Emerson, Lake & Palmer- Tarkus (First Listen)
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
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When you have only 3 musicians to make the whole master-piece like Tarkus then ALL the members demonstrate their genius. no choice.
In much appreciation for RUSH, but many would say it took three guys to produce that much music. It took these GUYS to make this music!
No band is in ELP's league!!
3 guy's making this much music... it the best!
R.I.P Keith and Greg..Thank you so much for your awesome Music ...And please Carl, hold the Memory in the Light..i know, you do it 🥰🤗 i forget, this is a Monster of Prog Rock and today i hear NIGHTWISH, Withhin Temptation, etc Symphonic Metal..🤗
I'll never forget the first time I heard this. My older brother brought home this LP and we listened to it together. I was like "holy cow - what was that ?". Still love it to this day. The entire LP is terrific.
Your exact statements apply to me, too! Older brother in 1972 when I was 8.
My exact reaction too. "What the f*** was THAT?"
My first listen to ELP and it blew my mind.
Thank you for your analysis of this masterpiece! This Album was the second ELP record I bought as a 13 year old kiddo. I scraped up enough dough to buy this record only a week after picking up Trilogy. I was hooked, man.
The first time I sat the needle down on this vinyl I was in awe for an entire album side!!!
OMG ! Tarkus is like audio candy... no, butter... no, milk chocolate or bacon... just totally yummy. I had not been stoned before, but I was totally high after hearing that tune!
Again, thanks for putting into words on this video, nearly everything I’ve thought about this piece for nearly 50 years!
ELP may never be matched.
Cheers!
What is Tarkus about?
Emerson: An armadillo tank who fights other half robot creatures and is ultimately defeated by the non-robotic Manticore.
Lake: the futility of war.
Palmer: 9/8.
😅
Yes, you can take Emerson's themes literally. They are basically comic book stories. Youthful imagination plus incredible skills equals some very hyper aggressive playing.
@@sapinva Karn Evil 9 would make an excellent comic book.
5/4.
One of the best songs for headphones. So much crazy talent in this band.
Tarkus was my very first encounter with Prog Rock. I listened to this piece in a white painted cellar with a disco ball on the ceiling. The music came from a big tape, and my friend didn't know, who's playing. I was faszinated and totally hooked - his elder brother told me then the name of this group: Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Greg Lake is a very underrated guitarist/bassist and a fantastic singer. My freshman (1971) music teacher turned me on to this album and they became my favorite band, I saw them perform at least 10 times. The true meaning of progressive rock, they took it to another level. Each member is a virtuoso in their own right.
Greg had a gorgeous voice, especially when he was young His singing on Epitaph by King Crimson will make you weep, and Bitches Crystal and A Time And A Place (both from Tarkus) have some very respectable yelling/screaming moments. So sad neither Greg nor Keith are with us anymore.
I totally agree about Epitaph and the rest of King Crimson with Lake. Copyright rules are not allowing reactions to King Crimson from what I understand.
His singing in crimson is better than elp
@mags jay check out Chiara Kilchling. That girl has a voice.
I have a good memory that revolves around Tarkus. I used to drum & had a kit in my bedroom in Cherry Hill, NJ and learned Tarkus. I used to BLAST my stereo playing this; I was 13 or 14 at the time. My neighbor across the street, Mr. Kemp, heard this & knocked on our door. He was gushing about this song, big time. He must've been around 70 years old at that time in 1983.
A few weeks later, I heard Tarkus blasting from his open windows across the street. That man became a huge fan of the band, Keith Emerson in particular....😎🇺🇸
Thats the type of story I like to hear!
@@JustJP
My mother fondly remembers this, too. Actually, she became a fan of the song, because Mr. Kemp highlighted that the song even existed to her. Tarkus probably blended in with all the other music I played back then in rapture. Yes, ELP, King Crimson, The Nice, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Argent and on and on...
After asking why Mr. Kemp was at the door ? She then had to listen to it with what I imagine to be extra large ears... And our neighbor was friendly enough; a wave from across the street, a talk at the end of the driveway. But for him to knock at the door was a bit outside of the ordinary.
She still loves Tarkus to this day. Her favorite part is the Hammond Keith plays right before Greg sings, "Has the dawn ever seen your eyes ?" Gotta admit, it does sound cool, that Hammond & Leslie.
Heck, given that she's 81 now, she listens to stuff I'd listened to for years now. Floyd, Moody Blues, Jackson Browne...
Mom was in high school when rock 'n roll just got started, in '55-'59. She thought Pelvis Pretzel was ok, but liked Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats & Jerry Lee better.
Small world! I used to work at the Acme supermarket in nearby Westmont and sometimes used to go to a wonderful used record store called "Plastic Fantastic" across from where the Garden State Park racetrack used to be. Also went to the Cherry Hill Mall MANY times in the 1960's-1980's (my family moved out of South Jersey in 1989 and I with them... 😥 Love, love, LOVE your story (and how it illustrates music's ability to bridge and link generations)! Hope you're still tinkering with those drums; music is such a delightful safe natural drug... Yum!
I'll never forget the first time I heard Tarkus. ELP live on stage months before the album was released. It just blew me away. Wow!
Quite simply the greatest rock composition ever. Incredible how no matter where this melody travels, it resolves itself perfectly.
I have herd this song hundreds of times since 71. Its a prog masterpiece. YES opened for ELP in Detroit in 71. One of my all time favorite concerts. Tickets were 5 bucks!!!
This song is a monster! Prog taken to it’s limits! I LOVE it😄
My favorite recording of this is live on welcome back my friends to the show that never ends ladies and gentlemen Emerson Lake and Palmer. Emerson and Palmer show why they were number one in all the polls. Epic
This is essential ELP and one of the classic prog epics. For me, not their best album overall, but probably the best track/suite.
LOVED IT.
What's your favorite album, then ?
@@craigfazekas3923 triigy
trilogy sorry
@@craigfazekas3923 trilogy sorry
Tarkus is now being considered a classical piece by young Asian conductors, and it has been recorded by a few orchestras as a piece of classical music! The result nothing to envy to Mussorgsky or Stravinsky it is a very 19th -20th century style piece of classical music played by a rock group!
I think this was the first of the album-side prog classics, pre-dating Close to the Edge, Supper's Ready, Echoes, 2112 and Thich as a Brick.Possibly the most influential prog after In the Court of the Crimson King.
YESSSS
@@mikos.o187 Emerson had already done 2 side long pieces with The Nice, "Five Bridges" and "Ars Longa, Vita Brevis", and ELP did PAAE before recording the first album (and on the tour). "Tarkus" is my favorite piece of all time.
@@mikos.o187 PAWN HEARTS is also 1971. A Plague is one of my favorite Prog suits.
@Lewis 970 Yesss!! That’s my favorite epic by Rush!
You missed not only Atom Heart Mother, but also Echoes, both Pink Floyd.
And that - ladies and gentlemen - is how it's done......... Simply..........wonderful!
I enjoy your show very much. He it's like listening to my favourite music with a friend who never heard it before. ELP , Yes, and Genesis(!) are my favourites.
It feels the same to me! :D
Feeling is mutual!
Apparently, when Emerson and Palmer began working on this track (Palmer’s opening drum pattern was the spark), Lake hated it and refused to work on it. It seemed like they would break up after only one lp but Lake eventually agreed to work on the track and got into it.
Palmer brought the 5/4 pattern to Emerson. Emerson worked with it and took it to Lake, who said Emerson should do it as a solo project. Emerson had no interest in a solo project and was really pissed. He went back to Palmer, and they enlisted management to try to convince Lake to move forward with it. They added a top line and lyrics, which is what made it palatable. Now it's considered one of their masterpieces.
Among the greatest voices in Rock music! Gregs voice is unique and beyond beautiful.
