Description
Emerson, Lake & Palmer Expand Their Fusion of Rock, Classical, and Jazz Themes on Trilogy: Includes the Hit Ballad “From the Beginning” and Interpretation of Copland’s “Hoedown”
Mastered at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s Studio and Housed in a Stoughton Gatefold Jacket: Numbered-Edition 180g 33RPM LP of 1972 Album Plays with Spectacular Dynamics and Clarity
1/4” / 15 IPS / Dolby A analog copy to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe
There’s a reason Greg Lake deemed Trilogy “such an accurate record” when looking back at it decades later. Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s third studio album teems with exacting arrangements, copious overdubs, and multi-hued colors that showcase the band’s willingness to experiment and desire to put everything in its proper place without becoming too self-serious. Expanding by distilling the ferocious power of its debut and epic leanings of the preceding Tarkus into a more accessible whole, Trilogy stands as the most representative example of the ensemble’s trademark styles.
Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 33RPM LP of Trilogy presents the gold-certified effort in audiophile quality marked by clear, direct, dynamic, and balanced sound. With black backgrounds, quiet surfaces, and exceptional definition, the collectible reissue brings to fore the visionary depth and virtuosic musicianship on display.
The album-opening trilogy based around “The Endless Enigma” scampers, romps, and swirls as it pushes the boundaries on sophisticated time signatures all the while remaining approachable and melodic. ELP incorporates the sound of everything from church bells to beating hearts and eerie Moog synthesizers into the Trilogy scenery, with “Fugue” functioning as both an elegant breather and transition.
The band further taps classical devices for its now-iconic interpretation of Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown.” Spirited and spry, the round-we-go instrumental presents Emerson, Lake, and Palmer at their collective finest via on-point rhythms, balanced attack, and palpable energy. That the group leads into the adaptation with Western-themed storytelling on “The Sheriff” adds to the fun and coherency. And who can resist the band’s brief nod to cartoon music and Emerson’s honky-tonk piano lines during the coda?
Tracklisting:
