Brain Salad Surgery (Barry Diament Mastering)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2002 Victor Entertainment, Inc - Japan
Originally Released November 19, 1973
Remastered Edition Released July 16, 1996
Japanese Mini LP Version Released November 25, 2002
Japanese Version featuring a Limited Edition LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing Only.
Amazon.com Album Description
Japanese exclusive24-bit K2 remastered reissue of 1985 album. Packaged in a limited edition miniature LP sleeve.
AMG EXPERT REVIEW: The trio'smost successful and well-realized album (after their first), andtheir most ambitious as a group, as well as their loudest, is also their most electronic sounding one. The main focus, thanks to the three-part "Karn Evil 9," is sci-fi rock, approached with a volume and vengeance that stretched the art rock audience's tolerance to its outer limit, but also managed to appeal to the metal audience in ways that little of Trilogy did. Indeed, "Karn Evil 9"is the piece and the place where Emerson and his keyboards finally matched in both music and flamboyance the larger-than-life guitar sound of Jimi Hendrix. Pete Sinfield's lyrics, while not up tohis best King Crimson-era standard, were better than anything the group had to work with previously, and Lake pulled out all thestops on his heaviest singing voice in handling them, coming offa bit like Peter Gabriel in the process. The songs (except for the throwaway "Benny the Bouncer") are also among their best work -- the group's arrangement of Sir Charles Hubert Parry's setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" manages to be reverent yet rocking,while Emerson's adaptation of Alberto Ginastera's music in "Tocatta" outstrips even "The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" from the first album as a distinctive and rewarding reinterpretation of a piece of serious music. Lake's "Still...You Turn Me On" is his lastgreat ballad with the group, possessing a melody and arrangementsufficiently pretty to forgive the presence of the rhyming triplet "everyday a little sadder/a little madder/someone get me a ladder." The Rhino CD is to be preferred over all other domestic reissues, as it features an improved remastering, an interview, and packaging with a very cool three-D cover design. However, the Castle CD also impresses with two bonus tracks (the singles for "Brain Salad Surgery" and "When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine") and a set of excerptsfrom the album. -- Bruce Eder
Amazon.com Editorial Review
With orchestral swells and symphonic arrangements, Emerson Lake & Palmer put the Prague in '70s progressive rock. There was somethingof that dark, European artistry in their compositions that always made their music more grandiose than their stateside counterparts. Brain Salad Surgery was a conductor's wet dream. Works like the "Impression" study in four movements were epic to the nth degree. Influenced by Mussorgsky and Stravinsky, ELP wreaked havoc with the conventions of what rock and classical music could and could not be. In typical fashion, the trio included one highly accessible cut, in this case the haunting "Still... You Turn Me On." The CD also contains the enigmatic favorite, "Karn Evil 9." --Steve Gdula
Amazon.com Customer Review
a must have for ELP fans,May 23, 2001
Reviewer: keyboardguy from savage, mn United States
admittedly am a bit biased to liking this one, as am a professional keyboardist, and Keith Emerson (in my opinion the greatest rock keyboardist of all time) was my inspriration to play the moment I first heard his version of "Hoedown"
I know that somehave felt the original ELP recordings had great production I haveoften felt different; that they lacked true low end, and high end clarity This remix addresses both of those issues wonderfully in fact, depending on how you have EQ'd your system, the bass mayactually get to "overkill" levels (I had set up my system with Steely Dan DTS and Eagles DTS mixes as references, and this disc came through with earthshaking (literally) moments of bass not necessarily a bad thing at times) must say, its nice to hear Keith'sMoog lines re-engineered with the power and clariy they deserve
this remix takes full advantage of the 3D aspect of 6 channelslots of panning all around, especially of the synth leads it happens a lot, to the point where one might wonder if the remix is just sweeping the panning for the novelty of it, but still, if youare hoping for ELP in the third audio dimension, you will surelyhave it
there is one disappointment for me in the production (hense the 4 stars instead of 5 which most others seem to have bestowed); while the bass guitar is huge in the subwoofer channel, Carl's kickdrum is oddly absent that would have added such a greataddtional power to this wonderful revisiting of great musiciansat work
That one point aside, in short, if you are ELP fan (this disk opens up this classic recording like never before), and/or if you are looking for a show-off 3D audio dvd audio disk, stopreading and hit the "order" button immediately! --This text refers to the DVD Audio edition.