I started here in 1971 when it was released and my mind was blown.
I love Greg's voice. It is actually integral to my childhood and whole life. I've enjoyed it soooo much.
I am 66 ,but in one instant I became 18 and I was transported exactly where I was when I heard this masterpiece for the first time.I waited for this one but it was worth it.Thank you kindly Justin.You make my day.Since the first note came out of Lake's voice,it was gold to me.
Ty so much Elaine, happy you enjoyed it
LOVE LOVE LOVE Lake's voice..
ELP was the discovery that a keyboard could be more than filler. Amazing album. My brother was a keyboard player and he spent weeks learning this album. He could play it letter perfect. Thanks for reviewing it.
Gregg Lake and John Wetton both always reminded me of the vocal timbre of John Lennon. They were both vocalist, bass/guitar players who moved within similar prog circles(King Crimson),UK, Asia. Thanks for sharing your journey with us, taking some of us back to relive these great works of the music masters.✌️♥️
I give you credit, Justin. Most people I know who are around your age or younger don't appreciate Tarkus (or ELP in general). In talking to them about that, I have come to think that it's mostly Emerson's various keyboards & style which is alien to the modern ear. Most music today with keyboards are either piano or what I call conventional use of synths...& the organ is almost forgotten entirely. One of my fav albums of that era was an entirely keyboard prog/classical masterpiece by Rick Wakeman called 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'. (Entirely instrumental) It is another album which elicits head scratches when I play it for people today. ahahahahha.
As a 40 something fan of prog, the Hammond organ in the hands of Jon Lord and several others, and out there music in general... I have a hard time getting into Tarkus. But once I do, it is so worth it as the various movements of the song weave wonderfully together.
Ty Eric! I just have a wide variety of taste lol
The only flaw (if it is one) with "Six Wives" was that the movements are out of order of the wives.
As a 26 years old, i didn't like this song the first time i eard it, even as a big prog fan. ELP was hard for me to get into, but now i absolutely love them and especially the singer. It's really old school prog type of song, and is hard to get into when you are born listening to modern song i guess.
That's an interesting point, Eric. Keyboards seems to be little used in today's music. Just that overwrapping synth sound that you get, or a few stab chords on the synths. I'm not musician, but I heard a year or two ago that most modern pop songs are written on guitar, rather than piano or organ - that's why they all sound the same now.
Thank you JP for reviewing the long awaited Tarkus, and another great start to the weekend.
For a long time this was my favorite piece of music. I listened to it over and over just loving the different rhythms and the masterful progressive instructions with Greg's fantastic vocals. It's still in my top 3 behind Close to the Edge and Awaken.
I grew up listening mainly to classical music until my brother the rebel brought rock music into the house (Zeppelin). So Tarkus was a bridge between those musical genres. It started my journey down the progress rock rabbit hole.
Also love the ELP version of Pictures at an Exhibition
I heard it first in 1972...And I think it's still my favorite Prog album.
My opinion is: Greg Lake is a great singer, great bassist and great guitarist.
was :(
And great producer.
Jacques, he could have been in any band for just any of these skills.
Meh he was an ok guitarist, but he was among the greatest singers and bassists of rock and prog music of his time!
And songwriter.
I saw them play this live in 1972 along with most of the first album, Pictures at an Exhibition and the Trilogy album which had just been released. It's almost unbelievable that a group of 3 could play this stuff live. One of the greatest concerts I ever attended. Besides, since it was a last-minute addition to the tour, we were able to turn up and buy tickets at the door. They cost something like £3 ($5).
PS: When Emerson reformed The Nice in the early 2000s, they recorded a totally instrumental version of this on the "Vivacitas" album.
