"Tarkus" is the title track of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's second album. The progressive rock epic lasts 20:35. It was the longest studio song by the band until the three impressions of "Karn Evil 9". The name "Tarkus" refers to the armadillo-tank from the William Neal paintings on the album cover. The artist has explained that the name is an amalgamation between 'Tartarus' and ''. Consequently, the name refers to the "futility of war, a man made mess with symbols of mutated destruction." The song "Tarkus" itself supposedly follows the adventures of Tarkus from his birth, through a fight with a manticore, which he loses and concludes with an aquatic version of Tarkus named "Aquatarkus". Keith Emerson, when asked what work he is proudest of, named his Piano Concerto and Tarkus.
Movements
"Tarkus" itself is broken down into seven parts :
"Eruption" – 0:00
"Stones of Years" – 2:43
"Iconoclast" – 6:27
"Mass" – 7:43
"Manticore" – 10:55
"Battlefield" – 12:47
"Aquatarkus" – 16:39
All the music except 'Battlefield' is written by Emerson. All the lyrics are written by Lake.
Lyrics
The parts supposedly follow Tarkus' birth in a volcaniceruption centuries before known history. The exact nature of Tarkus' origin and actions are unknown, and left ambiguous by its creator, Keith Emerson. "Eruption" itself presents a musical impression of cascading eruption on the keyboards in a time signature, backed by Carl Palmer on drums. This segues into the "Stones of Years", the first of three vocal sections. The second, third, fourth and fifth are supposedly the movements that represent the enemies he meets:
The interlude of the aforementioned "Stones of Years", the second movement, represents the travel of Tarkus and the enemy he meets first. The "Stones of Years" are thought to resemble a mixture of a "stone" version of a cybernetic spider-like creature with spikes like a stegosaurus; a shield embedded in its side; two antennae, each with its own set of eyes; and what looks like a set of two poison gas tanks on the back, sort of resembling a futuristic station. As the interlude is reaching its end, the enemy is overpowered and then finished off by Tarkus' turrets before the song returns to vocal.
"Iconoclast" is the third movement and the movement which represents the enemy Tarkus meets second. The "Iconoclast", according to the inner gatefold, is a mixture of a pterodactyl and a war airplane, and is rapidly overpowered by guitar for "Mass".
"Mass" is the name of Tarkus' third enemy and the fourth movement, which is filled with numerous religious references; it often had its lyrics dropped in tours by the Keith Emerson Band, as does Stones of Years. The "Mass" is often thought to be a mixture of a lizard, grasshopper and a rocket launcher.
This is followed by "Manticore" in which the final enemy of Tarkus appears and a battle ensues between variations on the "Tarkus" theme and the Manticore's. Ultimately, Tarkus is defeated and "Battlefield" follows.
The movement "Battlefield" is the only part written entirely by Greg Lake.
"Aquatarkus" closes the track, centering mostly on a march based on the "Battlefield" theme and then returning to the original "Eruption" theme as a farewell to Tarkus and a greeting to the aquatic Aquatarkus.
Production
According to Emerson, while Palmer was excited by some of the technical opportunities the song would present, Lake was not quite so enamoured, telling Emerson "If you want to play that sort of stuff, I suggest you play it on your solo album." The band almost broke up over the issue, Emerson telling Lake "Take it or leave it." The managers convinced Lake to stay and record the piece. Lake evidently did have the album grow on him, stating in an interview after the release: "It's about the futility of conflict expressed in 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." He has also complimented "Stones of Years" as one of his favourite parts of "Tarkus". Lake admits to not being entirely sure of what it means, but says it is about, "listening, understanding, hearing." When asked how Tarkus could be written so quickly, Emerson said:
Our sort of creativity comes in varying periods. We get long periods when there isn't any creativity, we go into a studio and nothing sounds right, you know. Tarkus was written in six days because there was an awful lot of inspiration and one idea triggered another idea, and it was a long series of ideas being triggered off of what we had already done.
Reception
The song, described by one journalist to be "about a post-apocalyptic, metal-plated, bionic armadillo outfitted with enough weaponry to wage perpetual solo warfare," remains a fan favourite and was consistently played at ELP, Keith Emerson Band and Carl Palmer band concerts. "Stones of Years" was used as a single from "Tarkus". The album as a whole reached number 1 on UK charts and number 9 in the US. Emerson, Lake & Palmer played a 27-minute version of Tarkus on Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends... Ladies and Gentlemen, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. A brief sample of King Crimson's "Epitaph" appears as a coda to Battlefield, followed by Aquatarkus and an extended solo by Emerson.
Other recordings
In 2004, the Japanese classical pianist Aki Kuroda released an album with a classical adaptation of "Tarkus". In 2007, Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess included a cover of this song in his solo album The Road Home, which consists mostly of covers of classic progressive rock songs. Emerson recorded a new instrumental version with Marc Bonilla, Terje Mikkelsen and the Munich Radio Orchestra, which appears on their 2012 album Three Fates under the title Tarkus – Concertante.
