a sense of humor, just like the rest of us. Though it is a great album, it is not perfect- I'd give this album a total of 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4.

This is a hard nut to crack. It's nothing less then essential but it's not really very good. The band was sure at the peak of their game but didn't have much left to say after their defining debut. ELP was a tightly rocking but guitar-less unit: led by Keith Emerson on organ and synths, with ample room for drum demonstrations from Carl Palmer and with good bass and vocals from the ever adorable Greg Lake.

One of the remarkable aspects of the epic beast Tarkus that makes up the bulk of this album, is how rhythmic this music is. Especially from a band in the symphonic field, the cascading sequence of heavy marching rhythms and fast tempos is exceptional. It's nothing danceable of course; it's rhythm for the mind with unusual time signatures and whopping organs. But it sounds massive and entirely original. Good to hear a symphonic prog piece that goes so far beyond just melody alone. Greg Lake is the one that adds some melodic elements to it, with his commanding vocal hymns and even a bit of lead guitar, but the bulk of this piece is pumping organ, vibrant bass and Palmer's frivolous drums that dash all over the place.

Being a bit of a drum & bass kind of guy, I used to love this piece to death, but over the years, time has not been gentle to these baroque and fairly predictable war rhythms. There have been numerous more challenging bands working around rhythm since then. Magma, to name just one, has proven to maintain a more timeless and universal appeal. They could thrash this Tarkus armadillo with any of their söngz in no time.

Anyway, a monster epic it is and side B comes off disappointing in comparison. Only A Time And A Place rouses above the average filler around it. This album also really misses one of those typical amazing Greg Lake ballads.

Tarkus is a milestone of prog, few will argue with that. The question is whether we would want the classic prog style to be represented by this piece rather then by an epic from Floyd, Yes or Genesis. For me that choice is easy. Still, you got to own this one if you want to make any claim of being a prog fan. 4 stars but I won't be as gentle next time.

Just did the review of the BSS release and referred there to this album. I compared the two epics for instance and concluded that the title track of this album suited me much better than Karn Evil as a whole. Well, in fact the difference in appreciation is not really black and white. Karn Evil also had good moments same as this Tarkus is far from perfect to me. But I agree this is a milestone in prog history. And the magnum opus for the band as well. This is a very versatile epic both in melodic aspect as in tempo shifts and alternation between vocal and instrumental passages. It all secures that this epic is far from boring. All things considered it scores about 4 stars in my book.

The short songs on the other side of the vinyl are a different matter though. Less experimental, so more mainstream than those on BSS but not much better I have to say. Some ragtime piano on Jeremy Bender, again piano on Bitches Crystal as main feature, the nice hymn tune The Only Way (my favourite of the short ones), Infinite Space proves that this album is mainly about Keith Emerson. I wonder when Mr. Lake steps up to take his turn (!?) , A Time and Place is a bit heavier than the others but the vocals are at least debatable, Are you Ready, Eddy ? is a short rock 'n roll track in Jerry Lee Lewis style. On average these short tracks score about 2,5* for me. So this can only result in a 3 star outcome for Tarkus (3,25).

Emerson Lake & Palmer - Tarkus (1971)

An evolutionary sound!

I'm not a big fan of ELP must I must admit side on of Tarkus is absolutely amazing. It's hard to find a better recorded album dating from '71. They key's play a centrol role, but they sound is extremely heavy on side one. It might even get heavy metal fans excited! The adventurious sound of the Tarkus suite is great. The vocals Greg Lake give me a warm feeling due to it's link to early King Crimson. The drums are great too, this is technical drumming on the right moments. The magical sound of the lyrical parts have that 'progressive' feel I really enjoy. Throughout the suite I can keep my attention on the music. The keysolo's are better then on most other albums and the bluesy guitar solo of Lake is nice too.

On side two their are a buch of weak B-tracks. This is the problem of this record: A great first side and a semi-amateurish second side. I'm not going to disuss the second side to much. The songs sound un-inspired, have losely gathered concepts, are recorded less intelligent and are never as interesting as the Tarkus suite.

Conclusion. This record will always be a mixed bag. The first side is legendary and esential for any progressive music collections, whilst the second side is an uncomfortable affair. I really don't like unbalanced albums, so I myself only listen to side one. I'll give this three stars as a rating, but those who actually reed reviews got the point of how interesting side one is.

This is the first experience of listening to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer for me. I happened to hear it on the radio a few weeks before it was released. It totally blew me away. I never heard anyone play so good and connected in my life up to that point. I have to interject that the station only played the first side of the album.

After about six weeks of waiting, I finally got the record. I must have told everyone I could think of about it. I wasn't the only marine who bought the record. We played "Tarkus" to death, At least four times a day for a couple weeks. That is to say side one. No one really got into side two very much.

I liked the idea of the band making the song connected, instead of putting divisions in it. It seems like nowadays bands are dividing their epic songs and it is like the tune isn't really that long. I don't care for it.

ELP define what prog is all about in the first two and one half minutes of the "Tarkus" epic. I just don't hear anyone putting that much in their songs. It is like some of these bands are afraid they will run out of ideas and never make anymore records. I would hope in the future that someone will listen to "Tarkus" and say, "Hey, I'm gonna put twice as much musical content in my twenty hour song as ELP did in the first two and one half minutes of "Tarkus." Man, I would love to hear that one!

What can I say about "Tarkus" that many other people haven't said already? This is a super sound from one of the first super groups of the early 70's. "Tarkus" stands up to anything you will ever hear. It is relentless, in your face, hungry, futuristic, artistic, and beautiful to hear. where did they get this stuff? It is phenomenal!

On the other hand, side two is disappointing. I was expecting it to be like side one and it wasn't like it at all. The subjects range from an outsider's view of the gay lifestyle in "Jeremy Bender," to witch craft as found on "Bitches Crystal." Then we have some deliberate God bashing on "The only Way.'' Then an instrumental. Then a sci fi song. Then to end the second side, a fifties rock and roll tune, "Are you ready, Eddy." A tribute to one of the sound people, Eddy Offord, who also worked with another prog band, "Yes."

One would have to do an in depth interview with ELP to find out why they did what they did here, but I have never been into the second side for as long as I've listened to the band. The music is good, but it is not what I was expecting, or even wanted from them.

I have to say that this is one of the most essential records ever made by any band, but not the second side. I am giving this 5 stars for the sake of side one. It is worth whatever you pay for the record. If you have a computer(HA,HA!) just stick "Tarkus" on it and forget the rest.

Tarkus, for me, is not an album. It is a song (probably the best song ELP have to offer, but a song nonetheless). And this song happens to have six b-sides...

Looking at the overall package, it is clear that everything revolves around the title track: the name, the outer artwork, the inner-gatefold images, the fonts, even the name of the record company these guys would subsequently set up. Tarkus, the song, is worth 5 stars hands down, but I won't attempt to justify the merits of this prog epic because hundreds have done so already in previous reviews. Lets just say, for arguments sake, that it is perfect. Within ELP's catalogue it certainly is. But then theres the other 20 minutes.

Now most prog bands who have released a side- long song have at least focused some of their attention to the other tunes. Lizard, Meddle, Relayer, Foxtrot... all these albums (and many more) are great examples. Obviously the epics are intended to be the best songs, and they are, but there's always some good tunes on the other side as well. Some have filler, but the only "other side" that I've encountered which contains NOTHING BUT filler, is Tarkus here. After reading the recent forum thread about whether humour belongs in progressive music or not, the conclusion is that it does if it's actually funny. 'Jeremy Bender' and 'Are You Ready Eddy' are NOT funny. Thus, their purpose (other than for fulfiling Emerson's boogie woogie cravings and ragtime addiction) is rendered obsolete. On top of this there are two below-mediocre rock shorts, a stolen hymn, and another pointlessly repetitive instrumental. It's not just me who hates these tracks; it's fair to say that everybody with remote taste, ignores them.

Tarkus is a 5-star song, but this site its for rating albums, not songs. At best, this is half an album (or a very short album). It's like an extended single with too many b-sides. So, for an album which I consider to have one, albeit good song, the overall package has to be deducted accordingly.

ELP 's second album could have been one of the very best prog albums ever made. It could have really: like the typical progressive rock album, there is a very long suite that occupies a whole LP side, all the songs are 100% progressive, all of them inspired by classical music, and the whole album is a concept.

So what went wrong?

"Tarkus" is probably the best ELP song of all time, and one of the best prog songs ever. That's how much I love. Every single second is pure genius, all three musicians do an outstanding work and performance as a group, but even each of them singularly (Emerson is absolutely wild, and so is The legendary Carl Palmer, one of my favorite drummers.). A fantastic song, I never get sick of it.

"Jeremy Bender" is just a kind of silly song without too many credits and acclaims.

"Bitches Crystal" is the best song of this album after Tarkus. Very catchy and original, with an awesome riff.

The rest is pretty forgettable (but I like the last song. "Are You Ready Eddy", even though it is pretty silly). The tribute to Bach is a little interesting, a Time And Place has some nice moments, but that's all.

I think it's pretty clear now what went wrong.

Look at that cover! That, my friends, is an ARMADILLO TANK. Now, there have been many weird, weird album covers in the history of rock music, but for sheer psycho and bizarre effect, Tarkus has to take the cake. Plus, the theme extends to the pictures on the inner sleeve, which apparently are supposed to illustrate the 'epic story' told by the side- long title track. Basically, this creature is born on the side of a volcano, kills a giant grasshopper with a ... something-shaped head and a large robot pterodactyl, does battle with a metal manticore, and afterwards retreats into the safety of a nearby river....

But never mind all of the weird imagery and insane story, one that confused Lake so much that he came close to quitting during the album's sessions. What matters is that ELP solidifed their greatness amongst early prog bands by immediately following their best ever album with their best ever song, one that has had a longtime solid hold as my favorite ELP track. And it wouldn't be if it were totally faithful to this story (well, maybe it would, but I'm trying to make a point here). See, although the seven sections of the track have names like "Eruption," "Manticore," and "AquaTarkus" (?), the lyrics have almost nothing to do with the 'story.' Rather, the whole piece, when you get down to it, is (as stated in the intro) nothing more than three Lake ballads and pop songs highly augmented by complex and VERY interesting arrangments. Not that the instrumental themes are bad either. For instance, the opening "Eruption" has a terrific groove, with highly aggressive drum playing and Emerson's amazing keyboards leading the way and setting the tone for the rest of the piece.

Following that, we get the very solid "Stones of Years," which has yet another great melody, good singing, and of course lots more of Keith. Actually, come to think of it, that's probably what bothers people most about this song. The playing is fantastic, sure, but Emerson was in a highly experimental mode when it came to the various tones he could coax out of his mellotrons and other keyboards. This unfortunately causes many to denounce the piece as dated as anything can possibly be - I mean, these keyboard tones really have no equivalent to anything that had ever come in ANY format of music to that point. But dagnabbit, they're novel, and if you're a dork, they're so freakin' fun to listen to. And speaking of fun to listen to, next comes the instrumental "Iconoclast," which it does a great job of creating in your mind the image of a psychotic tank moving through the countryside and blowing things to bits (all of those tight rolling keyboard lines with fast martial drumming actually can create imagery, fancy that). Plus, it's short, so one can never accuse it of becoming boring vis a vis an overstay of welcome.

But then ... what the heck?? "Mass" has NOTHING to do with the story, but that's just fine with me. It's too bad that Greg couldn't be in a band with less, um, ambition, since with a less intimidating arrangment it most likely would have been a hit. I mean, that melody, regardless of how annoying Keith's synth tones might be at times, is SO CATCHY AND SO MUCH FUN. And besides, I don't want to give the impression that this part is an otherwise great track marred by Keith, because that's not how I feel at all; the insane amount of energy and intensity and energy that goes into the keyboard playing is quite a sight to behold, weird tones or no, and that gives it a license to stick around me as much as it would like. And besides, Lake gets in some really nice guitar licks in the middle (ah, Lake's guitar, the great forgotten ELP asset), so you can choose to listen to those instead.

After yet another solid instrumental reprise of "Eruption (Manticore)," we get piece number three, the majestic "Battlefield." The lyrics rule, Lake's voice makes them come to life, and his guitar (dig that weeping solo in the middle, especially when it doubles up!) complements Emerson's organ and piano chords perfectly, which present an enjoyable sort of bizarro dignity to the proceedings (a compliment, of course). Yup, Lake makes the words come to life in that good ole "Take a Pebble" and "Epitaph" manner once more, making total nonsense find a way to resonate in a way only he can. And, of course, no symphony (heh, rock-symphony) would be complete without an extended, grandiose finale, and for that we get the synth-fest "AquaTarkus." Now, if you want to punch a hole through your stereo while listening to Keith conjure up all of the most annoying synth tones possible (while Palmer plays his military rhythms, heh), I won't blame you in the slightest. I myself once felt that way, but now I wouldn't think of it. Maybe my tastes have just down the drain through the years, I dunno, but it's so funny. Genuinely funny. Besides, it ends eventually, and we close out with another short reprise of "Eruption" and the huge, important-sounding conclusion. And there you go; seven entertaining and short parts, with a good balance of original themes and timely reprisals, showing all of ELP's good sides and none of the bad (except for the key tones, but that's not so much bad as it is "just part of ELP.")

Oh, by the way, there's a second side to this album too. And it's good! The opening "Jeremy Bender" introduces to us a side of the band that we hadn't heard before, the lightweight cabaret-style piano band. I used to not be very fond of it, considering it too lightweight and even bland, but now I don't see much reason for that; the lyrics are amusing, talking about a guy who decides to become a nun, among other things, while the vocal melody and piano lines are perfectly enjoyable during its two minutes, so what else should I ask for? Well, actually, I guess I'd want something that sounds like a "Tarkus" outtake, like the very next track, "Bitches Crystal." Yup, the synth-drum-bass pattern is quite like "Eruption," but is also augmented with much more piano than the majority of "Tarkus" has, and whenever Lake brings out that insane "Knife Edge" belting, it's just ELP heaven for me.

Unfortunately, we finally crash into a low point of the album with the next two tracks. The seven minute "Only Way"/"Infinite Space" suite is quite on the dull side, and the anti-religion lyrics are absolutely pathetic and childish. In fact, I feel no choice but to subtract a full point from the album for this lame and dreary piece of crud. Sorry, Greg, you should've known better - if you want to put together an anti-religion rant, that's fine, but you'd better avoid such tasteless lines like the one about six million Jews. Give me "Aqualung" RIGHT NOW... To be fair, though, the "Infinite Space" part is alright on its own, with some low key discordant piano wanking that's pretty moody, so this part isn't as much a black hole as it could potentially be.

Let us forget the bad things of this world, though, and think of the good. The next track, "Time and a Place," RULES. Greg is belting his lyrics like there's no tomorrow, and Keith is playing his synths and organs LOUD and AGGRESSIVE (of course Palmer is great, but that just goes without saying). Like I've inferred before, I like the majestic Lake as much as anybody does, but when the band gets into a "Knife Edge" mode like this, giving Lake a chance to have screaming moments like "Show me those that underSTAAAAAAAAAAAND!" this is when ELP becomes a great band for me. Three minutes of aural bliss.