Greg Lake's voice is superb. It's one of the most beautiful voices ever IMO. He is capable of so much sweetness in his voice on certain songs while getting down and dirty on other songs. I played piano growing up so I'm in such awe of Emerson's playing ability. Saw Emerson, Lake and Powell (Cozy). Palmer was playing with Asia at the time. They cleared the stage and lowered a grand piano and he sat down and played a beautiful piece of music that is not on any of my albums. Wish I knew what it was. I gained my appreciation for ELP in high school on trips in a friends van that had quad sound. Can you believe Carl Palmer didn't even make Rolling Stone's top 100 drummers of all time? Criminal.
Criminal indeed tbh
You remind me of a younger version of me... 1985ish, I was in college, and discovered ELP and the Tarkus album for the first time. I was blown away, loved the classical nature, the hard-driving drums/organ, and Lake's voice with the Pete Sinfield lyrics. 35 years later, I am still listening to Tarkus regularly - a prog classic!
Lake wrote these lyrics.
I've been waiting for this! Still remember the first time I heard this. I had heard Lucky Man but it wasn't enough to "hook" me. I was 15. My dad owned an old Victorian house & was doing some work. He left me with the stereo & records that belonged to one of his roommates. The cover intrigued me, so Tarkus went on the turntable. I think my mouth hung open the entire time. Been a dedicated fan ever since 1972.
A mind blowing masterpiece. One of the best prog suite that exists. It has everything, even emotional ballads (but not corny - of course, Lake's voice gives us the most part of this emotion). Lake's vocals add accessibility, warmth and simply, beauty, to ELP music, which, otherwise is so technical and it could even be considered rather cool, without Lake's vocals.The alternance of tones and rhythms in the successive sections is great too. And, yes, this is beyond experimentation, it's already a great achievement. Of course, Battlefield is so majestic, emotional and classical in it's style (and the guitar solo is an unexpected bonus), this is why it's so impressive.
Choice excellent, grasshopper! I'm a senior citizen, and watched them perform the live version numerous times. It's an experience beyond words. This kind of music will never die. Treat yourself to a listen 2A live version. Wichita Kansas comes to mind I'm home. For Rich stadium in Buffalo New York. Good day sir!
Ty Joe!🦗
Fact: Greg Lake can soothe a tiger with his voice.
Yes, he actually did. www.emersonlakepalmer.com/Gallery8.html
One of the best things that happened to me my 1st year at Mich. St. Univ. was when ELP came to campus to perform. Songs come alive in concert. You really see the showmanship and close knit playing of Keith, Greg and Carl! They absolutely feed off each other's skills, and yes, they carefully watch each other so they mesh their playing. In most bands, the drummer keeps the beat in the song, in ELP, Carl enhances Keith and Greg with his drum playing. I really did not appreciate classical music, and ELP as much, until seeing them act as one organic machine with some of the most talent ever assembled together.
Love Greg Lake's voice! "Epitaph" (King Crimson) is still one of my favorite songs of all time... His voice is a huge part of why it works!
An ELP album I love that doesn't get mentioned much is "Pictures at an Exhibition"
I totally agree! Maybe because it's a live album. Seeing Tarkus performed live was epic but then again so was the whole show!
Yep !!! I listen to it constantly. It's a masterpiece !!
It’s wild
I can't imagine someone not liking Greg Lake's voice. You made so many good points I can't even touch on them all. Keep up the good work Justin!
Haha ty Mark!
Greg Lake's voice was perfect for this band. Also King Crimson.
Sounds like Lake was in charge. Reminds me of King Crimson. I love Lakes voice, and guitar playing. Palmer on drums should be remembered as one of the greats. Emerson always in the front not to be missed. All great talents, they belong together.
To see them do this live, when you had no idea what you were in for...well...you just had to be there. SO cool to see someone a generation later totally getting this!
Ty Jupiter! I can imagine how amazing it was
Thanks for the review, JP. Glad you are enjoying ELP. Their self-indulgence is the main reason I listened to them back in the 70s. When you are that good, why not indulge? Great video.
In answer to your question: Yes, absolutely love Greg Lake's voice. It's distinctive and almost angelic. So many rich textures in his delivery.
Thank you so much for this !
First heard this when I was about 14 ?
