BACK TO CONTENTS 34 progrockmag.com the PlymouthGuildhall,followed by by whichtimethegroupwere,inLake's vocalist GregLakereckonsthatitwas band atthetime”.Bassplayerand forward fromthepast”,which erstwhile bandmates.Keyboardplayer of ouralbums,thatwouldbetheone.” creative periods.IfIhadtochooseone and itwasdefinitelyoneofourmost Festival. Fromthenon,superficially at a secondatthe197oIsleOfWight newly formedtrio’sfirstgigwasat endured timesofschleppingupand Although allthreemusicianshad the oldnotionof‘payingyourdues’. Palmer’s rapidrisetofamesweptaside and AtomicRooster,EmersonLake& members ofTheNice,KingCrimson words, “alreadyhuge”.Oneofthefirst Words: “the lastoriginal,uniqueELPalbum”. “represented thecamaraderieof Keith Emersonseesitasa“step fifth album.“It’sverywell recorded there,” quipsLake. fathers anddidn’t havetoworkget some likewewerethesonsoffamous least, itallseemedsoeasy.“Itlooked to down motorwaysinatransitvan, the so-called supergroups,formedfrom came together... globe. Here's how it all man's rock that swept the a unique blend of thinking Lake &Palmer re-released, with Brain Now rebooted and Salad Surgery The albumwasreleasedinlate1973, It’s aviewpointechoedbyhis Their fourthalbum, 1972’s Mike Barnes its powers,”says Emerson Lake&Palmer’s drummer CarlPalmerof group atthepinnacleof rain SaladSurgery , Emerson served up Trilogy, isthe

ran, London1974. take abreakwhilethey Benchmark: thetrio

had reached Number Two in the UK and Number Five the USA, but in rehearsing and arranging the music for Brain Salad Surgery, ELP made a decision to pursue a quite different approach. “Music technology was really expanding,” Lake explains. “Tape recorders were going from 8-track to 24-track. We took advantage of the new possibilities and did a lot of overdubbing. But being a three-piece band, when we played it live on tour, it didn’t really sound as good as the record, so we made sure we could perform the next album live before we had even recorded it.” The group had bought a cinema in Fulham, which they renamed the Manticore Cinema, and they rented it out as storage and rehearsal space to groups. But in the rehearsals for Brain Salad Surgery, they left their gear set up on stage and rehearsed it as if playing a live show. The album was recorded in Advision and Olympic Studios, with Lake on production duties. None of the musicians remembers much about the studio sessions due to the fact that, because the band were well rehearsed and ready to go, they were over relatively quickly. “It's probably the most inventive album we made,” Palmer says. “But you don’t realise that at the time you’re making it as you’re so wrapped up in it. And you never know quite how it will turn out.” Compared to the brighter, more open sound, of Trilogy and Tarkus from 1971, Brain Salad Surgery is tougher and darker, or at least more shadowy. Lake agrees and thinks this could be down to a couple of factors. Eddy Offord, who had engineered their previous albums, was absent, and so that task fell to Chris Kimsey and Jeff Young. “Firstly, every engineer has a palette,” says Lake, “and it’s amazing how different a group can sound in different studios. Secondly, unlike the previous albums, Brain Salad Surgery is almost a live recording done in a studio. The sound was quite raw and quite ambient.’’ It opens in a blaze of light, though, with a flamboyant version of William Blake and Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem, with Palmer playing gongs and timpani, and executing lavish multiple tom-tom rolls around his stainless steel kit. Emerson garnishes proceedings with exultant Moog clarion calls, while Lake’s magisterial voice holds the middle ground. In the early 70s, the BBC were far more censorious than they are today, their rather matronly guardianship of the nation’s morals earning them the nickname of 'Auntie’. From the 60s, the institution was on the lookout for music with overt sexual or drug references, which they would then

