The Battle of Epping Forest
Selling England by the Pound, 1973
Genesis
"The Battle of Epping Forest" is an eleven-minute piece detailing a gangwar between Little John's thugs and Willy Wright and his boys as they battle for gangland boundaries. The story parodies a newspaper story of the times. It starts off with a rather memorable march-styled intro before breaking into what I can only refer to as "the easily-identifiable Genesis sound." This piece details the backstories of the gangs, the battle in question, and the actions of the higher-ups as they watch on. It's a very complex track, very difficult to accurately perform live, and the various voices and accents of the colourful cast make singing it solo just as challenging. ..even though it's supposed to be solo. Peter Gabriel rocks. >w>
Conclusion: It is a weird song; I can understand how Sam might feel strongly against it.
Tarkus
Tarkus, 1971
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
"Tarkus" is a twenty-minute epic/suite telling the allegorical tale of eponymous mecha Tarkus, an armadillo-tank hybrid that kills all in its path. The suite climaxes as Tarkus duels a manticore, only to be bested. However, we get a cliffhanger ending as Tarkus is reborn in the sea... as Aquatarkus! Most of the story is an allegory of war, religion, and.. more war. Musically, we get pretty much twenty straight minutes of ELP at their finest. Some might call this piece "wankery," "a fine example of the excesses of prog rock," and "self-indulgence in musical form." Oh yeah? Well I say fuck you. It's an outstanding piece of work. .w. The final movement, Aquatarkus (starts at 6:18 on the second video), has one of the single catchiest melodies I've ever heard.
Conclusion: No, I don't get how Sam could feel powerful feelings from this epic. Though I guess the concept of a giant armadillo-tank, especially one that can swim, that stops all in its path.. that's a pretty foreboding concept.
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