EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER — Emerson, Lake & Palmer (review)

EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER — Emerson, Lake & Palmer album cover

Album · 1970 · Jazz Related Rock

4/5 · 2013-04-29
EntertheLemming

- Exclusive: Doves Cause Baldness? -

It should be self evident that reviews of such pivotal progressive rock albums as this one one must be tempered by the heights/depths a band subsequently reached after it's release. Had I heard this for the 1st time in 1970, I would have been quite simply 'blown away' as they say, as there had been nothing quite like it hitherto.

Preamble over, on with the music.

'The Barbarian' - although rather cheekily not credited to Bartok on the initial pressings, this remains perhaps my favourite ELP track ever. Venomous and sinewy Lake bass, snarling and attacking Hammond plus a kit assault from Palmer that stills leaves me speechless. The piano/brushes interlude in the middle comes as a welcome respite from the unremitting carnage that comes before and after. When the track ends, you are changed forever....

'Take a Pebble' - Emerson's musical designs dwarf what is at best, a pleasant enough but rather insubstantial Lake ballad which completely outstays it's welcome. The piano playing is as ever, masterful, but given the paucity of melodic material available here with which to improvise on, Emerson runs out of ideas well before half way. The rudimentary guitar solo in the middle, replete with the atmospheric cave sounds, is mixed far too low and served only to become an area on the original vinyl record that proliferated scratches in glorious stereo.

'Knife Edge' - Notwithstanding another little copyright 'oversight' re the disgruntled Janacek estate, this is a belter of the first order with a fantastic organ solo that still exhilarates 37 years on. Great singing from Mr Greg but collaborating with a roadie is going to give you terrible lyrics (Fraser) The band always had a terrific knack for adapting just the right classical piece to suit their own musical designs and Bach's Italian Concerto quoted here is no exception. Like most people in 1970 I too thought my record player had melted during the 'slow down' section at the end.

'Three Fates' - Wonderful playing from Emerson throughout his 'solo' contribution after a rather boggy and sludgy intro on the pipe organ (which became de riguer) for all his subsequent imitators/wannabees thereafter. Can't help but feeling that the whole is less than the sum of it's parts on this one. Lots of great ideas follow on from each other sequentially but the overall architecture creaks a bit.

'Tank' - Probably the closest ELP got to playing jazz rock in their careers. Brilliant harpsichord and clavinet from Emerson, and fat boy turns in a tour de force on bass. Being the early 70's, this sprawling epic could not be complete without recourse to a lengthy drum solo. I have heard and been entertained by many of Carl's solos over the years but must say that this is the worst one he ever committed to tape. When the hopelessly dated phased drumming enters, it's such a relief to hear the swung ending section after the tedium that preceded it. Emerson's ominous Moog makes it's first appearance here and at the time, was an alien timbre that we were all completely bowled over by. Ground breaking stuff indeed.

'Lucky Man' - the band's only stateside hit probably gave the yanks the impression that ELP was the UK's answer to CSNY. Lake's pretty but inconsequential acoustic song certainly milks undeserving resources from Emerson and Palmer which would have been better utilised on more group material. Similarly with 'Take a Pebble' the arrangement is far superior to the underlying musical ideas. Much has been written about Emo's famous outro moog solo, so I won't labour the point, but according to his autobiography he states

- 'I thought it was shit, I still do...' -

Personally, I love it and it seduced me thereafter into a lifelong love affair with the synthesizer and prog rock in general.

To sum up:

The problems of satisfying such a disparate trio as ELP were manifest as early as this 1970 album with the inclusion of 'solo' tracks to appease their creators. Coming full circle at the demise of their career on the 1977 'Works' album, the symmetry is complete, with each member getting a side each of a double album.

ELP made progressive rock possible with both their viability in terms of sales wedded to their brilliant musicianship. The history of popular music dictates that up till that point, the two were considered mutually exclusive.