Customer Reviews

Trilogy

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4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

ELP's "Trilogy", despite reviews to the contrary by professional reviewers, remains, 25+ years after it's inital release, as a true definition of the trio. "The Endless Enigma" parts I/II are still works of art that can be listened to, over and over, without ever tiring the listener. The words and lyrics of this album demonstrate ELPs incredible range of musical interpretation and performance. Another Aaron Copeland salute, via "Hoedown" helps round this album out completely. Both ELP hardcore fans, and those just becoming acquainted with their works, cannot help but put "Trilogy" at the top of their list of "must haves."

Trilogy finds ELP at a more harnessed, yet still experimental and progressive format, as this offering is not as harsh and abrasive sounding as Pictures at an Exhibition. It seems more clean, crisp and refined, yet still encompassing the complex and manic keyboard flourishes of Keith Emerson. It also has the more elegant Greg Lake pieces (In The Beginning), and Carl Palmer's fabulous drumming. You get quirky numbers like The Sheriff, which features a crazed, yet humorous piano solo what I would describe as "wild west ragtime" at the end. Man, Keith Emerson can play the hell out of his instrument. Hoedown, if you remember the "Beef, it's what's for dinner" commercial, then you'll know this is a unique remake of a classical piece. This one is a more rocked up version. Trilogy is one of the prog-rock epics on the disc. It almost has a latin-like feel to it in the way Greg Lake delivers his vocals against Keith's synths and the percussion used in the last few minutes. Living Sin is a great tune. My only complaint is the annoying dark-pitched vocals. Abaddon's Bolero is a synth experiment and is all instrumental clocking in at 8 minutes. And it all starts out with The Endless Enigma, a 10 minute prog fest spread across the first three tracks. This is my favorite from the disc. This truly has some creepy parts in it. Not the least of it is brought on by Keith Emerson's synths. It truly has a creepy last second synth echo that you just can't get out of your head, at least for me.

Overall, a fine offering from ELP. This was my second purchase and I look forward to owning more ELP discs, as they have become a new favorite of mine.

There two things I always remember about this album is that every time the beginning of "From the Beginning" played on the radio it sounded so much like the beginning of "Roundabout" by Yes, and that the end of "Living Sin" was used as the theme music for one of the local television news shows in Albuquerque. "Trilogy" was the third album from Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the British Progressive (nee Classical) Rock group and it is certainly interesting in retrospect to consider those first three albums as a set. On their self-entitled debut album, ELP offered a balance between tracks featuring synthesizer overkill by keyboard virtuoso Keith Emerson and the melodic compositions of guitarist Greg Lake, wherein Emerson turned in his organ for a piano. Their second album, "Tarkus," went in the first direction, with the Tarkus Suite representing their best effort along those lines. "Trilogy," represents the other direction of ELP, one which I personally favor.

The two parts of "The Endless Enigma" are bridged by a "Fugue," that shows ELP's interest in pursuing classical musical forms, as does the final track, "Abaddon's Bolero." "The Sheriff" is one of those cute ditties the group tended to indulge in a bit too much, while "Hoedown" from Aaron Copeland's "Rodeo" is one of their better direct adaptations of a classical work. "Trilogy" and "From the Beginning" highlight the instrumentality of the group in a clearer, cleaner style. All in all, the high points on "Trilogy" are not as strong as on their debut album, but this certainly got ELP back on track for my money.

ELP fans will happily debate forever the point at which the band reached its creative peak but there is a firm consensus that their early years were their finest. Whether the absolute best was Tarkus, Trilogy or Brain Salad Surgery is secondary to the simple fact that Trilogy is one of the finest pieces of work that this band did.

The secret of their music is that they put together a set of talents the like of which had rarely been seen before let alone moulded into a single unit. The opening salvo, (The Endless Enigma Part One, Fugue and The Endless Enigma Part Two) illustrates this perfectly.

To deal with Carl Palmer first, in the early seventies he was finding ways of breaking up rhythms that had never been heard before. Nothing on Trilogy is quite as radical as his drumming on Tarkus but nonetheless, he was doing things here with sticks and skins that nobody else had tired.

