Emerson, Lake & Palmer: First 5 Records!
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Polls
Forum Description: Create polls on topics related to progressive music
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=123368
Printed Date: August 14 2025 at 01:46
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Emerson, Lake & Palmer: First 5 Records!
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Subject: Emerson, Lake & Palmer: First 5 Records!
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 03:47
Which Is Your Favorite of The First 5 ELP Recordings?
 vs  vs  vs  vs  ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Replies:
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 03:49
|
The first. |
Posted By: Neu!mann
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 03:52
|
Trilogy for me...not saying it's their best, but it was the first ELP album I heard and remains a personal favorite, despite the snoozefest of Abaddon's Bolero. ------------- "we can change the world without anyone noticing the difference" - Franco Falsini |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 03:58
|
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 04:23
|
Wow, I didn't expect so many votes for Trilogy out of the gate! I have all five of these albums on their way to my house as I type this  !------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 04:24
| Tarkus these days |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 04:27
|
-------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: dougmcauliffe
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 04:53
|
The debut, the only one that’s great front to back, I like the first 4 though. I think when Keith pulls out the synth it can be hit or miss but when he’s playing piano or organ you really can’t go wrong. ------------- The sun has left the sky... ...Now you can close your eyes |
Posted By: Rick1
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 05:40
| Very hard to choose, really really hard. Two groupings for me: Tarkus, Pictures, Brain Salad - outstanding; ELP, Trilogy - excellent... Such a talented and exciting group...(read Danny Baker's recent article in 'Prog') |
Posted By: digdug
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 06:07
|
love them all but debut ------------- Prog On! |
Posted By: SouthSideoftheSky
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 06:34
Congrats! What format and which editions are you getting? The 2016/2017 remasters are fantastic, and the CD versions have extra discs with bonus material. One of the best re-issue series I know. |
Frenetic Zetetic wrote:Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 07:19
|
I love all five but BSS is my go-to ELP for some reason... ------------- The Prog Corner |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 08:26
The first one....as the other Doug from the US said , 'the only one that's great front to back'. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 08:39
| Maybe Tarkus, but probably Pictures........really can’t choose. |
Posted By: Icarium
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 09:02
|
The symmetri of votes is to perfect for me to vote. -------------  
|
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 09:13
|
Oh my gosh, do we actually have a (fairly/relatively) good poll going?! ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 09:55
|
Tarkus, narrowly followed by Brain Salad Surgery. However, I do prefer Karn Evil 9 to the Tarkus track. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: Cactus Choir
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 11:34
|
I switch between the debut, Trilogy and BSS as their best. Picked Trilogy this time which I think is the most consistent and accessible, and maybe the best entry point for anyone new to the band. ------------- "And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!" "He's up the pub" |
Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 11:39
| The debut, followed closely by Brain Salad Surgery. Tarkus side one dominates them all though if it was just by itself. |
Posted By: Awesoreno
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 12:28
|
It's hard to decide. I find most of their albums to be inconsistent, with one or two tracks I don't enjoy that much. If I could make three or four albums out of the five, maybe I would. Picking between the debut and Trilogy, I'll go Trilogy as it is currently the underdog, and it was not only my first conscious exposure to the band, but one of my first exposures to prog outside of the usual suspects a classic rock fan ends up hearing (DSotM/WYWH, Moving Pictures and other Rush tracks, and Roundabout/I Seen Good People).
|
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 13:29
 ------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 14:09
^ same for me, but I like Bolero, too. ------------- I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 14:30
|
S/t over BSS ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 19:23
| I love them all almost equally, except fo Brain Salad Surgery, which is a small step behind. |
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 19:53
|
As a self identified fanboy it's like trying to decide which of your kids you like best. But since I do have a favourite kid, why not an album. Trilogy has two of the best ELP compositions IMHO and that's Trilogy and The Endless Enigma. edging out Tarkus by a quark. ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 21:16
| I'm actually not that familiar with Pictures. I think the other four are all classics and all very good. However, for me the first one is the best. Trilogy might be my favorite after that but it's hard to say. |
Posted By: iluvmarillion
Date Posted: July 02 2020 at 23:07
| Triology. Actually it's difficult to place Pictures which is a live album of a known classical piece as against mostly original compositions of the first four studio albums. Anyhow Pictures still stands up from their earlier period as clearly outstanding and superior to much of their later stuff. |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 00:26
They're all the double disc remaster; Tarkus and Trilogy arrived yesterday !DAMN the debut soared ahead real fast out of nowhere! ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 04:49
|
Pictures is my favorite...it only has that blues bit which shoild have been replaced by a longer version of the old castle...one of the best synth solos ever but WAY TOO SHORT.....The rest have s lot of sub standard tracks on them....curates egg band they should have renamed themselves... ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |
Posted By: Rick1
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 04:50
Did you read that Danny Baker article about ELP in Prog? He goes on about The Old Castle and agree, WAY TOO SHORT!!
