Tarkus: Expanded Edition

In early 1971, ELP began work on its next studio album. During its tour of Europe, Keith developed the "Tarkus" theme. He also picked the name and later said that the motif was inspired by Alberto Ginastera, the Argentinean composer whose "Piano Concerto No.1" Emerson later adapted to write "Toccata". (Emerson later performed "Creole Dance ", which was loosely based on Ginastera's "Suite de Danzes Cirallas").

The second album, called simply Tarkus, was completed in February of 1971. In a February 29, 1971 interview with the NME, Lake said: " It's about the futility of conflict expressed in (the) context.. of soldiers and war. But it's broader than that. The words are about revolution that's gone, that has happened. Where has it got anybody? Nowhere. "

Keith told Contemporary Keyboard magazine in 1977, "I'm very aware of what Carl and Greg like to do and in the case of Tarkus, Carl was very struck by different time signatures. He told me that he'd like to do something in 5/4 , so I said that I'd keep that in mind and started writing 'Tarkus' from there. Greg wasn't too sure about it from the beginning. It was too weird. But he agreed to try it, and afterwards he loved it." ELP spent six days recording Tarkus .

Tarkus is still considered to be one of ELP's finest, to this day. Tarkus contains a variety of music: Honky Tonk ("Jeremy Bender"), to 50s rock and roll ("Are You Ready Eddy?", written for their engineer Eddy Offord). Of course, it also contained plenty of solid progressive rock.

The LP went straight to #1 in the UK and #9 on the US charts. A single," Stones of Years"/"A Time and Place", was released in the US but didn't chart. ELP hadn't yet released any singles in their native England, a practice shared, at that time, by Led Zeppelin.