Amazon.com Customer Review
"Load Your Program- I Am Yourself!", December 15, 2000
Reviewer: take403 from Jerusalem
This edition includes insightful liner notes and interviews with Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmerat the end of the CD. The cover sports a 3D version of H. R. Giger's sinister artwork. This album is one of ELP's finest moments as a band!
"Jerusalem", a traditional Anglican hymn, opens theset. Apparently, they got heat for doing a "rock" version of itby some purists. This follows "Toccota", a variation on a piano concerto by Alberto Ginastera. Their rendition features lots of eerie sounds from Keith's keyboards and Carl playing drums with computerized gadgetry. ELP were way ahead of their times back in 1973! This cut almost didn't make the album, as they had to pay a personal visit to the composer Ginastera who complimented this piece by declaring it "diabolic"! "Still You Turn Me On" is a nice acoustic track by Greg and features him on a wah-wah pedal. "Bennythe Bouncer" is a cute vaudevillian number about a big bully whomesses with the wrong guy and features some fine honkey tonk piano by Keith.
"Karn Evil 9" is a 3 part suite which features some lyrical help from Peter Sinfield (a King Cimson alumnist). The1st Impression Part 1 starts out with promise ("I will be there,to heal your sorrow, to beg and borrow") and winds up in spectacle (moving onto Part 2, which many of you know as "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends"). The 2nd Impression is aLatino jazz piece (piano and steel drums). In the 3rd Impression,computers have taken over society ("Load your program, I am yourself") and are seen as Big Brother. It's funny how true their prophecy has become!
If you've never heard this masterpiece in its entirety, you're in for a big surprise!
Amazon.com Customer Review
ELP's Masterpiece Speaks of A New Clear Dawn, October 24, 2000
Reviewer: Lawrance M. Bernabo from The Zenith City: Duluth, MN USA
This 1973 ELP album with the original painting by H. R. Giger is one of the great covers of all time and if you really pay attention to the details in the artwork you can figure outwhat "Brain Salad Surgery" means in British slang terms. For methis is the best album by the Progressive (nee Classical) Rock Power Trio. The synthesizer-saturated sound that dominated "Tarkus"has been toned down considerably to great effect, which you cantell immediately with the opening organ chords of Keith Emerson'sorgan on "Jerusalem," the best-known Anglican hymn. "Toccata," an adaptation of the 4th Movement of Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto features an impressive percussion movement from Carl Palmer. "Still...You Turn Me On" is Greg Lake's best composition since "Lucky Man," and you can only wish his work had not always been so overshadowed by Emerson's pyrotechnics on the keyboard. "Benny theBouncer" is another one of those annoying little honky tonk ditties that ELP was so enamored of for some reason that passeth understanding.
The highlight of the album is the "Karn Evil 9" Suite, which seems to me to be a nice synthesis of what the group hadgone for in earlier albums with the "Tarkus" Suite and "The Endless Enigma," although more like the latter of that particular pair in terms of employing the forms of classical composition. The First Impression offered the line that came to sum up the group'sperformance, "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends," although you find yourself wishing they had used computer magic to get rid of the fade out/fade in that we had to endure on vinyl when we flipped sides of the record. The Second Impression isarguably their finest instrumental track while the Third Impression brings the album full circle, offering a hymn for the new clear dawn. To make this album perfect all you have to do is programyour CD player to skip the fourth track. Enjoy.
Amazon.com Customer Review
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE ELP' STUDIO ALBUM, October 6,2000
Reviewer: DANIEL BENTO
It's not as much about being thebest ELP album than being the most perfect realization they did still with the fire of their golden age. Later albums have lots ofmatured ideas, maybe more than here, but the lacerating sound was being changed into a truly epic nobility, another moment of ELP's history. I can't think another album in rock history more related to the idea of art rock and conceptual album than this. H. R.Giger's artwork is ELP's music in image - one of those happy coincidences when artists interact. There's metal, bones, flesh andeternity in vision as in the refining agressive music.