progrockmag.com 35 36 progrockmag.com SONY MUSIC PRESS/F.GOLCHAN. SONY MUSIC PRESS. ELP ARCHIVE/TONY ORTIZ ELP ARCHIVE/TONY ORTIZ banned on grounds of taste. It was It taste. of grounds on banned joyously bombastic, but surely not surely but bombastic, joyously for attitude tocompositionalcreditwas in thatsortofmusic,”heexplains. brother wasaclassicalpercussionist, mockery aboutit.” well aswecouldandtherewasno the nation,”saysLake.“Wediditas blaspheming somethingcherishedby Hawkes calledthe nextdayconfirming go away.Musicpublishers Boosey& call, toldherinno uncertaintermsto Records, who,thinkingitwasahoax followed. Bartók’swidowphoned EG credited tothegroup. Béla Bartók,anditendedupbeing Hungarian 20th-centurycomposer neglecting tomentionthatitwaslifted of JacquesLoussier’s had presentedthedramaticmusic a bit“naïve”intheearlydays.Emerson player, soI’vealwaysbeeninterested grandmother -wasaclassicalguitar their mother—mygreat-great love ofclassicalmusicwasinhisgenes. Brown andAtomicRooster,buthis with TheCrazyWorldOfArthur orchestras. Palmerhadmadehisname three-piece groupandplayingwith arranging classicalrepertoireforthe classical fusionswithTheNice, Emerson hadpioneeredrockand patriotic andthatweweresomehow for banningitwouldbethatwas a dangertothenation’syouth? from 1970 debutalbumtohisbandmates, material] wasagreatwaytogo.” I alwaysthought[playingclassical “One ofmyfirstjazzalbumswasone music attheRoyalAcademy,his known fortheirclassicaladaptations. A ratherembarrassingincident Lake recalls,though,thattheir Emerson Lake&Palmerwerewell “My grandfatherwasaprofessorof “I canonlyassumethatthemotive The Barbarian Allegro Barbaro ontheirself-titled , apianopieceby Play Bach series. fairly, andonallfuturecopiesofthe the fourthmovement, done bythebook.Hetakesup record itwasproperlycredited.” Lake, “andmadesurethatshewaspaid her identity.“Weputitright,”says story ofhowhefirstheardthepiece, Emerson madesureeverythingwas Concertata Concerto No.1 For “I wasatBurbank, Californiain1970 Brain SaladSurgery’sToccata , ofAlbertoGinastera’s . Toccata

Piano ,

and platinumdiscsfrom the UStoJapan.Itwas hair curl. enough tomakeCarl’s album earnedELPgold of mixedreviews,the Despite theusualslew album’s 1973release. the hypebehind The pressaddedto

Jacqueline duPré,[violinist]Jerry together likeJethroTullandTheNice in Geneva,gothissealofapprovaland where theyhadasheetmusiccopy.” Alberto Ginastera;heismyteacher.’ He camedowninthedressingroom Argentina. Iwent,‘MyGod,thisisthe name wasJoãoCarlosMartinsfrom this stormingpiano,andthepianist’s waiting todomystuffandIheard though: manythoughttheelectronic percussion intheoriginal,with And Ithought,‘Well,thisreallyis to ELP’spowerplay,bothliveandon the compositiontakeshugeliberties, think aboutafaceintheaudience it wouldbegreattogetrockbands with TheNice,justbeforeIformed down BondStreet,intoChappell’s, recording ofhimplayingit,andIwent I gotbacktoEnglandandfoundthe said, ‘It’sapieceplayed?’ andhe by Whatwasthatyou name’s Keith. someone hadsplurgedinkalloverit. and hadthescore,whichlookedlike most incredibleworkI’veeverheard.’ Switched-On Symphony people know;playsomethingdifferent.’ when headmittedadesiretolearn mind ofhismusicteacher’sadvice Mussorgsky, butitputEmersonin of Bach,Copland,Janácekand modernist thanthegroup’sreworkings Ginastera’s pieceismoreangularand Mehta inaTVmoviecalled Orchestra, alltobeconductedbyZubin Daniel Barenboimand[cellist] and mixitwithRayCharles,[pianist] by Emerson’skeyboards. wasn’t suretheaudiencereally‘got’it, of thegroup’sexperimentalspirit,but Palmer citesthispieceasanexample a triggerforpre-setsynthsounds. acoustic sound,theotheractingas drum, oneofwhichpickedupthe inclusion ofPalmer’ssynthesised drum but echoestheextensiveuseof completely different.”' in theaudience? song wasaddressedtoacertainperson harpsichord. Wastheideathat record, andhereEmersonjoinsinon of hisdreamiestacousticsongs.These a conceptthatIwas tryingtovoice, but astarisjust perception,soitwas looks uponthestage theyseeastar, ELP. NBCgrabbedontotheideathat Goodman [later]ofMahavishnu “She said,‘Don’tplayallthestuffthat Tchaikovsky’s firstPianoConcerto. struck upalong-lastingfriendship. bleeps andnotepatternswereproduced set-up thatinvolvedtwomicsoneach solo. Thiswasaunique,custom-built had alwaysprovideddynamiccontrast looking upatme.Whentheaudience “When Ithinkaboutthelyric,I’d Emerson Lake&Palmer’s versionof Emerson wenttovisitthecomposer Lake’s “I said,verytimidlike,‘Himy “Only nominally,”Lakereplies. Still... YouTurnMeOn . Iremember The

isone

BRIAN GREGORY WILSON C'est La Vie: Keith Emerson Today High Voltage, conducting, and that musical spark.

