Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Label: Sanctuary Records
Release: 1970
Rating: 4.5/5
When keyboard wizard Keith Emerson broke up The Nice, one of the best proto-prog bands around, because they’d become too cramped for his extraordinary talent, he knew full well he was setting off on a completely new musical adventure. And when he also brought in one of the most gifted singers in rock at the time, Greg Lake (also a bassist and guitarist) from the prog rock phenomenon King Crimson, along with drummer Carl Palmer, who had previously honed his chops in Atomic Rooster, the foundations of the first real supergroup in rock history were finally laid. The influences of all those bands are plain to hear on their debut. “Emerson, Lake & Palmer” is an album that blends the strengths of all three of those earlier bands into a great mix (that is, the inventive fusion of classical music and rock from The Nice, the unpredictability, innovation, mysticism and avant-garde streak of King Crimson, and the jazz-tinged psychedelia of Atomic Rooster). The album marked a fresh artistic beginning for three already established musicians, which the cover art also illustrates nicely, with a dove (or a soul) rising from the head of a sleeping (dead?) man.
The individual musicians hardly need an introduction, but a few essential words are still in order. By the time of the album’s release, Emerson was already established as a keyboard “wizard”, the Hendrix of keyed instruments, who was at that point, especially on the technical side, simply unrivaled among rock keyboardists. With the formation of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, or ELP for short, he could finally open the valve and let all of his potential out. He’s also by far the most heavily represented of the three in terms of contributions to this album. Lake brought the band his melodic, rich vocals as well as solid bass and guitar playing. Although his guitar work (as on the band’s later records) doesn’t really get a chance to shine here and is only used as a sample of what he can do, it’s worth noting that he had a good feel for coming up with fitting melodies and subtle solos in the right places (the few there were, anyway). As a bassist, he had already proven his talent in King Crimson, a band that has always been known for top-notch bass players. Carl Palmer, with his jazzy approach to the drums, was one of the most sought-after young drumming talents of the day. All these different musical influences and playing styles create an exceptional stylistic contrast on the album and add to its complexity and sonic ebb and flow. “Emerson, Lake & Palmer” is also an album that showcases Emerson’s remarkable ability to successfully interpret works by classical composers, mostly from the early 20th century (anyone who knows the original versions of these classical pieces and compares them to the band’s interpretations will quickly notice there are no major differences, though the band undoubtedly adds its own charm).
The album isn’t entirely uniform when it comes to compositions that are a group effort by all three musicians. On the first half of the record, that’s only the opening track, “The Barbarian”, a red-hot interpretation of “Allegro Barbaro” by the classical Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The barbaric rhythm pulls us in instantly, mostly thanks to the energetic interplay of Emerson’s Hammond organ and synthesizers and Palmer’s whirlwind drumming, backed by Lake’s thick bass line. On the first pass-through come Emerson’s fast-fingered piano solos. Then the finale arrives with a dramatic closing solo on organ and drums. The image of a raging barbarian paints itself in the listener’s mind. “The Barbarian” is an incredibly ambitious album opener. The band clearly wanted to kick off its debut with a real explosion, and it absolutely pulled it off. Well, after every explosion comes a lull and a short breather. “Take A Pebble” is a complexly structured Lake ballad that makes for quite a stylistic contrast with the previous track, as it totally calms down its “barbaric” mood. With a psychedelic intro, where the sound recalls picks scraping across piano strings, and a mellow rhythm, it can quickly ease the listener into a pleasant trance. This is also where we first hear Lake’s melodic, clear and powerful voice (the one that made him famous in King Crimson). That’s followed by a fragile melody created by Emerson’s piano and Palmer’s gentle cymbal work. Lake’s singing doesn’t last long before extensive Emerson piano solos take over. Then the rhythm settles down a bit again and we get a section with a kind of babbling and popping of soap bubbles that brings back the psychedelic vibe. In the middle, the piece turns into a folk rock number built on Appalachian-flavored sounds from Lake’s acoustic guitar, accompanied by hand claps. It’s a wonderfully original idea that temporarily carries the piece into completely different musical waters. More piano solos follow, Lake’s vocals, and Palmer’s jazzy drum work. It’s an excellent piece where