Late to the party, I know. but such is life…
When it comes to Emerson, Lake & Palmer, well, many of us are already fans. It may be that some of us only respect the early periods, and some gradually climb the board until an album is found that is unpalatable. Typically – and for most fans – this occurs at Love Beach, which did not receive overly favorable reviews. As that would go, Love Beach would be the final stand of the original run of ELP. (They returned for a few more later.) And for some, the Works periods would be considered a bit overkill. Thankfully, that opinion isn’t held by most fans.
The Works period began with Works, Volume 1, released on March, 17 in 1977. Their last previous was Brain Salad Surgery. In that regard, Works could be considered a bit of strange release incorporating three sides of personal interest music, and finalized by a side of ELP pieces including the well-received band’s version of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare For The Common Man”, which, I must admit, was a favored track in my time.
Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to ELP’s fans, it was Brain Salad Surgery that was actually the end of a creative and cohesive embodiment of perfection that was the band. That album would be the last widely accepted fount of ELP that yielded contributed originality in studio form. None of these observations are designed to dismiss both Works volumes. For me, they are considered necessities in the body of ELP titles. And so, I’m pleased to find that the resurrected BMG will be reissuing Works, Volume 1, and Works, Volume 2.
On May 26, you can expect 2017 remastered (and expanded) 2CD Deluxe Editions of Works, Volume 1, and Works, Volume 2. Volume 2 will be expanded with live tracks, fifteen in all.
Also planned is their 1978 album, Love Beach.
Works, Volume One – ELP
CD1:
01. Piano Concerto No. 1 (i. 1st Movement: Allegro Giojoso; ii. 2nd Movement: Andante Molto Cantabile; iii. 3rd Movement: Toccata Con Fuoco)
02. Lend Your Love to Me Tonight
03. C’est La Vie
04. Hallowed Be Thy Name
05. Nobody Loves You Like I Do
06. Closer to Believing
CD2:
01. The Enemy God Dances With the Black Spirits
02. L.A. Nights
03. New Orleans
04. Two Part Invention in D Minor
05. Food for Your Soul
06. Tank
07. Fanfare for the Common Man
08. Pirates
Works, Volume Two – ELP
CD1:
01. Tiger in a Spotlight
02. When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I’ll Be Your Valentine
03. Bullfrog
04. Brain Salad Surgery
05. Barrelhouse Shake-Down
06. Watching Over You
07. So Far to Fall
08. Maple Leaf Rag
09. I Believe in Father Christmas
10. Close but Not Touching
11. Honky Tonk Train Blues
12. Show Me the Way to Go Home
13. Introductory Fanfare (Live)
14. Peter Gunn (Live)
15. Tiger in a Spotlight (Live)
16. C’est la Vie (Live)
17. Watching Over You (Live)
18. Maple Leaf Rag (Live)
19. The Enemy God Dances With the Black Spirits (Live)
CD2:
01. Fanfare for the Common Man (Live)
02. Knife Edge (Live)
03. Show Me the Way to Go Home (Live)
04. Abaddon’s Bolero (Live)
05. Pictures At an Exhibition: i. Promenade, ii The Gnome, iii. Promenade, iv. The Hut of Baba Yaga, v. The Curse of Baba Yaga, vi. The Hut of Baba Yaga, vii. The Great Gates of Kiev (Live)
06. Closer to Believing (Live)
07. Piano Concerto, Third Movement: Toccata con Fuoco (Live)
08. Tank (Live)