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Trilogy by  Released6 July 1972RecordedOctober 1971–January 1972Studio, LondonLength42:23 chronology
(1971)Trilogy
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(1973)

Trilogy is the third studio album by English  band , released in July 1972 on .

Trilogy increased ELP's worldwide popularity, and included "Hoedown", an arrangement of the  , which was one of their most popular songs when performing live.

 said this was his favourite ELP record.

Background and recording

In September 1971, the band took a break in their summer North American tour promoting  (1971) and  (1971) to record new material for their next studio album. In a May 1972 magazine report, the album had yet to have a title. Emerson was pleased with the album after it was completed, noting its varied and difference in style to Tarkus.

The artwork was designed by . It depicts a combined  of the three members, while the interior of the original  sleeve features a  of the three in .  Spanish artist  was approached to design it, but he requested $50,000 to do it and was subsequently turned down. The front cover depicts each of the band members' faces; Emerson said this was so as their previous albums had not featured them.

References to a quad version of this album appeared in 1974 Harrison or Schwann record and tape guides, listing Trilogy in the Quadraphonic 8-track tape cartridge format. Collectors report never seeing a Trilogy Q8 at retail, despite its having a catalogue number "Cotillion QT-9903."

Songs

"The Endless Enigma" is a suite in three parts; the first section begins with the sound of a beating heart, an effect sometimes claimed to have been created by the Ludwig Speed King bass drum pedal of Palmer's Ludwig Octaplus kit. However, in the sleeve notes to the 2015 CD/DVD reissue, remix engineer  is quoted as saying "I've discovered [it is] actually Greg playing... muted strings on his bass guitar".

"" is a soft, acoustic guitar-based piece that peaked at No. 39 on the US charts. More often appearing in ELP compilations than live concerts, the track lent its name to a 1997 retrospective of Greg Lake's work. The song was also covered by Czech folk rock band , albeit under a different name (Studená koupel – Cold Bath) and with Czech lyrics.

During the opening drum solo on the track "The Sheriff", Carl Palmer accidentally hit the rim of his tom-tom with a drumstick. He can be heard responding with the word "Shit!" when listening carefully. "The Sheriff" ends with a honky tonk-type piano solo with Palmer playing woodblocks.[]

"Hoedown" is a cover of "Hoe-Down" from the ballet  (1942) by . It became the opening song for both the Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery tours.

"Abaddon's Bolero" sounds like a  turned into a march (in 4/4 rhythm rather than the usual 3/4). The song was originally titled Bellona's Bolero after the goddess of war. A single melody containing multiple modulations within itself is repeated over and over in ever more thickly layered arrangements, starting from a quiet Hammond organ making a flute-like sound over a snare drum, and building up to a wall of sound – 's famous  uses a similar effect. There is also a quote from the British traditional song "Girl I left Behind Me". "Abaddon's Bolero" is replete with . Almost every time an instrument comes in, another overdub follows. "Abaddon's Bolero" was only played live a handful of times, with  handling  and additional  duties (other synth parts accompanied them from a reel-to-reel tape playing off-stage which Emerson had pre-recorded); the song turned out to be a disaster, and when the tape stopped mid-way through the song during one show, it was cut from the . The band brought the piece back for the start of their 1977 tour, during which they were accompanied by an orchestra.

Reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingC–

The album reached No. 5 on the  and peaked at No. 2 on the UK album charts. It appeared in the Top 10 in  for 4 non-consecutive weeks, peaking at No. 6.

 praised the album for Keith Emerson's "steady progression" on the Moog synthesizer.  wrote, "The pomposities of Tarkus and the monstrosities of the Moussorgsky homage clinch it – these guys are as stupid as their most pretentious fans."

Track listing

All lyrics are written by ; all music is composed by  except where noted.

Side oneNo.TitleMusicArrangementLength1."The Endless Enigma (Part 1)"  6:412."Fugue" ()  1:563."The Endless Enigma (Part 2)"  2:034.""Greg Lake 4:165."The Sheriff"  3:226."" (Instrumental)3:47Side twoNo.TitleAdditional musicianLength1."Trilogy" 8:542."Living Sin"3:133."Abaddon's Bolero" (Instrumental) 8:08