Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Emerson Lake & Palmer are known to be some of the most pompous of the ’70s prog rockers. Ridiculous song lengths, endless solos and too clever for their own good. But if that is your thing then check this monster out.Emerson Lake & Palmer is the 1970 début album from the band of the same name. Three world class musicians and song writers doing what they do best with a slight hint of overkill. By that I refer to their reputation for long never ending tracks. The band’s first venture thankfully is a little bit more down to Earth than their later efforts and this is what might attract fans to this album rather than their more well known albums.The first album from these prog rock masters is more clever than excessive. Something that sorely lacked in their later releases. Sure there is a 12 minute epic in, Take A Pebble. However like the rest of the songs on this album, they have been cleverly written so that they don’t exceed their usefulness. Most of the songs presented here are based on classical pieces. The Barbarian is based on Allegro Barbaro and Knife-Edge is based roughly on Leoš Janáček’s Sinfonietta for example. Well written and composed music that should interest classical musicians just as much as rock fans who want to rock out to that Moog and Organ solos. The three piece suite The Three Fates is perhaps the strongest of the six tracks. Three sections based on the three sisters of Greek Mythology, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. This track was written solely by Keith Emerson and has his trademark sound all over it. Fans also get to enjoy the 7 minute drum solo known as, Tank, and the ballad finale, Lucky Man. A nice little song to finish off the album and really sticks out amongst the rest of the material presented on Emerson Lake & Palmer.Fans of early ’70s rock will swallow this up. There is nothing presented here that you will not find on Deep Purple’s extended jams and other groups from the period. The thunderous bass, improvising jazz drumming and the roof destroying organ is classic rock through and through. Thankfully these songs do not out live their worth and drag on like others. However it is perfectly understandable if people can’t get to grips with the excessive nature of these tracks.There is not much else to say really. After 45 years, Emerson Lake & Palmer still sounds absolutely fantastic on the original vinyl and has been treated with respect with a most excellent CD remaster. There is even a 5.1 surround mix out there for you folks with the giant sound system.If you’re a fan of prog and don’t own this, GO BUY IT NOW. If you’re not familiar with prog rock but do enjoy a bit of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and other jam based bands then I would give it a try. As mentioned above, you’ll find the same style from these bands on their live albums. The only difference is that Emerson Lake & Palmer recorded it in the studio instead. Great stuff!Published by Steven Lornie

In their latter days of international super-stardom ELP were often justifiably accused of an excess of choreographed showmanship and the triumph of technique over genuine feeling in the music, especially in their spectacular, no-holds-barred big-arena stage shows.Well, not here. This first album, recorded in 1970, is a landmark of musical innovation and virtuosity born of the fresh enthusiasm of youth combining classical music motifs (Emerson was a classically trained pianist), the improvisational ideas of jazz fusion, some standard rock-genre verse-chorus song structures and even some simple folk-derived melodies to produce an enjoyable cocktail of excellence still eminently listenable after 40 years: a sure sign of greatness.This 2012 package from Sony offers two CDs plus an audio-only DVD presented in a 4-section fold-out with the original album-cover art front-and-back. The first disk features the original album mix produced in 1970 by Greg Lake; the second a recent stereo remix adding some bonus material and the DVD is in 5.1 surround sound DTS & PCM stereo. All the remixing work was done by Grammy-winning sound wizard Steven Wilson. A 16-page booklet replete with period photos from the 1970s, full track listings and story-narrative by Chris Welch completes the package.Of most interest to fans will probably be the extra material on CD-2 & the DVD. This includes:* An extended version of `Knife Edge' (a reworking of Janacek's classic `Sinfonietta'), plus a wholly instrumental cut of the same track* An early studio recording of Mussorgsky's `Promenade' from the `Pictures at an Exhibition' suite, with Greg Lake singing unaccompanied in perfect pitch* A syncopated track titled `Rave Up' which subsequently evolved into `Mass' on `Tarkus' showcasing some awesome time-switching interplay between Emerson and Palmer* A drum solo from Carl - probably of interest only to drummers* Several alternate takes of `Lucky Man' and `Take a Pebble' (one wholly instrumental but unfortunately cut short)Fusing classical and rock music has always been difficult and rarely successful, possibly managed with true panache only by ELP. The original album mix sounds as good as ever, from the lounge-jazz-feel middle section of the 12-minute `Take a Pebble' to Emerson's awesome piano and church-organ work on `The Three Fates.' Because some of the 1970 master tapes - notably of `Tank' - are lost, even a sound wizard like Wilson is unable to improve on some of the original recordings, and doubtless nit-picking audiophiles will never be satisfied. But overall the sound (especially on the DVD, if you have the equipment to exploit its qualities) is good.If you don't have this interesting piece of rock history in your collection, then this is the one to buy. If you've only ever heard ELP's successful singles such as `Lucky Man' and `Father Christmas' and don't know their adventurous early album material, then this is where you should start. It's a purchase you're unlikely to regret and for the price, it's a steal.