WORKS VOL. 2

You don't have to listen too closely here to hear the sound of the barrel being scraped.

This album consists of solo and band tracks which didn't make it onto previous albums. There are moments of inspiration, such as the atmospheric Greg Lake ballad "Watching over you", but they are all too few. Even Lake's solo hit "I believe in Father Christmas" is not the bombastic version which give him major success in the singles chart, but a watered down acoustic version. Emerson certainly lightens up, clearly enjoying himself on "Barrelhouse shake-down" and Scot Joplin's "Maple leaf rag", but ultimately these are little more than amusing diversions.

There's certainly nothing remotely progressive here, with all the tracks being under 5 minutes, and simple in structure. By the time Lake sings "Show me the way to go home", you know exactly how he feels!

While the flawed "Works volume 1" may have been a legitimate, if for many disappointing release, "Volume 2" is nothing more than a compilation of tracks which were by and large never intended for inclusion on an ELP album,

An album of outtakes, for core fans only.

Footnote, British comedian Jim Davidson is a big ELP fan. He managed to get some of their music used as incidental and link themes on his TV family game show "The generation game". He recorded an album, mainly of easy listening standards, which included a superb version of "Watching over you", produced by Greg Lake.

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