n 2010, when ELP played the High Voltage Festival, they ruled out using the flying piano for health and safety reasons. "I had the designs of how to make this work,” Emerson complains, "but we were allowed the cannons for some reason!!” High Voltage looks like it might have been the band’s last ever show, but Emerson is still a busy man. “I am learning to conduct,” he reveals. “Don’t ask me to conduct Wagner, but I can conduct my own pieces. And all that I can tell you from my own recent experience is that some young, budding orchestral musicians are unbelievably brilliant and they are desperate to learn and play new music. “I can’t say that my playing is as good as it used to be way back in the 70s - I'm reaching 70 now - but my compositional skills and my playing, to some extent, are way up to par. And I can only thank God for that.” MB TINA KORHONEN

Keith Emerson: Still... he turns it on... tweaks the oscillators... adjusts the low-pass filter...

progrockmag.com 37 38 progrockmag.com SONY MUSIC PRESS/HR GIGER but inaromanticway.’’ and originalhalf hour ofmusic,largely though, isthethree-part suite Palais DeDanseisSalisburyCityHall.” But heisBennyTheBouncerand the never didanythingbecausenoone foot three;hewasamassiveguy. He fucking huge!Hemusthavebeen six at SalisburyCityHall,”saysLake. as Emersonputsit. one ofthegroup’s“nonsensesongs”, minutes ofknockaboutlightrelief— aberration onthealbum,acoupleof would everdaresayanythingtohim. “There wasabouncerthereandhe sometimes playshowswithTheGods 9, whichranksas theirmostambitious that’s one of the wonderful things wonderful the of one that’s Even imprint. genetic record's the retro-fit you when course, Of well. cover, the album is As record. the to thinkofanameforthealbum,’ visual art and lyrics - it’s not what not it’s - lyrics and art visual a blackguycalledMarioMedious," who wasrunningitinAmerica We hadarecordcompanycalled American slangforfellatio?"Yes, about it." of some gets automatically of sort it - retro-fitting of case a also was of artwork the - something of and hecameupwiththename, Salad Daze it is, it’s what you think it is, and is, it think you what it’s is, it interpreting of way own their have People music. the represents it and now is it connected, wasn't it if held together somehow just it but content of the with to do nothing and "It Lake explains.“Wesaid.‘We'vegot Manticore Recordsandtheguy ‘Brain SaladSurgery'isblack Brain SaladSurgery Benny TheBouncer The bulkof “When Iwasveryyoungusedto But isn'tittruethatthephrase ri Sld Surgery Salad Brain Brain Salad Surgery's was retro-fitted," says Greg Lake Greg says retro-fitted," was of therecord he title an X-ray of a penis. Not mine, I hasten to add..."Greg Lake on Brain SaladSurgery, . “ts got “It's . istheone iconic artwork. Tarkus Karn Evil

just asweet,gentleperson.It’s artist’s visionisnotactuallyhim. a beautifulexampleofwherethe skulls. Hehimself,ofcourse,is of thechairsareallmadeup terrible picturesofrowsburnt sinister-looking sculpturesand flewoverto and meethim.’Sowe a bookandsowesaid,'Let’sgo called HRGiger.Maybehewould do thealbumcoverandhesaid, We asked,‘Whatisthat?' made ofblackebony.Thebacks look likethey'rethrones,andare babies. Thediningtableandchairs Giger’s houseisfullofhorror,with had UVlights,soit’sdark,and most bizarreexperience. Zurich tohishouseanditwasthe have seensomeofhisworkin be interesting?’Ithinkwemust 'There’s agreatartistinZurich looking forsomeonegoodto recorded thealbumandwere Peter Zumsteak.Wesaidwe’d in EnglandwasaSwissguycalled It soundedsointriguing. “It waslikeanightclub.Hejust "The guywhoranManticore

