WORKS VOL. 1

Sadly it was recordings like this that made 1977's punk explosion inevitable. Self indulgent and often pretentious this sounds like ELP meets Spinal tap. The Emerson side is pretty good but the Lake side is un listable slush. The Palmer side is nothing special although I do sometimes put this version of tank on. The Elp side is better and includes their excellent take on "fanfare for a common man" one of their best ever classical covers. Pirates is to long and to be honest I prefer Lake's lyrics to Seinfeld's. Overblown and over priced this LP succeeded in putting a lot of people off and was one of the records that made liking prog an embarrassing admission for many years after. Hear ElP shot themselves in the foot, it sounds lazy and makes you wonder if they were more interested in getting the money out of your pocket rather than offering some decent art. ELP were until this record by far my Favoriteprog band but this record killed that, and it took many years for me to forgive them compleatly. Trouble is worse was to come but that's another sad story.