Emerson, Lake & Palmer Albums (19)
'Pomp & Ceremony: Live'
Release Date 9/11/2006
Tracks 17
Label Music Club Deluxe
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Birth of a Band: Isle of Wight Festival'
Release Date 4/18/2006
Tracks 9
Label Eagle Vision
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What The Critics Say
Although it was technically the band's second show together, rock historians generally regard this performance as the real debut of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The first ELP album was still months away and no one in the crowd had ever heard of the band or its music, but the trio put on a great show that was touted as a huge popular and critical success. In retrospect, there can be little debate that this performance at the legendary Isle of Wight Music Festival launched ELP internationally and, listening to this disc, one can definitely hear flashes of the innovation and daring that would later thrust ELP to the forefront of the progressive rock movement. Though bearing the wrinkles and spots typical of a festival recording, this CD (created using original soundboard masters and digitally remastered 27 years after the actual event) is an experience beautifully illustrating what made ELP -- from day one -- a group unlike any that had come before. Furthermore, it is an important historical testament to one of the last great rock festivals and to the debut of a prog rock institution. For ELP fans, this is where it all began -- and this CD vividly captures the moment. [Live at the Isle of Wight Festival was re-released in 2006 as a CD/DVD DualDisc called Birth of a Band: Isle of Wight Festival.] ~ Alan Ticheler, All Music Guide
'From the Front Row... Live!'
Release Date 6/1/2004
Tracks 15
Label Silverline
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What The Critics Say
Sporting 24-bit, 96-kHz DVD Audio and 24-bit, 48-kHz Dolby Digital 5.1, 2004's From the Front Row Live presents music taken from a pair of Emerson, Lake & Palmer performances, March 7, 1974, in Tulsa, OK, and November 12, 1977, in Wheeling, WV, respectively. Both initially surfaced on the King Biscuit Flower Hour syndicated radio series that ran primarily on FM album-oriented rock stations beginning in 1973. The exact same set -- albeit in a truncated order -- has likewise been issued in a variety of incarnations, such as 2003's Greatest Hits Live and 1997's King Biscuit Flower Hour: Greatest Hits Live. If ever a band was meant to be experienced in the all-encompassing atmosphere of Surround Sound, it would be the supergroup trio of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (bass/vocals), and Carl Palmer (percussion). Chronologically, the first of the two shows finds ELP in support of their concurrent effort, 1973's Brain Salad Surgery, which yielded the 30-plus minute epic "Karn Evil 9" and Lake's acoustic ballad "Still...You Turn Me On." Their high-energy reading of Aaron Copland's Hoedown, Lake's intimate "Lucky Man," and one of the two piano improvisations courtesy of Emerson were also gleaned from the 1974 date. The meat of From the Front Row Live comes by way of the ambitious Works project from 1977. The excursion nearly bankrupt ELP, with expenses topping $20,000 a day, yet thankfully garnered favorable reviews. If their stop in Wheeling, VA, was any indication, it is easy to understand why enthusiasts and critics had been impressed. Works produced another stunning and gorgeous Lake ballad, titled "C'Est la Vie," a striking interpretation of Prokofiev's The Enemy God, and a fiery reading of one more Copland Americana classic, Fanfare for the Common Man, not to mention an exciting version of the extended and dramatic "Pirates" and a decidedly straightforward affair on the upbeat and playful "Tiger in a Spotlight." As anticipated, the fidelity is spectacular, and properly calibrated audio systems will reveal every nuance, from Lake's unplugged guitar strumming to the rich vibrancy of the full ensemble. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'Fanfare: The 1997 World Tour'
Release Date 7/7/2003
Tracks 11
Label Delta
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
These tracks have been issued under a number of titles, however the contents remain the same, a June 1997 performance from prog rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), not long before they took an extended hiatus from touring or recording together. The track list reveals the band heavily favoring their early titles, perhaps due, at least in part, to the trio's concurrent launch of their remastered CD catalog. While the vast majority of the set is fairly predictable in terms of song selection, ELP do throw a few curves, most notably the Tarkus (1972) deep cut "Bitches Crystal," as well as "Touch And Go." The latter originates from the one-off Emerson, Lake and Powell project with Cozy Powell (drums) in for Carl Palmer. However, even the 'oldies' have been given re-arrangements, some of which are subtle, while others would be evident even to the casual listener. Among the more blatant are the slight amendments to the "Tarkus" suite, which work in a medley with "Pictures At An Exhibition." The other somewhat conventional material such as the "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2" opener, "Lucky Man," "From The Beginning," and "Take A Pebble" are far from being rote interpretations, as the combo thoughtfully and diligently weave throughout the multi-layered melodies and tricky timing. Particularly inventive are Keith Emerson's blend of intricate keyboard runs on "Piano Solo," as he deftly displays his uncanny knack for improvising jazzy riffs and impossibly complex fingering tasks throughout "From The Beginning," and the "Fanfare For A Common Man/Rondo" epic that wraps up this collection. While casual and burgeoning enthusiasts who have not heard the Ladies & Gentlemen (Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends)(1974) concert collection would be well-served to do so, Live In Poland is otherwise recommended and suggested listening for the initiated. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970'
Release Date 10/1/1997
Tracks 5
Label Manticore