And finally, to remind us that they're not all serious, though, they close out with the absolutely HILARIOUS 50's R&B parody, "Are You Ready Eddy?." It's just neat to hear one of the most serious and majestic singers in rock belting "Bop me Eddy, bop me all night long." Or maybe it's just me. "Sock it to me"!

A great album this is. An acquired taste, yeah, and a VERY guilty pleasure, but once you can realize just how funny the title track is despite all of its pomp, and how neat these second half tracks mostly are, you should have a blast. Unless, of course, you can't get past all of those weird synths, in which case you should just give up ELP for good.

Ah, my personal favorite Emerson, Lake, and Palmer album. And what a great album it is. It has my second favorite ELP "epic" on it (right behind Karn Evil 9). Before I get into the track by track review, I'd just like to say that it is a shame how much the second half of this album is underrated and overlooked. You've got sone great songs on there such as Bitches Crystal and Infinite Space. And as far as the reissue goes, the sound quality is pretty good but the liner notes are nothing special. Just some sort of interesting variations of the cover artwork and a description of the album that sounds like it was written by a 5th grader. It doesn't even tell you what the thing on the cover is.

1. Tarkus 10/10- Still one of ELP's longest songs to date, this track is probably my favorite. From the moment it starts it's incredible. This song proves what an great band these guys are, insanely progressive and tight playing throughout. The best part is when Lake says: "The weaver in the web that he made!" You know what, you just have to hear it for yourself, its amazing.

2. Jeremy Bender- 7.5/10- Just a short two-minute song, ELP always has to throw some sort of story-telling song in there (hence "Benny the Bouncer and "The Sheriff") and this was the first one of these. It's pretty good.

3. Bitches Crystal- 10/10- Definitely the hidden gem on this album. I mean what an incredible song, I've gotta say it comes really close to Tarkus as my favorite track on the album. Very upbeat, progressive and everything. It's a shame it's so underrated.

4. The Only Way (Hymn)- 6.5/10- I don't know, I'm not really such a big fan of this one. Its the first part of a sort of mini epic. It's got some good parts in it, but really nothing special.

5. Infinite Space (Conclusion)- 8.5/10- The piano groove throughout this song is really great. It's kind of a piano instrumental and solo (in a way). You've got some really impressive playing by Emerson going on here.

6. A Time And A Place- 6.5/10- Once again, really nothing too special. For some reason, this just sounds a stereotypical ELP song and I don't enjoy it that much. Not that its bad by any means.

7. Are You Ready Eddy?- 8/10- A good way to close the album. It's pretty lighthearted and funny. It gives you a good break from all of the seriousness going on. Sounds like a 50's song and it reminds me of Mother's Lament by Cream. Good stuff.

So anyway, this album is definitely worth checking out and make sure you pay just as much attention to the second side as you do Tarkus (the song).

The prog rock community, and the music community as a whole, seems to fall on two sides in regards to Tarkus: Depending on who you talk to it is either a masterpiece or complete, worthless dreck. I submit that it falls in the middle-Tarkus is a perfectly adequate album that doesn't quite achieve what it aims for and stumbles in places, but is nontheless an overall pleasant listening experience. That said, "pleasant" is a cheap experience and you can get it from countless better albums than this one.

The biggest fault with the album lies in the title track. It's often put side by side with Yes' "Close to the Edge" or Genesis' "Supper's Ready" in terms of reputation for being a masterful prog epic, but the key difference is that the latter two songs could not achieve the majesty that they reach if they were any shorter. There is absolutely NO reason at all that Tarkus has to be twenty minutes long. You could easily cut it in half, maybe even whittle it down to a solid 8 minutes, and have all the prime material intact. As talented as Keith Emerson is, he is also very tiresome, and one can only take so many Moog flourishes before one becomes extremely bored. There are worthwhile moments to be had in the song, notably Greg Lake's guitar solo and the choral introduction, but the length soon eats away at any interest the listener may have.

The rest of the album fares better. "Jeremy Bender", while almost a filler track, is a nice, jaunty tune that serves as a nice wake-up call after the stultifying "Tarkus". We then move into what is without question the best song ELP has ever made, "Bitches Crystal". The song showcases a (sadly) rare side of the band, one which is absolutely ferocious. Carl Palmer pounds the drums for all he's worth, Keith Emerson mixes honky-tonk with foreboding synthlines and Greg Lake howls like he's close to losing his mind at points. It's a rare display of truly aggressive music on the band's part, and it's a direction I wish they would've gone with more frequently.

"The Only Way" and "Infinite Space" form a song that is, while lyrically pretty clunky, a fine cosmic meditation, and while "Are You Ready Eddy?" is terrible, "A Time and a Place" is a good rocking send off, should you (wisely) choose to stop the album before reaching the final song.

I see how this album got its reputation, but frankly, it's almost too vanilla to get worked up about one way or the other. With the exception of "Bitches Crystal", there's nothing ELP does on this album that they haven't done better elsewhere. A couple good songs can't make up for an album that's largely too busy examining itself in the mirror to see if its made anything compelling or worthwhile.

I honestly can't find another album in my collection that has such a weird mixture of material where the best songs are mixed with the worst. What makes it even weirder is the fact that it manages to come out on top in the end! The best comparison that I can think of would be that of Rush's 2112 album since it also features, what I consider to be, their best suite on side one while side two is a mixed bag. But unlike that release, Tarkus has an even worse side two and still manages to maintain its dignity when taken as a complete album experience.

I'm really not sure how much I should say about the album's title track outside of the fact that it's easily my favorite composition by ELP since it combines all of the collectives best qualities. By that, I'm not talking about the tight collaboration work between the band members, since that idea was lost even on this relatively early release. It's all about striking a balance between the erratic personalities within the collective and Tarkus is a perfect example of just that.

Even if the Tarkus suite wasn't the first progressive epic, Procol Harum's In Held Twas In I is the earliest really mature epic I've discovered so far, it is a definite milestone of progressive rock. So if you are a progressive rock fan you should probably have already acquired this album and shouldn't bother with my tedious review. As for you others I don't pity you since the album is a downhill slide from here on! Most of the remaining tracks are fillers. Keep in mind that almost anything feels like a filler when it's compared to the title track suite. Notable mentions go to The Only Way (Hymn) and its followup Infinite Space (Conclusion), but otherwise the rest of the tracks are not in the same league. On a side note, I do realize that Are You Ready Eddy? is supposed to be a joke, but it's not even close to some of the lesser Genesis/Zappa-jokes from the same era and that pretty much says it all.

With Tarkus you basically get 21 minute of solid music followed by 17 minutes of mostly filler but its that first part that weights up the album. In the end, this album is still an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection and a must have for all Symphonic Prog fans.

***** star songs: Tarkus (20:42)

**** star songs: The Only Way (Hymn) (3:49)

*** star songs: Jeremy Bender (1:51) Bitches Crystal (3:58) Infinite Space (Conclusion) (3:20) A Time And A Place (3:02)

* star songs: Are You Ready Eddy? (2:10)

I call it "The Tarkus syndrome"

You have one side of a record with an epic that sounds truly groundbreaking, that embodies all the qualities in prog rock, well, in music really. A true statement, showing that ELP was not all about self-indulgence, excess and flashy technique.

Well, mostly they were. But not always. They managed to use their skill to create a sonic adventure, one of the most creative effort of the seventies, and a very underestimated one at that. The first, selftitled side is five stars in my book.

I've never been too fond of Emerson, Lake or Palmer, especially not of Lake. I found them to be quite mediocre composers, often glimmering when making covers of Ginastera or Mussorgsky, but unable to come up with own ideas. In my teens, when I considered the technical skill at a performance a musical achievement worth praise no matter what it led up to, I was some kind of fan. Since they probably are the band that has fallen out of favour the most for me, today I'd say the first side of the Tarkus Lp is way better than anything else the band has put out to date.

"Tarkus", divided into seven parts, is certainly not an easy listen, and it probably has to be listened to a few times before it really can be appreciated. For me, it was the first I ever heard of the band, and unprepared for what I was going to hear I couldn't stand it. The second time, I got intrigued. After a few more plays, I learned to love it. I recommend everyone to give this one a few tries before you pass a judgement on it. Clocking at over twenty minutes, it covers a range from frantic to beautiful, and it all works seamlessly in a way very few prog rock epics do. In structure, (not in compositional skill) it resembles a classical piece.

After an eerie introduction, the blistering "Eruption" begins, and with it's frantic patterns where Emerson explodes on his keyboards and Palmer delivers his unorthodox time signature brilliantly it really makes me think of an eruption. At high speed all three of them is giving all they got before it segues into "Stones of years", one of Lake's most beautiful moments as a singer, a perfect contrast to the manic beginning, with subtle keys by Keith, showing he is not all about flashy solos.

The three following movements are wonderfully composed, it really challenges you musically in a way you couldn't believe a three-man orchestra was able to do. All the more impressing since the suite was rehearsed and recorded in mere six days. Battlefield is a very gentle, easy composition that still contains great emotional depth. And does so even without extraordinary lyrics. It's not that ELP has terrible lyrics. But they're never anything special, never moving, never especially clever. Just mediocre I guess. But at least in "Tarkus" they fit in great in the general atmosphere, which for example, the BSS lyrics imho fail to do. That ELP got a good sense of humour as well is proved by "Aquatarkus", with the submarine moog sounds that lead you back to a reprise of the beginning. At the end you feel satisfaction by the end of the piece, And excitement.

The Tarkus syndrome. It's quite easy to explain. There are several albums on this site that just accomplished to write and record an epic. An epic that sounds truly groundbreaking, that embodies all the qualities in prog rock, well, in music really. A true statement.

Then you realize you can't release a twenty minute album. It must contain something else as well.

I say no more. But let's put it this way. Emerson, Lake & Palmer had their problems to get material to the flipside.

Or, besides from the rocking outbursts in "Bitches crystal", they just didn't give a f'*ck.

The strange (....and beautiful?) story of a tracked armadillo.

Complexity is certainly one of the characteristics of prog music and, as you can imagine, progressive rock is without a doubt my favorite kind of music. Not always, however, the complexity meets my personal tastes: sometimes, even in prog music, it is better to "remove"rather than "add"; in this album, instead, everything is too emphatic, too bombastic and too technical.

"Tarkus" is one of the most famous album of ELP and one of their most popular works, but I've never been able to understand and to appreciate it fully. There are good moments, almost all in the first side (the title-track suite), but for most of the time you feel a total lack of "heart": ok, the music is played incredibly, but where are the emotions?

Listening to the beginning of the epic Tarkus you were immediately immersed in a frantic series of notes played at supersonic speed in jazz style, and so far so good ... but why suddenly stop it all with a tremendous four-note dissonance of moog synthesizer? And could someone explain to me what kind of emotion one feels listening to "Iconoclast" or "Aquatarkus"?

Fortunately there are some great moments: "Stones Of Years" is embellished with a pretty good singing by Greg Lake. In "Battlefield" the useless virtuosity finally give way to epic atmospheres beautifully designed to represent the clash between the "Tracked Armadillo" and Manticore. Of course Emerson is always to keep the scene with his undeniable technical and with the customary use (and abuse) of synthesizers.

The second side is what leaves the most perplexing. One gets the impression that some songs are a mere filler, as well as a clear overall heterogeneity among the various tracks that leaves the listener totally disoriented. The ramshackle rock and roll of Are You Ready Eddie? is out of place and the ballad Jeremy Bender absolutely forgettable.

If you like the other ELP albums (especially "Brain Salad Surgery" and "Trilogy"), then "Tarkus" is a must for your collection. If you're a fan of Yes "Relayer" you can try. In other cases, it is probably better to listen to other stuff.

Rating: 4/10.

Best song: Tarkus

I would really like to give this, and all ELP albums, higher star ratings, but...there always seems to be at least a track or two of "gimmicky" throw-away songs on all their releases. The examples here are "Are you Ready Eddy?" and "Jeremy Bender", both fortunately short, but both annoying as well. However, here of course is also the monumental "Tarkus", a true progressive rock classic. "Bitches Crystal" and "The Only Way" are very good while "Infinite Space" and "A TIme and a Place" are good but not really special. If the whole album were as good as "Tarkus" thhis would be a 5 star but because of weak moments I rate it only 4 stars. (I don't think ELP ever did make a perfect album, but this and BRAIN SALAD SURGERY come closest.

People often talk about the 'masterpiece' that is Tarkus but criticise the album for lacking on Side 2. Well this can very much be the case on first and even second listen but when you really delve into the whole album it is easy to see that they didn't get writers block after the albums majestic centrepiece.

Side 1 really needs very little discussion. A complex and beautiful Prog Rock classic that has become one of the very symbols of progressive music in the 70's along with the name of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. A conceptual fantasy world created in 20 minutes of fantastic music, which can be loved or hated depending on the listeners definition of the word 'pretentious'.

Side 2 is where review and explanation is required. Starting off with ELP's trademark comedy piece with HonkyTonk style piano music and typically ridiculous Greg Lake lyrics. Then follows one of ELP's heaviest pieces Bitches Crystal which is the only piece to be still played by ELP and remembered by the passive listeners of Tarkus. Bitches Crystal is one of Greg Lake's strongest vocal moments on the album and one of his best lyrics.

The Only Way is one of the often forgotten pieces on the album, The arrangement of a Bach hymn with lyrics written by Greg Lake which are not his best. The first half of the piece is performed entirely on Church Organ with Greg Lake accompanying vocally, which is often why it is disliked and seen as slightly pretentious. But when the drums and bass come in it is classic ELP with brilliant playing and atmospheric music leading into the fantastic improvisational piece Infinite Space.

The albums 2 closing pieces A Time and A Place and Are You Ready Eddy? are where the album picks up the most criticism. Both are by no means typical ELP with A Time and a Place showcasing a similar style to Bitches Crystal this time with fantastic Hammond Organ playing by Keith Emerson, but a slightly over the top vocal performance from Greg Lake. Are You Ready Eddy? is a strange choice for an album closer, a comedy blues shout out to producer Eddy Offord which finishes with the group laughably shouting.

This is definitely no 5 Star album but it has very strong music throughout that is a must hear for any ELP and classic Prog Rock fan.

Tarkus, as you may already know, is the exciting tale of an adventurous armadillo tank popping out of a volcano and going to war with some other Greg Lake (presumably) drawings you can see on the album's inner sleeve.

Actually, as goofy as that concept is, NONE of it comes through in the lyrics - and I actually consider the lyrics among this band's best. They seem to be about war, I guess, and hypocrisy, to some degree. Probably they aren't possible to take in any kind of literal way, but who can't get down with lines like "Clear the battlefield and let me see / All the profit from our victory"?

The suite, and entire album, is definitely pretentious, as is the entire ELP catalog, but strangely enough ELP's pretention has always been far easier for me to swallow than so many pretentious contemporaries (including Rush). Something about the personalities of the members, the way the whole thing comes across - it might be pompous and overblown, but it is so intentionally. There's a whimsy behind the whole thing; however grim the music and lyrics sound, it never sounds as if the band members themselves place so much dire importance in the "message" or "concept" or any of that. It's just fun. Playing huge, outrageous, overblown music is fun. They have fun doing it, and I have fun listening to it.

Of course, all that you've heard about Side 2 being worse is true. But it is far from without its charms and positive numbers. Jeremy Bender is a throwaway, but it's short and not unpleasant. I actually really like "Are You Ready Eddy?" and "Bitches Crystal", and "A Time and a Space" rocks as hard as anything ELP ever did or ever would do. But "Infinite Space" is definitely the best song on the side, with a great piano riff and a believable 7/4 (what do I mean by that? Ever hear a band that clearly wrote a riff in 4/4 and then just dropped an 8th note to be "artistic"? I don't think that's what happened here). It's got tasty little piano lines all around - that's right, piano, not synthesizer.

But still, it's mediocre. Not exceptional songwriting. Better, though, I'd say, than the back end of "2112". And the front end is CERTAINLY better. Tarkus is long but it never drags. It's probably the most solid 20 straight minutes of music in the ELP catalog. Different synths come in and out, Lake gets some outstanding singing spots and guitar solos, the riff that comes in during "Mass" is as funky as Stevie Wonder... it's incredible. I could see giving it a five. I give it a four, simply because of some of the patchiness on the second side and the AWFUL "Hymn", which I've only been able to sit through maybe once or twice. It's truly terrible, my least favorite ELP song (aside from maybe Benny the Bouncer). On this one, the pomposity DOES come off as self-important, and that's never a virtue, especially with a song as ridiculous as that one.

The debut self - titled Emerson, Lake and Palmer had his faults, but it was still an enjoyable piece to listen to. However, it is defective in "Tarkus", his arrogant and horrible follow-up album.

I'm the kind of guy who can see something good in any kind of album you listen, no matter how bad it is. But this here ... is absolutely annoying. Listen to "Tarkus" makes me sure that I am an avowed enemy of the ELP! (yeah, let's not exaggerate, but truth be told - I hate their music!)

Forgive me fans of Keith Emerson, keyboards but it is an abomination to nature. I have never heard so annoying synthesizers and organs so badly - used - only the piano is saved. Greg Lake singing is one of the worst experiences I ever had. Only Carl Parlmer be saved, but the truth is that his style is forgettable (but at least he is not remembered for something bad to his companions).

Now for the songs. Ahhh, the music ... these ominous music of "Tarkus". There is nothing good for me to highlight - except for an interesting guitar solo on the track - title, an amazing and insignificant monster 20 minutes that I do not pass "good energy". The second side is even worse - a tiny portion of songs that I make a point to ignore when you can.

"Are You Ready Eddy?" . No, ELP, I'm not ready for you. Sorry - me, but you are not for me.

Tarkus is one of the best of early era ELP, and really shows their chops nicely. I've stated before that I'm definitely not an ELP fan, but the title track is a very enjoyable epic piece from the classic era of progressive rock. It is a bit noisy and random occasionally, but also contains some soulful vocals and catchy melodies. ELP has always had a way of writing technical music over musical music, which suits them well, but I definitely hate the pretentiousness of it. Most of the title track consists of the pretentious jamming rather than actual song structuring, and the following songs are ultimately forgettable in my opinion.

This is not very good progressive rock as much as it is a great album for people who like hearing people play pretentious technical nonsense.

Tarkus ? 1971 (3.4/5) 11 ? Best Song: Tarkus (not because it's amazing, but because it's better than side two) This album, along with a few others by this band, and a few other bands doing basically the same thing at the time, have been heralded as masters of their craft, true wizards, and I gotta step in and say 'hold on, mister, I ain't got nothing against me no prog rock, but don't you think praising Tarkus is a little silly?' It isn't that Tarkus is any worse than their debut. In some ways it's a tiny bit better. Emerson's keyboard playing has finally grown enough to make Banks' genesynths totally useless, and Palmer will always be a great drummer in my book. So what? Well, the so what is how they've completely forgotten to have a personality this time around. The journey to Mordor is harsh, and one runs the risk of destroying himself if he takes it all in one burst. Some bands wait years to write a long-ass epic (Tull took four or five and it turned out amazing), but here we have a sidelong epic, 'Tarkus', on their second go. True, each member is a master of their respective instrument, but this album is what forces me to rate them lower than say Pink Floyd: They sold their soul for pomp and roll. In exchange for 20 minutes of trotting battle music, they have given up their very spirit. Oh, it's a great, monumental rocker, but it does go on, the longwinded beast. I guess giant armadillo tank monster manticore battles are allowed to be boring, go figure. But I don't hate the album. Side two is fun on the bun (yes, there IS a side 2). 'Jeremy Bender' is damn near pop pleasantry. So, I am forced to rate the beast as 'adequate to a positive degree'. Have a fun time in the park, Jeremy Bender.

The Nice promised and excited, but never quite reached their goal, but when Emerson joined forces with Greg Lake and Carl Palmer, a true supergroup was born, and the era of prog began. It seems strange that a band owed so much by the genre it helped to create gets so much flak and hostility. It may be true that bombast and extravagance over-guild the lily on many an occasion in the ELP catalogue, but surely it is undeniable that we are dealing here with a trio of outstanding musicians who, for better or worse, are determined to experiment and explore, and who should be applauded for their efforts, especially here at times on this tour-de-force musical extravaganza.

I really like some of ELPs acoustic pieces but Tarkus pretty much sums up all that is great about the band. Few bands can bring you into another world the way these guys can and Tarkus is one of the best examples of that ability.

The title track attacks the listener and is very engaging. It is a relentless musical odyssey. The variation in timings, tempos and style keeps the whole story moving from adrenaline rush to reposing introspective sections and back again. The technicality aspect of prog is a big part of why I like it so much and ELP does not let down here. I also think the chemistry between the three of them is at its best on this track.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't routinely skip some of the other tracks but 'The Only Way' and 'Infinite Space' are really one song and it is a great one at that. The ominous organ work, prophetic lyrics, and jazzy piano sections make a great contrast to the overpowering title track and parts of the song still give me chills. "Bitches Crystal' is also a great track and has grown on me over time.

In summary, the title track is ELP's magnum opus. The rest is okay.

Well ELP got half the album right. With this one they decided to write as a group this time and made a side long track before Genesis and Yes to the punch. With the title track ELP showed us how to do it and still holds up and is a fantastic track. On the flip side they kinda falter a bit. Some of the songs (Jeremy Bender Bitches Crystal and Are You Ready Eddy) hold up but the rest are just eh tracks and not very memorable. Overall, a great first half of an album but the flip side not so much. 4 stars. Highlights: Tarkus, Jeremy Bender, Bitches Crystal and Are You Ready Eddy?

If this album consisted of Tarkus on Side A, and then Tarkus again on Side B due to some sort of horrible manufacturing error, I'd give it five stars. The title track to this one is a classic, easily the best track ELP ever recorded, wonderfully original and a showcase for all the band member's talents.

But oh, that second side...

First off, the guys decide to include not one but two comedy songs. One is pushing it for any band which otherwise tries to adopt a serious tone. Now, comedy is a very personal thing and everyone has their own likes and dislikes. But personally, I find ELP's comedy songs incredibly grating. To me, they come across as though they are trying really hard to be funny, as opposed to just naturally being funny, and that's just fatal to comedy. Are You Ready Eddy is a simplistic rock and roll tune - if it took the guys more than five minutes to write and record it, it's bloody shameful. Jeremy Bender, meanwhile, is a corny piano ditty that's dated horribly not just in its style but also in its lyrical content - alluding to homosexuality for a laugh might have been socially accepted in the early 1970s, but these days it just comes across as homophobic.

Then there's The Only Way/Infinite Space, which isn't a comedy song but I kind of wish it was. Now, I have nothing against atheism - it'd be odd if I did, considering that I *am* an atheist myself - but the lyrics to this one sound like the sort of thing an angry teenager would write. "How did he lose/Six million Jews?" is not just a simplistic restatement of the essential problem of theodicy which is far too complex for the lyrical abilities of the band to really grapple with; it's also just plain crass.

The second side isn't completely meritless - Bitches Crystal is a good fast song, A Time and a Place is quite dramatic, and whilst the lyrics of the remaining songs bug me, instrumentally speaking they're still quite compelling. That said, it falls so far short of the standard of the first side that there is no way in good conscience I could give this album five stars.

The year was 1971, a blessed year for progressive rock, with works like "Nursery Cryme" from Genesis, "Meddle" from Pink Floyd, "Pawn Hearts" from Van Der Graaf Generator, "Aqualung" from Jethro Tull and other great works. The second album from Emerson, Lake & Palmer, "Tarkus", defines the bases of symphonic prog rock, being one of the most important works of progressive rock. Emerson's organ is perfect, Lake's voice is magical (since the KC era, I love Lake's voice) and his guitar and bass fits great in the music, and of course, Palmer's drums are consistent.

Tarkus (20:41) -> The song is divided in 7 pieces (Eruption, Stones of Years, Iconoclast, Mass, Manticore, Battlefield and Aquatarkus) and It's about an armadillo-tank, born from an egg erupted from a volcano. Tarkus fight with half-machine creatures until the Manticore, the only organic creature on the tale, defeats Tarkus. He is still alive, and he is floating down a river. Crazy, but amazing story. Greg Lake revealed years later that It's an anti-war song. The instrumental is magical, with amazing organ solos from Keith Emerson.

Jeremy Bender (1:50) -> Short song who tells a tale about Jeremy the crossdresser Jeremy Bender. Great piano and drums.

Bitches Crystal (3:58) -> My favourite from side 2. Good synthesizers/organ, great dums and the emotional voice of Greg Lake, making it great.

The Only Way (3:49) -> Very dark song. Starts like a church song and It becomes darker. When Lake's voice comes, starts an atheist message, citizen the god concept. Amazing song.

Infinite Space (Conclusion) (3:20) -> As the title says, It's the conclusion of the previous track. Great instrumental work, with Lake's Bass and Emerson's organ at one of the best moments.

A Time and a Place (3:02) -> Great lyrics, pretty deep. The synthesizers/organ fits perfectly with the Lake's vocals, and the drums from Palmer follow the rhythm, in his heaviest moment.

Are You Ready Eddy? (2:11) -> After dark songs, the "joke song", which appears constantly in ELP albums. Great organs (like the '20 and '30 type) and the vocals are perfect for the "joke" lyrics.

I suppose I do agree with most reviewers here at PA about ELP´s sophmore studio release, in some aspects. There seems to be little doubt that the title track is one of their best - if not their very best - epics. The Tarkus suite is a stunning combination of fine songwriting, clever and tasteful arrangements and superb performances. One fo the few groups that were talented enough and skilled enough to produce a 20 minute opus and make it sound as pleasant and interesting as a three minute song. There is not a single boring moment in the whole seven movements (the band had yet to get into their self indulgente period). A real masterpiece of prog music and astonishing achievement for such young group. Greg Lake have never sang so good and the band is reaching their pinnacle as a team efford. A real classic that never seems to age.

However, I disagree with most of the other writers about the record´s second side. While nowhere near the accomplishment of side one, it is still quite good. I guess anything would pale when compared to Tarkus, but the short stuff is not filler in any way, as far as I can see. The group was accused of being too serious and forget the basics of rock, i.e., good fun. Well, they had their humurous stuff too. Jeremy Bender is a nice piece of fun among other more ´straight´ material. Even the obviously simple Are You Ready Eddy (their homage to engineer Eddie Offord) is not a throway song, thanks largely to Emerson´s elegant piano and the band´s great technique. When somebody tells me ELP has nothing to do with rock´n rall, I show them this track. Besides, I always thought that A Time And A Place, Bitches Crystal, The Only Way and Infinite Space were very fine songs on their own. Not up to ELP´s best stuff, ok, but that doesn´t mean they are bad or even weak. They are good, just not great. And quite versatile. People do expected too much from them!

All in all, Tarkus is a terrific album. The band proved they were no fluke and they came to make an everlasting impact on the musical scene of the time. Maybe its impact was not as great as their first album, but it was a milestone in prog music, no less.

Final rating: 4,5 stars. Highly recommended!

This time I'll start from the rating: a half masterpiece values 2.5 stars plus some good moments here and there on the B side leads to three.

This is a very synthetic judgement about an album that can appear overrated if you look at its entirety and underrated if you thin to the side long title track only.

Let's start from that: I'm almost sure that Emerson is not using a sequencer. He plays all these notes with his left hand while Lake plays the same on the bass. The keyboard's sound is the Emerson's trademark and one of the biggest source of pleasure in ELP music. This is how we wanted them to sound forever. Who could have imagined that just few years later they would have given us "Love Beach"? Everything in this epic is great. The melody sung by Lake with his unmistakable voice, the many changes underlined by Palmer's drums, the many instrumental solos of Emerson. Should somebody ask you how ELP sound, this is the song. All the best of the ELP music is in this epic track, even something reused, as a short sequence of notes taken from Nice's 5 Bridges Suite. Some sudden changes apparently break the continuity, but they are placed in the right place. What I think is a defect in Mike Oldfield's long composition which are often patchworks of short things recorded at home, is not under discussion with ELP. Tarkus is a consistent song made of different parts but all really connected and when a sudden change arrives it's because it sounds well in that place. There's also one of the very rare electric guitar solos played by Lake. Nothing special honestly, just a curiosity, but he's a master with bass and has one of the most beautiful voices of the prog world IMO.

Now the bad: "Jeremy Bender" is a short joke. Emerson will later become famous in the mainstream public with his incursions in ragtime and country-western music. This is I think his first one. Not the worst album's thing, precursor of The Sheriff which will appear on Trilogy but it's an ant compared to the Tarkus giant. I won't mention the poor lyrics.

"Bitches Crystal" is not bad, too. Relistening to it after long time I think I may have underestimated this B side, as this is still classic ELP. It's possible that my impression is conditioned by the greatness of the epic. Probably inverting the two sides would have been better even though an identically structured album like Pink Floyd's Echoes doesn't make me this effect.

"The Only War" is a song that I had forgotten. Now that I'm listening back to it, I'm surprised of how good it is. I thick I can consider it another ELP classic. "Infinite Space" is quite an instrumental follow-up of the previous song. In my tape memories they were the same song effectively, and I must say that I find this "second part" a bit boring, not so boring to skip it but not a listening pleasure.

"A Time And A Place" is the rock moment of the album and does here what "Living Sin" does on Trilogy. A heavy rock moment which plays its part effectively even if Living Sin is miles better.

If the epic on the A side hasn't helped me in appreciating the B side, a song like "Are You Ready Eddy?" as closer is the worst possible choice as closer. The album ends after this useless piece of RnR leaving the listener astonished. What is this song doing here? Eddy was a guy of the crew in the studio. I have read somewhere that he was eating a sandwich while he was at the mixer and the trio improvised this song as a joke. It should have been a bonus track, or a ghost track if we were in the CD era, but not the album closer.

Saying that a song like Tarkus is non-essential is a crime, but saying that Are You Ready Eddie is an excellent addition is a crime as well. Let's stay on the average rating.

From reading many other reviews on this album, one would know that this is a very divided album where the first half is quite different from the second half.

