FROM THE BEGINNING

From the Beginning is the fourth track on Emerson, Lake & Palmer's third studio album Trilogy. Although the song isn't "from the beginning" (*chuckles*), the song is easily one of my favorites on a truly fantastic album. The song was released as a single along with the B- side Living Sin. The song is a fantastic acoustic driven track full of spectacular melody, guitar work, and harmony between the strong bass line, the guitar, and Lake's melodious voice. A nice, simple but poignant guitar solo is heard in the middle of the song, setting the song up as a fantastic popularly leaning song while still retaining a great deal of progression in its sound. The distinctive synth solo is heard at the end of the song, marking Emerson' unique style with the Moog (although this slightly avant solo is cut from the single version).

The song became the band's highest charter, peaking at #39 on the US Billboard 100. Although the B-side may have alienated some listeners with its heavy Hammond use and intense instrumentation, the single proved to be a successful release for the band. In the end, the single was a nice success both popularly and progressively, and is a fantastic song by the band. 3+ stars.