ELP: "Pictures At An Exhibition"

Original released on LP Island Help 1

(UK, November 1971)

One of the seminal documents of the progressive rock era, a record that made its way into the collections of millions of high-school kids who never heard of Modest Mussorgsky and knew nothing of Russia's Nationalist "Five." It does some violence to Mussorgsky, but "Pictures at an Exhibition" is also the most energetic and well-realized live release in Emerson, Lake & Palmer's catalog, and it makes a fairly compelling case for adapting classical pieces in this way. At the time, it introduced "classical rock" to millions of listeners, including the classical community, most of whose members regarded this record as something akin to an armed assault. The early-'70s live sound is a little crude by today's standards, but the tightness of the playing (Carl Palmer is especially good) makes up for any sonic inadequacies. Keith Emerson is the dominant musical personality here, but Greg Lake and Palmer get the spotlight enough to prevent it from being a pure keyboard showcase. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

EMERSON LAKE & PALMER: Live 1973/74

Original released on Triple LP Manticore K 63500

(UK 1974, August 19)

Upon its release, the 1973 LP "Brain Salad Surgery" had been hailed as Emerson, Lake & Palmer's masterpiece. A long tour ensued that left the trio flushed and begging for time off. Before disbanding for three years, they assembled a three-LP live set (something of a badge of achievement at the time, earned by Yes in 1973 with "Yessongs" and, somewhat more dubiously, Leon Russell with "Leon Live"). "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends" gives a very accurate representation of ELP's shows at the time, including their uncertain sound quality. It isn't that the group didn't try hard to give a good show; they did, but left to just his two hands, without the use of multi-tracking and overdubs to build layer-upon-layer of electronic keyboard sounds, Keith Emerson was at a singular disadvantage on some of the boldest material in the trio's repertory. And even allowing how far the art and science of recording rock concerts had advanced in the 1970s, there were still inherent problems in recording a fully exposed bass - Greg Lake's primary instrument - in an arena setting that couldn't be overcome here. Even the most recent remastered editions could not fix the feedback, the occasionally leakages, the echo, the seeming distance - the listener often gets the impression of being seated in the upper mezzanine of an arena. That said, the group still had a lot of fire, enthusiasm, and cohesion at this point in its history, and that does come through. And if they don't solve every problem with the sound, the remastered editions from Rhino, Japanese WEA, and Sanctuary do give Lake's voice and Emerson's piano their richest, fullest possible tone and a fighting chance in these surroundings, and bring Carl Palmer's drumming much more up close and personal than it ever was on the LP. 

On the down side, the division into two CDs (as opposed to three LPs) means that the 26-minute "Take a Pebble"/"Piano Improvisations"/"Take a Pebble" chain - complete with Lake's excellent acoustic guitar spot for "Still You Turn Me On" and "Lucky Man" - is broken up between the two discs. The song selection - if not quite the career-ranging array of repertory that Yessongs was for Yes - is stellar and features all the material from "Brain Salad Surgery" (with the exception of "Benny the Bouncer"), including a complete 36-minute rendition of "Karn Evil 9," which filled both sides of the third LP in the original set. The latter is thoroughly bracing, with a level of visceral energy that was lacking in some moments of the original studio version, and is also almost as good a showcase for Lake, whose singing and playing here are better than they were on the studio original, as it is for Emerson and Palmer. Add to that a 27-minute "Tarkus" - complete with one Pete Sinfield-authored verse from King Crimson's "Epitaph" (which they'd been adding to the piece in concert at least since the Trilogy tour) -- and you now have three quarters of the music. Hearing any of those three pieces (and the stunning "Toccata") performed live, obviously without any overdubs, makes one realize how accomplished these musicians were, and how well they worked together when the going was good. This was the group's last successful and satisfying tour, as subsequent journeys on the road, in association with the "Works" album, were mired in acrimony about expenses, repertory, ego clashes, and the decision about going out with an orchestra (or not), or were motivated purely by contractual and financial obligations, whereas here they proved that even their most ambitious ideas could work musically, done by just the three of them. The sometimes disappointing sound quality should not be too much of a turnoff for fans, but newcomers should definitely start with the studio albums, and make this the third or fourth ELP album in their collection. And it should be listened too loud. (François Couture in AllMusic)

ELP - "Brain Salad Surgery" (Special Edition)