that frontage was important," adds important," was frontage woman’s the beneath shape the not or whether to as speculation to add. Giger’s. I can’t remember can’t I Giger’s. add. to penis the have didn’t face woman’s some sortofnewBeeGees!” as to referred been have wouldn’t actually apenis. was out, airbrushed virtually And quite honestly, I think if Love if think I honestly, quite And the musicthatreallymadeit. and artwork the of amalgamation on stamp final the put Giger HR of skull the on logo the wasn’t there - cover album the like wasn't mouth, which on the cover was the cover which on mouth, but ithungtogetherreallywell.” coincidental, was that of much how hasten I mine, “Not confirms. Lake below it." the of portrait the and painting certainly It state. formative its in Beach Surgery Salad Brain work unique the think “I Emerson. title “With all the albums, that albums, the all “With “It wasanX-rayofapenis," There hasbeensome “We looked at some artwork some at looked “We had a different cover, we cover, different a had I ws the was It . MB Jacques Loussier—beforehitting ringmaster, whosays, I’m notsurehowImanagedtowrite visions ofafuturedystopia.Butright full ofwarningsandominousportents, up frombluesjams,whichcouldbe transgressive entertainment. going between “In Emerson, by written us ofhisrootsbeforebass-playing happening inrealtime. a uniqueperformance,something Lake hadinmindtheideaoftheatre, from therehearsalsincinema, the circus. whose familyhadconnectionswith platform” forthelyricalconcepthehad how Emerson’smusicwas“aperfect was satisfactory.” fun, butIdidn’talwaysthinkthatit which promisessomeparticularly virgins andamule’,combination alongside thesepeculiarities,‘seven of grass’,‘abombinsideacar’,and bishops’, ‘headsinjars’,‘arealblade with asurrealparadeof‘rows goes withit.” come inside...’ so gladyoucouldattend,comeinside, Lake recites.“It’sslightlycold. my friendstotheshowthat of counterpointandthatworkedwell. constituent partsaretitled]usedalot The firstpartof and presentedittoGregCarl. all thisdown,”helaughs. and saying‘Hi’tothewifekids, lawn the mowing tour, from home back guitar motifs. days withsomenifty,melodiclead minded intensity,whileLakereminds navigates thesecurrentswithasingle- R&B, woventhroughwithEmerson’s It evokesBach,Bernsteinandfuturistic Crimson buddy,lyricistPeteSinfield, been hatchingupwithhisoldKing sinister invitation,wearepresented Occasionally weusedtomakemusic somewhat akintoPalmer’sbeloved begins asahyperactivepianotrio— serpentine synthlines.Palmer and chargedwithcharacteristicenergy. The firstsectionof Lake stillsoundsdelightedabout Once wehaveacceptedthisrather “But Iwroteitonmanuscriptpaper The instrumental The musicisfittinglyspectacular, “There’s acharacter,like There’sawrysmilethat First Impression Second Impression First Impression ‘Welcome back ‘Welcome never ‘We’re [asthe ends,’