The first half, "Tarkus" is quite possibly one of the greatest progressive rock epics ever written. Not only is it progressive rock, but some sequences throughout the piece could just as well be considered 20th century classical music. In "Tarkus", Emerson utilizes 20th century harmony by means of quartal chords, chromaticism, parallel suspended chords, and the like in this brilliant composition. Most of it is played on the dirty organ sound, but occasionally piano and moog synth sounds come through to play melodies or harmonies.

The second half of the album is the debatable part. It begins with the song "Jeremy Bender"; a honky-tonk piano styled song where Lake sings about homosexuality. Although the lyrics and vocal line may be a bit poor, Emerson's honky-tonk piano style is innovative of old styles. "Bitches Crystal" is a combination of "Tarkus"-like sounds and the honky-tonk piano. It really isn't that bad, and sounds like a perfect continuation of the Tarkus album sound. "The Only Way" starts with Bach pipe organ before switching to piano. The athiest lyrics really hold a melancholy feel with the organ that really fits the music. I enjoy it despite the fact that I'm not athiest. "Infinite Space" is a continuation of "The Only Way" and involves a cool piano groove in 7/8 time that Emerson solos over. "A Time and a Place" is similar to "Bitches Crystal" with the "Tarkus" sound.

I will admit that "Are You Ready Eddie?" is the album's weakest moment and would probably be best if it weren't there, although I still don't think that it takes away from the album's well deserved five stars. Also, I did enjoy hearing Emerson quote a reveille at the beginning of his piano solo.

While Tarkus was introduced to my class upon its release by the music teacher at my middle school--and I was impressed--my subsequent purchase of it proved less than successful. At the time, my ears were not, I admit, well attuned to the sounds and stylings of classical music and, to my ears, Keith Emerson's work always felt steeped in "classical" traditions. It was when prog "died" and the techno-80s left me bored and void of the richesses that the 70s had nourished me that I did begin to explore and educate myself into the worlds of both "classical" music and jazz ("the American classical music"). Thus, upon revisiting ELP and other more-classically influenced or trained musics was I able to begin to grow in my appreciation and enjoyment of these 70s prog artists. But, the whole train of my personal evolution kind of backfired on me as my now classically-familiar "snobbery" made me feel disdain for the often electrified, bombastic transmogrifications of classical themes, pieces, and styles put to vinyl by Emerson, Wakeman, Jarrett, Tomita, et al. Classical music had now become, for me, relegated to the realm of the beauty and honesty of acoustic instruments and acoustic ensembles, was only cheapened and bastardized by the electro-pop world. Thus, I have had trouble getting comfortable, much less pleasure from the works of Emerson, Wakeman, and many of the Italian proggers. (Oddly enough, the works of John Tout within Renaissance never bothered me.) Still, I go back and listen; ELP has slowly climbed into my realm of approval and esteem and this album, though a sprawling mishmash of many styles and sounds, is one of the reasons. While I've never liked the songs on Side B much, I've always had a soft-spot for the epic title song. I just don't like the campy wild-West feel of those bouncy upright barroom pianos or the way Keith liked to use organ/church organs, though "A Time and a Place" is pretty decent. The effect that ELP albums have on me is quite similar to that of Steve Hackett albums--too much variety of styles represented. I'd love to hear more consistency in single albums. Yes, go for the campy cabaret-style--but on an album--or the jazzy, world, experimental, or theatric bombast or abrasive avant--but contain them to one album, please.

The beast that is "Tarkus" is worth everything. (36.25/40)

Tarkus is a good album, but in my mind it is nothing but a road stop on the way to better things. The album is a technical success and it is consistently better than its rawer more experimental predecessor. It does however lack a measure of soul. The album is cold and at times tedious and preachy.

Right away, the biggest problem with the album is the title track. The 21 minute show piece Tarkus suite, is ponderous and uninteresting. It reminds me of Rush's Hemispheres in a lot of ways. It is an ambitious track with a lot of potential which ultimately remains unrealized. Thankfully, like that other core album slump from a potentially equally skilled power trio, side-B proves immensely more palatable.

Before I continue with the track run through, I have to point out one of the things that I do particularly like about Tarkus; Keith Emerson's choice of traditional piano and comparatively scaled back synthesizer tones level the playing field between him and his band mates. The album gives a better sense of Lake & Palmer's excellent contributions. They aren't always felt through reeling keyboard wails on their succeeding albums. As a counterpoint however, I have to admit that I like Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery, on which Emerson does to a degree outplay his counterparts, a good deal more. So, perhaps it isn't really a totally positive development. Onwards.

Jeremy Bender is the quirky ragtime and old-western influenced track for this album, as the Sherriff and Benny the Bouncer are on the next two. If you read the other reviews, you can find a pretty clear division in opinion over these tracks. Some find them campy and out of place others find them a welcome source of levity in otherwise very serious classically inspired environments. I certainly fall into the latter category. Jeremy Bender is definitely the weakest of the three, but it is still quite good. It is also deserves praise for its ideal positioning in the track listing. It comes just in time to pull you out of the Tarkus doldrums.

Up next is the two part hymn and anti-sermon, The Only Way and Infinite Space. This track is the centrepiece for side-B. It is also a bit cumbersome, but its shorter running length and more interesting arrangements put it a head above Tarkus. In spite of its running lenth, The Only Way manages to have both the mini-suite's best and worst moments. The mass-like organ intro and other musical interludes far exceed dreariness and lazy atheism present in the vocals. Infinite Space is a jazzy instrumental extension to the Only Way. It winds rather pleasantly around the main theme set out in the first portion. It doesn't quite management to be as exciting or dull, but perhaps overstays it's welcome just a little, so I'll give an edge to the Only Way.

A Time and A Place is the best track on Tarkus. Aside from some stilted lyrics, it possesses a lot of the rawness present on their eponymous first album, but shows the focus of their later work. When you hear a track this good, but this short, it is easy to say that it should be substantially longer. However, on an album where 3 of the 5 preceding tracks are seriously in excess of my preferred running times, I appreciate its succinct excellence.

Rounding out the album is another nod to Americana courtesy of Emerson with a hot rockabilly send up to the recording studio, Are you Ready Eddy? There isn't much to report, it serves much the same purpose as Jeremy Bender on the first half. The band throw out the pretentions and have a little fun. It just so happens they sound pretty good while doing it too.

I like this album, but it isn't ELP at their best. It does however it does earn a recommendation on two fronts. Firstly, if you're a smarty and are getting into ELP for the first time right at the beginning of their catalogue where you should, you'll really get a sense for the band's evolution. Tarkus fits snugly between the fizzling, but mostly energetic psychedelic experimentation of the self-titled and the more mature and subtle classically influenced masterwork Trilogy. Second, if you really like ELP it has a lot of content, not all of it top tier for the band but certainly to some listener's tastes. If you are just looking to sample ELP right now and aren't thinking you're going to get way into the band at this time I recommend taking a pass and going for Trilogy or Brain Salad Surgery instead. Three out of Five Stars.

''Emerson, Lake & Palmer'' was a marvelous and quite succesful debut for E.L.P., what though really established the trio as one of the most iconic Progressive Rock bands of the time was their brilliant performance at the legendary Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.With a heavier dose of ambition E.L.P. moved on to the recordings of a second, more complex album in January 1971.''Tarkus'' was recorded at the Advision Studios in London, featuring the paintings of graphic designer William Neal and dealing with the evolution theory in reverse.It was released a few months later on Island.

The eponymous 20-min. track, recorded in just four days, was the first attempt of the band to create a long and multi-part composition with lots of complicated themes and shifting moods.It is a great piece of music, quite tight and carefully structured, split in seven movements, really one of the milestone compositions of keyboard-based Progressive Rock.It is filled with Keith Emerson's frenetic and adventurous keyboard work with dominant Hammond organ pyrotechnics, often duplicated by his symphonic moog synthesizers, while the smoother and low-tempo moments have still an early KING CRIMSON aura, maybe because of Greg Lake's sensitive singing lines.However the band definitely moved away from the deeply Classical roots of THE NICE and had now fully established a virtuosic style of Symphonic Rock with impressive and unexpected changes.

The flipside of the album is pretty pleasant, but certainly not on the same level of the grand opening opus.It contains six very short tracks, often sounding a bit in the commercial side of Progressive Rock with ''A Time and a Place'' having a strong DEEP PURPLE influence on the Hammond organ work, while ''Are You Ready Eddy?'' is 100% Rock'n'Roll and ''Jeremy Bender'' has evident Pop/Psych influences despite Emerson's lovely piano work.The rest of the tracks are quite good and fairly based on E.L.P.'s established style of bombastic organ-driven Progressive Rock with powerful drumming by Palmer, nice, dramatic vocals by Lake and of course Emerson dual keyboard/piano exercises in full display, with even some grandiose Church organ appearing in ''The Only Way''.

To my ears the debut of E.LP. sounds more consistent with no weak moments.''Tarkus'' is highlighted by the very good eponymous epic, but the rather uneven second side leaves much to be desired.Still it remains a very good album, among the strongest releases of the time...3.5 stars.

Emerson Lake and Palmer's second album Tarkus reveals somethings that point to the future sounds of ELP, while also causing one to shake one's head. There are a great number of ups and downs on this album.

Side one of this album is ELP's magnum opus - Tarkus. The story is strange, to say the least. It is the story of the Tarkus's birth and life and it's trials and tribulations along the way. The Tarkus faces three enemies (including a manticore, which would soon be ELP's own label) and its actions are all "depicted" in the music, ranging from Eruption (where the Tarkus is born in a volcano's lava), all the way through Aquatarkus (where the tarkus is swept away by a raging river after its last encounter). The story, while strange, is conveyed vividly by the music, marginally by the lyrics (except Battlefield which is excellent), and lastly by the inner artwork of the album. This side long extraveganza is ELP at their best.

Yet that's more than I can say abouth side two. Side two is a mish mash or parts - some comedy (Are You Ready Eddy?), come classical (The Only Way), and others that are hard to place (Jeremy Bender, A Time and a Place, Bitches Crystal, Infinite Space). Side two is too short and too scattered, the compostitions seeming to take a back seat to the musicianship.

Tarkus is a tale of two sides, one excellent, one less than. A solid three star prog album.

Albums like this are far from my favorite to review. By "albums like this," I mean ones in which there is an exemplary track that stands alone as a masterpiece and the rest of the material is not up to snuff. This isn't only because the other songs aren't as good by comparison, but also because they as a whole are objectively very weak and unconvincing. It really feels like they were so happy with the song Tarkus that they thought they could afford to bring their B game for the rest of the album and the fans would still buy it. And the worst part of that is if that was truly their intention, it totally worked.

Tarkus the song, as I said, is a monumental track. Truly a marvel, and wow is it interesting! So many contrasting musical ideas, virtuoso musicianship on an unparalleled level, and an attitude unmatchable by most other epics. You've got to hear this!

But then there's the others. With the exception of track two, the shortest on the album, these songs are short by prog standards and their run times progressively decrease as the album goes on. It's actually kind of nice, like it's trying to wrap itself up, self-aware and insecure of the minimal contributions that can still be made after facing such a giant. There was no way to re-order this album to make it better, though. The others were doomed from the start.

Jeremy Bender is a pretty ho-hum sing-song number with some occasionally attention- grabbing fills by Palmer that add something but are quick to be memorized as minimal and calculatedly placed at the end of each phrase as they are. The honkey tonk piano by Emerson is decent, but very minimal by his usual bombastic standard. Nothing new here, really.

Then there's B*****s Crystal. Slightly more energetic, but a pretty unconvincing, bland track only spiced by a few cool moog sounds and emphatic vocal swells from Lake.

The Only Way is a song that features some good organ work, but it pales in comparison to what can be heard in The Three Fates, so again a listener familiar with their first may feel like Emerson is doing less-than-exemplary work in favor of appropriately accompanying a less-than-amazing song. What he does works, don't get me wrong. It's definitely fitting. The problem is the medium itself that causes the listener to feel unsatisfied. Lake's vocals are accurate, but pushed into a high portion of his register and do not come down often. I personally don't care for the sound, as it does not have the same level of depth I appreciate in the sung passages of other songs of theirs. The melodic contour does this few favors, as he continually bounds upward by big leaps, giving little respite to the unconvinced fan. The instrumental interlude that follows the first half of the sung parts is the most interesting part, and even then, if you never heard it in your life, you wouldn't be missing much.

Infinite Space...it's good. Gets a little old after a few listens, but it's still not bad. The piano interlude after the drums pause in the middle is the most tasteful part. The reduced texture really lets those wonderful piano sonorities come out, and the melody he plays is very interesting. It's a shame it was so short...I would've rated this album a masterpiece if it contained Tarkus and an extrapolation of this section into another side-long epic.

A Time and a Place isn't bad either. The frantic drums, mood and hammond attacks, and emphatic vocals make it unique. It's effective as a short song. I don't know if it could've been justified to extend it, but including it as part of a longer composition that allowed for the deletion of most of the earlier tracks would've made a much stronger case for this album as well.

Are You Reddy Eddy? is a novelty song. Funny and quirky, but does nothing to reconcile the album's flaws. I'm not too critical of this song, as I know it was meant to be a joke. And honestly, it's not like the technical playing has anything wrong with it, so I won't deduct anything from there as far as a review goes. But again, sort of a joke/afterthought and not a serious contribution.

My conclusion is this album gets 3 stars. Tarkus is the good. The rest is the non-essential. The rating is easy to assign when viewed that way, and a lot less painful. The song Tarkus is just so awesome. It's a pity the rest of the album buckled under the weight of such a monolithic track.

ELP's second album is somewhat unbalanced. You have the multi part song suite of the title track on side one, which is excellent, and then you have the other songs on side two that feel a bit underdeveloped. Some of the other tracks are kind of throwaways. They don't match up to the main feature.

So let's talk about that title track, "Tarkus". The piece shows off the band's virtuosity and songwriting. It is fully developed and connected and doesn't feel like a bunch of different songs glued together. The sections flow into each other well. Stones Of Years is an especially good part. At the end, it reprises the intro as the song's finale. The entire track proves to be one of prog rock's great long pieces.

If the other songs were as good as Tarkus, then this would be a better album. As it is, it's still a good addition to anyone's prog collection.

Tarkus would have been enough!

The composition "Tarkus" is so complete. It defines progressive rock and contains all of what I love with prog rock music. That only track by itself is better than ELP's first record. But, the record "Tarkus" has also a B-side which is not at all as good as the A-side. To be rough do I feel that it just sounds like bonus track, well quite good bonuses. "Tarkus" is Emerson, Lake & Palmer's second studio record from 1971 and the cover shows a strange tanks animal coming against us. I think the cover is powerful. The line up here is of course Keith Emerson on organs, piano, celese and moog, Greg Lake on song, bass and guitars and Carl Palmer on drums.

As a wrote, the magnificent composition "Tarkus" is a hell of a masterpiece. It summarize the prog genre and the vocals here are so precious as well as Emerson's organs which rock every house they approach. If I could give it more than 10/10 I would have done it, because this track is what prog is, a good example and one of the best. I have given the same rating to another track on the record, the very much shorter "A time and a place" which I love. Beside these ones, the record is well done but not marvelous. The fact of being so weak next to "Tarkus" is devastating for the experience of the others. "Jeremy Bender" is a short and joyful rock'n'roll song(7/10) as well as the catchy "Are you ready Eddy"(6/10). "Bitches crystal" is dedicated and progressive(8/10) as well as "Infinite space"(8/10). "The only way" is also very good with deep lyrics, even if they feel a bit forced(8/10). This make of course a very good record as a whole even if it's not even. The first side is so much better than the second side!

