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

From the booming bass that kicks off "The Barbarian" through the final Moog synth squiggle of the "Lucky Man" outro,"Emerson Lake & Palmer" is the powerful opening salvo of ELP's mixture of classical,jazz and hard rock-best known to the world as "progressive rock"-that presented such obscure classical pieces as Bela Bartok's 'Allegro Barbaro'("The Barbarian") and Janacek's 'Sinfonietta'("Knife-Edge")in fresh contexts.Other highlights-on an album featuring nothing BUT highlights- include Greg Lake's 12 minute-plus epic "Take A Pebble" and Carl Palmer's fusion-esqe drum piece "Tank".This record has been remastered on CD a few times,first on the dismal-sounding Atlantic one from the 80's,and again on the Victory and Rhino in the 90's which,while an improvement from the first one,were pretty below the standards of most remasters from that period.This Shout! remaster(done by Andy Pearce at Masterpiece London)is right in the class of the Yes Rhino remasters and the Genesis CD/SACD/DVD hybrid's,with Lake's bass guitar sounding big and beefy,Palmer's drum work crisp,and Keith Emerson's keyboards as clear as pure mountain water.Despite the lack of bonus tracks,ELP and prog-rock fans should not hesitaite in picking up-or upgrading with-this reasonably-priced remastered jewel.

If you check my older reviews, I gave the Rhino disc a great review but the improvement here even over that one is astounding. I don't think I've ever heard clearer vocals on my system - how the hell did these guys record this album so well, a DEBUT album no less? On my rig, sibilants are outstanding, smooth as silk and not harsh at all - it IS a brightly-mixed album, after all, and your speakers' high end had better be up to the challenge. The soundstage is also a mile wide and just when I thought I knew every musical nuance of this album, I found myself hearing "further back" into the recording than ever before - stunning. This also makes me realize just how BAD those old Atlantic CDs were. And I have heard the K2 and sorry, but for my taste the treble is just a bit bright and the music sounds slightly compressed to my ears. Horses for courses, as long as we all enjoy the album, guys. Right?

And with that, let me publicly state that I will NEVER buy another version of this album on CD.

In 1970 keyboard player Keith Emerson of Nice and Greg Lake of King Crimson bolted from their groups and joined with drummer Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster to form the most successful power trio in the history of progressive rock. Only Renaissance could be said to have more explicitly incorporated classical music into its sound that Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The trio were regarded as technical virtuosos on their instruments, to such a point that their performances surely could not match their reputations. Lake might not be as great a guitarist as the other two were on their instruments, but when I was a lad if you had given me my choice of any one's voice in rock and roll, I would have wanted to sing like Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake & Palmer also have some of the more interesting "what ifs" around in terms of their origin, since there were rumors of Jimi Hendrix joining the group and Steve Howe of Yes actually auditioned).

The self-tilted 1971 debut album (mostly recorded the previous year), is a mix of the bombastic synthesizer overkill that could dominate some of their early work (such as the first side of their next album, "Tarkus") and the subtle balance between Lake's vocals and Emerson's piano playing. The former is represented by the instrumental opening track, "The Barbarian," which sets up a radical shift to the former with "Take a Pebble." This song was ELP's first released single, and would become one of the improvisational standards of the group in concert. The "first side" ends with "Knife-Edge," based on a theme by Janacek I believe, and is one of the rare examples of balance between Emerson's synthesizer and Lake's vocals. You have to remember that the synthesizer was a new toy at that time and perhaps Emerson should be forgiven for taking it out so unrelentlessly at times on a test drive.

"The Three Fates," like "Take a Pebble," owes much to classical forms and provides ample evidence of my contention that Emerson was much more proficient on a piano than on an organ. "Tank" represents the third synthesized work while "Lucky Man," the group's first and biggest hit single, showcases Lake's haunting vocals against an acoustic guitar, with a synthesizer solo at the end. You cannot help but wonder what else Greg lake might have written if he did not have to contend with Emerson's propensity to longer and longer keyboard works. Any how, on Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album we end up with three synthesizer songs and three piano/guitar songs. I give the latter 5 stars and the former 3 stars, but "Lucky Man" is a 6 and "Knife-Edge" a 4 and that ends up a 5 because I can make this stuff up as I go along. Seriously, whichever type you prefer, it is going to dictate which of their other albums you are going to enjoy.

A clear and solid Jap remastering of this milestone CD brings it to life with a rich engaging sound. One of their best albums, and one of the best 70s albums period - big, bold, beautiful and beefy.

This is a faithful digital presentation of the original vision. True to the unrestrained spirit of the Eddie Offord master while adding clarity and definition. A forceful debut, Highly Recommended!