is

SONY MUSIC PRESS a Latinate groove, like music heard Carl Palmer: when you’re wafting from some sci-fi barrio. drum kit’s this awesome, “I had been on holiday in Trinidad damn right you can wear and I got this crazy sound on the Moog, leather dungarees. which sounded quite like steel pans,” SONY MUSIC PRESS says Emerson. "Carl really got into the rhythm of that one and it was a little more light-hearted than the serious mood of the other Impressions." A strange, sparse section, a nocturne redolent of empty streets, leads us back into the initial piano theme. There’s no let up into the Third Impression, with its synth fanfares ushering in anthemic verses. Lake describes how the lyrics follow on from the First Impression. “I really can’t tell you quite what the connection was, but the next thing to pass by was this concept of the future.” His co-lyricist, Pete Sinfield, had also been a computer programmer, but in the 1970s, few people had even come across such a device: “There weren’t even fax machines,” Lake explains. And to many they represented the unknown and also the unnatural and impersonal in a potentially threatening way. One only needs to think of HAL 9000, the spaceship’s computer in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, who, becoming sentient, turns against his masters. The sections with the protagonist arguing his existential case with the spaceship’s bridge computer might seem a bit dated now, but Lake is unabashed. “Pete and I got onto the idea of a world where computers actually take over from people, and the more we thought about it, the more sense it made. It was prophetic. The line in the song was, Load' your programme, I am yourself', and I predict that it won’t be so long before computers will have almost a genetic capacity for knowing their owners, and the more control it would take, the more of your life it would consume. As the first step along the way, we have already become cellphone dependent.” Brain Salad Surgery reached Number Two in the UK chart and Number 16 in C'est La Vie: Carl Palmer Today the US. Reactions to the album were Keyboards vs guitars, fleet feet and the ELP Legacy. mixed, but by this time Emerson Lake & Palmer had largely given up on press support. It was a smaller world in the LP’s music was highbrow, quintessentially English and 70s and the music press ostensibly had top-end," says Carl Palmer. He’s still a member of that other supergroup, Asia, and his own more power than they do now, but then ELP Legacy band play material from that back catalogue, together ELP had more power than the press. with covers like Bernstein’s America, and King Crimson’s 21st Lake says, “The interesting thing Century Schizoid Man. With ELP, Palmer played with a lead is it made absolutely no difference keyboard player; with ELP Legacy, he plays with two guitarists. — the journalists would slag us and “I’m not big on blues,’’ he says. “I do like jazz, but classical the people decided who they liked. adaptations played in a rock format with superb musicians are I think it was at the Royal Festival fantastic. Keyboards did it at the time, but I've now gone the Hall where we decided to put in complete circle and I’ve taken to only using virtuoso guitarists our concert programme a scathing to play this music. “I have a very simple philosophy,” he concludes. “I’ll carry on review by John Peel, who said playing as long as I am improving or maintaining a standard. And we were ‘a waste of talent and my feet are getting better. I’m going to spend a couple of hours electricity’. It had become almost this afternoon with some new bass drum pedals.” MB de rigueur to knock ELP.” WILL IRELAND

progrockmag.com 39 40 progrockmag.com ELP ARCHIVE/TONY ORTIZ jeopardised theproject.“Wehad water. GodknowshowIgotthrough freezing todeath,myarmsarestrained was thebriefperiodwhenEmerson Anaheim ConventionCenterin famed knife-wielding,Hammond- Emerson quips.“Originally itwasa pretty efficientin doingaerobatics,” achieved mypilot’s licenceandIwas another level.“Well,bythattime I’d raised 011ahydraulicstandand was wherewestagedtheflyingpiano. California. “Thatwouldhavebeenthe day rockfestival,theCaliforniaJam, got somethingoutofit.” that concert.Itwasamazingwe rope inanattempttopullmeoutofthe from skiingandhangingontothetow The boattowingmebrokedown.I’m out andwaterskiedoffLongBeach. three days.BeforethefirstnightIwent recording trucksoutsideabouttwoor recreational activitiesrather Led Zeppelin. alongside thelikesofPinkFloydand Lake &PalmerwereintheBigLeague, California, andPalmerfeelsthatthis Show ThatNeverEnds...LadiesAnd title, Words: Gentlemen, EmersonLake&Palmer humping showmanshiponto spun round,takingEmerson’s Emerson (hopefully)secured,were see. Itwasbiblical.” stretched asfartheeyecould I believetherewereabout highlight ofthatera,”saysLake.“That held onaspeedwaytrackinOntario, ri Sld Surgery Salad Brain 600,000 there.Theaudience ol' mscl ats ee hnig n te r o 70s of era the and changing were excess would tastes take its toll musical on the trio. world's The albumwasrecordedatthe The pianoandstool,with On thetour,ELPheadlinedaone- Emerson recallsthathispre-gig A Ladder n spring1974,EmersonLake& album withanaptlyelongated world tour,titled Palmer embarkeduponalengthy Welcome BackMyFriendsToThe

Mike Barnes , whichyieldedatriplelive Someone GetMe left ELP

.

n o o te ol, u that but world, the of top on country sufferedasaresult. their hi-techschemes,theentire the headline gadgets reinedatall.” hearts formanagingtokeepthe This isrobotmusicmixmasteredby of spectacle.Hewrote:“Whatreally which tookitfurtherintotherealms effect oftechnologyinrockmusic, what somesawasthedehumanising explanatory ‘Technoflash’.Lester especially inconcert,wastheself- to describethegroupattime, remember this!”’ remember mymusic,they’llfucking drop ofafurther20feetandIthought, the headsofaudience,therewasa pound pianolandingonme,butit’s five-foot drop.Icanhandlethat, so muchfromtheNationalGridtofuel human moduleswhodeservepurple sheer scaleofthenoisetheyemit... makes ELPadinosaurpotentateisthe Bangs, writingin ‘Well, ifIgooutandpeopledon’t I wasgoingtobe,whichrightover rock’n’roll. WhenIlookedatwhere although probablynotifI’vegota400- stage showwasmorethanjustshowbiz The EnergyCrisis, All ofthegroupareadamantthat NME One peculiarly1970stermused reprintedBangs’articleunder Crazed PowerDemonsOf Creem asifELPhadsucked in 1974, voiced in1974,voiced