And I'm freakin' 62 ! ;-)
Yes JP, we all just can't wait to hear Greg Lakes voice come in!
Nice to see you get to the meat of the matter with ELP. I do love Lake's voice. I only saw him once with Emerson, Lake and Powell, an 80's version of the band, and he was great. There are still 2 places to go for live ELP after the band... Carl's ELP Legacy, which is reimagined for guitar instead of keys, and Rachel Flowers, who plays just like Keith when she wants to. Rachel is worth checking out on her own... a true prodigy. Her solo stuff shows her prog influences with more than a touch of Stevie Wonder.
Rachel Flowers played at the memorial concert for Emerson and the compere wiped her tears as she played. She is the true keeper of the ELP flame.
She is amazing!! Did you see the video where she picked up a Chapman Stick for the first time and said "oh, this is hard" and then proceeded to rip it to shreds. 😂
Sorry for too many texts. Their earliest recording was Pictures at an Exhibition which was a live album releases after the debut album. Pictures really is mostly Mussorgsky and has added parts by them including vocals on "Gates of Kiev".
Tarkus is excellent. Stones of Years is epic !!!!!! And yes, Greg Lake's voice is so smooth.
I've always loved that percussive effect Emerson gets on his Hammond organ. But all three are master musicians.
LOVE Greg Lake's voice. It has such power. And his range was also much larger than usual. He can go high, but also very low. He can croon, but he can belt. He never really used vibrato, and never screamed, but he possessed a more capacious arsenal than the vast majority of rock vocalists.
I lived Lake's voice......saw the five times back in the day.
First, Lake's voice is terrific, he brought a solid presence to whatever he sang. Second, if you like this version of the song, you should hear the live version off of 'Welcome Back My Friends'. After 'Battlefield', they include a piece called 'Epitaph' which is something Lake did with King Crimson. It's a good fit with the rest of the piece. Every time I hear this song I'm reminded again at what a master Emerson was at the left hand ostinato. Also hard to believe that Palmer was only 19-20 years old when he did this song. Definitely a master drummer!
You are right about that left hand. I tried the ostenato on Take A Pebble but couldn't sustain it. The piano teacher admitted that there is a huge time commitment to master. It gave me much appreciation for what Emmerson is doing.
@William Riddlesworth Works is really well produced. Years ago whenever I moved to a new location and set up my stereo, I would always play 'Fanfare for the Common Man' as the first song. Sounds really good when played loud. :-) You are correct that Lake's voice is superb on Works.
Thanks! My favorite ELP song. Epic journey.
You're welcome 😊
YESSSSSSS!!!!!! Tarkus! And yes, Greg Lake's voice is amazing.
😃
You really enjoyed that!! I'm looking forward to you hearing A Time and a Place from that album. This is ELP at my favorite time. So adventurous!
Excellent. Now for Pictures at an Exhibition. Epic shit!
Monumental work JP. Love all your videos, man. To me, Lake had the best voice for progressive rock. The songs he sang for Crimson and ELP are magical. Jerusalem is one of his best efforts. Check it out!
Just the best of progressive from ELP ☝️ thanks for the reaction you are the best ☝️
Thank you 😃
Great reaction. I'd definitely recommend checking out Jordan Rudess's cover of Tarkus. It somehow manages to sound very faithful to the original while also sounding very modern and with his own spin on the piece. The ending in particular has the epicness cranked up to 11. It also features Steven Wilson and Kip Winger on vocals.
And I'm a big fan of Greg Lake's singing. Epitaph by King Crimson? The combination of the mellotron and Lake's voice gives me goose bumps.
Thanks for your great review - Little know fact - Tarkus was recorded over 5 days and when the band recorded it they could not play all of the parts together. The recording engineer - Eddie Offord did an incredible job sewing the movements together to create the whole of Tarkus. The band then had to learn how to play it live after the album was completed. There was a time they toured with a large prop of the beast that shot stryofoam pellets and that stopped when Keith's pellet filled piano had to be cleaned out during a show
Ty Wayne!
