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Rating: Here I am, reviewing an album for the very first time.
I must admit a certain excitement, especially because finding an album by a famous band that hasn't been reviewed on this site is quite the challenge. After this (necessary) introduction, let's get to the music (after all, that's why we're here, right?).
The blessed year of 1973, truly a golden period for rock music and that more sophisticated branch known as progressive rock. Emerson (keyboards), Lake (bass and vocals), Palmer (drums) gave birth to what is, and remains, their masterpiece and album of so-called maturity.
Sci-fi atmospheres, gloomy and romantic tones, and plenty of electronics.
1- JERUSALEM: Majestic beginning, in grand style for this band that doesn't need any introduction to the audience, ready to welcome the feats of these "heroes". In this song, Lake's splendid voice stands out above all, sweet and delicate. The ending is a crescendo that gives you goosebumps.
2- TOCCATA: excellent instrumental piece, with Palmer prominently standing out over the rest of the band. Odd tempos and originality of execution make this song one of the best parts of improvisation by the band.
3- STILL… YOU TURN ME ON: another sweet and romantic song, once again highlighting Greg Lake's skilled role as a guitarist and singer. Dreamlike arpeggios and a voice that touches the heartstrings… spine-tingling.
4- BENNY THE BOUNCER: a song in a western saloon style, with Emerson in great shape. Joy, with the foot tapping on the ground to the pressing rhythm of the notes of the flamboyant keyboardist… truly amusing, especially in the ending.
5- KARN EVIL 9: with all due respect to the great bands that have stood alongside E, L& P during the majestic years of progressive life, this suite represents the epitome of all the sound and splendor that this band has delivered since their early records.
All members contribute significantly to the piece in question, which lasts a good 29 minutes and 37 seconds. The suite is divided into 4 "impressions" chapters, where the virtuosic power of the 3 elements merges into a unique ensemble, rich in pathos and originality.
Drawing conclusions for such a MAGNUM opus as this is all too easy. It is a must-have for lovers of good music, but especially for lovers of a genre that in these years seems to be experiencing a second youth: the legendary progressive rock.
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Other reviews
By antoniodeste
It is with “Toccata,” an authorized adaptation of a piece by contemporary Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, that Emerson begins to cool things down, with the frantic convulsions of the Moog and Palmer’s driving rhythms.
Ideas, harmonic development, deep sense of structure, instantaneous findings, well-chosen lyrics, and a famous cover designed by biomechanic designer Hans Rudi Giger make this work one of the reference points of European rock of the early ’70s.
By Gabrielegilli
"Brain Salad Surgery is undoubtedly their most mature, most cerebral, most grotesque, most theatrical, and classical work."
"The colossal 30-minute suite 'Karn Evil Nine' is the real masterpiece of the album, and of the band."
By Hetzer
"Jerusalem almost moves me, because the macabre charm of a religious hymn mixes perfectly with a voice like Lake’s."
"Brain Salad Surgery... is actually as light as a wonderful silk brocade shroud. And it will be for, well, a long time… Until death & machine do us part."