"Jerusalem" was rejected as single, probably because of conservative reasons. One may think it's contradictory such a sharp-pointed rendition of a Hymn. What you hear sounds more ELP than Parry/Blake, but there's no disrespect, only succeeded appropriating. Ginastera's "Toccata" is an example of the greatest honor a musical arrangement can get: the admiration of the composer. The immortally respected argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) once said "Keith Emerson has beautifully caught the mood of my piece". It's possible to understand better the original version of Ginastera's fourth movement of the first piano concerto after hearing BSS. "Still.... You Turn Me On" is from "Lucky man" lineage, as "Benny the Bouncer" from "The Sheriff". "Still...." is one of Lake'smost beautiful compositions, perhaps the only really serene moment of the entire album, few seconds after the "Toccata" nightmare. "Benny", on the other hand, is the humored scene of BSS, the rest of it has an eventually subtle sarcasm, in a most of time heavy atmosphere. After this song, you have less than four seconds totight your belt, the next song is "Karn Evil 9"(the name comes for carnival). No matter how good are the first four pieces of thealbum, still, you got the feeling that the real message of BSS is inside "Karn Evil 9". This is the best ELP contribuition, not better than Emerson's Concerto or "Pirates", but more "Elpian".
The first impression of "Karn Evil 9" is a long tense increasingin its first part, violent hammond sounds, syncopated rhythms anda very wise impressing appearance of new motifs almost without notice - a skilful dealing with larger forms, culminating in a plain and somehow lighter guitar solo, but the tensions increase again and the plain turns into climax. The following second part iswhat usually ELP played onstage after the 1973-4 tour, it's a pitty they hadn't played "Karn Evil 9" entirely more times. It's a kind of stabilized version of the of first part' second half, within a more rock format. On the vinyl, one had to turn to B side tohear the first impression' second part, with a fade out on the end of A side and a fade in at the beginning of B side. The firstrelease on CD (Atlantic) kept this effect, though it may have some point for collectors, its terrible keeping this limitation musically speaking. Nowaday's CD versions present first and second parts of first impression perfectly continuous, a dream for ELP fans.
The second impression has probably the most daring musicaltextures in ELP, a jazz fusion feature, and a sensuous caribbeanaccent sometimes, the lips of the cover. Basically, you find thisrock band changing into a powerful jazz piano trio.
The thirdimpression is the most melodic part of the piece, with a folk-song like theme, but paradoxically with very provocating lyrics (with Pete's Sinfield contribution) and technology decry. But againthe edged rhythms, sounds and harmonies come and you realize thatit was just a typical break of ELP's world, inside their own world. So those breaks are their very style.
It is almost comicalto know that critics once criticized ELP because of technology abuse and at same time an elephantine dealing with classical tradition. Although this is the first band to play alive with synthesizers in history, mostly they never substituted acoustical instruments with synth replicas - they used synths for original sounds,not for imitating. They never used sequencers for playing faster,only for special effects (like the end of Karn Evil 9). On the other hand, their classical and jazz influence never had argumentswith their rock side, and that's probably the great accomplishment of Progressive Rock.
It's very interesting to know throughthe bonus track "The making of BBS" that Emerson knew "Tocatta" because of brazilian pianist João Carlos Martins, still in The Nice era. Palmer's thoughts about Giger tell a lot about their artistic relation: "it's a pitty he doesn't play instrument, he couldbe in the band" Also, Lake's vision about studio albums defines ELP: studio albums should be a promise of what the band can do alive. Good point, as ELP is even better onstage....
Amazon.comCustomer Review
Progressive Heaven, July 12, 2000
Reviewer: Michael D. Bush from Heber City, Utah USA
Over the years, it's gotten tiresome to hear the continued critical bashing of progressive rock bands, to the point that even a favorable review can be full of descriptive terms such as "worringly erratic" and "evil" (see the review above). Progressive rock represents an era when everything was possible, and rock music was being raised beyond theendless rehashing of three-chord tripe that seems to represent the limit of many a critic's understanding. For a brief shining moment, bands such as ELP saw rock as the synthesis of every stylethat had come before it...and saw themselves as showmen in the flamboyant, eclectic tradition of the 19th century's romantic composers such as Liszt and Wagner. Now, the progressive rock era's finest works (of which this is one) serve as awesome reminders of that time, as a musical escape for those current listeners enlightened enough to return to them, and as an inspiration for what will hopefully be a prog resurgence among today's artists.
