Brain Salad Surgery - EMERSON LAKE & PALMER***

Jerusalem/Toccata/Still You Turn Me On/Benny The Bouncer/Karn Evil 9

Brain Salad Surgery was the final album released from ELP’s classic period during the early 1970s. Some critics considered that their overblown, pompous approach gave progressive music a bad name. (US:11 UK:2)

“Overblown, pompous and completely over the top. This is the epitome of ELP, and this record is a great example of all those things.”

“With Brain Salad Surgery Emerson, Lake & Palmer continued with the same symphonic progressive rock.”

“Where many see ELP's peak, I see only the beginning of the end, the moment the band project stopped being an experiment and started being a formula. The consequences of such a change in approach were a departure from innovation to simply crafting a product to tick off the boxes on a checklist.”

“This, the last of ELP's classic studio albums, is cut from the same cloth as its predecessors, moments of greatness, diluted by Emerson's penchant for virtuosity for its own sake, adding up in the end to something less than the sum of its parts.”

“Brain Salad Surgery is in some ways a masterpiece, and in some ways it's not. At times it seems like all understated sublime perfection, and at times it seems a bit way overdone. Whichever direction you have to admit that some of ELP's finest compositions are here. I just wish it wasn't so overblown in parts.”

“Without a doubt Karn Evil 9 is the feature piece on the LP, and most likely for many one of the cornerstones of 70s U.K. prog rock. It's still a pretty neat epic track, if a bit bloated and over the top. Dated, yes, but still a good listen even with the quaint, ancient synth sounds. There's enough going on here to keep this track interesting.”

“Brain Salad Surgery is simply one of the finest albums ever recorded. From the restrained interpretation of Jerusalem to the powerful majesty of Karn Evil 9, this opus showcases all the best qualities of progressive rock. As a group effort, it stands as ELP's masterpiece. This is an album that connects on all fronts: conceptually, musically and emotionally. I hear something different every time I play it. For some, it may be an acquired taste, but it is worth the effort.”