WORKS VOL. 1

I absolutely love this album and I'm surprised to read some rather negative opinions. Keith's Piano Concerto seems to come in for some rather unjust criticism I feel. Ok it may not be in the classical tradition but it is unmistakeably Emerson and I find it thrilling at times and full of vitality. Having bought the sheet music I really appreciate the skill of the writing and playing. From a musical point of view it is full of trademark Emerson writing - melodic discord for want of a better expression, but with some true romantic and lyrical passages to boot. Greg Lake's songs are of a consistently high quality - maybe not traditional ELP fare but of their kind I think their top notch and his voice has never sounded better. For me Carl Palmer's side is the weakest and misses the boat simply because he hasn't got a clear musical "voice" or anything particularly notable to communicate. The playing and arrangements are fine though and it is an enjoyable listen. There's not much new that can be said about "Fanfare" - it's a great arrangement and groove and the extended version with the distorted synth hits the button for me. "Pirates" is one of my all-time favourite tracks - great writing, fabulous vocals from Lake - and as others have said, it's definitely the best rock band-orchestra combination piece on record. I'd like to give the album 5 stars but as it isn't flawless, (and OK it is self indulgent but that's fine with me) I should probably stick with four having read the review guidelines.