Release date: November 19, 1973
Singles: Jerusalem
Given that Halloween is coming up shortly, this seems like a great time for this album considering the cover art features a skull. "Brain Salad Surgery" also sounds kind of gruesome and scary. At least, until you look it up and find out that it is actually a euphemism for fellatio (I guess when getting blown the penis looks like it's doing brain surgery?). And then you notice the faint penis approaching the mouth on the cover. And Halloween is ruined. Or made way better, depending on whether Halloween to you is about being scared or about seeing girls dressed up in skimpy costumes.
Anyway, on to the music. It is, in typical Emerson, Lake & Palmer fashion, a little weird. There are interpretations of classical music using synthesizers. There is Keith Emerson using a voice modulator to sound like a robot. There is a song with three movements that is too long to fit onto a single side of the album. In short, it is prog rock at its proggiest. So if you don't like prog rock, you are going to think this album is a giant turd.
Rating: 3 skull fucks - This is definitely one of those albums that you have to be in the right mood to listen to. Definitely not background music. The centerpiece of the album, "Karn Evil 9," is great and I like "Jerusalem," but the remainder of the songs seem kind of like filler. A nice addition for fans of ELP, but otherwise nothing more than a bargain bin pickup (which, by the way, is where I got it.)
Now here is the quintessential ELP track, "Toccata." It is an adaptation of the fourth movement of Ginastera's 1st piano concerto. Apparently, Ginastera himself liked it, and gave his permission for ELP to use it on the album.
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