b o b

General prog consensus seems to have it that ELP peaked with this album, and that it was all downhill from here through the Works period, Love Beach, and the lackluster reunion albums of the 90s. While I generally agree about the Works-and-later material (although there are some nice bits here and there), I'm not so sure that Brain Salad Surgery is the classic that it's often touted as. The album opens with the power-keyboard-trio hymn "Jerusalem", which I've never been particularly fond of. The best track on the album comes after that though, with "Toccata" being a wicked, twisted electronic adaptation of Ginastera's First Piano Concerto, Fourth Movement. Before anyone thinks I'm putting on airs by picking the "classical adaptation" as my favorite track, I should admit that I've never heard the original... but I love the remake. After that we get a fairly lame ballad with fairly embarrassing lyrics (the whole thing just screams "70s bad taste") and a comic bar-room piano player type tune. I've never understood the slagging that "Benny the Bouncer" takes - it's meant to be a goofy little bit of fun, and that's exactly what it is. Doesn't humor belong in prog? Finally, the back half of the album (and then some) is taken up by the massive "Karn Evil 9". I don't quite understand why they felt the need to make this one big "prog epic", because the three "impressions" don't have much to do with each other and clearly could have been separate songs. The first impression (split across the original album sides, leaving part 2 as a radio-friendly tune under five minutes) is a decent song, but seems to repeat itself a lot and ramble on far too long (sort of like this review). The second impression is my favorite section. It's an instrumental featuring some of Emerson's best keyboard work on the disc, including a nice bit where the keyboards simulate steel drums and a middle section where things slow down and relax before the rip-roaring finale. The third impression abandons the "evil carnival" concept of the first section and instead becomes some sort of overwrought, goofy science-fiction story about a computer that takes over a space ship (or something like that). I always thought the quote from the Star Wars soundtrack in the music was intentional, but checking the dates I see that the movie actually came out four years after this album. All in all, this is an album that every prog fan should probably hear eventually. But I'd rank it behind the debut album and Tarkus, and maybe even Trilogy as well. review by Bob Eichler — 6-27-03 —

c o n r a d

A typically brash ELP rendition of the old hymn "Jerusalem" opens this album. In terms of the music, ELP probably chose well. The tune is a strong one, and holds up well when turned into an ELP power anthem; however, the lyrics are a bit of a concern. It's not that William Blake's longing for a pastoral ideal in the hellish reality of the the Industrial Revolution doesn't sit well with the menacing keyboards of Keith Emerson, much less the H.R. Giger man-meets-machine cover (incidentally my favourite album cover of all time). It's more the fact that it shows just how bad Greg Lake's lyrics are on track 3. "Still, you turn me on" would have to be one of the most frustrating ELP songs of all time. A nice arpeggio on the guitar and a good melody line make for a very good, if somewhat sentimental, ballad. Even the lyrics aren't too bad, though being directly after lyrics by William Blake they look a little pale. And then comes the chorus with that stupid line which gave the song its title, and some completely out of place electric guitar put through a wah-wah pedal. The centrepiece of this album, though, is the epic "Karn Evil 9". Split into three sections, it starts on Side 1 of the old vinyl LP and takes up all of Side 2 as well. It's typical ELP, with Emerson's keyboard work superb as always. There's also some good lead guitar by Greg Lake, and one of the best vocal melodies ELP has ever written. The third impression has a "space opera" feel to it, whose ridiculous grandeur suits the music to a tee. On top of that, I'm sure I can hear a foreshadowing of the Star Wars theme in there too. "Karn Evil 9" is a showcase for everything that ELP does well, unified into a coherent whole. Every ELP album is a mixed bag in terms of quality, and this album is no exception. The two songs I have not mentioned above are a brilliant arrangement of a piece by a modern South American composer and an attempt at humour that falls flat on its face, which probably illustrate my point. In all, however, the best music on this album exceeds that on other ELP albums in terms of both quality and quantity. My advice is to take the good with the bad and enjoy the ride. Just don't listen too closely to the lyrics after "Jerusalem". review by Conrad Leviston — 5-1-03 —

h e a t h e r

Beyond the sinister H.R. Giger cover and dark William Blake lyrics, the music here is actually somewhat colorful and occasionally even light. Musically, there is a mix of English, Elgar-like pomp ("Jerusalem" and the final section of "Karn Evil 9"), ragtime/jazz ("Benny the Bouncer" and the Impressions section of "Karn Evil 9"), ferocious music based in Argentina’s folk tradition ("Toccata", an Alberto Ginastera composition), and a mix of classical counterpoint and hard rock (the first section of "Karn Evil 9"). All of the elements are usually amped-up, heavy rock, in the normal ELP style. Then of course there is the required cheesy ELP ballad thrown in. Surprisingly, ELPs version of "Toccata" sounds fairly similar to Ginastera’s original folk ballets, so if you like that, it may be worth your time to investigate the music of Ginastera. review by Heather Mackenzie — 11-4-03 —

j o e

ELP's fifth album and out of all their efforts, Brain Salad Surgery boasts the best production quality and use of available technology out of any of their albums, as by this point they were in full stride as a popular and commercial force who could afford it. Then, of course, there's the magnificent H.R. Giger cover, a nightmarish icon of humanity literally embedded within technology. Musically, this album contains some of the best work they ever achieved as a unit, though offset by a few cracks in the paint, I am prevented from calling it their most consistent effort overall (a title I would probably afford to their previous album, Trilogy). The album opens up with a stately cathedral rock re-working of the British hymn "Jerusalem," then swings directly into a mind-bending adaptation of Argentinian composer Albert Ginastera's "Tocatta Concertata (Presto)," taken from his Piano Concerto No. 1. Adorned with needle-sharp Moog and grating Hammond nipping at your nose, this mechanistic tarantella is the perfect audio complement to Giger's painting. Emerson adapted many classical pieces both for the whole unit and in his solo spots, but "Tocatta" is the best one by a long shot. In its comparative obscurity and use of dissonance, I feel this is the kind of stuff that they should have attempted more often. I can see why Ginastera would have been impressed upon hearing this electronic transformation of his music. The album's centerpiece is "Karn Evil 9," which consists of three 'Impressions,' the first of which is further subdivided into two parts. The first Impression gets things off to a strong start, and by the time you get to "Part 2" of the song, the most frequently played ELP song on the radio nowadays, you are hearing the peak of a band successfully balancing their unique rock virtuosity with the capacity for popular appeal. The entirely instrumental second Impression is another apex track. Note to those who feel compelled to engage in 'Wakeman versus Emerson: Who's Better?' pissing matches ("better" almost always being a synonym for technical ability): I've never heard Wakeman compose anything as sophisticated or play anything even remotely as technically demanding as what is represented here. The third and final Impression is the least of the three, not so much musically, but in terms of carrying an awkward man versus omnipotent computer narrative. Still, the use of the primitive sequencer and rapid cyclical channeling that closes the piece out is a legendary album ending. The paint cracks previously mentioned are "Benny the Bouncer" and "Still...You Turn Me On." The former is a forgettable ELP comic trifle with "Oi...where's me teef, Mum?" vocals. The latter is a Greg Lake ballad that I never really liked all that much, even disregarding its laughable lyrics. I think it has something to do with that out-of-place wah-wah used in the chorus. For most fans, possibly excepting the 80s album they made with Cozy Powell substituting for Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery was this band's final hurrah. To sum up (ahem): This one's got a lot of power/ it'll never sour/you'll want to take a shower! review by Joe McGlinchey — 3-15-04 —