Tarkus

Emerson, Lake & Palmer began to work on their second studio album in January 1971.[3]

The "Tarkus" suite caused tensions within the band—Lake objected to the music Emerson was developing and nearly left the group over it; one of the band's managers persuaded him to stay. He eventually came to see the work's value, and even contributed the "Battlefield section".[4]

"Tarkus" is a suite in seven parts—one of the earliest multipart progressive-rock suites. The recorded version lasts nearly 21 minutes and takes up a full side of the album. The odd-numbered sections are instrumentals, and the even-numbered ones vocal tracks. It is a concept piece the idea for which is gleaned not from the music and lyrics alone, but also from the album artwork and the section titles; nevertheless the concept and narrative remain ambiguous and open to interpretation. The second side of the album is made up of short songs unrelated to "Tarkus" or to each other.[4]

William Neal made the artwork for the album's cover and gatefold. The cover image of a Giant armadillo on tank treads has become an iconic image in progressive rock.[5]

Emerson said, "To everyone, it represented what we were doing in that studio. The next day on my drive up from Sussex the imagery of the armadillo kept hitting me. It had to have a name. Something guttural. It had to begin with the letter 'T' and end with a flourish. "Tarka the Otter" may have come into it, but this armadillo needed a science fiction kind of name that represented Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in reverse. Some mutilation of the species caused by radiation ... 'Tarkus'!"[6]

The gatefold presents eleven panels that illustrate the events of "Tarkus". It begins with an erupting volcano, below which Tarkus emerges from an egg. Tarkus faces a number of cybernetic creatures, culminating in a battle against the Manticore. The Manticore stings Tarkus's eye, and Tarkus retreats bleeding into a river.[5]

Tarkus was released on 14 June 1971 in the UK on Island Records, appearing two months later in the US by Atlantic Records' subsidiary label Cotillion Records.[7] It is one of only two ELP studio albums to reach the Top 10 in the United States, making it to No. 9 (Trilogy, the following year, got to No. 5), while in Britain it is their only number-one album.[7] Additionally, Tarkus spent a total of 17 weeks in the UK Albums Chart.[8] In Japan the album was released on Atlantic Records. Later vinyl reissues were on the Manticore label.

Tarkus was certified gold in the United States shortly after its release on 26 August 1971.[9]

In 1993, the album was first digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio at PolyGram Studios. This remastered version was released by Victory Music in Europe and Rhino Records in North America.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab issued Anadisq 200 Series LP (MFSL-1-203) and Gold CD UltraDisc II (UDCD 598)[10] remasters in 1994. These items are currently out of print.[11]

In May 2012, Steven Wilson announced that he had recently remixed two classic albums by ELP, their first (eponymous) album from 1970 and second album Tarkus from 1971. Both albums were subsequently released by Sony 27 August 2012 as 3-disc sets. In each case disc one is a CD of the original mix (duplicating the Palmaccio master), disc two is a CD of the stereo remix in the form of an alternate version of the album, adding a lot of bonus material and previously undiscovered tracks recorded during the sessions. Disc 3 is a DVD-Audio containing lossless 5.1 surround sound mixes and high resolution versions of the 2012 stereo mixes.[12]

Although it is now considered a quintessential progressive rock album, Tarkus received generally unfavourable reviews from critics upon its release, such as David Lebin in Rolling Stone who wrote: "Tarkus records the failure of three performers to become creators. Regardless of how fast and how many styles they can play. Emerson, Lake and Palmer will continue turning out mediocrity like Tarkus until they discover what, if anything, it is that they must say on their own and for themselves."[13]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[14]
Sound & Vision	[15]
Classic Rock Revisited	A[16]
The Daily Vault	A[17]
Sea of Tranquility	[18]
Classic Rock	[19]

François Couture, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, said that Tarkus is "a very solid album, especially to the ears of prog rock fans – no Greg Lake acoustic ballads, no lengthy jazz interludes". Couture concluded, "More accomplished than the trio's first album, but not quite as polished as Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus is nevertheless a must-have."[14]

Emerson said that Tarkus was one of his favourite albums, "not least because the title track has taken on a life of its own".[7]

In 2015, Sean Murphy of PopMatters ranked Tarkus the 21st best classic progressive rock album of all time.[20]

• Ford, Peter T. (August 1994). The Compositional Style of Keith Emerson in Tarkus (1971) for the Rock Music Trio Emerson Lake and Palmer (M.A.). Indiana State University. OCLC 812040625. Retrieved 7 January 2015.