THE BEST OF EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER

I saw this compilation sitting in a bargain section of a second hand CD shop that I frequent often for about $10. With not a word of a lie it is still sitting in the same CD rack 3 years later, as it appears that the buying public are not stupid after all. It is not going to sell. The reason why is it commits no less than 5 unforgiveable ELP sins.

So they squeezed about 40 minutes of legendary symphonic proggers ELP and slapped a label on it, and a poor excuse for a cover, and called it "The Best of". The result is a hit and miss affair.

Hoedown (Taken from Rodeo) begins proceedings and it is OK to begin this compilation and not a bad choice in essence. Then we have the mandatory Lucky Man that everyone already has.

Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression - Part 2) is here and it is criminally undercut to 4:48, which is sin number 1 as far as ELP goes. Jerusalem is next and I always liked this so no harm there.

Peter Gunn composed by Henry Mancini is another highlight and very well performed by the band. Fanfare For The Common Man (single version) follows and it is great when it is in full length or even half length but here we have the butchered length of 2:57 which is cardinal sin number 2. It is not worth hearing when it sounds like nothing more than the theme to TV reporting shows "World of Sports" or "Boating", to name 2 of the themes this ended up on in Australia.

Still... You Turn Me On is the other Lake ballad that ends up on many compilations but one ballad is sufficient for my ears. Tiger In A Spotlight is here from the awful years of ELP when so much more could have been included, so this is sin number 3.

Finally a masterpiece with Trilogy clocking 8:51 closes the album on a high note.

Sin number 4 is nothing from the legendary "Tarkus" is included.

Sin number 5 is Take A Pebble is missing, one of my favourites and The Barbarian would have helped too.

This is such a pedestrian release, really commercial and takes no risks, and this is also a sin for ELP, one of the most innovative non commercial acts in history. Listening to this lot one may be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about. It may introduce the odd alien out there who do not have any ELP albums but really this is an obsolete mess and should be avoided. I dare say the compilation will sit on the shelf in that store for another 3 years unless the price drops again. If you are looking for a compilation "The Ultimate Collection" 2 CD package is a must!

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