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Rating: An album made almost out of necessity...
"Legends" tell a story that happened before the creation of the Title-Track. Being a composition by Keith, quite long and complicated, "Tarkus" does not greatly inspire the romantic ballad composer Lake, to the point that he neither wants to write lyrics nor play it. The story has it that the band's manager had already booked the rehearsal hall for them to record and arrange the piece, saying that if they didn't go, they would still have to pay the rental of the hall. In the end, they recorded the piece, which would become one of the highlights of their career.
The rest of the album leaves us with simple songs like "Jeremy Bender," characterized by the Honky Piano arrangement, the tensions of "Bitches Crystal," an insert of "Toccata in F and Prelude VI" by Baroque composer J.S. Bach in "The Only Way (Hymn)," the "hammering" riff of the Piano in "Infinite Space (Conclusion)," the captivating "A Time And A Place" with Lake delivering one of his vocal performances, and finally, the '50s Rock'n'Roll style of "Are you ready, Eddy?".
With this album, E, L&P have taken a step up in quality compared to their debut, mainly thanks to the Title-Track which presents a good arrangement and beautiful lyrics, telling of machine-animals waging skirmishes... but the band's true masterpiece is about to come...!!!!
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Other reviews
By Hetzer
The monumental track concludes with Aquatarkus: the armored beast born from the fire to fight, struck in the eye by the Manticore’s sting, flees and vanishes into the sea.
For many, perhaps a relic, Tarkus is still there, austere and unbeatable, thirty-five years and more after the explosion.
By STIPE
Tarkus marked an emblematic yet undoubtedly interesting chapter, enriching rock with new and innovative sounds.
I know people consider us pretentious. We simply love to write and play. But our music and lyrics are not immediate: they require attention, and anything that requires active effort on the part of the listener can be considered pretentious.
By claudio ruffini
Tarkus is definitely one of the best LPs by ELP.
The suite is a unique and original work for the progressive style.
