WORKS VOL. 1

After the release of their fourth studio album and also their most successful album 'Brain Salad Surgery', Emerson, Lake & Palmer took a three years break to reinvent their music and they probably lost contact with the changing music scene. We can't forget that it was in those years that we saw the birth of the punk rock movement. So, it was in those troubled times to prog rock music that they decided to record their double studio album 'Works' which was released in 1977. This album was later renamed 'Works, Vol. 1', which was soon followed, in the same year, by 'Works, Vol. 2'.

So, 'Works, Vol. 1' is the fifth studio album of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and was released in 1977. It's very different from what the band had made before. This is a strange album in terms of its conception. Originally, it was meant to be a two disc set divided into four major sections, the first three discs highlighting the music of each band's member and the last one highlighting the music of the band. So, as we can see, this is a very different proposal from the usual keyboard driven music that most of the fans expected. So, it wasn't a great surprise that the album has received a mixed reaction from fans and press. Those were changing times, but these weren't the changes that they expected.

The A side of the first disc is Keith Emerson's part and consists entirely of a concert for piano and orchestra divided into three movements: 'Piano Concerto No. 1': First Movement: 'Allegro Giojoso'; Second Movement: 'Andante Molto Cantabile'; Third Movement: 'Toccata Con Fuoco'. It seems that the composition was inspired when he was watching his own house burning and coming down. It's a classical piece of music without anything to do with progressive rock music or even with the rock itself. However, we are in presence of a classical piece of music of high level. Keith Emerson, in conjunction with is conductor and co-orchestrator John Mayer, admirably wrote beautiful virtuoso musical passages for the piano with excellent orchestration. Despite not be prog, it has great music and I really like it, indeed.

The B side of the first disc is Greg Lake's part and consists of five romantic acoustic ballads, 'Lend Your Love To Me Tonight', 'C'Est La Vie', 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', 'Nobody Loves You Like I Do' and 'Closer To Believing', most of which were written by him and Peter Sinfield. This is the part that we can consider more close to the band's style. I mean only the individual musical contributions of Greg Lake to the group. My favourite songs here are 'Lend Your Love To Me Tonight', which is, in my opinion, a good song, and especially 'C'Est La Vie', which is a fantastic song and is also the most famous too. I've mix feelings about this part. I like both songs but the other three are indifferent to me.

The A side of the second disc is Carl Palmer's part and consists logically and essentially in percussion and is probably the most accessible, of the three solo parts. It's especially for rock listeners, rocking hard even on the classical adaptations. This part consists of six songs, 'The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits' (an arrangement of an excerpt of the 2nd Movement of 'The Scythian Suite' of Sergei Prokofiev), 'L.A. Nights', 'New Orleans', 'Two Part Invention In D Minor' (an arrangement of a baroque piece of music of Johan Sebastian Bach), 'Food For Your Soul' and 'Tank' (a remake from a song originally released on the eponymous first album of the group). My favourite songs here are 'The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits' which is, for my taste, a very good adaptation of the suite of Sergei Prokofiev, 'Two Part Invention In D Minor', another fantastic arrangement of the Baroque piece of music by Bach and 'Tank', an interesting remake of the original song with orchestral accompaniment and without the solo drum.

The B side of the second disc is the part featuring the entire band together, and consists only of two songs, 'Fanfare For The Common Man' and 'Pirates'. The first one is a modern piece of music of Aaron Copland that was re- arranged for a rock band and the second was originally written for the soundtrack of a cancelled film version of the Frederick Forsyth's book 'The Dogs Of War'. Both pieces of music are, in my humble opinion, two great music compositions. Both pieces have a delightful mix of contemporary classical epic music, very melodic, progressive, dynamic, charming and complex. Even Lake sings with passion on the tracks. These were the band's last great epics and I love both, really.

Conclusion: Individually and musically, we can really consider 'Works, Vol. 1' an album with some great and fantastic music moments, especially Keith Emerson's part and Emerson, Lake & Palmer's part. So, only for that it would be rated with 4 stars. However, there are some problems with this album that must be considered. In the first place, it isn't a very well balanced album because Greg Lake's and Carl Palmer's parts are worst and have some inconsistency. In the second place, this isn't an album with the famous musical formula that brought such fame and greatness to the band. Finally and in the third place, and this is the main reason, this isn't a musical collective effort of the band on most of it. Unfortunately, each member seemed to need to show their big egos and all of them tried to be the leader of the group. This is sad and was the beginning of the fall of one of the best, remarkable and most influential prog bands of the 70's.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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