Original released on LP Manticore K 53501

(UK 1973, November 19)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer's most successful and well-realized album (after their first), and their most ambitious as a group, as well as their loudest, "Brain Salad Surgery" was also the most steeped in electronic sounds of any of their records. The main focus, thanks to the three-part "Karn Evil 9," is sci-fi rock, approached with a volume and vengeance that stretched the art rock audience's tolerance to its outer limit, but also managed to appeal to the metal audience in ways that little of "Trilogy" did. Indeed, "Karn Evil 9" is the piece and the place where Keith Emerson and his keyboards finally matched in both music and flamboyance the larger-than-life guitar sound of Jimi Hendrix. This also marked the point in the group's history in which they brought in their first outside creative hand, in the guise of ex-King Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield. He'd been shopping around his first solo album and was invited onto the trio's new Manticore label, and also asked in to this project as Lake's abilities as a lyricist didn't seem quite up to the 20-minute "Karn Evil 9" epic that Emerson had created as an instrumental. Sinfield's resulting lyrics for "Karn Evil 9: First Impression" and "Karn Evil 9: Third Impression," while not up to the standard of his best Crimson work, were better than anything the group had to work with previously - he was also responsible for Emerson's choice of title, persuading the keyboardist that the music he'd come up with was more evocative of a carnival and fantasy than the pure science fiction concept that Emerson had started with. 

And Greg Lake pulled out all the stops with his heaviest singing voice in handling them, coming off a bit like Peter Gabriel in the process. And amid Carl Palmer's prodigious drumming, it was all a showcase for Emerson, who employed more keyboards and more sounds here - including electronic voices - than had previously been heard on one of their records. The songs (except for the light-hearted throwaway "Benny the Bouncer") are also among their best work - the group's arrangement of Sir Charles Hubert Parry's setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" manages to be reverent yet rocking (a combination that got it banned by the BBC for potential "blasphemy"), while Emerson's adaptation of Alberto Ginastera's music in "Tocatta" outstrips even "The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" from the first album as a distinctive and rewarding reinterpretation of a piece of serious music. Lake's "Still...You Turn Me On," the album's obligatory acoustic number, was his last great ballad with the group, possessing a melody and arrangement sufficiently pretty to forgive the presence of the rhyming triplet "everyday a little sadder / a little madder / someone get me a ladder." And the sound quality was stunning, and the whole album represented a high point that the trio would never again achieve, or even aspire to - after this, each member started to go his own way in terms of creativity and music. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

EMERSON LAKE & PALMER: "Trilogy"

Original released on LP Cotillion SD 9903

(US 1972, July 6)

After the heavily distorted bass and doomsday church organ of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album, the exhilarating prog rock of epic proportions on "Tarkus", and the violent removal of the sacred aura of classical tunes on the live "Pictures at an Exhibition", "Trilogy" features the trio settling down in more crowd-pleasing pastures. Actually, the group was gaining in maturity what they lost in raw energy. Every track on this album has been carefully thought, arranged, and performed to perfection, a process that also included some form of sterilization. Greg Lake's acoustic ballad "From the Beginning" put the group on the charts for a second time. The adaptation of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown" also yielded a crowd-pleaser. Prog rock fans had to satisfy themselves with the three-part "The Endless Enigma" and "Trilogy," both very strong but paced compositions. By 1972, Eddie Offord's recording and producing techniques had reached a peak. He provided a lush, comfy finish to the album that made it particularly suited for living-room listening and the FM airwaves. Yet the material lacks a bit of excitement. "Trilogy" still belongs to ELP's classic period and should not be overlooked. For newcomers to prog rock it can even make a less-menacing point of entry. (François Couture in AllMusic)

ELP "Tarkus" (2 CD-SET)

 

Original released on LP Cotillion SD 9900

(US 1971, June 14)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1970 eponymous LP was only a rehearsal. It hit hard because of the novelty of the act (allegedly the first supergroup in rock history), but felt more like a collection of individual efforts and ideas than a collective work. All doubts were dissipated by the release of "Tarkus" in 1971. Side one of the original LP is occupied by the 21-minute title epic track, beating both Genesis' "Supper's Ready" and Yes' "Close to the Edge" by a year. Unlike the latter group's cut-and-paste technique to obtain long suites, "Tarkus" is a thoroughly written, focused piece of music. It remains among the Top Ten classic tracks in progressive rock history. Because of the strength of side one, the material on the album's second half has been quickly forgotten - with one good reason: it doesn't match the strength of its counterpart - but "Bitches Crystal" and "A Time and a Place" make two good prog rock tracks, the latter being particularly rocking. "Jeremy Bender" is the first in a series of honky tonk-spiced, Far-West-related songs. This one and the rock & roll closer "Are You Ready Eddy?" are the only two tracks worth throwing away. Otherwise "Tarkus" makes a very solid album, especially to the ears of prog rock fans - no Greg Lake acoustic ballads, no lengthy jazz interludes. More accomplished than the trio's first album, but not quite as polished as "Brain Salad Surgery", "Tarkus" is nevertheless a must-have. (François Couture in AllMusic)

