On October 2nd, 2007 Shout! Factory furthers its reissue campaign of progressive rock’s most prolific group with the much awaited release of Emerson Lake & Palmer’s 1973 masterwork Brain Salad Surgery.
Brain Salad Surgery is the fourth album in the Emerson Lake & Palmer catalog (fifth if you include the live Pictures at an Exhibition), and was the first on their Manticore imprint. ELP fans had to wait 18 months for the follow up to Tarkus and nothing could have prepared them for the sounds and ideas hidden behind the (pre-Alien fame) H.R. Giger cover art. The reissue of Brain Salad Surgery was remastered from the analog tapes, includes new liner notes by author and music journalist Dave Thompson, and is packaged inside a replica of the brilliant original artwork.
With just five pieces of music, Emerson Lake & Palmer set a standard for progressive music that to this very day has yet to be topped; Brain Salad Surgery is an absolute masterpiece within the genre and beyond.
Brain Salad Surgery’s most infamous track, “Karn Evil 9” continues the man vs. machine apocalyptical science fiction vision heard on Tarkus. Also of note is their Ginastera approved interpretation of his 1st piano concerto, “Tocatta” and the highly accessible and equally haunting ballad “Still…You Turn Me On”. Available for the first time on this deluxe reissue of Brain Salad Surgery is a never before heard alternate mix of “Jerusalem” and a stunning instrumental version of the “Karn Evil 9” suite.
On August 7th, Shout! Factory is reissuing a stellar live offering, 1974’s Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, that includes new liner notes by Los Angeles Times scribe Steve Hochman.
Welcome Back My Friends… is a wonderful companion to Brain Salad Surgery showcasing blistering live renditions of every track except "Benny the Bouncer," all rounded out with tastefully selected crowd pleasers. The album was recorded live during ELP’s “Get Me A Ladder” tour of 1973-74, capturing, with no overdubs, each member’s startling virtuosity proving itself an accurate representation of the ELP experience at the absolute height of their collective powers. Listen (loudly) to the album in its entirety and you’ll hear why it was ELP’s highest U.S. charting album (#4 on the Billboard charts).
Each album in the Shout! Factory Emerson Lake & Palmer Remasters series has been remastered from the analog tapes using the highest sonic technology available and contain insightful new liner notes by ELP experts.
The other ELP releases now available on Shout! Factory include a comprehensive two-disc anthology titled The Essential Emerson Lake & Palmer, as well as Emerson Lake & Palmer, Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition, and Trilogy.
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