Track Listing

1. The Endless Enigma (Part 1)
2. Fugue
3. The Endless Enigma (Part 2)
4. From The Beginning
5. The Sheriff
6. Hoedown
7. Trilogy
8. Living Sin
9. Abaddon's Bolero
10. Hoedown

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17192 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 46 minutes

CD Description
For an album that begins with an extended two-part piece called "The Endless Enigma" (bifurcated by something called "Fugue") and closes with a rock bolero, TRILOGY is surprisingly song-oriented and accessible. As usual, the long instrumental sections are dominated by Emerson's madman organ work and monophonic synth lines. These are interspersed, however with strong melodic/lyrical statements from Greg Lake, making the whole thing cohere more than anyone had any right to expect. The light-hearted Old West motif of "The Sheriff" (complete with honky tonk piano) and an Emersonized version of Copland's "Hoedown" add valuable humor. The ominous "Living Sin" features one of Lake's nastiest vocals, and the title cutranks among ELP's finest pseudo-classical moments.

Customer Reviews

A Great Album...
I could never get on with "Tarkus". It just sounds rushed to me. This one, on the other hand, seems to get the recipe just right. It continues the complexity (and dexterity) of the first two albums, but presents the music with a little more consideration and subtlety in my opinion. The whole thing has stood the test of time too, despite being very much OF its time, if you see what I mean.

The recording and production is superb for the era too, as is the CD mastering, only needing a decent quality HiFi system to do it full justice.

Much as I like and respect ELP's other albums (except "Love Beach"), THIS is the one I return to every so often and really enjoy.

If all you have is the dire sounding mid seventies "Manticore" LP, you'll have the shock of your life playing the CD for the first time. If you have an original UK "Island" cut, you'll be delighted that the quality and subtlety has been retained, enhanced even, with much cleaner bass notes, and little or no tape hiss to get in the way...

RECOMMENDED!

Keith Emerson turns in his synthesizer for a good old piano
There two things I always remember about ELP's "Trilogy" 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 (think early years of "Eyewitness News").

"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.

Rock for those with an appreciation classical music
Lets face it, most rock music isn't, well, very intellectually challenging, and compared to classical works it's simplistic and a bit on the thin side. Lyrically, most barely makes it above GCSE standard (I'll maybe make an exception for Dylan and Springsteen). Sure the bands can put on a good show and most play competently enough, but they're too frequently found wanting musically. ELP are perhaps the only band to really try and bridge the gap between the depth and sophistication of classical music and the energy and bravado of rock. Emerson is classically trained (although not formally) and is a true keyboard virtuoso, Palmer is a classically trained percussionist and arguably the best technical rock drummer and Lake is a more than competent bassist with an rich and versatile voice.

Trilogy is a well crafted collection of songs that are easy to listen to. A minority of ELP fans would suggest that this is their best album, I can hear their point but I'm not sure I agree, it's all subjective of course. Trilogy starts off with the Endless Enigma which is lyrically reminiscent of King Crimson but musically is pure Emerson with his fondness for developing themes in his music. It is punctuated by a quite brilliant Bach like fugue of great complexity that admirably showcases Emerson's undoubted ability.

The Sheriff is one of ELP's light hearted music hall pieces played on honky-tonk piano and is a parody of all those Hollywood westerns.

From the Beginning is a pleasant and relaxed ballad by Lake that showcases, briefly, some of his acoustic guitar skills. And works as a counterpoint for the first piece.

Hoedown is an instrumental piece by Aaron Copland that re-enforced the Western theme from the Sheriff. It was later to become the opening piece for the band's live performances where they played it at breakneck speed.

The title track Trilogy is a piece in three movements and is a departure for Emerson where he abandons his more percussive style for a more melodic one. It culminates in a frenetic movement where Lake underpins the piece whilst Emerson and Palmer interweave keyboards and drums to form the melody - very impressive if a little self indulgent.

Living Sin is a subtle blues and classical mix but ultimately fails to impress and sounds one of the weaker pieces on the album.

Bolero is based upon the structure of Ravel's Bolero but the melody is quite different. Bolero uses overdubs to build an impressive crescendo exploring different tones and themes along the way.

Trilogy is a coherent and cohesive collection of songs that makes an excellent introduction to the works of ELP. Not too self indulgent and no 20 minute prog-rock monsters. It is rock, but rock for those with an appreciation of the classical and that like an intellectual challenge.