No weak links in that ensemble!
Can't wait till you get to side 2 of Works Vol. 1 for Greg's voice. In answer to your question, personally, Greg's voice was singular. Nobody else sounded like him. Closer To Believing is the song I would love to watch you hear. As an aside, they could play their music live with aplomb. Welcome Back My Friends, the triple live album and Works Live in Toronto with a full orchestra are just jaw-dropping stunning. I was fortunate to see them several times over the years, particularly in their prime, and they could flatten an audience with talent and showmanship.
Great voice and versatile. His vocals are really amazing in the live version of Tarkus.
Another great reaction Justin, the rest of the album contains a few great tracks and a few less than great tracks.
I'm very glad you chose the studio version of Tarkus to listen to first but you really should give the live version from the "Welcome Back My Friends" album a listen even if privately, the playing is generally slicker (as i feel the original can sound a bit stodgy at times) plus it has an extended "Aquatarkus" section that is absolutely mind blowing, and in my opinion is Keith Emerson at his absolute best, give it a try, you won't be disappointed.
I've got to tell you Justin that i watch a lot of RUclips and the highlight of the day is at about 1pm UK time (give or take 30 mins) when the latest JUSTJP video arrives on the platform, love your work Justin and hopefully breathing new life into some of this older music !! ...
robert barnett I absolutely agree with you about the live version on “Welcome Back”. It’s a masterpiece and one of my favorite tracks by any band I’ve listened to.
Thank you so much Robert, that makes my night hearing that. Hope you enjoy your weekend, and ty for letting me about the live version
Karn Evil 9. It's on another level. Always felt like that was part two of Tarkus, there are many common musical themes.
hey man, you make me feel like I should be 16 again and rediscover all this again, what fun it was, and it would be great to relive all this again…
Great album And band E.L.P. 🤟🤘
Nice job. And you're right, my first listen was an eye opener. Instantly my favorite song from them. I can't say that's changed in all the years since that first listen. I've always loved Greg's voice.
I really appreciate your take of this song. For me this is the best ELP tune. Maybe because it is so melodious in the song. I like how they move together the bass and drums with the organ. For me a masterpiece
You really have a gift for making and then communicating observations that takes most people many listens to accomplish. I've never thought of the similarity to VdGG's dramatic organ to vocal transitions before for example. Great to see more "younger" people discovering music like this. I love Tarkus but Karn Evil 9 is when everything seemed to completely gel for them IMO. Trilogy and Pictures are also masterpieces with their own unique styles. Thanks again Justin!
Appreciate that J!
Yes Greg had arguably one of the greatest prog rock voices ever!!!!!
There are a few bands that do covers of Tarkus. they make the same mistakes of using digital synths and you can't. This song was meant to be played with analog and only analog. Great listen and review! Greg is greatly underappreciated as a guitarist. He had the david Gilmour sound before David had it.
One of my first album I purchased around 1978, while disco and punk rock are ruling the world. The more I listened to it, the better it was. It is like so much is going on that piece.
You have to do Pictures at an exhibition one of my favourite albums ever.
One of the reasons I usually listen to the live version from "Welcome Back My Friends..." is because the studio version doesn't have the "Epitaph" portion of the song. You'd love Lake's voice on that.
It's also simply a much better performance. The studio version sounds plodding and insecure by comparison. I think by the time they'd gone onstage and played it a few times even Emerson's confidence in his composition improved.
Hi, you're very on point. If you noticed through Tarkus they went through classical, Jazz beats, blues. And them transitions.... and yes they speak to each other with them instruments.
Greg Lake, especially in his earlier years I call angelic.
That drumming youre mentioning, if you listen carefully, are two separate beats almost drum rolls on a snare and tom. That beat rings in my ears sometimes when I drive.
