Tarkus
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| Tarkus | ||
| ||
| Studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | ||
| Released | June 14, 1971 (UK) August, 1971 (US) | |
| Recorded | February 1971, Advision Studios | |
| Genre | Progressive rock | |
| Length | 38:40 | |
| Label | Island (UK) Cotillion, Rhino Records (U.S.) | |
| Producer(s) | Greg Lake | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer chronology | ||
| Emerson, Lake and Palmer (1970) | Tarkus (1971) | Pictures at an Exhibition (1972)
|
Tarkus is the second album by British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1971 (see 1971 in music).
"Tarkus" seems to be the hybrid machine-animal depicted on the cover. The inner gatefold sleeve featured a sequence of pictures depicting battles between this armadillo-tank hybrid and other half-mechanical creatures, until its eventual defeat by a manticore. "Tarkus" then returns as "Aquatarkus", an aquatic version of the land-bound original. The band later chose the name Manticore Records for their self-owned record label.
Since the album got its name from its famous side-long suite on side one, many fans think of it as a concept album, but technically only the first half is, as the songs on the second side are not connected to the suite on the first side. Indeed, the lyrics to the "Tarkus" suite also seem to have little to do with the story as delineated in the gatefold pictures: "Mass" is musings on organised religion (as is "The Only Way" on the albums second side), while "Battlefield" is a more general song about war. Keith Emerson later said in his autobiography that he presented most of the piece fully formed to the rest of the band and as such Greg Lake was initially not pleased about the bands new direction.
The track "Battlefield" features one of the rare electric guitar solos from Greg Lake. The live version featured an excerpt from a King Crimson-song called "Epitaph" as originally sung by Lake on Crimson's first album.
The final track, Are You Ready Eddy?, was written for their engineer Eddie Offord. The track ends with Carl Palmer exclaiming "Ham or Cheese?!", apparently the only sandwiches on offer in the Advision canteen.
In 1993 the album was digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio. The remastered version was released by Victory Records in the UK and Rhino Records in the United States.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Tarkus" – 20:35
- "Eruption" (Emerson) – 2:43
- "Stones of Years" (Emerson, Lake) – 3:44
- "Iconoclast" (Emerson) – 1:15
- "Mass" (Emerson, Lake) – 3:11
- "Manticore" (Emerson) – 1:52
- "Battlefield" (Lake) – 3:51
- "Aquatarkus" (Emerson) – 3:59
- "Jeremy Bender" (Emerson, Lake) – 1:46
- "Bitches Crystal" (Emerson, Lake) – 3:55
- "The Only Way" [hymn] (Emerson, Lake) – 3:48
- "Infinite Space" [conclusion] (Emerson, Palmer) – 3:18
- "A Time and a Place" (Emerson, Lake, Palmer) – 2:57
- "Are You Ready Eddy?" (Emerson, Lake, Palmer) – 2:10
[edit] Personnel
- Keith Emerson - organ, synthesizer, piano, celeste, keyboard, Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer
- Greg Lake - acoustic guitar, bass, guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Carl Palmer - percussion, drums
[edit] Production
- Producer: Greg Lake
- Engineer: Eddie Offord
- Mastering: Zal Schreiber
- Arranger: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Director: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Paintings: William Neal
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Pop Albums | 9 |
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