Reviewed by:
thenewblack745, on june 20, 2008
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Sound: Emerson, Lake and Palmer is a pretty big band from the '70s. Made up of Keith Emerson on keys, Greg Lake on bass and guitar and Carl Palmer on drums. The music is considered Progressive rock and is easily recognized by it's synth driven melodies back by amazing drumming and the stunning lyrics of Greg Lake. If you are like me and when you hear the phrase "synth-driven" you think of the horrible '80s synth music than I can assure you this is nowhere close to that. It is pure rock. Brain Salad Surgery is the album that best expresses E.L.P.'s amazing style. Like many of they're albums, Brain Salad Surgery has a bunch of smaller pieces and then one giant prog piece somewhere in the album. This tends to be the draw of the album. But with Brain Salad Surgery most tracks tend to draw you in. "Toccata" and "Jerusalem" are kind of classical based songs, but they work really well with the rock style. "Still You Turn Me On" is an awesome acoustic ballad by Greg Lake. And "Benny the Bouncer" is a strange honky-tonk piece, some people won't like, but I think it's hilarious. "Karn Evil 9" is perhaps the most awesome song on the album. Spanning 3 "impressions" each very unique yet still fitting with the rest of the song. Not to mention the 1st Impression's evil carnival feel, just blows you away once you hear it. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Greg Lake is an incredible lyricist. Spanning from near yells in Karn Evil 9 to his soothing singing in "Still You Turn Me On". The lyrics in "Karn Evil 9" perfectly fit the theme while also giving you something vaguely sentimental to hold on to. Up until "Still You Turn Me On" the vocals really don't stand out all that much. But when you do notice them, they're stunning. // 8
Impression: This is the best E.L.P. album easily. Every song has something enjoyable to it and it doesn't seem like any track is really filler. But like I said "Karn Evil 9" is the best song. The only thing I dislike about this album is that none of the songs have a heavy feel. Distortion is never used and it is so much different from the kind of rock most people are used to. But it is still an awesome listen. I suggest it to anyone who's a fan of Prog rock. // 9
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