In terms of rock music, Keith Emerson is an outstanding talent but that does not give full account of his real contribution. On the classical concert circuit, keyboard performance talent such as his is not unique but never before had this been combined with the kind of driven creative rock intensity of his contemporary guitar greats.

Greg Lake is often overlooked in comparison with the other two members of the band but that does not do him justice. As well as his distinctive voice, his bass guitar work is the perfect match for Emerson's keyboard playing. If you listen to the opening suite and try to imagine it with an ordinary, unimaginative bass line, you will appreciate that he adds his own dimension to the music.

Trilogy is a nice balance of the range of ELP's style. After "The Endless Enigma" comes "From the Beginning" a typical Greg Lake ballad. After that the band switches into exuberant fun mode for "The Sheriff" and an adaptation of Aaron Copeland's "Hoedown". The opening drums on the first of those two serves notice of what is to come.

Those tracks complete the opening side of the original vinyl release and, together with the title track which opened the second side, they form a powerful statement of the band's ability. The next track, "Living Sin" is the least convincing here and that is mainly because Greg Lake's voice does not really suit the style that he is trying to deliver. Finally, comes "Abaddon's Bolero" which is closely derived from Ravel's "Bolero" but which is curiously not credited as such on the sleeve notes. It's OK to listen to but, unlike most of ELP's covers, it does not really deliver much that was not in the original though Grek Lakes bass playing does stand out.

Trilogy is a good introduction to ELP though I think that Tarkus or their first album "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" server that purpose better. If you do like Trilogy, you will appreciate any of the albums that came before it and you might like to listen to music by Yes from the same time frame.

Trilogy, the fourth album of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, is one of their best works. It even contains my favorite song of all time. With each listen, it gets better and better, and mind you, I've listened to it thousands of times. Here's how it goes:

1) The Endless Enigma, Part 1: You won;t like it at first. It's okay second time through. Third time, pretty good. After that, truly amazing.

2) Fugue, just a little Emerson ditty separating the previous song from...

3) The Endless Enigma, Part 2: A much shorter version of Part 1, but still great nonetheless.

4) From the Beginning: Greg Lake put out plenty of acoustic songs in ELP, and many were quite good. This is one. I had skipped over it for a long time, but then I had put it on, and I remember thinking 'Wow, this is pretty good!' And it is.

5) The Sheriff: Reminiscent of Jeremy Bender. Great, great song. I can't listen to it enough.

6) Hoedown: Taken from Rodeo, by Aaron Copland. A great rendition of the song you know from everywhere.

7) Trilogy: My favorite song of all time. It starts with piano and Lake, but moves into driving guitar, along with the Moog. It's the best.

8) Living Sin: An underrated song. The more you listen, the more it becomes a great little song.

9) Abaddon's Bolero: The longest song on the album, and the one many view as the worst. It may be, but I think it's great.

Buy this album if you appreciate Progressive Rock. It's money well spent.

Wow. "Endless Enigma" is one of my favorite songs from Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The beginning is such a cool start. Then the organ parts with the great lyrics takes over. "I'm tired of hypocrite ... with tongues in their cheeks, turning their eyes as they speak." Then Emerson uses the piano fugue as a bridge, which I just love. The piece finishes off with the organ part again. Overall, kick...!
Greg Lake goes back to a ballad with "From the Beginning." It's just another song that gets airplay on the radio. Also, Emerson and Lake use the honky-tonk style with "The Sheriff." And the band arranges Copland's "Hoedown," that is just fabulous. This creates the formula that ELP uses for their albums that really starts to create brillant results.
"Trilogy" is also one of my favorite songs from ELP. It goes through different sytles, from 4/4 to 5/4 to 6/4. I just can't get enough of it. "Living Sin" is another rock song that is OK, but might be the low point on the album. The record does end on a high note, however. "Abaddon's Bolero" is another great Emerson synth piece. All I can say is, "Daaaaaaaaaa, daa da da da tut, ta taaaaaaaaa." Just listen to the song to understand.