|
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 04:53
I love the anticipation of a prog disc in the post...I live for that tingling of my prog-sense...😎 ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |
Posted By: VianaProghead
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 05:02
|
It's rather difficult. I like very much of their debut, Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery. Still, I think I prefer their debut.
------------- "PROG IS MY FERRARI". Jem Godfrey (Frost*) |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 05:27
|
Their debut album was always their best IMO, although I do have a soft spot for Trilogy, which has been my favourite, but the debut gets the vote. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Upbeat Tango Monday
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 09:37
|
BSS ------------- Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement. |
Posted By: judahbenkenobi
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 11:51
| Unable to pick one after several minutes of consideration |
Posted By: Machinemessiah
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 13:06
|
Trilogy. Followed close by ELP... And then Tarkus.
|
Posted By: Dopeydoc
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 14:34
| Tarkus. |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 03 2020 at 14:35
Brain Salad Surgery and Thick as A Brick (1997 print disc) arrived! ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: SouthSideoftheSky
Date Posted: July 04 2020 at 06:26
Brain Salad Surgery is a masterpiece album, and my favourite by ELP. In my opinion it should be much closer to the top in PA rankings. The bonus disc of the 2CD re-issue is excellent as well, including the non-album tracks When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind and Brain Salad Surgery. The album is well worth getting on vinyl too, as the die-cut sleeve is quite unique. |
Posted By: Gentle and Giant
Date Posted: July 04 2020 at 06:34
|
Tarkus for me. ------------- Oh, for the wings of any bird, other than a battery hen |
Posted By: socrates17
Date Posted: July 04 2020 at 09:02
| Having seen both live, I far prefer The Nice, both live and on record. Maybe Lee & David weren't quite the musicians that Greg & Carl were, but they had a rock and roll edge that was entirely missing with ELP. My mother liked ELP. She didn't like The Nice. ELP lacked a sense of danger. They were far too serious. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 04 2020 at 12:00
|
They, the Nice, had a (psych) rock edge on the first...a classic called The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack when Davey O'list was with them, but after that album Emerson was already steering them into ELP . But imho the first ELP was more powerful , dynamic, and better played than what the Nice did in their day (but I am a fan of the Nice stuff)......due imo to Lake and Palmer. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: socrates17
Date Posted: July 05 2020 at 20:18
That's true. I oversimplified. On record, Immediate era Nice is edgier than Charisma (Mercury in the US, which is what I bought) era Nice. It wasn't an abrupt transition, as I'd implied. And if one wants the more polite and prettier stuff, then you aren't wrong to prefer Lake & Palmer's better musicianship. Live, The Nice continued to have an edge, especially when I was lucky enough to see them in a tiny Manhattan club called Ungano's. I was so close to Keith that if he'd lost control when balancing his Hammond on its rear edge, it would have crushed my feet. ELP most certainly did not have any edge live, and, for me, were blown off the stage the one time I saw them at the Fillmore East by opening band Curved Air, who were massively charismatic and who had an electrifying stage presence.