SONY MUSIC PRESS Their musicinspired in 1974. in the‘BigLeague’ much opininginthe papers, notablyLester Backstage andbriefly Demons’ article. Bangs' famous‘Power

was mostlyfullofwater;itaspoof. probably seenmewithabottleof was whatmattered. that inthefinalanalysis,music agrees: “I’velong sincerealisedthe out oftheblocks atafuriouspace.Lake left gaspingbythesheerspeedof it all. you’re outofyourfuckingbox!” I don’tdothatanymore.You’ve up thenosejustasabitoffun,but I probablydiddabblewithsomething regard. Ifwehadthreeweeksoff,then drugs, wewereverysensibleinthat played right,”hesays.“Wedidn’tdo What wasimportantgettingit we didbecauselovedthemusic. Try playing cognac ontopoftheMoog,butthat music. Emersoniskeentoemphasise gratuitous butactuallyaddedtothe cannons andtheflyingpianowerenot flash andthattheLights,flashpods, On Listening tothelivealbum,oneis “We workeddamnedhardatwhat Hoedown Brain SaladSurgery , forexample,they come when over-speeding issue about ELP. But in America. It was the biggest mistake of was why the group was never a really some ways that frenetic energy was our lives; a very foolish thing to do. big group.” one of the good tilings about the band, “One member talked about taking Lake sees it quite differently: “I think because when we came onstage and a year off. We had been going for three that we had begun to run out of steam opened up, people used to almost fall or four years and just managed to crack in the sense of there is only so much over because of the intensity, and part it globally, so why would you want a three-piece band can do — at least of that is the speed it's coming at you: to take a year off? I could imagine you think that at the time. We were ELP ARCHIVE/TONY ORTIZSONY MUSIC PRESS so fast and hard your brain can’t handle ELP ARCHIVE/TONY ORTIZSONY a month, a couple of months. No logic playing about 200 shows a year and The trio headlined the it. We made as much of the three California Jam in '74.. at all, no true understanding. But that we never had time off and we were people as we possibly could. But it’s burnt out, I think. You do feel that often tilings you leave out that increase there is a limit to what you can keep the dimension of the sound. Just creating with three people and keep thrashing away can sound very small.” it different every time.” After the group came back from the Does Lake think, then, thatBrain tour, one only wondered what they Salad Surgery was the album that both could produce next. Creatively at their defined and ultimately destroyed peak and a huge live draw, they then Emerson Lake & Palmer as a group? went and withdrew from activities “Neither,” he replies. “I think a lot for three years. of albums made the band successful, “It wasn’t a logical period,” says but equally the live performances Palmer. “One of the members didn’t made it successful. I think it was the like what was being written about us last true ELP album and so in that in the English press, calling us ‘sabre- sense you could say that it was the end. rattling’ and ‘over the top’. We ended But the breaking of the band was Works up deserting England and went to Volume 1.

progrockmag.com 41 Palmer shaking things up at San Francisco's civic Center, February 74. LARRY HULST/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES

woodwork. It cost us over a million pounds to record. Although there are things I like about it, it only sold well on the reputation of previous albums. If you ask someone what’s their favourite ELP album, maybe one in 50, maybe one in 100 will say Works Volume 1. That was the beginning of the end. I didn’t produce ELP albums after that. It wasn’t the ELP that I wanted.” With memories of the group finding it hard to play some of the pieces from Trilogy as a trio fresh in his mind, Keith Emerson was keen to do things properly this tune. “Basically we’d spent all of the C'est La Vie: Greg Lake Today advance that we got from our new deal A lifetime of songs, and still not in the Hall Of Fame... with Atlantic on that tour,” Emerson says. “I’ve always felt it necessary that n recent years, Greg Lake has been touring a solo show, Songs if a band goes out on the road, the fans IOf A Lifetime, which dips into his back catalogue, including deserve to hear it as it is on the album. songs from King Crimson, ELP and his solo albums. He also covers If there’s an orchestra on the album, influential tunes like Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel. “If you look they should be able to see it live.” at the song, there’s almost nothing in it,” he says. ELP’s 1977 tour has become Lake finds these solo shows particularly fulfilling. "Performing notorious for being synonymous with to people, communicating with people, seeing if they are moved rock excess, with three artics — each by something, that’s the ultimate reward for any artist,” he says. bearing the name of a group member One thing that continues to irk him, though, is that ELP have yet to be inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. "Most — the portable stages, the orchestra progressive bands haven’t,” he complains, "and it’s because and Greg Lake’s ‘Persian carpet’ roadie Americans don't think of it as American. It’s more European, — all in all a grand folly. They had to but then ELP had a big influence on many bands. And you don't cancel three weeks’ worth of dates and have a museum and then leave out the Romans because you pay off the orchestra, and they were don’t fucking like them!” MB almost bankrupted. KEN RAKE/CAMERA PRESS Palmer doesn’t feel that this is Emerson Lake & Palmer’s signature tiling but to actually become a classical Works Volume 1. strictly accurate. “It was not a case of Greg Lake-nil. had always been a mix of classical form of music, I just didn't feel being ‘bankrupt’. I know it’s a word you reworkings, self-penned band pieces comfortable about it. And we came will have read somewhere, but it’s just and Lake’s concise, melodic songs. to the point that either the band was we couldn’t afford to have an empty But if Works Volume 1, released in 1977, going to break up or Keith insisted that seat in the house. We needed to put seemed by its portentous title to we went down that path. the books in order by going out for six distance itself from the listener, it “It became the voice of ELP through weeks as a trio. The problem with it is was also a fragmented affair, with each an orchestra. Previously when we made that the whole concept was wrong. member chipping in a side, plus a final records ourselves I produced them and We should have gone out first as a trio, side of them playing as a group. it was the band itself that decided then added the orchestra as a bonus.” “Keith wanted to follow a classical everything, so it was a handmade Looking back, it’s clear that suddenly path,” Lake recalls. “I understood that, record. With Works Volume 1 there were the band’s identity was in question. but I could also see that we weren’t all kinds of fucking people involved Works Volume Two (1978) also had its really classical — we were rock. Doing with it: orchestras in Switzerland and moments, but it was basically a interpretations of classical was one Paris, conductors coming out of the compilation of odds and ends.

42 progrockmag.com MICHAEL PUTLAND/GETTY innovative spark that those earlier those that spark innovative but I thought, ‘Well, let’s give it a try.’ a try.’ it let’s give ‘Well, thought, I but and changing was world music whole featured the grinning, suntanned trio suntanned grinning, the featured or comeback albums, albums had,and neitherdidour popular. Itdidn’thavethathandmade, it made that tiling very the diluting was doing were we What ELP. of I‘ve gotnoreasontobehereanymore.” doing whatIknowshouldbedoing, I’m confident onstage go can’t I If me. didn’t suit me and It saddened doing?’ you are ‘What saying, were albums ELP the all bought had who fans dear My that. Ididn’tfeelcomfortableaboutit, do to tried ELP crossover. successful a made playable, andGenesis radio were which pieces short making to music of pieces lengthy doing from crossover recounts. Emerson dramatically,” quite New Yorkandhepointedoutthatthe in Records Atlantic in office Ertegun’s of somederision. subject the were and compromised, fatally be to appeared group The the time. out at to put thing the wrong was 1978’s split initial their before album final says Lake, “but it didn’t have the soul the have didn’t it “but Lake, says “Yes had successfully made the made successfully had “Yes exactly was It palms. by surrounded seemed to have lost the plot. Their plot. the lost have to seemed As the 70s drew to a close, ELP close, a to drew 70s the As “Love BeachwasaversionofELP,” Ahmet into called were “We In TheHotSeat Love Beach (1994).Theyboth Black Moon , whosecover (1992) ELP splitin1979. Seeing theywere Taking abackseat: running outofroad, The Limited Edition Super Edition Limited The What's In The Box? Track); CD2: CD1: gatefold. Fivediscsplusvinyl: internal and artwork with slipcase photosand with newliners, Your guide to the new editions of memorabilia; hardcover12” booklet 20-page artwork; restored digitally and poster die-cut release boxset Deluxe previously unreleased versions of versions unreleased previously Toccata On Me Turn You Impression 3rd 9 lentv version: Alternative album, remastered. Original ; Jerusalem Karn Evil91stImpression

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