These two sides of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the extravagant symphonic freaks firstly and the playful rock'n'roll guy secondly, makes Tarkus a typical ELP record. It is not their best, BUT it contains their BEST composition in the first track. Four strong stars!

'Tarkus' was premiered pre-release on ELP's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' concert tour, along with 'Jeremy Bender', which I will return to later. I attended one of these concerts, and still remember Lake's announcements of both pieces, probably due to their rather striking content. "This is a track from our next album, which is going to be called 'Tarkus'. Tarkus is a kind of armadillo with tank tracks..." It's fair to say I had not foreseen this image. Anyway, despite this nostaglia, and my long-held enthusiasm for ELP's other early music, not least 'Pictures', I never really fell in love with 'Tarkus'. It's interesting and gripping, for want of a better word, but the Hammond organ is over-exposed in such a long piece. This last opinion has been vindicated for me by the Keith Emerson Band's outstanding 'Moscow' (2010) live album, which includes an extended (35 mins) version of 'Tarkus' that is rendered much more digestible by Marc Bonilla's guitar and indeed the entire band - I highly recommend that album.

So that's 'Tarkus'. Lake's 1971 introduction of the ragtime spoof 'Jeremy Bender' was: "This is a song about a queer who decides to become a nun." Non-native English speakers may not pick up the rather shocking terminology to modern ears, but this is obsolete language, shall we say. There was no malice intended, I do stress, but I include this historical anecdote so that younger site members might understand better the society into which David Bowie launched 'Ziggy Stardust'. JB is not a homophobic piece, its target is clearly to poke fun at religious values, something Lake does in several tracks on the 'Tarkus' album. These include 'The Only Way' mock-hymn, which is actually one of Lake's most beautiful ever pieces of singing, but I was never happy playing this track as a teenager since my mother was very religious.

We should also mention 'Bitches Crystal', since this is performed by the post-ELP bands of both Emerson and Palmer, and therefore they seem to consider it a classic. It's quite an arresting track that belongs to the kind of manic dystopian thread evident in certain of Lake's songs from '21st Century Schizoid Man', through 'Knife Edge' to 'Karn Evil 9'.

Verdict: powerful music in every sense.

ELP's 'Tarkus' is a real love/hate affair for me. I absolutely love the epic song 'Tarkus', and absolutely hate the rest of the drivel that exists on this album. I'll duck and cover while I wait for the hail of abuse I'm likely to get for spouting such blasphemy against an acknowledged great prog album!

Here's my take on this very mixed album. ELP put all of their eggs solely in one basket, the song 'Tarkus'. They composed and played their hearts out, and in the process created something truly wonderful. A real prog aficionado's dream of a song. 'Tarkus' ticks everyone of my progressive boxes - it has amazing keyboard work from Keith Emerson, brilliant strings and vocals from Greg Lake and the drumming from Carl Palmer is out of this world at times. 'Tarkus' is so full of depth and complexity that it holds you attention throughout the 20 minutes.

But ELP had only composed 20 minutes of music with the album opener, not enough for a long play record. So the second half, at least to my ears, is pure filler. They might have been better off leaving the second half of the vinyl blank, or reciting the shipping forecast. Or perhaps postponing the release of the album until they had better compositions to put on there. I find very little in the second half of the album even slightly worthy of my attention. So much so that if this whole album had been like the second half then I would suspect this album would be rated as one of the worst 1970's albums ever.

When I listen to this album I stop after the first track. And that's pretty sad. I have tried to listen to the remaining songs on the album, but compared to what came before I find them utterly unworthy of my attention, and frankly I find songs like 'Jeremy Bender' and 'Are You Ready Eddy?' really quite trite and tiresome.

For the opening epic I give this album 5 stars, and for the remaining 6 songs I give this album a pitiful 1 star. By my reckoning that's a solid 3-star rating, but personally I'd only buy this album for the opening track. 'Tarkus' the progressive 20 minute suite deserves to be listened to by everyone, the rest of the album may or may not be your cup of tea!

During the 70's, progressive rock was generally known as an "outcast" genre, despite occasional mainstream success from the most popular bands in the style. Critics generally cited it as being "pretentious" or "throwaway trash," while the public generally turned it down for more accessible AOR and disco for the era. All in all, it's really a shame that progressive bands were just thrown into this dark pit of rejection, considering there was much more talent to be had with these artists than with the mainstream work being played on the radio at the time. Emerson, Lake and Palmer are a big example of this fate (and they'd try to change their sound later, to negative results), and never does it shine more than on their sophomore album Tarkus.

At first glance, the trio's second album is very daunting, mainly because the first side is dominated by only one song: The title track. The second side of the record consists of shorter, generally more accessible arrangements. While the second side is a bit of a mixed bag, one thing can't be denied in all of this: The title track is truly one of the best progressive epics of the 70's, easily able to compete with the big guns like "Supper's Ready" (Genesis), "Close to the Edge" (Yes), or "Cygnus X-1, Book II, Hemispheres" (Rush).

The epic opens up with a choir-like crescendo into the main instrumental motif; The trio are all exceptional musicians, and they have the chance to really shine here. Carl Palmer's sweeping, swift drum work is complemented by Keith Emerson's melodic-yet-complex harmonies gracing the forefront, only to have Greg Lake's rapid bass work sandwiched in perfectly; It all creates a mesmerizing quality that is still just as powerful today as it was back then.

Everything soon slows down for the ballad-style section "Stones of Years." Greg Lake has quite a soothing voice, and the subtle bass/drum fills in the background give this portion a very dreamy, floating feel to it. Soon, a keyboard solo comes in, this time more subtle than in the intro. Keith Emerson shows a remarkable sense of variety and restraint here; This whole collective section is one of the best sections of the song, mainly because of how well-controlled and balanced it is. After this, all hell breaks loose; Every instrument clashes for a battle to the death in the most technical section of the song. The part doesn't last long, though, as it goes right back to a slower section, and so on.

The way the band control their dynamics and know when to balance out their sound is a huge factor in how this song is so good as an epic; Any musician can simply wank on his/her instrument for 20 minutes and slap the "epic" label on it, but ELP show remarkable compositional skill through the aforementioned control of their music. The themes are well placed, and the work building off of them follows suit splendidly. Overall, this song is a classic of progressive rock, and an outstanding track all in all.

Side two isn't quite as good, but has its perks as well. While one can do without the country-styled "Jeremy Bender" or the old time 50's rock and roll of "Are You Ready, Eddy?", other song pick up the slack nicely. Bitches Crystal is a technical piano-driven number with very fast percussion and a quick-rolling bassline; definitely a highlight of the album. "Infinite Space (Conclusion)" makes its case with a deeply somber tone mixed with subtle drumming and bass riffs. Overall, this side of the album is good, but simply not as fantastic as the title track.

Overall, this album is excellent for any prog fan, if just for the splendid first song. In any case, this album feels more complete as a full album than the band's debut and demonstrates a step-up from the meanderings of said first record. For a few albums, ELP would grow and grow; Too bad they eventually succumbed to commercial music...

(Originally published on Sputnikmusic)

Review Nº 65

This is my fourth review of an Emerson, Lake & Palmer's album. The others are their eponymous debut studio album 'Emerson, Lake & Palmer' released in 1970, their fourth studio album 'Brain Salad Surgery' released in 1973 and their debut live album 'Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends' released in 1974. 'Tarkus' is their second studio album and was released in 1971. It represents my first contact with the group. 'Tarkus' was my first vinyl disk of them and is also one of my eldest vinyl records. I bought it in the distant years of the 70's. So, I know it very well.

This was a very important album to the band because after the huge success of their eponymous debut studio album, the band was under an enormous pressure to come up with something special. This was a hard task basically because of two reasons. The first was that the first super group in the rock history had the obligation to make a very special musical work with great quality. The second was that their first studio album was seen more like a collection of individual efforts and ideas than a collective musical effort. So, there were doubts about the result of the collective musical composition of the band. However, after the release of this album, all doubts were dissipated.

'Tarkus' was their first successful conceptual album and has seven tracks. It's a very special album divided into two parts. However, essentially everything runs around their first track who gave its name to the album. It occupies an entire side of the LP, almost making us forget the other half of the album, what would be a little bit unfair because it has also some very good songs with a certain charm. As I wrote before, the first part is entirely completed by their first track 'Tarkus', which is divided into seven parts: 'Eruption' (instrumental) written by Emerson, 'Stones of Years' written by Emerson and Lake, 'Iconoclast' (instrumental) written by Emerson, 'Mass' written by Emerson and Lake, 'Manticore' (instrumental) written by Emerson, 'Battlefield' written by Lake and 'Aquatarkus' (instrumental) written by Emerson. It's a very complex and a fantastic piece of music with great creativity, very experimental in rock music and certainly avant-garde for those times. This great progressive epic represents the lengthiest studio song made by the band, 20:35, until their song 'Karn Evil 9', 29:37, released on 'Brain Salad Surgery'. This remains a favourite song for the fans and was consistently played live by the group, and is also my favourite song of them. Namely, 'Battlefield' is absolutely superb, beautiful, memorable and an unforgettable song. The side B of the LP has the remaining 6 tracks. The first track 'Jeremy Bender/The Sheriff' written by Emerson and Lake and the sixth and last track 'Are You Ready Eddie?' written by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, are two comedic rocker songs on the same mould of 'Benny The Bouncer' released on 'Brain Salad Surgery'. Sincerely, these two songs are very pleasant to listen to, but hardly worthy of an Emerson, Lake & Palmer's album. The second track 'Bitches Crystal' written by Emerson and Lake is a song strongly influenced by jazz and represents a very good song. The third track 'The Only Way (Hymn)' written by Bach, Emerson and Lake and the fourth track 'Infinite Space (Conclusion)' are also two very good tracks with a fantastic piano and organ works. The fifth track 'A Time And A Place' written by Emerson, Lake & Palmer do a nice contrast to the other songs. It's the hardest song on the album and it shows the rocker quality of the band.

The art cover of the album was made about the first track of the album and was created by the artist William Neal. It depicts an image of a creature half armadillo and half a tank of the World War I. Inside the cover of the album there is a gatefold who features a sequence of pictures which show us the birth of Tarkus, from an egg erupted from a volcano, and others depicting pictures of some other battles fought between Tarkus and some other half mechanical creatures, until their defeats by a Manticore, the only creature totally organic on the story. It's interesting to note that the band later named their record company as the Manticore Records. To sum up, 'Tarkus' described a story about reverse evolution and speak to us about the futility of the war in general, and it's also about the religious hypocrisy.

Conclusion: Unfortunately, due to the profound musical differences between the two sides of the LP, 'Tarkus' is somewhat unbalanced and failed to be a masterpiece. The problem with this album is that on side A we have 'Tarkus', a truly masterpiece, but on side B, despite the songs being good, they're in generally with a slightly lower quality. Nevertheless, with this album the group made a great musical work and 'Tarkus' can be considered a landmark to the band's musical career and represents one of their best pieces of music. With it, they made a lasting impression on the music scene and to this day their musical influence can still be felt and their music still inspires bands from around the world. They simply became as one of the most influential bands to come out of the treasure that was the early 70's.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

My conversation with God took place at an old (and I mean old), shoebox-sized roadhouse in west central Texas somewhere outside Abilene. It was hot, breezy, and the cicadas were out in full song. My host, a physically ambiguous presence wearing stained, ancient brown coveralls and nursing the butt of a near-gone cigarette between lips, spoke briefly of classic era rock and several favorites. A rusting reel-to-reel played some of the muddiest, rankest sludgerock I'd ever heard but at a volume we could talk over. "This is the sh*t", the nominal Ruler of the Universe commented. How could I disagree.

Of course what I really wanted to hear about was progressive rock, if it was the extraordinary artistic breakthrough it seemed to be, or a bunch of nonsense; smoke & mirrors easily lapped-up by a gullible rock market. "It's all smoke & mirrors, everything", came the immediate response, "that's why it's called show business". I blushed with embarrassment and began the interview.

A- What is your personal favorite prog album?

G- The one with the totem on the cover, the fetish. Y'know, the armadillo with the guns.

A- Tarkus?

G- Is that it? All I know it that the artwork and music were the closest anyone's come to a perfect match.

A- You believe the art and music of that record enhanced each other?

G- I don't believe anything, but that's my current thinking. And that would be the best example I can think of.

A- Let me just say we're all gonna miss Keith Emerson a lot, and hope he's in a good place.

G- I didn't know him and have no idea where he is or if he still exists. He's dead.

A- Right. What is it about the music of Tarkus that attracts you?

G- Y'know, I'm not even sure-- It is, man, and that's what counts.

A- Can you expand on that?

G- Not really, no.

A- Okay-- Tell me about your first time hearing it.

G- (with a grin) That would've been at Dan's, an old buddy who has the best record collection I know and he only owns maybe two or three hundred LPs. But somehow each one represents the distillation of a certain music. He goes by the cover as much as the content; in other words, he'll often buy an LP strictly based on the artwork. That's where I learned you can and should judge a record by its cover, if not a book. It was a used first issue so it had seen better days but he put it on this elderly turntable of his, the overture swelled up, and then that opening organ phrase. It had me like a mainline of high-quality heroin. Marvelous.

A- Could you be more specific?

G- Listen to it, that intro, 'Eruption', is it?

A- That's right.

G- Well there it is, all of it, the cerebral culmination of everything modern music had accomplished in the five-hundred years before they recorded. The very foundation of modern populist tonalogy; the classics; the advent of electricity; jazz; mid-20th Century; and folk. Emerson understood, and knew he was the right man at the right time to attempt what needed to be done. To do, if you'll forgive me, God's Work.

A- I've always felt the album is a sort of "Church of Prog".

G- If you like, but that opens up a big festering can of worms. It suggests worship and I don't care for that.

A- And the rest of the first side?

G- Yeah, great, I mean can you imagine a clearheaded music appreciator hearing that thing for the first time? It's almost beyond reason that some scruffy English rock trio would have, not the skill, but the balls to do something so beyond the scope of what rock 'n roll was. It was a sublime moment, you see. It was crash or fly and they knew it. Big risk. Music is a business and the possibility that Tarkus would've sat on shelves getting dusty was quite high. They broke something the day that record was released, a barrier, or maybe just a membrane, that had been between youth music and something more.

A- Great. Let's talk about side two, reviled by many as inferior; a letdown compared with the first half of the record.

G- Really? But you see if it had just been more of the same it wouldn't have had the same impact or been as important. You have to have the contrast, the difference, otherwise there's nothing to work against it all. Like fruit and cheese, coffee and cake. Besides those are some great tunes, melodic, straightforward, well-performed.