EMERSON LAKE & PALMER Debut Album

Original Released as LP Island ILPS 9132
( UK, November 1970)

Recorded at Advision
Engineer: Eddie Offord
Production: Greg Lake
Arranged & Directed: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Cover Painting: Nic Dartnell
Keith Emerson: director, arrangements, songwriter,  keyboards

Greg Lake: director, producer, arrangements, songwriter, vocals, bass, electric & acoustic guitar

Carl Palmer: director, arrangements, songwriter, drums, percussion

During the early 1970s, Emerson, Lake & Palmer combined elements of classical, jazz, and rock to create a keyboard-driven form of music hitherto unheard by fans of the progressive rock genre. Utilizing piano, Hammond organ, and early versions of the Moog synthesizer, Keith Emerson (sadly deceased yesterday, March 10, at the age of 71 - he commited suicide with a gun shot in his head) led the band through territory often bombastic but always left room for the more acoustic interludes of Greg Lake. Combined with the unstoppably energetic drumming of Carl Palmer, ELP was one of the most commercially successful, and heavily criticized, progressive rock bands of all time. This impressive first album from the legendary trio, demonstrating a confidence and maturity that is, on reflection, not surprising given the previous experience of the band members. Listening to this album in the early 1970s was a very complex and emotive experience, showing us the path that music should take on the first years of the 70s to come. The album, simply entitled "Emerson, Lake & Palmer", remains one of the most popular prog-symphonic-rock albums of all time. It still sounds fresh when listening today because the excesses of Keith Emerson are minimal here and Greg Lake is in full condition after leaving King Crimson. It would be the album's final track, a marvelous folk ballad called "Lucky Man" - penned solely by Lake - that would launch the group, bringing Greg Lake's voice to the forefront of the pop music scene, and giving the band its biggest hit. In addition, you can find here a douzen of bonus tracks.

DISCOGRAPHY

Formed 1970, Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom

Disbanded 2016

Keith Emerson (born 1944 > died 2016): keyboards

Greg Lake (born 1947 > died 2016): vocals, guitar, bass

Carl Palmer (born 1950): drums

1970-12 LP EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER (UK Island ILPS 9132): A1. The Barbarian; A2. Take a Pebble; A3. Knife-Edge; B1. The Three Fates (Clotho-Lachesis-Atropos); B2. Tank; B3. Lucky Man

1971-03 Sg (US Cotillion 44106): A Lucky Man; B. Knife Edge

1971-06-14 LP TARKUS (UK Island ILPS 9155; US Cotillion SD 9900): A1. Tarkus (Eruption-Stones of Years-Iconoclast-Mass-Manticore-Battlefield-Aquatarkus); B1. Jeremy Bender; B2. Bitches Crystal; B3. The Only Way (Hymn); B4. Infinite Space (Conclusion); B5. A Time and a Place; B6. Are You Ready Eddy?

1971-09 Sg (US Cotillion 44131): A Stone of Years; B. A Time and a Place

1971-12 LP PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION (LIVE) (US Cotillion ELP 66666): A1. Promenade; A2. The Gnome; A3. Promenade; A4. The Sage; A5. The Old Castle; A6. Blues Variation; B1. Promenade; B2. The Hut of Baba Yaga; B3. The Curse of Baba Yaga; B4. The Hut of Baba Yaga; B5. The Great Gates of Kiev-The End-Nutrocker

1972-03 Sg (US Cotillion 44151): A Nutrocker; B. The Great Gates of Kiev

1972-07-06 LP TRILOGY (UK Island ILPS 9186; US Cotillion SD 9903): A1. The Endless Enigma (part 1); A2. Fugue; A3. The Endless Enigma (part 2); A4. From the Beginning; A5. The Sheriff; A6. Hoedown; B1. Trilogy; B2. Living Sin; B3. Abaddon’s Bolero

1972-08 Sg (US Cotillion 44158): A From the Beginning; B. Living Sin

1973-11-19 LP BRAIN SALAD SURGERY (UK Manticore K 53501; US Atlantic 113003): A1. Jerusalem; A2. Toccata (an adaptation of Ginastera’s 1^st piano concerto, 4^th movement); A3. Still… You Turn Me On; A4. Benny the Bouncer; A5. 1st Impression (part 1); B1. 1st Impression (part 2); B2. 2nd Impression; B3. 3rd Impression

1973-11-30 Sg (UK Manticore K 13503): A Jerusalem; B. A When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind, I’ll Be Your Valentine