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Although it was technically the band's second show together, rock historians generally regard this performance as the real debut of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The first ELP album was still months away and no one in the crowd had ever heard of the band or its music, but the trio put on a great show that was touted as a huge popular and critical success. In retrospect, there can be little debate that this performance at the legendary Isle of Wight Music Festival launched ELP internationally and, listening to this disc, one can definitely hear flashes of the innovation and daring that would later thrust ELP to the forefront of the progressive rock movement. Though bearing the wrinkles and spots typical of a festival recording, this CD (created using original soundboard masters and digitally remastered 27 years after the actual event) is an experience beautifully illustrating what made ELP -- from day one -- a group unlike any that had come before. Furthermore, it is an important historical testament to one of the last great rock festivals and to the debut of a prog rock institution. For ELP fans, this is where it all began -- and this CD vividly captures the moment. [Live at the Isle of Wight Festival was re-released in 2006 as a CD/DVD Dualdisc called Birth of a Band: Isle of Wight Festival.] ~ Alan Ticheler, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In 1977, after three years' time off working on various solo projects -- which were to have culminated with a trio of solo albums -- Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunited to release Works, Vol. 1, a double LP containing the best of the solo works plus a side of group-conceived pieces. All in all, it was the most ambitious and wide-ranging body of music they'd ever released, and was followed by the more modestly proportioned but still successful Works, Vol. 2 in November of that year, and a tour that fall and winter; in keeping with the albums that spawned it, the concerts initially featured a 90-piece orchestra supporting the trio. They weren't able to keep the orchestra for more than a handful of shows before the money ran out, and the group spent the rest of the tour working as a trio to pay off what was owed, but they recognized the importance of those performances with the orchestra and saw to it that one of them, at least, was captured properly and professionally -- and unlike Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends, their 1974 live album, which had its share of technical flaws, this time around the recording was state-of-the-art. Ironically, what they captured was almost an embarrassment of riches for their record label at the time -- by 1979, the brand of progressive rock represented by ELP was falling out of favor with critics and the public under the four-way assault of punk, new wave, power pop, and disco, and all Atlantic Records felt comfortable releasing at the time was a paltry single live LP, entitled In Concert. The advent of the CD era and the revival of the trio in the 1990s led to the latter's reissue and expansion into this two-CD set, released in late 1993. Recorded at the Montreal Olympic Stadium (pictured on the cover of both albums), it features the trio performing with a symphony orchestra. Technically, it's a beautiful album, avoiding most of the pitfalls and sonic shortcomings of their earlier concert ventures on record, and the repertory is the widest ranging of their entire history, reaching back to "Knife Edge" (from their first album) and reviving "Abaddon's Bolero," an instrumental from Trilogy, plus a brace of tracks of all proportions from both Works albums, among them Keith Emerson's "Piano Concerto" and his more modestly conceived "Tiger in the Spotlight" and his rendition of Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag," Greg Lake's "C'Est la Vie," "Watching Over You," "Closer to Believing," and his interpretation of "Show Me the Way to Go Home" -- all in versions distinctly superior to their studio renditions -- as well as the reconceived "Tank." Prog rock fans will be delighted by "Pictures at an Exhibition," here shorter, tighter, and obviously more symphonic than the group's 1971 recording. There is a real sense listening to this album, however -- despite some light and disarming moments such as "Tiger in the Spotlight," and good, cohesive playing throughout -- that you're really listening not so much to a band as to three personalities just chomping at the bit to go solo. Lake's featured numbers were, by now, so guitar-focused that they sounded like a separate body of music, which they were. Carl Palmer, who had fully come into his own as a creative musician by this time -- even recording a concerto of his own for percussion and orchestra that would get released 24 years later -- had also achieved a distinct voice, matching that of the other two members. Works Live is a proper and worthy successor to Welcome Back My Friends, capturing the group's last, grand musical gestures before ego conflicts tore them apart, though even in this regard there are flaws -- apparently, they never did get a usable official recording of "Pirates," a centerpiece of Works, Vol. 1, and on Emerson's concerto, represented here only by its last movement, an otherwise beautiful and bracing live performance ends with a lackluster finale. No one will complain of the sound or the scope, however, and the enjoyable and even surprising moments do outnumber the disappointments, even if most of the material is less focused than the repertory represented on their earlier concert releases. ~ Bruce Eder & Francois Couture, All Music Guide
'Live at the Royal Albert Hall'
Release Date 1/1/1993
Tracks 11
Label Victory Music
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Known for their on-stage energy and full-force musical prowess, Live at the Royal Albert Hall is the farthest from disappointment a live album can get. Each member of ELP exhibits his individual talents on this astonishing audio spectacle that doesn't let up at any point. Spearheading the 11 songs on the album that runs almost 70 minutes is keyboardist Keith Emerson, whose earsplitting synthesizer rumbles and squeals with devastating vigor. His playing is loose and freewheeling, characterizing his devil-may-care style, and bursting with emotion. Equally forceful is Carl Palmer behind the drums, especially on "Lucky Man" and "Karn Evil No. 9" where he showcases both his subtle mechanics and his frantic arm swirling. On guitar, Greg Lake fills in with some stellar bass work, whose impact can be felt even above the grandiose of the other two. The songs that work best live from ELP are all included, amassing all the ardor and extravagance surrounding this threesome. In front of their home audience in England, they really steal the show with a nine-minute outpouring of "Tarkus," as the combination of all their talents are fused together in instrumental wonderment. Even better is the grand finale, a 14-minute medley of "Fanfare for the Common Man," "America," and "Rondo." A truly volcanic display of keyboard driving from Keith Emerson sends this intense montage into a frenzy, ending the album on a fierce high. Live at the Royal Albert Hall has the grandfathers of progressive rock sounding like sonically intoxicated teenagers. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide
