WORKS VOL. 2

As many have noted, instead of being a 'real' album this is made up of b-sides and tracks left off former albums, put together when the band couldn't agree on what to release next. It really sounds like it too. There are some nice ragtime piano tracks (including Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, which Emerson plays decently), but these feel like filler. There is only one track that for me has stood the test of time, and that make this album worthy of a second look - "Bullfrog". This is a great jazzy and quirky instrumental track. To my ears this is probably the only of these tunes to be left off a previous album due to lack of fit, rather than quality. But it is less than four minutes long. And the rest of the tunes are definitely seconds. The opener, "Tiger in a Spotlight", somehow makes onto ELP compilations, but it is such a 'normal' rock song without anything to make it special, whether lyrics or musicianship or even a catchy melody (which it lacks). The song "Brain Salad Surgery" would lend its name to the album of the same name, but was also left off it - one listen and it is clear why. In fact, the vocal tracks on this album are all worse than the instrumentals. As a whole this album is not nearly as bad as many other one-star albums, but it is not quite good enough to make it to two stars. I rate this 2.3 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 1 PA star.

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