I find that I have a visceral suspicion of anything that's too pretty. I listen to mostly RIO/Avant Prog, Zeuhl and post-bop & free jazz, because I really need edge. I have no interest in symphonic prog. That colored my views of Keith's 2 bands. |
Posted By: Sacro_Porgo
Date Posted: July 05 2020 at 22:41
|
Very hard choice. Here’s how I see it: ELP - Excellent material and variety, and likely the most consistent record of the five. However they haven’t quite found their sound yet, Emerson’s not using enough synths, Lake’s not singing on enough of the songs, and Palmer...well Palmer’s doing great actually. Props to him on Tank Tarkus- Side 1 is the moment ELP really nail their signature sound for the first time. Beautiful melodies, excellent playing/singing, ambitious composition, and plenty of variety in the sounds. Side 2 isn’t quite as great, but only because it starts and ends on some lighthearted filler material. The run from BC through A Time And A Place is still excellent, if not as momentous as the title track. Pictures - This is a record of two sides. On one hand, it is technically little more than a live cover of a classical piece by the same name, albeit with pretty liberal ad libbing. But on the other, WOW is this an incredible cover with fiery playing and an inspired arrangement. And on the awkwardly dangling third arm I forgot to mention, Nutrocker is great fun. Trilogy - I find this the least consistent of the first five. The highs are essential additions to the ELP discography, from The Endless Enigma to Hoedown to the title track. However From The Beginning feels like it’s missing something, The Sheriff is average at best, as is Living Sin, and Abbadon’s Bolero is ultimately a couple minutes too long. BSS - Altogether one of their best, though parts of it have just crossed the line from virtuoistic to overly technical / mechanical. Karn alone is worth the price of admission, so Jerusalem and Still You Turn Me On are icing on the cake. Toccata doesn’t play well on its own, but as part of the record it’s perfectly good, and Benny The Bouncer provides much needed fun and relieve before diving into the epic. For my money, most of these are about equal (and all five belong on the top 100 list), but Tarkus takes the cake for me. ------------- Porg for short. My love of music doesn't end with prog! Feel free to discuss all sorts of music with me. Odds are I'll give it a chance if I haven't already! :) |
Posted By: Mortte
Date Posted: July 05 2020 at 23:12
| Pictures. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 00:19
The Old Castle was the track that got me into ELP. Its not just the synth but I'd never heard anyone play drums the way Palmer did. Lake is superb on the bass. Really the band just 'click' perfectly. The whole album is interesting. The Baba Yaga section is also fantastic although there are other live versions that smoke the Newcastle City Hall version (ie Springfield 1974 and Mar Y Sol 1972) I voted for BSS but as you say there are no 'perfect albums'. Lake was always a bit of an 'imposter' as far as making out and out prog goes but Emerson needed him to 'ground' the music ..well at least a bit occasionally
 |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 00:42
|
Brain Salad Surgery. ------------- 
|
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 01:55
How do I source those two versions? ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 03:49
|
Man, I'm honestly continually impressed by Tarkus, as a whole. Not even just the title track. The other tracks. It rounds out very nicely by my ears; I don't hear many talking about it here as much as I'd suspect, given how closely it resembles even some VDGG and YES qualities at points. The whole thing is SO catchy, I find myself humming parts from different songs all day ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: I prophesy disaster
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 04:34
I agree. I love the second side of Tarkus (except for Are You Ready Eddy?). The second side of Tarkus is why I voted for Tarkus ahead of Brain Salad Surgery. ------------- No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man. |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 04:49
I actually forgot about the last track because I did skip it LOL. Jeremy Bender, Bitches Crystal, and others are excellent prog cuts! ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: Olape
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 09:29
|
Tarkus +1 ------------- 
|
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 09:50
|
Excellent poll! ELP: ELP. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 06 2020 at 21:12
And as always Steve....you have impeccable taste. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 07 2020 at 00:39
That'll be in my mailbox (the double disc reissue) this afternoon!  ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |
Posted By: Spacegod87
Date Posted: July 07 2020 at 07:51
|
ELP are tricky for me. All their songs that I like are scattered across multiple albums, so there has never been one album I've liked as a whole. There are songs on Tarkus that I can tolerate more than other albums though, so I had to go with Tarkus. ------------- Levitating downwards, atomic feedback scream. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: July 07 2020 at 20:38
| I'll go with the underdog here, but Pictures at an Exhibition is the only one I enjoy as a whole. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 08 2020 at 00:59
Actually the 1974 performance was from Rich Stadium , Buffalo (not sure where I got Springfield from) It's on the Best of the Bootlegs Series Volume 2 http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2646" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2646 It's one of only 2 ELP releases I've given 5 stars (the other is BSS) The band is absolutely on fire. Unfortunately its a bit pricey Arguably better (although I've not reviewed it yet) is Live at the Mar Y Sol festival 1972 . It has one of the highest ratings on PA for ELP (4.21) and that is based on about 60 ratings. It is an excellent recording an dwell worth having for both Tarkus and PAAE. http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=35680" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=35680 you can also still pick it up for a very reasonable price on Amazon £10.13 + delivery (free if you have Prime) |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: July 08 2020 at 04:00
|
Posted By: Frenetic Zetetic
Date Posted: July 08 2020 at 04:19
The more I listen the more I'm inclined to be of the same opinion. Tarkus just feels like perfect prog, especially for 1971 - pre CTTE/Supper's Ready days! ------------- "I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021 |