I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS

• The Barbarian Emerson Lake & Palmer, 1970
• Iconoclast Tarkus, 1971
• A Time And A Place Tarkus, 1971
• The Gnome Pictures At An Exhibition, 1971
• Hoedown Trilogy, 1972
• Karn Evil 9- 1st Impression, Pt. 1 Brain Salad Surgery, 1973
• Toccata Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, 1974

This is a very nice little sampler of seasonal tunes from the band. 'I Believe in Father Christmas' and Prokofiev's 'Lt. Kije Suite' are both rousing holiday numbers done in a synth-rock style that evoke snowy days and sleighbells. The rest of the EP contains 'Humbug' and closes with 'Nutrocker' from their classic album 'Pictures at an Exhibition'. If you really want an ELP holiday album, I would highly recommend Keith Emerson's 'The Christmas Album' (re-released several times) but this will do in a pinch and makes a good stocking stuffer.

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Posted Tuesday, October 10, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #93952)

This barely seems to be an ELP album, as the first track is Greg Lake's original solo version of I Believe In Father Christmas, the second sounds like a Keith Emerson solo take on Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite (Lake and Palmer do not seem to be on this), and Humbug is from a Greg Lake solo project as well. The remaining two tracks are from Works, Vol. 2 and Pictures At An Exhibition as well.

Troika is the only major reason for a prog enthusiast to want this album, as all of the other tracks are available elsewhere. This is a nice Emersonian take on the classical theme that pops up in the title track of this EP.

Humbug is a short jazzy piece around repeated harmonized "humbug"s. It's cute, but ultimately forgettable.

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Posted Monday, September 28, 2009 | Review this album | Report (Review #241857)

ELP's I Believe In Father Christmas, the only EP released over their whole career, is truly an album that is only for the fans. The two versions of the great title track are extremely similar, and I really didn't notice much difference between the two, so there doesn't seem to be a reason to incl ... (read more)

Report this review (#159601) | Posted by ClassicRocker | Wednesday, January 23, 2008 | Review Permanlink

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