A- So in closing, what's the overall assessment--

G- Sometimes a piece of work is so great it can't be seen. I don't think I could explain it any more clearly than that. ~~

A masterpiece from the first to the last note, recorded in two weeks (1 per side), the time you need today for adjusting the drum set, by three grandmasters of prog. Many agree to the ultimate rating of the title track, as many dislike the B-side. For me it's a perfect counterpart to the serious construct of 'Tarkus', with a lighter, sometimes humorous touch. Emerson, Lake & Palmer plays Honky Tonk, simple songs, fifties Rock'n' Roll. So what? They always did. And they are doing great! I find all songs masterly played, authentic and well composed. In fact, the combination makes 'Tarkus ' such a great album, and ELP such a great band!

A seminal album in the prog universe, no question about it. My rating is largely based on the strength of the title suite. The title track alone makes this an essential record despite the inconsistency of the second side (tracks 2-7 for the younger crowd), although I love most of those tunes.

The Tarkus suite was one of the major prototypes of progressive rock as we know it. A convoluted concept, experimental passages and insane musicianship. Essential ingredients to a great prog record. Second (in my humble opinion) to King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King in creating a template for subsequent prog bands. Lots of instrumental passages augmented by a couple of Greg Lake penned pieces that adds much texture and dynamics. After the title suite we get a bit of a mish-mosh of tunes. Mind you, this was only ELP's second album and there was already much infighting at this time. Each member was young, full of ideas and extremely self- righteous. So much so that Greg Lake was ready to split due to his lack of acceptance to the direction Keith Emerson was headed.

Jeremy Bender, one of the most reviled songs from this great trio is meant to be a bit of comic relief from the maybe too serious music that these guys were producing. A fun song that also shows off their diversity.

Bitches Crystal follows the same formula more or less from the title track. Excellent tune. The piano playing is off the charts.

The Only Way & Infinite Space always tends to lose me somewhat. I lump these together because they run into each other and aren't very interesting. Not terrible but lacks focus and just flat out isn't that great.

A Time And A Place is an excellent short tune packed with detail, excellent playing and is one of my favorites by them.

Are You Ready Eddy? Ok this should have been left off in hindsight but whats wrong with a little fun?

AQUATARKUS BEST TARKUS: 9/10

Tarkus features the amazing tale about an armadillo-tank war machine born of an egg from an eruption that goes on a... killing spree. Apparently. After destroying a "building-monster", Tarkus proceeds to face Iconoclast - a war-pterodactyl-airplane, only to be destroyed by Tarkus' turrets. His next foe, Mass, a lizard-armoured-rocket-launcher has the same destiny of Tarkus' earlier foe. Next, Tarkus is faced by Manticore, who manages to overwhelm the hybrid monster and kill it, its staggering body falls into a river. However... his cannons are still functional, so is Tarkus truly dead... or is he to be reborn as a transcending form of his self, the aquatic Aquatarkus?

Few progressive gems have brought such original characters and literally epic (and weird!) tales. Tarkus' adventure is delightfully nonsensical even if introduced in movies, let alone as a concept for a music. It's not that weird if you consider Tarkus' creation process, though - just a bunch of unrelated work produced by the trio during six days until Lake wrote the lyrics & EMERSON thought "we should call this Tarkus" & William Nail arrived with this mechanical freak as an album cover.

In fact, the song has little if anything at all to do with Tarkus. Lake explains: "The album cover art lent a sort of visual concept to an album which didn't really have a bonding concept at all. Before the album sleeve was conceived the whole thing was just a string of various musical and lyrical concepts weaved together into one continuous arrangement". Once you put this in perspective, the apparently unrelated art is actually an efficient adhesive to the "various musical concepts" into a single, homogenous idea.

The three lads agree - Tarkus is their greatest work, or to cite Greg Lake, "It is one of the best examples of the musical genius of Keith Emerson as a composer and of the band ELP working and performing together at the very top of their game".

That is true. Keith Emerson's geniality with the Moog is what brings Tarkus so many different feelings and sounds and actually manages to illustrate the situation of the album sleeve if you imagine the instrumental parts to be Tarkus and his enemies. It's one song with unique features on each piece, both calm and rapid passages, with swift and aggressive parts followed by slow, melodramatic weeping for Tarkus' death (the Battlefield section. Personally, I consider Aquatarkus the best piece. The effects Emerson used made his Moog quack, quack, and quack into one of the most creative arrangements for the instrument I've ever seen. And Lake hasn't gotten any love in this review yet. Well, his voice sounds just about right for this album. It's not too acute, not too deep, not too feminine nor not too masculine. It's kinda like "generic but with identity" to me.

I hardly think there's any fan of progressive rock to underrate or dislike this song, so it's quite guaranteed roughly everyone will love this. Moog or fans of synthesizers, in general, will orgasm to this, as the highlight is undoubtfully Emerson's instrument.

The biggest problem with the musical arrangement is that after the brilliance & consequent hype TARKUS brings, you're left with generally unfit songs to accompany the title-track. This is the reason why there's so much backlash. You see, Tarkus is a highly progressive, synthesized song, antagonistic to folk music - which is exactly the second part. However, I can't grasp just how melodramatic the folks at ProgArchives are. It's nowhere nearly as "unlistenable" or "downright horrifying" as they're claiming - yes, it is bad, but not THAT UNBELIEVABLY & HOMOGENOUSLY BAD - assuming the second side has six tracks of which three are horrible (and deservedly criticized), two are fine and one is indeed good.

Jeremy Bender, the first track, is a complete buzzkill. It's literally a boogie-woogie song. For those who don't know this genre, it's basically what you'd think of 20's piano songs, the type that'd be played on old cartoons & seem like a slow version of western saloon music.

Bitches Crystal is another boogie-woogie song, but this time on the fast, ecstatic fast form we know it by (western saloon music) on a progressive structure, with occasional Moog sweeps. Better than Jeremy Bender, but still disappointing.

The Only Way & Infinite Space are much more pleasant songs, the first being an organ that develops into an energetic classical piano & vocal slow emotional duo; the second featuring a structurally complex piece with a good solo accompanied by potent bass line.

A Time and a Place is the highlight of the second side. It is composed in the same vein of Tarkus, being perhaps the only track adequate to the first side.

Are you Ready, Eddy? is a blasphemy. Emerson is an amazing keyboardist, but this song is horribly boogie-woogie/rockabilly to me. It's a joke. Like, literally. But it's also a joke as a song.

In general, TARKUS itself is in my top-five of "best progressive songs" and I can't imagine anyone who says "I'm a prog fan" without listening to this wanting to be taken seriously. The title-track alone is enough to make the whole album worth it (hell, it's 38 minutes long, and Tarkus is more than half of that), even though the second side features some tracks that aren't despicable (A Time and a Place especially). So in the end, Tarkus is prog's most famous double-edged sword. With one edge, you can cut through diamond. With the another, it truly depends on your taste. Maybe you'll cut wood, maybe you'll cut paper, maybe the edge will be too dull to you. What better way to find out than to test it?

The snag.

"Jumping the shark" is a common phrase that references when a television show, in danger of losing it's audience to the ever-decreasing quality of the program, does something ridiculous to rekindle interest. Named after a moment in an episode of Happy Days in 1977 where Fonzie, clad impractically in his signature leather jacket, takes a water- ski jump over a lake-area in which swims a shark. In the long-run the show didn't have much to worry about because it took seven more years to kill the damn thing, nonetheless the term stuck around and was subsequently applied to pieces of entertainment which acted similarly.

However even before Happy Days and the Fonz, new shining stars of the progressive rock scene Emerson, Lake & Palmer decided to jump the proverbial shark with Tarkus in 1971. For many progressive rock bands, jumping the shark was a common thing to do...in the eighties. Exhausting their creative muscle in the 70s, many bands got burnt out and fell back upon the 80s pop-rock music scene instead, and as many saw it went inadvertently into retirement from the business. However this wasn't the 80's -- as mentioned before Tarkus was in 1971, a period where albums like Meddle by Pink Floyd and Nursery Cryme by Genesis continued to emerge with gusto. Appearing less than seven months after their debut and following a European tour, Tarkus came to a young and craving fan-base happy with almost anything the band produced at the time. For all intents and purposes the album could not have been timed better, but timing is a factor that rarely has bearing on quality. In quality-terms however, Tarkus is vastly inferior to it's predecessor.

One glaring and inadmissible trait the album has is it's VERY obvious pompous nature. ELP went from a mild release with a bit of grandstanding to a overblown and ultimately ridiculous concept album in one fell swoop. Tarkus, and by that I mean the 20 minute title-track suite, follows the adventure of a sentient armadillo tank as he battles his way through a universe filled with ludicrous characters, spotlit ones including a manticore and an aquamarine version of Tarkus himself, so cleverly referred to as "Aquatarkus", the latter to which he ultimately loses against. This concept sounding ridiculous on paper is unsurprising, but what really matters is how the band adapts this concept to sound good. And if you were envisioning something tough, explosive, and chivalrous to depict such a surrealist battleground, you'll be disappointed. On the other hand however if you yearned for an overbearing collection of synthesizer, constant and sometimes heavy guitar noodling and lackluster vocals, then consider yourself acquainted with Tarkus. In simple terms, 'Tarkus' is an out-and-out mess. The song, while mostly being a fast-paced journey riddled with inconsistent progressive ramblings with Carl Palmer rattling around much more flamboyantly than necessary, does have it's odd enjoyable moments. For instance in the latter half there is a short-lived space rock section, but it's quickly pushed aside in order for misplaced quirky keyboard. A dichotomy I mentioned in my review for ELP's self-titled was where each band member seemed like they were trying to out-do each-other with their respective medium. If that was prominent on the first album, then it is even more so on Tarkus. Each member practically trips over eachother, almost like their playing different songs at the same time. It creates an unpleasant mishmash of half-baked ideas that becomes a drag after listening to the same inconsistency for 20 whole minutes.

What's this? A second side? It almost seems strange that there even exists a second side, but even after Tarkus seemed to have gone through each checkbox, ELP continued the album anyway. Unsurprisingly, the second side is just as if not more monotonous than the title-track. Not much is different, other than that Emerson uses some sort of Barrelhouse-esque piano on a few of the early songs, which sounds absolutely horrendous because of a tendency of ELP to turn the keyboard up higher than the rest of the instruments until it becomes overpowering. There is one exception to the second side, however. 'A Time and a Place' is a bit of a throwback to the self-titled, along the lines of the 'The Barbarian' or 'Knife-Edge'. Heavy and atmospheric, this track is so powerful that I've listened to it multiple times with continued interest. Greg Lake's vocals are at their best on this track, his blistering screams channeling Burton Cummings of the Guess Who with their raw intensity. It is truly a memorable piece of music, but unfortunately remains solitary on the second side as the only one noteworthy.

Tarkus is not only a big disappointment, but is also an excuse for ELP to continue to become more and more vapid and self-aggrandizing than they already are with it's widespread success. Some hope still remains, however. The next album may be able to rectify the problems created with this one. Right?

Not quite so good...

Their second studio album saw ELP write an extended track across an entire side, like many other bands here on PA did (Floyd, etc). Unfortunately, most of the music on this album is not up to the standard set by their first album. The 'concept' for the long suite "Tarkus" is pretty goofy (a story about an armadillo-tank that goes around battling other strange machine-animal creatures, ultimately to be defeated by 'Aquatarkus'). But that is not the main problem. I think the problem is that ELP rushed this album without making sure it was sufficiently musical. Like Emerson's wild live synth solos, ELP was as much about the show as the music, and in some cases the music took second-place. There are some good moments on Tarkus (the song), but a lot of un-musical themes too. Indeed, some of the music here is plain-annoying. It is difficult to listen to all the way through, at least more than a couple of times. Well, at least that first side was ambitious, even if not fully successful. The second side is mostly filler, with some even-sillier tracks ("Jeremy Bender" and "Are You Ready Eddy?"). The result is an album that is, on balance, not musical enough to draw the listener too often. But I have to give some credit for the song Tarkus, which if nothing else, is unique. I give this album 5.1 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to (high) 2 PA stars. ELP fans will obviously love it. The uninitiated - well, start with their debut, and Trilogy, first.

I don't like ELP. I've tried, honestly, I have, but I just cannot understand what's so great about them.

I've owned my copy of Tarkus for more than thirty years and first listened when I was a wide eyed teenager with no preconceptions.

I didn't like it then and I still don't like it now.

I know as a prog fan I'm supposed to like this, and every so many years it comes off the shelf for another spin in the hope that one day the epiphany will happen. But it never does, and I'm pretty sure it never will.

Okay, they're great musicians and Emerson is a great keyboard player, but ELP just represent everything that I dislike about some prog.

This album comes across to me as nothing but self indulgent noodling. The album sounded dated when I first bought it thirty years now, and now it sounds like something that's been dug up in a time capsule.

I play an album like Close to the Edge and it sounds as fresh and interesting as it did thirty years ago, but Tarkus sounds tired and old fashioned by comparison.

I'm not a big fan of the first half of the album, as some are. It's tiresome noodling which goes nowhere and completely fails to get my juices flowing in any way. It leaves me cold.

Then we have quite ridiculous tracks like Jeremy Bender, with it's childish tune and lyrics, and we finish the album with the frankly terrible "Are You Ready Eddie?", intended as a humorous tribute to engineer Eddy Offord, but it sounds like high school kids sniggering in the playground.

The only track that I like on this album is "Bitches Crystal" which actually has something to it, and I really like Greg Lake's bass riff which gives some lovely depth to the track.

I won't even get into the album cover or the whole hedgehog tank thing (what is that all about?). I don't like the artwork and the hedgehog tank concept is simply ridiculous.

As I don't like the album myself I clearly couldn't recommend it to another prog fan or general music fan. ELP fans will like it, but they're already converts.

Not for me I'm afraid, but there is some good musicianship so I'll say 2.30 and round down to 2 stars.

So, my first review on this site is for the first prog album I ever listened, back like, 5 years ago. When I originally heard Tarkus (talking about the song right now, not the entire album - that part will come later), I wouldn't say that it blew my mind as much as that I really, really enjoyed it: coming from a classical background, I really valued a well structured and well written song, and that's exactly what the first piece in Tarkus is: a very well written 20 minutes rock suite, with many changes in pace and character in between, yet all in all masterfully cohesioned. What really was the biggest surprise for me when I first listened to this song, though, is how "eclectic" its style was. Going from an epic kind-of-jazzy modal instrumental, in the beginning, to a more slow-paced vocal part with masterfully written lyrics (oh, that's another one: the lyrics are great - not the best I've heard, but still great), it then goes again to a more "dissonant" take on the initial instrumental, and then, it changes to a "bluesy" part? And all of this, without going out of it's overall martial and mechanic - in a good sense - character (after all, this is an album about a giant robot armadillo that starts killing everythin, isn't it?). And, of course, I could talk about the incredible technical skill of the artists themselves - but everyone already knows about that. Just a quick shout out, though, to Greg Lake's basslines: they're usually kind of overlooked, and they're impressive enough to garner much more attention.

But that's only the first song, right? Of course, the rest of the album couldn't be as great as the first song, right? Well, no, it isn't, but it's still awesome. Now, most people who I see / hear talk about this album characterize it as "a long epic suite, and a bunch of other kind of cool songs". Now, were they really listening to the same album as I was? Because the Tarkus that I know doesn't have ONE long, epic suite, but it actually has two!