the talents of all three musicians come to the fore for the first time, and the listener can easily indulge in a bit of dreamy reverie. That this is an album of extreme stylistic contrasts is confirmed by the red-hot “Knife-Edge”, Emerson’s interpretation of a piece by yet another classical composer, the Czech Leoš Janáček, and his “Sinfonietta”, with Lake’s vocals added on top. It’s also one of the album’s highlights. The band sounds even more fired up this time than on “The Barbarian”, and it also shows off just how heavy a sound Emerson’s synthesizers could produce. Lake’s vocals sound incredibly pissed off here, and his vocal talent gets its biggest showcase on the entire album. Emerson’s Hammond organ solo in the last part of the track is one of the best on the record, while his synthesizer sounds like a church organ most of the time. Over the years the track earned a reputation as one of the band’s most popular and best-known songs, especially because Emerson would regularly stab knives between the keys of his organ during live performances. Palmer’s drumming is great again, too. The song is a real killer, one that leaves you “impaled on the tip of a knife” while you listen. It also features dark, sarcastic lyrics from Lake (yet another of his many talents). The second half of the album consists of pieces that serve as solo showcases for each of the three musicians. Each presents the kind of composition he’s strongest at. First up is a demonstration of Emerson’s boundless talent on “The Three Fates”, a suite split into three sections representing the three Greek goddesses of fate, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. It’s a classical music piece where Emerson shows off all his organ and piano wizardry, usually at supersonic speed, but always with a clear sense of how the composition flows. In the first part, “Clotho”, he plays a special orchestral organ that produces an incredibly rich sound. Then comes the shift to “Lachesis”, where he plays very pretty melodies on the piano, a first-rate demonstration of modern classical music. On “Atropos”, Palmer joins Emerson and enriches his piano with jazzy percussion. Despite Emerson’s extraordinary displays of keyboard technique (some would call it an ego trip), the piece never loses its head or tail, as so often happens in similar cases, so we can also enjoy its depth and beauty, something only masters of classical music can conjure up. “Tank” is Palmer’s moment, and he shows off his talent mainly through rich drum solos. These aren’t some long-winded drum solos, but rather a longer fusion instrumental in which Emerson follows the whole course of Palmer’s drumming with witty touches and builds on it in just the right way. For the finale comes Lake’s immortal ballad “Lucky Man”, which is pure triumph, the song most listeners know and also the band’s biggest hit. This evergreen ballad, with its ironic lyrics about a man who started out with everything in abundance but was then hit by a bullet as a soldier anyway, undoubtedly earned the band the most points of any track on the album. It came about completely by accident and, in its original form, was something Lake wrote back in his childhood. “Lucky Man” is also an exceptionally good piece in its own right and the peak of the album, even though it has by far the simplest structure and is the least progressive thing on it. But it’s marked by immense beauty and a remarkable message, something most of the other compositions lack. It’s built on Lake’s acoustic guitar, vocals and a simple rhythm. His artful electric guitar solo shows up in the right place at the right time. At the end comes a totally unexpected Emerson solo improvisation on the Moog, reportedly made up completely on the spot, which lifts the song to an even higher level as it closes out.
“Emerson, Lake & Palmer” is an impressive debut from three monumental musicians full of energy, fresh ideas and a hunger to prove themselves. The album also radiates the exceptional maturity of the individual members (which they had, of course, already earned in their previous bands). Although it’s not a masterpiece, it’s one of the best debut albums in rock and of priceless importance to progressive rock. This is the album that played a decisive role in popularizing the genre, and classical music too, among die-hard rockers. At the same time, the band hadn’t yet shown its true potential to the fullest. “Emerson, Lake & Palmer” is without a doubt one of the best albums by the legendary trio, which went on to chart its lightning-fast (if short-lived) assault on the top of the genre with great success. The album also offers an excellent glimpse into the band’s future.
Lineup
Keith Emerson – keyboards
Greg Lake – vocals, bass guitar, electric & acoustic guitar
Carl Palmer – drums, percussion
Production
Greg Lake
Tracklist
1. The Barbarian (4:33)
2. Take A Pebble (12:34)
3. Knife-Edge (5:08)
4. The Three Fates (7:45)
a) Clotho (Royal Festival Hall Organ)
b) Lachesis (Piano Solo)
c) Atropos (Piano Trio)
5. Tank (6:52)
6. Lucky Man (4:36)
Total runtime: 41:30
