Emerson, Lake & Palmer Brain Salad Surgery MFSL 180g 33RPM LP (Use code: FREESHIPPING at Checkout Two Orders or More UK Only)

Famously uttered by bassist-guitarist Greg Lake, those words encapsulate the theatricality, thrills, breadth, and fascination surrounding Brain Salad Surgery — Emerson, Lake & Palmer's fourth studio album. Originally released in late 1973, it finds the trio taking front-to-back control of its situation and incorporating several studio firsts. The platinum-certified effort also stands as one of the greatest prog-rock feats in history. Its cohesive blend of musicianship, songwriting, and production set a standard that, decades later, remains revered amid fans and critics alike.

Mastered at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's California studio by Krieg Wunderlich (assisted by Neal Harris), housed in a deluxe double gatefold Stoughton jacket complete with a fold-out die-cut insert, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, the reissue label's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM LP of Brain Salad Surgery presents the record Emerson, Lake & Palmer member Carl Palmer deemed his favorite in audiophile sound. Clear, dynamic, and balanced, this collectible version honors the meticulous approaches that informed the playing and recording of the record.

Featuring black backgrounds and quiet surfaces, Mobile Fidelity's reissue brings to light the epic scope, tonal depth, and high degree of virtuosity on display. Key characteristics — textures, nuances, effects, melodies, tempo changes — that go hand-in-hand with the trio's compositions and interplay are rendered amid broad soundstages and delivered with pinpoint detail. Whether you've owned multiple copies of this touchstone or seeking out your first copy, you'll relish the presence, separation, imaging, and solidity that help make every passage come across as the group intended.

That care extends to the faithful reproduction of the original coveted packaging. Designed by iconic artist H.R. Giger, the cover visually combines an industrial machine with the top half of a human skull along with the now-recognizable ELP logo. A circular screen attached to the right panel opens to reveal another painting that shows a female face, braided hair, and lobotomy scars. On the inside panels, a portrait-style photo of each ELP member is seen within the circular space in Giger's biomechanical illustration.