Emerson, Lake and Palmer: Tarkus

October 19, 2008 · Posted in Emerson Lake and Palmer

Everything has it’s defining moment and Progressive Rock is no exception. Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s Second album Tarkus released in 1971 contains what many consider the epic suite that perhaps gave birth to Progressive Rock, the title track, Tarkus. Sure there was King Crimson, Gentle Giant and Van der Graff Generator a few years before the release of this album, and these great bands set the stage, with fresh innovation and experimentation that we’ve come to expect with great Prog, but it was Tarkus that took all this and solidified them, mixed, smashed, and came crashing through like the Americans at Omaha Beach in 1944. Keith Emerson starts off this epic with Eruption, the explosive birth of Tarkus, half tank, half armadillo a machine of death and destruction and this movement sets the stage well, utilizing a 10 beat, quick paced, well layered pianos and Hammond Organs sewn together by the rock solid rhythm section of Greg Lake and Carl Palmer. Listening to Eruption and the smooth transistion into The Stones of Years movement, it’s extremely hard to believe this was recorded in 1971!! Moving into The Stones of Years we get a taste of Greg Lake’s vocals and smooth bass lines, interupted with improvised solos and fills by Keith Emerson. The abrupt change of mood into Iconoclast gives a sense of urgency with Keith Emerson improvising some Hammond organ soloing that teeters on the edge of collapse at any moment, but held together perfectly as we, again abruptly, are thrown into the bleak outlook on organized religion, Mass. Being a Christian, some of the imagery placed forth in the lyrics Greg Lake chooses are disturbing as this is the common concensus of most non-believers, but even more disturbing is, there are churches and believers who in fact fit the mold the lyrics mock. Musically we are introduced to the increasingly present Moog synthesizer layered over a Piano and intersperced with a smattering of Hammond solos and fills. The song seamlessly moves into it’s next movement, the Manticore, which offers some awesome improvisations from Keith Emerson, soon brings forth probably the most powerful excersize of Prog ever done, Battlefield. This movement offers what I consider Greg Lake’s best work as a lyricist and songwriter. The epic themes and moving lyrics, only add to this masterpiece perfectly, and he doesn’t stop there, he introduces Lead soloing years ahead of it’s time. Today we can say it’s remeniscent of Dave Gilmour, only things is, Dave Gilmour didn’t offer leads such as these til 1972, with Dark Side of the Moon and even closer in 1975 with Wish You Were Here. The passion this power trio puts into the final touches of this movement is indescribable. We finish the track out with Aquatarkus, which brings the Moog to the front of the themes established in Battlefield. Each pass over, each member offers more layering and improvisation, while remaining true to the overall sound as Tarkus disappears from the story, we are revisited with the final chapter of Eruption which takes us to an outro worthy of an epic of this strength and caliber. There have been few songs to come close to the shear innovation that is Tarkus, Dream Theater came close with A Change of Seasons, and Neal Morse makes a darn good attempt with The Door, but my opinion is this still reigns as the true King of Prog, and will likely always be as well.

After the overwhelming power that is Tarkus, it is easy to forget there are other songs on this album, while lambasted as cheesy or childish, the other tracks are fun, catchy and with the exception of The Only Way (Hymn) pleasant lyrically, I enjoy them, though they’re not as much Classic Prog as they are 70s Pop Rock. The final assesment is the showcase, Tarkus broke ground and established itself as the song that set the standard that all Progressive Rock will be measured by, and the 6 other tracks also showcase the diverse talents of three iconic performers.