Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Works, Vol. 1 (1977)

If ELP's first record was unpretentious, Works, Vol. 1 is the precise opposite. On this record, each member was given one side for himself, with the final side devoted to a group effort. It's kind of like having three mini solo albums and one mini-group album sold as one package. I believe that this record has received generally positive reviews, but I find it hard to understand why that is.

Keith Emerson's piano concerto is pedestrian. I think the rest of the record fairs better, especially Carl Palmer's tracks, though as a package, the record doesn't really work for me. I do genuinely like some of what this band has done, but this record is hardly required listening.

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