1974 Sg (US Manticore MC-2003-PR): A. Brain Salad Surgery; B. Still… You Turn Me On

1974-08-19 LP WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS (LIVE) (UK Manticore K 63500): A1. Hoedown; A2. Jerusalem; A3. Toccata; B1. Tarkus (Eruption-Stones of Years-Iconoclast-Mass-Manticore-Battlrfield); C1. Aquatarkus; C2. Take a Pebble; D1. Piano Improvisations; D2. Take a Pebble (conclusion); D3. Jeremy Bender-The Sheriff; E. Karn Evil 9 (1^st Impression); F1. Karn Evil 9 (2^nd Impression); F2. Karn Evil 9 (3^rd Impression)

1977 Sg (US Atlantic 3405): A. C’est La Vie (Greg Lake); B. Jeremy Bender

1977-03-17 LP WORKS VOLUME 1 (US Atlantic SD 2-7000): Keith Emerson: A1. Piano Concert nº 1; Greg Lake: B1. Lend Your Love to Me Tonight; B2. C’est La Vie; B3. Hallowed Be Thy Name; B4. Nobody Loves You Like I Do; B5. Closer to Believing; Carl Palmer: C1. The Enemy God Dances With the Black Spirits; C2. L.A. Nights; C3. New Orleans; C4. Two Part Invitation in D Minor; C5. Food for Your Soul; C6. Tank; Emerson, Lake and Palmer: D1. Fanfare for the Common Man; D2. Pirates

1977-06 Sg (UK Atlantic 3398): A. Fanfare for the Common Man (stereo); B. Fanfare for the Common Man (mono)

1977-11-01 LP WORKS VOLUME 2 (US Atlantic SD 19147): A1. Tiger in a Spotlight; A2. When the Apple Blossoms in the Windmills of Your Mind I’ll Be Your Valentine; A3. Bullfrog; A4. Brain Salad Surgery; A5. Barrelhouse Shake-Down; A6. Watching Over You; B1. So Far to Fall; B2. Maple Leaf Rag; B3. I Believe in Father Christmas; B4. Close But Not Touching; B5. Honly Tonk Train Blues; B6. Show Me the Way to Go Home

1978-11 Sg (UK Atlantic k 11225): A. All I Want Is You; B. Tiger in a Spotlight

1978-11-18 LP LOVE BEACH (US Atlantic SD 19211): A1. All I Want Is You; A2. Love Beach; A3. Taste of My Love; A4. The Gambler; A5. For You; A6. Canario; B. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman (1. Prologue-The Education of a Gentleman; 2. Love at First Sight; 3. Letters From the Front; 4. Honourable Company)

1979-10 LP IN CONCERT (US Atlantic SD 19255): A1. Introductory Fanfare; A2. Peter Gunn; A3. Tiger in a Spotlight; A4. C’est La Vie; A5. The Enemy God; A6. Knife Edge; B1. Piano Concert nº 1, Third Movement: Toccata Con Fuoco; B2. Pictures at an Exhibition

1992-06-27 CD BLACK MOON (US PolyGram 383.480.003-2): 1. Black Moon; 2. Paper Blood; 3. Affairs of the Heart; 4. Romeo and Juliet; 5. Farewell to Arms; 6. Changing States; 7. Burning Bridges; 8. Close to Home; 9. Better Days; 10. Footprints in the Snow

1993 CD LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL (US Atlantic 383.480.011-2): 1. Karn Evil 9; 2. Tarkus Medley (Eruption-Stones of Years-Iconoclast); 3. Knife Edge; 4. Paper Blood; 5. Romeo and Juliet; 6. Creole Dance; 7. Still… You Turn Me On; 8. Lucky Man; 9. Black Moon; 10. Pirates; 11. Finale (Fanfare for the Common Man-America-Rondo)

1994 CD IN THE HOT CITY (US Atlantic 383.480.034-2): 1. Hand of Truth; 2. Daddy; 3. One by One; 4. Heart on Ice; 5. Thin Line; 6. Man in the Long Black Coat; 7. Change; 8. Give Me a Reason to Stay; 9. Gone Too Soon; 10. Street War; 11. Pictures at an Exhibition (Promenade-The Gnome-Promenade-The Sage-The Hut of Baba Yaga-The Great Gates of Kiev)

1997 CD KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR (LIVE) (US King Biscuit 88025-2): 1. Peter Gunn Themw; 2. Tiger in a Spotlight; 3. C’est La Vie; 4. Piano Improvisation; 5. Maple Leaf Rag; 6. Drum Solo; 7. The Enemy God; 8. Watching Over You; 9. Pirates; 10. Fanfare for the Common Man; 11. Hoe Down; 12. Still… You Turn Me On; 13. Lucky Man; 14. Piano Improvisation; 15. Karn Evil 9

1997 CD LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL 1970 (UK Mantiicore M-CD-101): 1. The Barbarian; 2. Take a Pebble; 3. Pictures at an Exhibition; 4. Rondo; 5. Nutrocker; 6. Interview

WALLPAPER: "Tarkus"