Yes, I've always thought that the songs "The only way hymn", "Infinite space" and "A time and a place" actually form a synthetic unity in and of themselves. And, though this "suite" that they form isn't as good as Tarkus, it's still impressive: after all, how do you go from a church hymn, to a Bach inspired organ transition, to a sober modal-jazzy part, to finally reach an explosive conclusion which still sounds kind of like the initial hymn mashed up with the previous jazzy transition, yet totally different?

And the three remaining songs, Jeremy Bender, Bitches Crystal and Are you ready, Eddy? don't dissapoint either. Specially because of the incredible Keith Emerson piano parts, though not exclusivelly.

So yeah, all in all? An awesome album. And well-deserved 5 stars.

When it comes to my enjoyment of an album, I need consistency in order to want to listen to it, I want a more complete listening experience in which everything fits together cohesively, not necessarily a concept album, but something that feels properly planned out and conceived. This is a big reason why Emerson Lake and Palmer's Tarkus fails so miserably, it doesn't matter how great your side long epic is guys, the rest of the material sucks and greatly drags everything down. While I found their debut album to be quite rough around the edged with a lack of polish and tight songwriting causing to to be much less enjoyable than it could have been, this album feels more like an ill conceived mess, with a single good song in its entirety.

To be fair, this one good song happens to be Tarkus, so it's not as if this album is completely worthless, as despite the fact that I don't find this quite as good as other epics of around the time such as Supper's Ready, Plague of Lighthouse Keepers and Close To The Edge, this is nonetheless an excellent track all the way through. One aspect I really love about this song is how it manages to control the bombast and relentless desire for showing off, making for a technically impressive song that doesn't go overboard with wandering jams, instead moving between each section seamlessly, with a strong jazzy tinge to Keith Emerson's playing. Furthermore, the song has a great progression to it, continuously switching between quiet, beautiful moments, and chaotic, bombastic instrumental sections that sound like an off kilter war march in certain respects, especially in terms of the wailing moog. One of my favourite moments of the song is definitely Mass, which is just so wonderfully groovy and energetic, building up to a drum solo that impresses me every time, which is balanced out by continuing to push the melody and rhythm, stopping the isolated, dull feeling that the drum solo of Tank created. Honestly, this is one of ELP's crowning achievements, being able to create a 20 minute epic without a single moment of filler.

The unfortunate thing is that after this absolutely monumental track, the rest of the album is without a doubt extremely painful to listen to. For one, most of the songs are quite generic, with barely anything of interest to be found at all. At the very least, both Bitches Crystal and The Only Way (Hymn) feel like there was an effort made in them, although the latter, while somewhat nice to listen to, is extremely boring, although the church organ and the way it picks up at the end stops it from being bad. The former feels rushed with parts that feel unnecessary, like, in such a bombastic, insane song, there is no need for the quieter moments, it's Emerson, Lake and Palmer, excess is everywhere and in spades, so I find it annoying that a time where this could be used to their advantage ends up being wasted. Time and a Place and Infinite Space (Conclusion) are both songs I have very little to say about, as they are simply beyond dull and unneccesary, further damaging an album that is already slipping. The final nail in the coffin is that this album has not one, but two comedic songs in them, both of which are awful. Jeremy Bender employs a sort of ragtime style to a very simple melody, and it's just really bad all around, especially since it comes straight after Tarkus. Are You Ready Eddy on the other hand is nothing short of utter garbage, and definitely one of the most unbearable songs the band has ever put out, trying to take a more classic rock and roll approach, but falling on their face so embarrassingly with every step. Furthermore, this is the song the album closes off on, leaving a sour taste in my mouth afterwards.

Honestly, if the band decided to maintain the same kind of magic and focus as Tarkus displayed, I think I'd absolutely adore this album, but as it stands, it's by far my least favourite of the peak of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's career. It's amazing just how different in quality the two halves of this album are, and just how obnoxious and bad I find the second half, making me treat this album as a single, 20 minute track instead most of the time, as I just have no desire to listen to it in full. If not for the masterpiece of the first half, this would be an easy 1 star, but I'll rate it 2, since I can't call this album good, but would be horribly wrong to completely write it off.

Best tracks: Tarkus, which is definitely a high point in the band's meterial

Weakest tracks: While the second side is all bad, Jeremy Bender and Are You Ready Eddy stand out immensely in this category

Verdict: An uneven mess of an album with its first side being incredible, but it's second side being borderline unlistenable. I only relistened to anything the second side had to offer in order to be able to give this a fair review.

After the success of their first studio album and tour, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer had to come up with something that would imprint itself into everyone's mind so that critics and fans would know they were more than just another supergroup. One of the biggest complaints of the debut album was that it wasn't concise enough and uneven, even though the performances were amazing. Personally, I love their debut album and the variety of sounds and use of dynamics. However, for this 2nd album, the band was a bit uncertain which path they wanted to take. Emerson, being classically trained and a lover of classical styles loved experimenting with that, but he also agreed with Frank Zappa that music didn't need to have meters. It was just too hard for them to understand why they had to fit their music into these organized bars. This was the direction that Emerson wanted to follow for this 2nd album.

Palmer was also leaning in the more progressive direction too, and even though Emerson and Palmer were both working independently in their own homes during the initial stages of this album, they were both coincidentally working with complex rhythmic ideas, so they were able to mesh their styles into a singular direction, and so it was pretty much decided at that point that the band would go into a full-fledged progressive style, at least with the album's centerpiece composition. In the initial stages of the musical creation of this song, Emerson was inspired by Frank Zappa and Albero Ginastera. Albero is the classical composer from Argentina that originally wrote the piano concerto that 'Toccata' (from 'Brain Salad Surgery') was based on. Emerson said that there was no plagiarism of any kind in the music, but there was a nod to Prokofiev in the opening movement of what would be known as the 'Tarkus' suite.

Finally, Emerson presented the almost finished composition to Lake, who immediately hated it. In fact, Lake almost left the group at that point because he felt the composition was pointless and had no direction. The record company talked Lake into staying, but Emerson had to think of subject matter for the piece so that Lake could write the lyrics. The interesting thing about all of this is how Emerson finally got the idea for the subject of 'Tarkus' after seeing the artwork of William Neal, who had just dropped off some of his artwork. Emerson was impressed with the armadillo on tank tracks and finally came up with the name 'Tarkus'. The concept was to be about the power that is sought by warmongers. The subsections were going to be about the different creatures that Tarkus fought and finally killed which would end with the death of Tarkus from one of those mutated creatures, the Manticore, who would sting Tarkus in the eye. Lake was finally sold on the concept because he liked the idea of it being an anti-war message and even wrote the 'Battlefield' section as his contribution to the centerpiece of the album. Thus 'Tarkus' was born.

The album is divided into two sections, with the first section being the first side of the album with 'Tarkus' taking up the entire first side and lasting almost 21 minutes. This 7 part suite starts up with the instrumental 'Eruption' which, as mentioned earlier, has a short section inspired by Prokofiev. This depicts the volcanic eruption that would produce Tarkus' egg. This section produces the familiar theme played by the various keyboards with the usual complex drumming and basswork done by Palmer and Lake respectively. The meter is, of course, non-standard, but it mostly follows a 10 / 8 pattern. The second section 'Stones of Years' begins when the music settles down and Lake's vocals begin. This tells of the voyage of Tarkus to meet his first enemy. The spider-like creature is represented by Emerson's staccato notes and the tempo speeds up to represent the fight and Tarkus' winning of this first battle before the vocal returns. 'Iconoclast' is another instrumental, again with complex drumming and rhythms, dark keys. This movement represents the 2nd battle of Tarkus, this time with a pterodactyl like war mutant. The fourth movement is 'Mass' as Lake's vocals start again and represents the 3rd battle, this time with a lizard / grasshopper / rocket launcher. Again, Tarkus is the victor. It is also full of religious undertones and a developing melody that gets extremely intense by the end. 'Manticore' is the final enemy and the one that finally kills off Tarkus. This battle is represented by an instrumental clash of the Tarkus main theme and the separate Manticore theme. 'Battlefield' is the section solely written by Lake and features a rare electric guitar solo by him. Lake has said it was inspired by the song 'Epitaph' that he cowrote and sung while with King Crimson. 'Aquatarkus' is the last movement based on a march based on the theme from Battlefield. Aquatarkus is the creature created by the dead body of Tarkus, or maybe another morphing of the creature born from the water, and this is represented by the sudden reappearance of the original Tarkus theme after the march section fades.

The overall feel of 'Tarkus' is chaotic with the melding of several themes throughout the track. It can be hard to listen to, especially in the first listenings when one is not familiar with the story or the multiple themes. The music is complex and thick, but when divided up into it's respective parts, and having the story explained, then the layers of music and complexity start to peel back and make more sense. It is quite an undertaking and it is definitely the center piece of the album. The remainder of the album is made up of short tracks that make up side 2.

'Jeremy Bender' is a honky-tonk style track with the subject ELP would come back with several times throughout their time together. 'Bitches Crystal' is more complex after the style of their more rock style similar to 'Knife's Edge'. The song features a lot of fast piano passages. 'The Only Way (Hymn)' uses themes from Bach's 'Toccata in F' and 'Prelude and Fugue VI' played on top of each other on an organ to give it a cathedral type feel. The lyrics are more anti-religious, which was also a theme Lake used a lot. Both Emerson and Palmer thought it was a bit too harsh, but left it the way it was. If you really listen to the lyrics, you will see what I mean.

The next track is 'Infinite Space (Conclusion)' written by Palmer. This one is a piano and drums led instrumental with alternating meters and the best track on this side of the album. 'A Time and a Place' returns to the heavier progressive rock sound that sounds similar to the theme on 'Living Sin' from the 'Trilogy' album. 'Are You Ready, Eddy?' is inspired by the 1956 song 'The Girl Can't Help It' by Bobby Troup and retains the 50's rock n roll style. This track closed the original album and according to Emerson, it was an impromptu song celebrating the completion of work on the album. The Japanese version of the 2010 SHM-CD reissue included another track 'Prelude and Fugue' which was written around the same time and previously only available on the 'Return of the Manticore' box set. It is a piano solo of a composition by Friedrich Guida, very difficult to play because of it's many thematic lines, performed amazingly by Emerson, of course.

On the 2012 remix edition of the album, there were three additional bonus tracks that were recorded during the same sessions and previously unreleased. First is 'Oh, My Father' written by Lake. It is a slow and pensive piano ballad with Lake's lyrics and vocals. There is a sparse use of drums and acoustic guitar. There is also a choral effect and a electric guitar solo in the middle. It's a nice track that could have easily been a single. 'Unknown Ballad' is written by Emerson with vocals. I am guessing it is Emerson singing because it definitely is not Lake, though he might be involved in the harmonies. It is a simple piano ballad. The last bonus track is an alternate take of 'Mass', the 4th movement of 'Tarkus'. It is a bit sparser than the original and seems a bit unfinished.

For many, this album would be their favorite ELP album. I don't agree so much because I don't like the unrelenting feel of the over-the-top bombastic feel of the title track. Though I have come to appreciate it and the genius behind it, I still have a hard time with it, just like I have a hard time with the 'Karn Evil' suite from 'Brain Salad Surgery'. I tend to like the ELP albums of the 70s that were less bombastic like the debut album, 'Trilogy' and the 'Works' albums, not because they are less progressive, but because they are not so flashy. Strangely enough, this always seems to be the case for me with ELP, and I don't necessarily recommend Tarkus as an album for beginning listeners for the band. Nevertheless, there is no argument that Tarkus is an amazing composition. But I am unable to give the album more than 4 stars; 3 stars for side 2 and 4 stars for the Tarkus suite but tipping the scales in favor for the album because of the complexity (not the bombast) of the track.

A few months after their debut album, EL&P churned out their most famous Lp, "Tarkus", released in January 1971 and containing a suite, "Tarkus" precisely, that lasts the entire first side (almost 21 minutes): again EL&P are confirmed as precursors of prog ( few before June 1971 had already made a suite that would last all one side: perhaps only King Crimson with Lizard) and in fact their ability to reinvent cultured music, turning it into jazzed hard rock, and now, with Tarkus, the ability to produce a suite written by Emerson's keyboards, it was fondamental in the development of progressive rock. In addition, with this suite EL&P build a mythological story around a monstrous animal-machine, which will then become their symbol thanks to the design of the cover.

Side A. After a first instrumental, pyrotechnic, hyperfast movement, which acts as an overture, begins the second, beautiful, thanks mainly to the voice of Lake, which remains the strong point of the formation, then takes a short instrumental passage of Emerson that leads towards a new melody, however, which soon breaks up to give the group the opportunity to make a hard rock passage with electric guitar and overflowing drums. Around the 11th minute, the fifth movement, also hyperfast and instrumental, begins. So far the suite has not had any time to breathe. It's impressive how many musical notes EL&P grinds, they almost seem like a writer who, in order to prove his greatness, has to write the world's longest book in a short time. The instrumental piece, in fact an exercise in virtuosity, ends early and gives the baton to Lake's voice for Buttlefield (written by him) which almost always has a relaxing effect for the group. Lake seems the only hippie, while the other two of the musical machine species. This piece, in fact, restores a certain harmony to a composition that seemed dictated by performance anxiety. The final piece, unfortunately, at a pace, and driven by little atmospheric synths, is perhaps the worst of the suite, and describes the escape of the monster Tarkus after the defeat. Just before the end, the initial theme is taken up and pumped beyond measure.

This suite is good for the compositional effort but is not a masterpiece that, compared to "Lizard" (KC) that precedes it, and "Plague" (VDGG) that follows it, disfigures for lack of memorable melody and for atmosphere and creativity. It remains virtuosity and good compositional ability and, most of all, good pleasure to listen to it. Rating SIDE A: 7.5/8.

SIDE B "Jeremy Bender" is a very short song, retro honk tonk style, cute, resembling some vaudeville pieces by Paul McCarteny, only that here lacks a whole sound, and a real unfolding. Rating 5.

"Bitches Crystal" has a hyperfast rhythm, basic is a boogie, which prosergue becomes more and more frantic and hard rock, with Lake forced to shout. Rating 6.5.

"The Only Way" is brave for Lake's text, which professes an atheism that believes in humanity by quoting the 6 million Jews who were victims of the Holocaust, and all with Emerson's church organ in the background. The song is suitable for a musical, very narrated. Rating 7,5/8

"Infinite Space" is a pedantic exercise, rating 6.

"A time and a place" is a short song, three minutes, is perhaps the only song with a sound in line with the first front of the album, it is a very forced hard rock, where again Lake finds himself forced to shout. Vote 6+.

"Are You Ready Eddy" is yet another retro song, this is a Jerry Lee Lewis-style rock and roll, short, smooth, perhaps the most casual of the side. Rating 7.

Rating side B: 6,5.

It's an album that suffers for the diversity between side A and B, which are actually little assimilated. While the A-side is very well-groomed for the Tarkus suite, the second seems ragged, putting together, often retro short songs that are a step back from the sound and song form they were experiencing already on the previous album. Lake's voice is not enough to revive the LP's fortunes. Overall, the qualitalist level is similar to the previous Lp, which is more whole coese album, while this Lp can boast the compositional effort of Tarkus.