Keith totally shreds the Hammond D4 organ
Of course this is great stuff, but I suggest you listen to the live version from the “Welcome Back my Friends” album now that you have context. It’s my favorite version of the song because the band been playing it for a couple years now and it feels super cohesive. It even includes Greg Lake singing a bit of Epitaph!
Greg Lake's voice is my main reason for liking both ELP and King Crimson - he appears in both.
He has the most likeable voice of the genre.
Along with Peter Gabriel voice they rank at top of my favourites.
nice review - yes just an awesome band - so talented - and so much and full music with just 3 players and yes Greg Lake and Carl Palmer just so awesome as well and so understated - never seen a drummer like Carl Palmer. - seen them live several times - Drum solo at Calofornia Jam and at Olympic Stadium in Canada 1977 just the greatest
their music is timeless - their fans are fans for live. and yes I love Gregs voice
Good stuff JP. I wasn't sold on ELP when I first heard them, it was this and Pictures at an Exhibition. But after hearing the first album, Trilogy, BSS, I was hooked and revisited Tarkus and of course love it now. Saw them live way back. Heavily influenced by the avant garde pianists/composers, they surely had their own thing. Well done.
Also wanted to add - from my music major classes in college, our instructor taught us that all rhythm patterns are in combinations of 2 and/or 3, so although the beginning riff could be thought of as in 5/8 time signature, it actually is 2+2+3+3, which they also use in later portions of the album. All in all - the members were all amazing musicians to be able to play these unusual patterns.
Ty for that!
Absolutely love Greg Lake's vocals. i'm not a massive ELP fan admittedly, but in all of prog, Greg Lake is def one of my favorite vocalists. I'd say epitaph is his greatest vocal performance.
ELP....YES.....ASIA
U K ( John Wetton ) is also a very good progressive band ( first album with Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth )
about music, maybe, Keith is the creative genius, Greg is the genius who take care of Keith (don't strap, my friend... and imagine what if Keith was totally free), Karl is the genius who... play whatever, I'm here! I've never heard something similar (not only Tarkus, I mean until 1973 (1974 with Welcome back my friends... live). This trio is a gift for music of all time.
So glad you finally did this. An epic piece of work and my favorite song by ELP and probably in my Top 5 (I have probably said that about 30-40 songs now since it's so hard to choose). Emerson is a machine which I always have to give respect to but for me, what really stood out was Carl Palmer. His drumming for this is out of this world. The entire Trilogy album is another you need to listen to as well as Pantagruel's Nativity and Nothing at All by Gentle Giant.
My god TARKUS Justin.. Awesome butty.. Been waiting for this Masterpiece.
I love this song so much Justin. Everything about thus opus is sublime imho. ❤️
Greg's voice is stunning, Keith's keyboard work I've admired for a very long time butty.. He is my idol tbh. What a genius he was butty 😊
Carl's drums are so important to Tarkus.. His feel, technique Wow.. Everytime I've played this song it never fails to impress me Justin.. What an amazing band they were.
Your review is awesome too butty.. You do this so much justice imho. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Wonderful butty.. I hope you get to relive this piece of Art..a Prog Masterpiece for as many years as I have Justin.
Eruption, amazing.. Stones.. Beautiful piece. It all blows me away everytime butty. 😊
Thanks so much for you doing these timeless masterpieces butty.
You've made my weekend, again lol ❤️👍👍👍
Ty so much Neil, I hope you have a great weekend!
Remember long hours playing chess in '73 to this - throw on ELP, Yes, Genesis, Cream etc and play. The music seeps into your subconscious and gels into the moment, as frowning you figure out that complex knight trade, but are the pawns ready for the counterpush - and is it all worth it? Then Trilogy comes on, or DSOTM... the music turns and suddenly it's the endgame. Magic
Ooo I like that! Music to match the "match"♟
39:09 "If you have the goods, flaunt your goods"
Quote of the day : )
🤣
Regarding his voice there is only one word SWOON. Justin you absolutely nailed this analysis. Best one yet and you have done some great ones. Glad you mentioned ELP is made up of only 3 guys. Can you imaging Greg Lake and Jon Anderson singing together? OMG
Jon Anderson and Greg Lake singing together? That would be awesome.
Stephanie, I don't know if Justin has covered From the Beginning yet, but for me that's Greg at his best in terms of songwriting, playing and singing. I've posted comments on other reactor channels about my feelings about Jon Anderson (always positive) and his genius lyricism.
@@tonyanderton3521 what about Take A Pebble?
@@stephaniethurmer5370 Wow! Take a Pebble is very very beautiful and has always been one my favourite ELP songs. And I read that Greg was just 12 years old when he wrote Lucky Man. I don't think that Justin mentioned the jazz element of the band. I love the way that they can shift, seemingly effortlessly, from either classical or rock to a jazz mode, as in Take a Pebble or Stones of Years (pt 2 of Tarkus). I was just listening to Yes' Awaken only yesterday and thought how that music and Jon Anderson's voice takes us as if towards the heavens. Same with Greg. And together? Sadly, Stephanie, we''ll never know.
ELP have groupies? 😲
I didn't realise until almost 8 months after you posted this that you'd done a review of Tarkus's title track. So I'm a bit late with adding this comment - and so I hope you'll get to see it.
Tarkus has always been one of my favourite albums of all time. The sheer artistry, complexity and musical dynamism of the piece is an exemplary achievement of true progressive music which transcends the genre, standing in a field of its own as their defining masterpiece. Any attempt at covering it, or any part of it, is destined to fail to match its sheer grandeur... except in one instance. I wonder how many have heard of the young, blind, female keyboardist Rachel Flowers? She is an exceptional talent for one so handicapped, but this did not deter her from playing her own version of Tarkus, which is impressive beyond measure. Other than the vocals, drumming and percussion, and the studio effects, she plays the piece absolutely flat out perfect, in a single take, on her own, and without any obvious overdubs or technical trickery. You can find it here - ruclips.net/video/FLT3Cb96-Mk/видео.html. Watch, enjoy and marvel. Incredible achievement!
One brief footnote: when I first bought the Tarkus album, pre-recorded cassettes were the state of the art, and I got it in that format. But I was always confused by the track listing, with no timings given. The title track was shown as having six segments, ending at Battlefield. For many years, I was under the misbelief that that was the full cut, and that the start of side two, Aquatarkus, was a separate track - until I eventually realised on hearing it on CD that it was actually the final segment of Tarkus. What the record company had done, in order to save tape and make the sides of more equal length, was to edit Aquatarkus from the end of the suite and make it the first track on side two. So with the CD, the huge gong crash at the start of Aquatarkus, after the long, slow fade of Battlefield, still makes me jump to this day! Much like it did you, JP!!
And yes, I totally get your comparison of a part of the track with Van der Graaf Generator!
Greg is probably the most underrated bass player ever
For me this album side is ELP's greatest achievement. There's a coherence flowing through it that keeps disparate elements together as a magnificent whole. It helps that I love that pure Hammond organ sound, of course. Answer to the question, I love Greg Lake's voice. It's so powerful, clear and expressive. Greg was one of the few Brits that sang in his native accent. This adds that extra little touch of 'class'. Check out 'The Sage' from "Pictures At An Exibition" as a grand example of his world class voice and stupendous guitar playing ability...
Rob Bryant The Sage is a favorite performance for me by Greg...master acoustic guitar playing. Was it at Isle of Wite (sp)?
Magnificent !!
The best version of Tarkus is actually Live on “Ladies and Gentlemen” from the 74 tour. It was fuller and much more fleshed out. They were at their peak.
Definitely. I think even Emerson's confidence in his own composition had improved.
Lake comes from King Crimson he was lead vocal and bass
Greg Lake's voice was what made me follow him from King Crimson as he went into this little unusual project with the Nice's keyboardist and CWoAB/Atomic Rooster's drummer. They then coalesced into my lifelong #1 band.