Emerson, Lake & Palmer Album: “Works Volume 1 [Remaster]”

ELP's WORKS project has not been a favorite of hardcore ELP fans, but this re-master will definitely change their opinions. The sound is powerful and nuanced in the quieter moments. (Emerson's concerto is sadly underrated by the rock critics). Everyone who's had a previous copy (be it vinyl or earlier CD pressings) will notice how the Yamaha GX-1 was very thinly recorded; during the tour of course Emerson and his keyboard tech had beefed up the sound considerably through various upgrades. This new re-master really pushes that special GX sound up front so that it can shake the floor during Fanfare for the common man.

The best sounding version so far released on CD, and far greater than the vinyl copy I used to own.

Highlight of that '77 period was meeting both Keith and Carl while they were residing in Montreal for the upcoming orchestral tour.

Still a great band that reveals so many different things in their music; the fun that they had is clearly reflected in their performances....real showmen who were entertaining beyond bombast. It's no longer interesting to laugh at these guys because of them being dinosaurs of rock; rather enjoy the music for what it is.....great rock and roll. Cheers lads...keep on truckin"

Maybe the icing on the cake for one of the greats of the 70s era . As much as I loves BSS this is a real eye opener. Piretes and FanFare shows the great work as a trio.Carls side ( I owned the LP at one time ) blew me away. Gregs side was well writen and put together.Keith side took some getting used to. It's sad that Vol 2 wasn't as good. Long live ELP.

Giving each member complete control for one LP 'side (still some playing on the other's side), then making the final side a more formal group collaboration gives this release a very unique quality. They were hugely succesfull commercialy so there was nothiing left to prove. This gave them the freedom to do something very different. Much like the Beatles 'White Album', this aproach led to a more distinct expression of each individuals talent and tastes rather than another album emphasizing the groups established sond. The Emerson Piano Concerto is more like a serious piece of classical music than their usual rock/classical Hybrids. The Lake ballad C'Est la Vie is as good as any he'd ever written. Palmer ventures into jazz and remakes 'Tank' with horns. Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the common man' gets a ferocious prog rock workout. This takes a few listens to get into, and overall it doesn't rank as high their major records, but I love this record!

My all time favorites of theirs (in order) would be the 'Brain Salad Surgery', First record', 'Pictures at an Exhibition' and 'Trilogy', Works V1, Tarkus

I have started to enjoy some of ELP's music, so decided to purchase both of the Works albums. Has most of their better songs. I am happy with this purchase.

I have loved this album since I was young. I pulled it out recently to listen again after a few years of sitting on the shelf and I have to say that this album is just simply genious! I have heard the critics who pan this as pompous or whatever self-serving criticisms that they use. The way I have coped with the critics of bands like ELP and the Moody Blues has been to imagine what classrooms would be like if they evaluated the music of these bands.

What if you took the lyrics to Closer To Believing out of the song and used the poetry in English class? What would the English teacher say in the unit on poetry? Probably that this song is poetry at it's best. What if you played the Piano Concerto to a classical afficionado without telling him who the artist was? That classical lover would know that the "composer" was 20th century, and would most likely appreciate the work as creative and the artist talented. These are the tests that put the obnoxious critics to rest in my head. I love this album!

One more thing about Closer to Believing - that is the most poetic song I've ever heard. It belongs on a masterpiece compilation, both lyrically and musically. Pete Sinfield at his greatest! The orchestrations are hauntingly beautiful and the melody is as memorable as any song from the 70s.