There two things I always remember about this album 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. The song was also, believe it or not, the group's highest charting single, making it to #39 on the Billboard Chart (you were going to guess "Lucky Man," but you would have been wrong), although it never really worked well in concert, mainly because is lacks a chorus where everybody can sing along.
"Trilogy" was the third studio 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 that I personally favor. At this point you have to say they are showing a certain degree of sophistication hitherto only hinted at on their previous efforts, and producer Eddie Offord has to get some of the credit for reigning in the boys and refining their sound.
The two parts of "The Endless Enigma" are bridged by a "Fugue," that shows ELP's interest in pursuing classical musical forms. By now we recognize the group's pattern of having a jazzy interlude in the middle of their most ambitious compositions (e.g., "Take a Pebble," "Karn Evil 9"). Obviously the final track, "Abaddon's Bolero," is a complete exercise in formal classical composition. "The Sheriff" is one of those cute ditties the group tended to indulge in a bit too much, while "Living Sin" with its deep organ bit is a brief burst of bombast, and "Hoedown" from Aaron Copeland's "Rodeo" remains one of their better direct adaptations of a classical work. The title track, with one of Emerson's most elegant piano themes, and "From the Beginning," highlight the instrumentality of the group in a clearer, cleaner style than we heard previously. 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. The live version of "Hoedown" included is a minor but welcomed addition to this remastered version of the album.