Rating album 7+; Three stars.

Tarkus, the song, is one of the most iconic pieces in all of prog rock history and associated genres. One has only to take a listen to an orchestral rendition of the music to see how sophisticated this composition is. The trio of course performs it to perfection too.

The problem is that the album is not only Tarkus, side B. Most of those songs are forgetable, probably the most forgetable from their entire classic period. The only exception being Infinite Space, which is also a classic to my ears.

Jeremy Bender is horrendous. Bitches Crystal is uninspired fooling around.

The Only Way is musically cute (and borrowed), but the lyrics are distracting and sounds out of place in the album.

Inifite Space, as said, is great.

A time and a place is ok, but sounds almost like a rehash of Tarkus, or an earlier piece from which ideas were taken from. Maybe it would have made sense at the beginning of side B, but not now.

But then, we are treated to one of the most unintentionally stupid pieces of music ever written: Are you ready Eddy.

Some musicians can be funny with their music, without compromising the music or the humor, Zappa, Canterbury bands, but not ELP. This is their worst song, and I am including everything on the later albums as well.

Album organization was always a problem for ELP, which suggests to me their compositions resemble more the format of earlier composers, especially with Tarkus. In the modern album format, they were forced to add stuff to fill the time - Side B is, unfortunately, just that something.

Because of side B alone, this album does not take 5 stars. That's testament to the greatness of that one piece which gives the album its title.

ELP, meeting of 3 prodigies to form a mega group, that is the challenge! 1. Tarkus with 7 drawers, perhaps here one of the prog origins of the famous drawers for storage; well what can I say, Greg's velvety crimson voice, Keith's twirling organs and Carl's characteristic rap are there to mark the coming together of highly talented musicians and release a mega album; a progressive base that is diabolically creative but which is starting to date; fault in the recording, fault in the long orchestral parts, fault in this deluge of sound? Or a little of all that? Anyway, around the 13 minute mark when Greg speaks again it's almost a relief; yes the proud person will counter by saying that we haven't done better, yes 50 years ago that was true; but the melody of 'we are of the sun', of 'the knife' or of 'epitaph' still remains in the hollow of my ears, where I have difficulty finding it in ELP; beautiful but messy, anyone who adores baroque neo-classicism will cry foul, but these sounds are from another age, unfortunately; a beautiful sequel which has aged and lacks that I know what 'Aquatarkus' will give a little more pep in a grandiose finale Hop on, let's turn things around with short nursery rhyme ditties, like on the 1st Genesis: 2. Jeremy Bender saloon counter piano and good festive pop atmosphere 3. Bitches Crystal piano before the space synth and Greg struggling as best he can; we get into the rock-prog-jazzy sound from afar; the festive solo piano saloon still here 4. The Only Way (Hymn) relax, we are in church to the 'Toccata in F and Prelude VI' by JS Bach; a magnificent tribute with Greg to the voice it takes to amplify this title even more if possible; the keyboard reference group 5. Infinite Space (conclusion) comes together, piano and bass solo for a hypnotizing monolithic title; between soft jazz-prog and neo-classical 6. A Time and a Place returns to the ELP sound, keyboards spurting out of nowhere, Carl's hopping hits and Greg's heavy vocals, surly as if he wanted to let go; a title which must be a true bible for any keyboard in France and Navarre, even go as far as the other side of the Atlantic 7. Are You Ready Eddy? for the very rock'n'roll finale, very 60's, very Jerry Lee Lewis; Ah Eddy yes this sound engineer who can boost the sound, record in 16 tracks, and improve the original sound even more; yes you had to tell me; a short, quick title which denotes donf! 3 big guys who will simply create an OMNI stallion.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer's second studio album was released in June 1971 on Island Records, a label on which we can find King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull and Renaissance, all releasing very strong albums. 'Tarkus' is undoubtedly one of the 70s prog rock classic albums, an absolutely mandatory listen for everyone who ventures into this obscure and broad genre of music.

The music, however, is quite difficult to categorize, which hints for the progressive nature of it. Still, 'Tarkus' was a tremendous commercial success for the scope of prog rock, surprisingly or not.

Side one, occupied by the sublime title track - a real 'model song' for many bands in the genre. One of the best side-long epics of all time, and also one of the first, a composition in seven parts and a concept piece, the band decided to make the odd-numbered sections instrumental, and the even-numbered ones vocal. Singing about battlefields and people dying from the consequences of their own sinful actions, the concept has always been open to interpretation - connected strongly to the artwork and the titles of the seven sections.

Side two is, on the other hand, the really weak spot in ELP's early 70s discography. A collection of shorter songs that have no connection to 'Tarkus', or to each other, quite well-known among prog rock's admirers but surely not so well received.

As mush as it is quintessential for the genre, 'Tarkus' suffers from the mediocre side two, which is in stark contrast with the aggressive and focused title track, with all the complex passages and insane keyboard fiesta, the lyrics that have become iconic and the manic drumming of Carl Palmer. Still, this would not be a reason to diminish the record as anything rather than an excellent addition to any prog rock collection.

I don't understand how they bought that second side was acceptable?

Tarsus is easy 5/5, on point vocals, tasteful keyboard playing, incredible cohesion, a masterclass in creating a suite.

The second side is pure throwaway. Ragtime piano everywhere lame generic Rock n roll sing'n, terrible 1-3* material.

Jeremy Bender is different then Tarkus which is fine except it is unpleasant due to its jokey nature thanks to ragtime piano lyrics like "threatened to fist her"? immediately kills the epicness built by Tarkus 2/5

Bitches Crystal is more rock and is alright, perhaps listened to alone, away from the surrounding songs it would be better.

The Only Way (Hymn) is to classical, an issue I have with the debut. It's alright.

Infinite Space opens up nicely, good piano work and maintains the quality level. Best track on the second side.

A Time And A Place is solid organ hard rock second best song on the second side.

Are You Ready Eddy is like Jeremy Bender?

4/5, despite a flawed second side Tarkis is still a great album.

If you thought the songs on Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album were a bit on the long side, Tarkus sets the record straight: the title track that opens the album is no shorter than twenty minutes and forty seconds. But if that scares you off, let me also say right now that "Tarkus" is the most concise and convincing expression of all of this band's strengths, and indeed all the strengths of (symphonic) progressive rock in general.

The story of "Tarkus" (as far as there is one; the lyrics don't really tie into it at all so I'm just getting this from the liner notes) is centred around the creature on the front cover: an armadillo tank hybrid named Tarkus, who hatches from an egg and fights an array of mechanical foes before meeting his demise at the hands of a manticore. If that sounds goofy and nonsensical to you, that might be because you're not insane. Well, don't let this scare you off either because these guys manage to turn a story that's completely bonkers into an absolutely fascinating musical journey.

The first part, "Eruption", throws you right away into the heat of the action: a rip-roaring instrumental keyboard workout that's full of strange time signatures and tempo changes, but maintains a steady drive throughout and never feels like it's falling apart. The main thing that sets it apart from similar keyboard showcases on the preceding record is Keith Emerson's use of the Moog synthesizer: while the band already made some economic use of the synth on their debut, Tarkus is where the instrument becomes a definite staple of the band's sound, even if the organ is still the dominant voice.

"Iconoclast" and "Manticore" supposedly portray the battles between Tarkus and the other monsters, and mostly follow the same pattern as "Eruption", but they nonetheless sound unique and are no less enthusiastic. In between these sections however, the boys make sure to insert vocal parts that are more calm and restrained, so that the effect never becomes stale. "Stones Of Years" is a majestic heavenly ballad that goes for the same atmosphere as "Take A Pebble" on the last album, albeit with a bit more drive. "Mass" on the other hand is the most rock-oriented part of the suite: it's based on a solid hard rock riff and prominently features a cowbell, as well as a notably more aggressive vocal delivery from Lake, and it works excellently. Finally, "Battlefield" is sad and mournful, and gives Greg Lake a chance to shine on electric guitar for the first time. Meanwhile, Emerson plays some marvellous organ solos on both "Stones Of Years" and "Mass": the man is in top form, and his colleagues on the drums and bass provide an immaculate backing.

In the end, after the chaos of "Battlefield" subsides, the suite concludes with its final section: "Aquatarkus", a determined-sounding synthesizer-based march indicating Tarkus' resurrection (or something to that extent). The tension is supremely built up over the course of three minutes, and when the song finally ends with a reprise of its opening section, it feels like one reaches Nirvana?

So? Why does this album only get four stars, then? It's because the second half of it doesn't live up to the standard of the first half at all. It almost feels like the remaining six songs were added for the sole purpose of extending the album to standard LP length. The only one of these that I'd call essential is "Bitches Crystal", which, despite its dumb title, shows the most energy out of all of them. It's fast, frantic and features some really nice piano lines, as well as a really cool vocal delivery from Lake.

None of the other songs are bad, but they don't really say or do anything that the title track didn't do much better. "A Time And A Place" sure gives off a bombastic vibe, but it's a little too monotonous to be of much worth. The same can be said about "The Only Way", a not very successful attempt at writing a deep, philosophical protest song, and the piano-based instrumental "Infinite Space", which tries to create a more ethereal effect again but doesn't succeed too well either. Finally, there are two silly joke tracks: I haven't decided yet whether the lyrics to "Jeremy Bender" are horrible or just stupid, so just pay them no mind because the song itself is actually pretty funny, as is the boogie-woogie parody "Are You Ready, Eddy?", although it's kind of pointless for both of these songs to exist on the same record. Still, things like this aren't really enough to carry an album.

I first heard this album at the beginning of 2013, and to this day the title track still ranks as one of the best songs I've ever heard in my life, so my deep respect and affinity for the suite keeps me from lowering the rating any further. But at the same time, I have to admit that as an album, Tarkus is a little uneven, which makes it overall a less accomplished product than ELP's debut. But man, that first track is worth the price of admission alone. Give insanity a chance!

Review #106

"Tarkus" is one of those records that always receive all kinds of opinions: from the bad ones that criticize the album for the lack of effort on the B-side to the good ones that say the album is an absolute indispensable record, well, I'm right between those two opinions. The title track is the longest and occupies the first side of the LP with its almost 21 minutes: the song makes the most interesting changes through its eight independent sub-titles, and actually, it is considered as one of the most amazing songs that Emerson, Lake & Palmer made in their entire discography. Personally, I think it is one of the most epic songs in Progressive Rock and an obligated stop in the journey of discovering the different faces of this genre.

"Jeremy Bender" is a song that has never been well received by fans and critics, I've read a lot of reviews and comments from around the world that criticize its style of Old West Saloon music (that would appear again on other songs of the band such as "Benny the Bouncer" and "The sheriff"), not my very personal track of the album. "Bitches Crystal" is a fast rock song with not a lot of complex rhythm changes, sounds as a filler song. "The only way (Hymn)" is a piano/organ piece, kind of slow and relaxing.

"Infinite space" continues showing the habilities of Keith Emerson on piano, this instrumental piece opens the door to a very exquisite song called "A time and a place" which has a very science-fictional kind of sound, almost as if it was Space Rock on some moments. The closing track "Are you ready Eddy?" is a very short Hard Rock song that Greg Lake wrote to Eddy Offord, engineer of the album who had also worked with Yes, and even when I really like the song I recognize is not one of their best tracks.

Nice album but not the greatest of this band, on the other hand, the song "Tarkus" alone is one of their greatest songs ever, so don't hesitate in listening to it if you haven't done it yet.

SONG RATING: Tarkus, 5 Jeremy Bender, 4 Bitches crystal, 4 The only way (Hymn), 4 Infinite Space (Conclusion), 5 A time and a place, 5 Are you ready Eddy? 4

AVERAGE: 4.42

PERCENTAGE: 88.4

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars

If ELP's debut was a little tentative in some ways, the same cannot be said of the follow up-Tarkus. Keith Emerson clearly took over a lot with this album especially the side one Tarkus suite. The arrangement is far more forceful than anything on the previous LP, especially the aggressively dramatic opener "Eruption" with its jazzy 5/4 time. Things settle down with the next movement, "Stones Of Years" which is an exquisitely beautiful bluesy song and incorporates a particularly fine Hammond solo. Things get heavier and more intense with "Iconoclast" and this is followed by another vocal section-"Mass"-a nice little rocker with some especially caustic lyrics from Lake. Another short but hectic instrumental "Manticore" which leads to another vocal section "Battlefield" with a strong anti war sentiment. The suite is rounded off with "Aqua Tarkus" which essentially reprises the opening section and the whole track goes out with a bang. So that's "Tarkus" and what a track it is. Probably everything that was great about ELP is encapsulated here.

Side 2 is a bit of a mixed bag but there are a couple of real gemes here."BitchesCrystal" is a terrific Boogie/Prog? Jazz crossover track. "A Time and A Place" is a fairly short but exhilarating Prog Rocker.I just love that track-it's probably a bit overlooked even by fans being as it is buried somewhat near the end of side 2.As for the rest of Side 2."Mass is OK but nothing special, "Jeremy Bender" is a brief humorous song but fairly expendable, "Infinite Space" is an interesting piano solo by Emerson similar in some ways to his "Three Fates" on the debut, and "Are You Ready Eddy" a light hearted boogie salute to the engineer Eddy Offard. Overal although inconsistent, Side 2 manages to be more than the sum of the individual tracks and hangs together well.

Tarkus is not without its faults but it remains one of the best examples of early Prog Rock

5 stars

Less than a year after the successful and homonymous debut album, and, after some skirmishes between Keith Emerson and Greg Lake regarding the musical direction they should follow, Emerson, Lake & Palmer releases "Tarkus". Conceptually very disparate, "Tarkus" brings together the extensive and powerful suite that gives the album its title, with a handful of songs that have no visible connections between them.

The suite "Tarkus", which occupies the first half of the album, composed of seven intertwined segments, is a constant back and forth of intense instrumental developments and paused vocal parts, where Emerson's display of virtuosity with his arsenal of pianos, hammonds and moogs, at times giddy and anxious as in "Eruption" and "Manticore", constantly take the lead. With the super active and masterful Carl Palmer and his very jazzy percussion, and Lake's bass and deep voice, especially in "Mass" and in the hypnotic "Battlefield", where he surprises with a calm and deep electric guitar solo (a very rarely used resource), the British trio completes one of their best compositions, if not the best. The fantasy story of the heroic armadillo-tank victor over the mythological villain Manticore in the perennial struggle between good and evil, concludes after almost 21 minutes with the agonizing "Aquatarkus".

The second half fails to sustain the brilliance of the first, and except for the brief and fun tavern rock of "Jeremy Bender", and the celestial and imposing organ in "The Only Way (Hymn)", the rest of the songs do not add much to the album: "Infinite Space" is a bit monotonous, Lake is heard too vocally forced for the demands of "A Time and a Place", and finally the fifties rockabilly "Are You Ready Eddy? "a joke on the famous sound engineer Eddie Offord (also a former Yes engineer), is out of context.

While the "Tarkus" suite is one of the proud emblems of the genre, a slightly more elaborate second half would have made the album a masterpiece for sure. But that's pure speculation.

4 stars