EMERSON LAKE & PALMER

What an excellent debut for this pioneer of prog rock supergroups! The talents of Emerson, Lake & Palmer are fluidly combined with their enthusiasm for this new project they were undertaking. Emerson basically continued to explore into his diverse musical interests (jazz, classical, rock, psychedelia) while assuming a prominent leading role; Lake felt much comfortable with the new band's melodic drive, while keeping a hard edge in a large amount of his bass parts; and Palmer, who was already a young veteran in the rock-blues scene, had and took the chance to expand his artistic vision and develop it with a clear disposition for pomposity. ELP's eponymous debut album was also one of the first ones to feature the Moog stuff in a rock context, a synthesizer that Emerson has already begun to experiment with during his last days with his Nice partners. Every single piece contained in this repertoire is great; as a whole, the selection showcases varied ambiences that result from the threesome's different individual interests converging into a unique, solid offering. The only minus point is a certain lack of cohesiveness in the repertoire, as a whole: there is no chaos here, and the listener can tell that the band members have a clear direction set in their minds, but I feel that the inner consistency is not totally achieved. This factor will soon be resolved properly in some of their following albums, which are absolute prog classics, indeed. Anyway, let's take a quick look at the repertoire itself. 'The Barbarian' starts with a wicked bass guitar riff by Lake, as a herald that briefly announces the storm of Hammond chord progressions delivered by Emerson: during the Dixieland-oriented interlude and the reprise of the initial motif, the trio sounds very tight and confident. 'Take a Pebble' shows a gentler side of ELP's music. Having been conceived as an acoustic ballad by Lake, Emerson takes it to a more sophisticated level, flirting with free jazz and Gershwin, while Palmer sustains his partners' performances with both sensibility and delicate precision. This song lasts 12 minutes, and it's definitely quite pretentious, but it's not overwhelming in its pretentiousness, mainly because the sense of reflectiveness that remains consistent from beginning to end helps the trio build a complicity with the listener: Emerson's piano passages that meander like a flowing stream, and Lake's country-inspired acoustic guitar solo are relevant for this matter. Then comes 'Knife Edge', a track that is quite paradigmatic of the ELP most habitual power-trio sound: aggressiveness and exquisiteness, both fused into one sonic source. 'The Three Fates' is a showcase for Emerson's virtuosity and passion: it displays its successive motifs on pipe organ, grand piano, and a Latin jazz oriented piano trio that closes down the track with a rough explosion. The exhibition of power and pomposity doesn't end, since 'Tank' serves as a vehicle for Palmer's exhibitionism: the jazz section and the bluesy section are intertwined by an effective solo (which includes some of Palmer's signature double gong banging). Thought less articulated than the previous tour-de-force, this one is much catchier, indeed. And then, as a closure, the unexpected hit single - 'Lucky Man'. Penned a few years ago by a teenager Lake who by then only dreamt about becoming a rock star, this is basically an acoustic ballad with a simple structure, with a conventional country-based electric guitar solo in the middle. But it is Palmer's precise drumming, Lake's occasional multi-layered vocal harmonies, and last but not least, Emerson's outstanding Moog solo in the final section, that take this track to a higher level. The sober beauty of the original idea is enhanced in a most superb manner: a great closure, indeed. As I stated before, the fact that the repertoire in itself is not entirely cohesive, keeps this record from deserving the perfect rating, but it comes close: and more importantly, it is a prelude of better things to come in the following three years.