10 Essential 1970s Progressive Rock Albums
7. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
The group's fourth effort split critics and listeners right down the middle upon its release in 1974.
Sporting a suitably spooky and surreal cover from biomechanical art enthusiast HR Giger, 'Brain Salad Surgery' is dominated by the near 30 minute closing track 'Karn Evil 9'. Like many prog outfits, Emerson, Lake & Palmer commit to a multi-chaptered, conceptual epic here. The song, notoriously difficult to completely narrow down and safely interpret, seems to focus on humanity in a state of apocalyptic decay.
Like an incredibly bleak version of 'Demolition Man', the characters within the song appear to visit museums where remnants of the old world are on display. Instrumental interludes follow from there before listeners are thrust back into chaos where, long before 'The Terminator' and 'The Matrix' blew up up sci fi cinema, humans do battle with machines.
Needless to say, the high concept nature of 'Karn Evil 9' left many listeners scratching their heads. The rest of the LP, though slightly less expansive, remains a colourful listen including a musical take on William Blake's 'Jerusalem' and a prog rock rendition of the fourth movement in Alberto Ginastera's Piano Concerto No.1.
Like many misunderstood groundbreakers, 'Brain Salad Surgery's acclaim has swelled with age, allowing it to find its way into masterpiece status among more modern analyses.