March 22, 2016 Playlist

A Tribute to Keith Emerson

CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK Emerson Lake & Palmer "Brain Salad Surgery"  1973 (UK) Keith Emerson died this month. He was one of the key figures in progressive rock, standing out as a giant even among the hyper-talented muso giants of prog. He stabbed his keyboard with knives, played a piano that spun end-over-end, his stage gear included a modular moog synthesizer that was the size of a small building, and he lost millions of his bandmates' money convincing them that ELP needed to take an entire orchestra on tour with them. But beyond the legendary showmanship, he was a monster virtuoso on his instrument, and probably did more to popularize synthesizers than anybody else. Although I would argue it is not their best album, unquestionably Brain Salad Surgery was the high water mark for ELP, culminating in a mammoth world tour. In fact, this record was such a big deal it probably sowed the seeds of the group's eventual demise, in that there was no way they could continue to top themselves after this (hence losing millions of dollars hiring the orchestra!) The centerpiece is the 30-minute rock operetta "Karn Evil 9" which tells an absurd science fiction tale about a future world where computers have too much power over humanity (that could never happen!)

(N) = New Release