BRAINSALADSURGERY is one of the handful of definitive examples of the70s progressive rock genre. Yes, it's wildly eclectic, drawing ona seemingly unlimited range of influences, but the band was unbelievably talented, and the music stands as a singular accomplishment. Although I'm a lifelong prog fan, I'm relatively new to thisrecording...and I must say I'm impressed. Despite the aforementioned eclecticism, the album functions as a cohesive whole, with asound that unmistakably belongs to the band. From Parry's "Jerusalem" to Ginastera's "Toccata" to the band's own intricate "KarnEvil 9", every piece offers new surprises and musical insights. Also valuable in understanding/appreciating the music is the commentary track and excellent booklet included.
Another common critical mistake: All prog is not the same...this album is night-and-day different from Yes' CLOSE TO THE EDGE, for example, just asBeethoven is different from Mozart). ELP is a very aggressive-sounding, hard driving band that won't be everyone's cup of tea...but I loved it, just as I love Yes...they're simply different styles of music.
My favorite quote about ELP is from Carl Palmer,which I paraphrase thus: "Critics say we're pompous and pretentious...which we are!" Progressive rock is what it is; critics should stop trying to pigeonhole it in with the Rolling Stones et.al.Here's to intellectualism in rock music!
Amazon.com CustomerReview
Sci-Fi Rock--who else could do it as well?, April 13, 2000
Reviewer: Michael Topper
"Brain Salad Surgery" is, by common consensus, Emerson Lake And Palmer's best album. It is even thealbum that their harshest critics tend to slightly accomodate, although I'm not sure why this one especially over the first albumor "Trilogy". While I prefer the debut album, myself (less synthoverkill, although some of the synth work here is great), "BrainSalad Surgery" is ELP's most coherent concept album. Even the pieces which lie outside of the "Karn Evil 9" suite tie in with theoverall themes of human strengths and frailties vs. the consistent but cold techno-nightmare of the future (more relevant now than ever, BTW).
"Jerusalem" sets up the grand spiritual designof the album, but is then undercut by the elaborately sequenced synth bleeps of "Toccata", which paint a nightmarish wash of electronic sound. Is it classical music, rock, or an exceptionally elaborate soundtrack to a video game? "Still You Turn Me On" changesthe mood yet again, although its soothing acoustic guitar and harpsichord textures retain a haunting feel. "Benny The Bouncer" isanother of the Wild-West comedy pieces, designed to take one back to the past before vaulting forward into the future of "Karn Evil 9"; although usually dismissed, it would be a good number wereit not for the presence of synths which ruin the atmosphere towards the end (hence, my complaint about synth overkill--this review would actually be four-and-half-stars).
Karn Evil 9 itself has been analyzed before; it is quite a journey, moving from the quintessential hard rock portrait of a soulless human society (MTVand daytime talk shows, anyone?) in the 1st Impression (with lines like "see the gypsy queen in a glaze of vaseline, peforming ona guillotine, what a scene, what a scene", the lyrics manage tomock their own pretensions, something the critics often forget),to the smartly led jazz-piano comeback of the second impression,to the man vs.computer battle of the third. The third impressionpaints a vivid picture of battle through its use of solos and synth effects; in the end, the computer wins. If you don't like electronic music, this isn't for you (although you still might like "Still...You Turn Me On" and KE9 2nd Impression", and then later get into the other songs). But overall, ELP made their finest statement with BSS--one that foretold the future, even if their finest work was on their first album.
Amazon.com Customer Review
Brilliant album, lousy re-mastering, September 15, 1998
Reviewer: A music fan from Stockholm, Sweden
Even though I already ownthe original CD release of Brain Salad Surgery from 1986 (whichfollows the original vinyl album very closely), as an ardent fanof ELP since 1972 I decided that I would like to have this Rhinore-issue as part of my collection. On listening I was flabbergasted to hear that the whole sound of the album had been changed, most notably on Toccata and Karn Evil 9. It seems as though the people responsible for the re-mastering thought that Keith Emerson'skeyboards should be brought even more to the fore, and that GregLake's bass guitar and Carl Palmer's drums were annoyances thatshould be subdued as much as possible. This may make no difference to someone hearing the album for the first time, but to someonewho knows the album inside out it was a huge dissapointment. It's very annoying when listening to an album and you are humming abass riff that can't be heard from the loudspeakers. So, what should have been five stars has to be only three.
CD Now Review(June 26, 2001)
Pompous. Ponderous. Pretentious. Bombastic.
