EMERSON LAKE & PALMER

This debut album shows you a very human side of ELP, but it also shows where they were apt to go wrong. The human side is prevalent in the 12-minute-plus 'Take a Pebble'. This tune has simple lyrics and an attractive melody, but it's especially notable for its extended piano improvisation. Emerson may not be in the same league as Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett or similar virtuosi, but he is fun to listen to, and the interplay with his fellow musicians runs smoothly. I can't think of any other prog pianists who could have pulled off this sort of thing back in the early seventies - certainly not Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks or John Evan. (Perhaps the pianist from Renaissance? I must admit I don't really know that band...)

"ELP going wrong" finally emerges in 'Lucky Man', which would have been a lovely ballad if it had been sung by someone who had true FEELING in his voice (love the moog solo though) and in 'Knife Edge', which is ruined by Lake's clever-clever lyrics. But 'Knife Edge' also proves that Emerson was prog's unmatched Hammond organ hero! I didn't discover ELP until 1975, but back in 1970 this album must have raised great hopes.

Rating: two stars and a half.