EMERSON LAKE & PALMER

For the record I love ELP. I can still remember going to see them play live in 1972 at the Long Beach arena in Southern California knowing nothing of their music except Lucky Man. I came out of there stunned. Being a piano player I was completely blown away that Keith Emerson had replaced the guitar with his keyboards as the main focus of the music. So of course I went out the next day (or maybe it was the next time I had money. Fuzzy memory there. Well it was the 70's) and purchased all three ELP studio releases.

I listed to them over and over. I still pull out this occasionally anfd I still listen to the whole albuim when I do. To me that is a mark of a classic. What strikes me first is the willingness of the group having such a great singer is producing so many instrumental songs. The Barbarian, Tank, Three Fates and the middle section of Take a Pebble make up for way more than half the album. Starting with t he Barbarian the band is stating to you this is no acoustic guitar singer album. They smash you in the face with an almost metal like violence. Then they turn 180 degrees to the acoustic Take A pebble with it's brilliant vocal and romantic piano lines, then turn back to the thunder with Knife Edge. The Three Fates show off Keith's side as a classical composer moving through three movements with varying intensity and instrumentation. Tank finds us in awe of Carl Palmer's drumming prowess until they leave us with Lucky Man kind of swaying pub song you might sing while drinking with your friends.

Great album on progs earliest examples by three excellent musicians. It was one of my earliest introduction to what would become a long line of great keyboard players. 5 stars.