Upon its release in November 1973, rock critics hurled all of these insults and more at the album that would come to be consideredthe masterwork by the English supergroup that comprised one of the cornerstone bands of the progressive-rock movement: keyboard player Keith Emerson, bassist-vocalist Greg Lake, and drummer CarlPalmer.
But nothing worthwhile is accomplished in art (muchless art-rock) without some pretension and, in recent years, progrevivalists, underground hipsters, and even some critics have given Brain Salad Surgery a long-overdue reconsideration.
The dark, creepy, some would say gothic ambience of the album is established by its famous cover: a typically twisted painting by H.R.Giger of Alien fame. (Modeled on Giger's wife, the surreal femalefigure originally had a penis below her chin, but ELP's label was scandalized. The painter refused to change his art, so anotherillustrator was hired to reconfigure the offending phallus as a "shaft of light.")
The mood of the music is no less somber, from opening hymn "Jerusalem," an Old Testament anthem based on William Blake's poem, through the eerie but seductive "Still... YouTurn Me On"; and from Emerson's reinterpretation of Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto, 4th Movement (Toccata), through the several movements of the nearly 30-minute closing epic, "Karn Evil 9" (incorrectly known to some classic-rock radio listeners as "Welcome Back, My Friends").
Yes, there are indeed moments of overblown wankery -- it wouldn't be ELP if thereweren't. Palmer is probably the biggest offender, conjuring up Keith Moon on speed let loose in an orchestral percussion pit. But"Jerusalem," "Still... You Turn Me On," and the good-naturedly goofy "Benny the Bouncer" all clock in at less than three minutes,which is positively punk by prog standards. And ELP rarely skimped on big, catchy melodies, even if they did have a tendency to beat them into a fine pumice.
Nevertheless, there are two bigreasons to listen to this group, and they were never better thanon Brain Salad Surgery. The first is Lake's sonorous vocals. On this album, the King Crimson veteran is reunited with Pete Sinfield, the lyricist on In the Court of the Crimson King, and it makesfor a potent combination; that booming baritone can even make lines such as, "We've got thrills and shocks, supersonic fighting cocks / Leave your hammers at the box / Come inside! Come inside!"sound positively revelatory. (The carnival barker delivery of "Karn Evil 9" enhances the concept of a planet, "Ganton 9," where evil flourishes because computers have taken over civilization --pretty prescient for the pre-Microsoft era.)
The other big draw is Emerson's amazing organ work (his most inspired since the early days of the Nice) and his manipulations of the Moog. Emersonwas not only the first bona fide virtuoso of the synthesizer, hewas one of the few keyboard players who has made the instrumentrival an electric guitar for rock-and-roll excitement. To fans ofmodern electronic music, the fat, round tones that he coaxed from his massive analog monster are the equivalent of the classic ringing notes that issued from B.B. King's axe and John Coltrane'ssax. And the fury with which he attacked his instrument would have given Johnny Rotten pause, if he only took a moment to check his anti-prog prejudices. -- Jim DeRogatis, CDNOW Contributing Writer
Half.com Album Credits
Chris Kimsey, Engineer
Geoff Young, Engineer
Greg Lake, Producer
Album Notes
"Toccata" is an adaptation of the 4th Movement of Alberto Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto. The 1996 reissue of BRAIN SALAD SURGERY includes "The Making Of Brain Salad Surgery," anecdotes about the session recordedin 1996.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Keith Emerson (accordion, piano, harpsichord, organ, Moog synthesizer); Greg Lake (vocals, guitar, bass); Carl Palmer (drums, electronic drums, percussion).
Principally recorded between June and September 1973. Originally released on Manticore/Atlantic (MC-66669). "The Making Of BrainSalad Surgery" recorded in 1996. Includes liner notes by Jerry McCulley.
Much maligned, although it is hard to understand why.They merely took what the Nice did one stage further as Palmer became the songwriter in place of Lee Jackson. The two sides of ELP were adaptations of classical pieces, which usually worked well. On this, 'Jerusalem' and 'Toccata' are given the prog treatment. The longer original suite 'Karn Evil' allows Emerson to let loose on his organ and piano. He is astonishingly fluid and imaginative. A wholly successful album, apart from the dreadful 'Benny The Bouncer'. Somebody, at some stage, must have thought it was a good idea. |
