Brain Salad Surgery
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| Brain Salad Surgery | ||
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| Studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | ||
| Released | November 19, 1973 | |
| Recorded | 1973 | |
| Genre | Progressive Rock | |
| Length | 44:59 | |
| Label | Manticore Films | |
| Producer(s) | Greg Lake | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Emerson, Lake & Palmer chronology | ||
| Trilogy (1972) |
Brain Salad Surgery (1973) |
Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends (1974) |
Brain Salad Surgery is the fifth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It features cover art by controversial artist H. R. Giger. According to the 1996 re-release notes, Manticore Records president Mario Medious "nicked the title from a slang lyric in Dr. John's 1973 hit, "Right Place, Wrong Time" (released January 26, 1973)": Just need a little brain salad surgery/Got to cure this insecurity to replace the working title, Whip Some Skull on Yer.
The most well-known track is "Karn Evil 9 - 1st Impression, Part 2" (Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...). "Karn Evil 9" was so long it originally had to be split between sides 1 and 2 of the album. The original U.S. CD release also divided the piece, but subsequent releases have presented it in an uninterrupted version.
The lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. On the instrumental "Toccata", based on Alberto Ginastera's 1st piano Concerto, special synthesized effects were produced not by Keith Emerson but by Carl Palmer using newly-developed drum synthesizers. Ginastera's agent apparently did not care for ELP's rendition and wasn't going to clear the publishing rights; however, Ginastera himself liked it a lot and arranged for clearance. "Toccata" also gained fame as the theme to the New England cult TV show Creature Double Feature.
"Karn Evil 9" includes vocal credit for Keith Emerson, and is Emerson's only official vocal credit on an ELP record.
The album has also been released on DVD-Audio, remixed into Dolby 5.1 and in many cases using alternative vocal tracks.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Jerusalem" (William Blake, Hubert Parry as adapted by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer) – 2:44
- "Toccata" Adaptation of Ginastera's 1st piano Concerto, 4th movement (Alberto Ginastera, arr. Emerson) – 7:22
- "Still...You Turn Me On" (Lake)– 2:53
- "Benny the Bouncer" (Emerson, Lake, Peter Sinfield) – 2:21
- "Karn Evil 9" (Emerson, Lake, Sinfield) – 29:54
- "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 1" (Emerson, Lake, Sinfield) – 8:43
- "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2" (Emerson, Lake) – 4:46
- "Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression" (Emerson, Lake) – 7:07
- "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression" (Emerson, Lake) – 9:03
- "The Making of Brain Salad Surgery" on the 1996 Rhino Records release.
[edit] Personnel
- Keith Emerson – organs, piano, harpsichord, accordion, custom-built Moog synthesizers & Moog Polyphonic ensemble, computer voice on 5
- Greg Lake – vocals, bass, guitar, 6 string electric guitar, 12 string electric guitar
- Carl Palmer – percussion, percussion synthesizers
[edit] Additional recordings
Three further songs were recorded at the Brain Salad Surgery sessions but were not included on the album:
- The instrumental "When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine" appeared on the B-side of the single version of "Jerusalem".
- The song "Brain Salad Surgery" surprisingly did not appear on the album of the same name, but was released on a promotional 7" flexi-disc together with excerpts from the album. It was also later used as the B-side of "Fanfare for the Common Man".
- The song "Tiger In The Spotlight" was released as a single in 1977.
All three songs were later included on Works Volume II.
[edit] Singles
- Jerusalem / When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine
