The Wolf and Action Jackson thirst for knowledge about rock n roll. The bands, the musicians, the albums, the songs, the studios, the history - we want to know it all!! But no one knows everything, we all have blind spots. So as a way to further our own knowledge and understanding of rock music, we've developed a new, somewhat regular segment we call On First Listen. Here we take an album that we've never listened to and give it our usual track x track evaluation. Everyone has albums that they've always been curious about or have seen on Top 50 lists or had a friend swear is the best kept secret on the planet but for whatever reason, you've never heard it. We kick off this new series with 1973's Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Our heroes were late to the prog landscape and when they first got into music via MTV in the 1980s, Genesis and Yes were pop bands, not prog rock giants. The boys didn't really come to appreciate progressive rock until later in life. However, Carl Palmer (the Palmer in Emerson, Lake & Palmer) they had familiarity with through his work in Asia and he was a guest on UAWIL #80. But the The Wolf & Action had never listened to the album Carl called his favorite in ELP, Brain Salad Surgery. They were familiar with the cover by HR Giger (Alien) but didn't see the hidden pictures from the original work of art. Nor did they know the meaning of Brain Salad Surgery (we get into it). And though they knew their song that started, "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends" they had no idea what the name of the song was (Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2 doesn't exactly roll off the tongue). Despite all that it is considered one of the true prog masterpieces of all time.

So the boys set out to explore what Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer were up to in 1973. Will it become an instant favorite? Or will it be something they appreciate but never listen to again? You'll have to listen to find out what they think about ELP's 1973 classic.

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