Tarkus (song)
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Tarkus is the title track of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's second album (Tarkus). The enormous progressive rock epic clocks in at 20:35. It was the longest studio song by the band until the three impressions of Karn Evil 9 and their concert performances. The name "Tarkus" refers to the armadillo-tank from the William Neal paintings on the album cover. The song "Tarkus" itself supposedly follows the adventures of Tarkus from its birth, through a fight with a manticore, which it loses and concludes with a departure of Tarkus.
"Tarkus" itself is broken down into seven parts:
- "Eruption" (instrumental) — 2:43
- "Stones of Years" — 3:44
- "Iconoclast" (instrumental) — 1:15
- "Mass" — 3:11
- "Manticore" (instrumental) — 1:52
- "Battlefield" — 3:51
- "Aquatarkus" (instrumental) — 3:59
The parts supposedly follow Tarkus' birth in a volcanic eruption centuries before known history. The exact nature of Tarkus' actions are unknown, and left so by the creator, Keith Emerson. "Eruption" itself presents a musical impression of cascading eruption on the keyboards in an unusual 10/8 (4+3+3) time signature, backed by Carl Palmer on drums. This segues into "Stones of Years" the first of three vocal sections. "Iconoclast" comes next and is rapidly overpowered by guitar for "Mass." "Mass," filled with numerous religious references, often has its lyrics dropped in tours by the Keith Emerson Band, as does Stones of Years. This is followed by "Manticore" in which the enemy of Tarkus appears and a battle ensues between variations on the "Tarkus" theme and the manticore's. Ultimately Tarkus is defeated and "Battlefield" follows — the only part written entirely by Greg Lake, containing some of the deepest and most moving lyrics of the album. "Aquatarkus" closes the track, centering mostly on a march based on the theme and then returning to the original eruption as a farewell to Tarkus.
According to Emerson, while Palmer was excited by some of the technical opportunities the song would present, Lake was not quite so enamoured. However Lake evidently did have the album grow on him, stating in an interview after the release: "It's about the futility of conflict expressed in (the)context.. of soldiers and war. But it's broader than that. The words are about revolution that's gone, that has happened. Where has it got anybody? Nowhere." He has also complimented "Stones of Years" as one of his favorite parts of "Tarkus," though admits he is not entirely sure about what it means, but says it is about, "listening, understanding, hearing."
To further accent the feeling of loss through war Lake added the lines "Confusion...will be my epitaph / As I cross a cracked and broken path / If we make it, we can all sit back and laugh" from King Crimson's Epitaph, to the end of "Battlefield".
The song remains a fan favorite and was, and still is, consistently played at ELP and Keith Emerson Band concerts.
"Stones of Years" was used as a single from "Tarkus." The album as a whole reached number 1 on UK charts and number 9 in the US.
