Emerson, Lake & Palmer Tarkus

Numbered, Limited Edition 180g Vinyl LP!
Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing!
1/4"/15 IPS Analog Copy to DSD 256 to Analog Console to Lathe!"Supergroups" have been around since before Emerson, Lake & Palmer was founded in 1970. And many came afterwards. But few, if any, could match the chemistry of the British trio and their unique combination of virtuosity, vision and energy. "Tarkus" is probably the only album that connects the jazz luminary Dave Brubeck, the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, the gifted sound engineer Eddy Offord, the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, the American musician chameleon Frank Zappa and the composer genius Johann Sebastian Bach. Emerson's second album, Lake & Palmer, was diverse, ambitious, complex and yet accessible – which gave it a huge success. "Tarkus" reached number 1 in the British album charts and climbed into the top 10 in the USA.
The theatrical title track – a nearly 21-minute epic that traces the life of an armadillo from its birth to the aftermath of its defeat in a fight with a manticore – briefly created a rift in the trio's then-thriving chemistry. The reason lay in the architecture and direction that keyboardist Keith Emerson pursued with "Tarkus": The virtuoso suite, based on 10/8 and 5/4 time signatures, frustrated guitarist and singer Greg Lake, who soon decided to both play along and write this seven-part anti-war narrative. In the meantime, "Tarkus" is considered one of the best prog compositions ever written and performed. The second half of the album clearly shows the range of Emerson, Lake & Palmer: "Jeremy Bender" was arranged in such a way that the listeners get a breather after the demanding opener. The song unfolds with honky-tonk pianos and percussive handclaps. As a tribute to Brubeck's "Count Down", "Bitches Crystal" also serves as a showcase for Emerson's impeccable piano skills. The keyboardist is also the focus of "The Only Way (Hymn)", which combines bold religious reflections with a transition to the jazzy instrumental "Infinite Space". Without drum solos, acoustic ballads and intellectual interludes, "Tarkus" differs from its equally esteemed predecessor, but shows that Emerson, Lake & Palmer are running at full speed and can seemingly play any style at any tempo as a band.
Tarkus likely remains the only album in existence that links jazz luminary Dave Brubeck, Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, recording engineer Eddy Offord, Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, American genius Frank Zappa, and German multi-hyphenate Johann Sebastian Bach. At once diverse, ambitious, and complex, Emerson, Lake & Palmer's sophomore statement proved fantastically successful and accessible. It reached No.1 on the UK Albums Chart and, in the U.S., climbed into the Top 10. The 1971 effort also propelled the British group to the forefront of the concert scene and became instantly identifiable via its now-iconic cover art.
Mastered at MoFi's California studio, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM LP of Tarkus presents the gold-certified effort in audiophile sound. Clear, dynamic, and balanced, the collectible edition honors the fastidious approaches that informed the playing and recording of the record. With black backgrounds, dead-quiet surfaces, and exceptional definition, this reissue brings to light the tonal depth and virtuosic musicianship on display.
Traits — textures, nuances, effects, melodies, tempo changes — that go hand-in-hand with the trio's compositions and interplay are rendered amid broad soundstages and delivered with finite detail. You'll relish the separation, imaging, and timing that help make every song come across with involving presence and realism. These sonic signposts extend to the snorkel-tube-inspired Moog synthesizer on "Aquatarkus," the St. Mark's Church pipe organ on "The Only Way (Hymn)," and the improvisational jamming and hollering on the lighthearted rave-up "Are You Ready Eddy?"
Anchored by the theatrical title track — a nearly 21-minute-long epic that charts the life of the armadillo creature from birth to the aftermath of his defeat in a battle with a manticore — Tarkus briefly created a rift in the supergroup's then-thriving chemistry. The reason: The architecture and direction keyboardist Keith Emerson pursued with "Tarkus."
Based on 10/8 and 5/4 time signatures, the dexterous suite initially frustrated guitarist-singer Greg Lake, who soon came around to both playing on it and writing its anti-war narrative. A seven-part journey in which peacefulness and violence, calm and clamor, and flourishes and marches unfold within the sonically metaphorical framework, "Tarkus" looms as one of the finest prog compositions ever performed.
The album's second half prominently displays Emerson, Lake & Palmer's expansive range with concise songs and, in two spots, its sense of humor. Made and sequenced on Tarkus to give listeners a breather after the demanding opener, "Jeremy Bender" unfolds with honky-tonk pianos and percussive hand claps. An homage to Brubeck's "Count Down," the tumbling "Bitches Crystal" doubles as a showcase for Emerson's impeccable piano skills. The keyboardist also takes center stage on "The Only Way (Hymn)," which folds bold religious contemplation with a segue into the jazz-fueled instrumental "Infinite Space."
Free of drum solos, acoustic ballads, and cerebral interludes, Tarkus differs from its equally esteemed predecessor but finds Emerson, Lake & Palmer again hitting on all cylinders as a band seemingly capable of playing any style at any pace. Reflecting on the album more than 40 years later, Emerson rightly stated: "It offers a lot for the advancement of musicians. If anyone wants to get into progressive rock music…it provides the elements. You've got a lot going on with Tarkus."
That extends to William Neal's vibrant cover art. Born out of a somewhat innocuous doodle, the final design — which memorably omits the band's name, contains the skeletal remains of an eaten lizard, and famously features a red-eyed armadillo transformed into a hybrid tank replete with guns and treads — reflects the title track's storyline and dovetails with Neal's other narrative-associated drawings in the sleeve. From the first to the last note, from the cover to the final illustration, Tarkus is the complete package.
Lovingly mastered from the original tapes in MoFi's Californian studio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl by Fidelity Record Pressing, the LP (33 rpm) presents this classic for the first time in audiophile reference quality: clear, dynamic and balanced, this collectible reissue pays tribute to the perfectionist approach that characterized both the musical interplay and the recording of the record. It brings out the epic dimension, the sonic depth and the amazing musicality of the trio. All aspects – textures, nuances, effects, tempo changes – that go hand in hand with the trio's compositions are reproduced in a room-filling sound image and with precise details. The original realism of the recording comes out on this strictly numbered MoFi reissue as it deserves! The vinyl record, which is appropriately housed in a sleeve from Stoughton Printing, comes with the iconic cover artwork by William Neal.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• 180g High-Definition Vinyl LP
• 33rpm
• Mastered from the 1/4"/15 IPS Analog Copy to DSD 256 to Analog Console to Lathe
• Mastered by Krieg Wunderlich at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA on GAIN 2
• Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing
• Stoughton Gatefold Jacket

Selections:

Side A
1. Eruption
2. Stones Of Years
3. Iconoclast
4. Mass
5. Manticore
6. Battlefield
7. Aquatarkus
Side B
1. Jeremy Bender
2. Bitches Crystal
3. The Only Way (Hymn)
4. Infinite Space (Conclusion)
5. A Time And A Place
6. Are You Ready Eddy?