This album has a special quality, something related to mood. While the change from "Tocatta" to "Still.... You Turn Me On" on "Brain Salad Surgery" makes an interesting jumping effect of contrast, as between "Knife Edge" and "The Three Fates" in the first ELP album, on "Trilogy" there are, even in the contrasting songs, an enigmatic smoothness among them. The piano introduction of "Endless Enigma" prepares the "Fugue", as this one makes "From the beginning" peaceful personality to impose itself all right after "Endless II". Emerson used to change his Hammond sound each record a bit. In "Trilogy" he had somehow the most proper and universal hammond ELP sound, the glissandi shaking than ever. Related in someways with "A Time and a Place" from "Tarkus", "Living Sin" has heavy sound, in a sincere violent rock'n roll song, with Lake's versatility. Indeed, highest and lowest vocal lines are in this record, the most rock'n roll sharped appearence of Lake in ELP.

"The Endless Enigma (part one)/Fugue/The Endless Enigma (part two)" is the best ELP synopsis, with trumpet synth sounds at the end that are incomparable, together with hammond and tubular bells producing a heavenly effect - the finest orchestrating effect found in the band's early records. I would say that Emerson's notion of sonority balance was at its peak, in no point of "Trilogy" you aren't able to hear a musical line because of excessive distortions or noise, and besides that, the album is full of belligerent sounds. "Trilogy" track has very effective synth effects, Palmer gives it a monstruous weight, as Lake thicks his voice after the middle of the song. Abbadon's Bolero is an interesting exercise after Ravel and Wendy Carlos (the orchestral version of the 77 tour was an impressive introducion). "The Sheriff" has something of "Jeremy Bender", rocky and a style apart from ELP's real personality. "Hoedown" makes clear again ELP' skilful arrangements. Marvelous.

From the beginning strains of "The Endless Enigma", to the final blaring notes of "Abaddon's Bolero", this album is truly a gem. I never tire of listening to this musical masterpiece. Technically brilliant and masterfully crafted. ELP knew no peer. Granted YES, Gentle Giant, Genesis, etc were and are great bands, ELP has that something extra that keeps them ahead of the pack. It's a shame that Greg has relegated his waking time to eating bon bons and lounging on the couch, but that's another story. Buy this, and your place in Heaven will be assured. At least Heaven on Earth. And Greg, put down that bacon grease sandwich and pickup your bass.

"The Endless Enigma Pt.1," "Fugue," and "The Endless Enigma Pt.2" make one of the finest progressive rock suite's ever performed. "From the Beginning" is an intelligent and acoustically brilliant song. "The Sheriff," and "Hoedown" make fine additions to the album, and the remaining tracks burst with progressive energy and talent. the only album comparable to this is the debut...

Even within the genre of progressive rock, Emerson Lake & Palmer have always been an acquired taste---either you like this power trio's intricate, complex arrangements & show-offy musicianship, or you don't. But I, for one, have to give these guys some credit---much of ELP's music is very strong & powerful, indeed. Keyboardist extraordinaire Keith Emerson, singer/guitarist/bassist Greg Lake, and drummer Carl Palmer are all tremendous musicians (with Lake sporting one of the great, commanding voices in all of rock, besides), and when put together in a recording studio or on a stage, these guys are a mighty three-piece rock orchestra.ELP's third album, 1972's "Trilogy," is also their best. Keith, Greg, and Carl really sound like a well-oiled machine on this one. The great dramatic shifts of "The Endless Enigma" are awesome. Greg Lake's "From The Beginning" is a brilliant acoustic masterpiece (and arguably my favorite ELP song, bar none). "The Sheriff" is terrific Wild West fun, and the kinetic "Hoedown" is another great ELP staple. The title track is an amazing piece (love that exuberant instrumental section, too), "Living Sin" is a strong, steady rocker (with Lake's deliciously demonic voice sounding like a creature rising from the tarpits), and finally, "Abaddon's Bolero" is an excellent march that builds & builds to a great climax---you can just imagine some armor-clad army going off to battle with this one. And "Trilogy" is also the best-sounding album from ELP, the group's production work here sounding as sharp as a knife.Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Trilogy" is the band's strongest album, with every single track on it a bonafide winner. They have other great albums, of course: "Emerson Lake & Palmer," "Tarkus," "Brain Salad Surgery," etc., but for me, ELP's brand of art-rock works to maximum effect on this one. "Trilogy" is Keith, Greg, and Carl at the peak of their powers.