Works Live - 1

BMG [Release date 24.07.26]

Recorded in Montreal, Canada in 1977, this live album was originally released in 1979 as the single LP ‘In Concert’ it was originally intended to be a double album, but that idea was kiboshed by the record company upon Emerson Lake & Palmer’s split. Expanded as Works Live, it was released in 1999 as a double CD, and subsequently as a DVD. Long out of print, we get the full double CD here, and the set also appears in full for the first time on vinyl.

Emerson Lake & Palmer formed in 1970, a prog rock supergroup, featuring keyboard player Keith Emerson (The Nice), bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (King Crimson), and Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster). Heavy on the classical music influences, the early 70s saw a run of hit albums, and the grandiose triple live album “Welcome Back My Friends….”. Their popularity waned with the rise of punk, and the band released the two piecemeal albums Works 1 and Works 2, which also took in solo material. And they reconvened for a tour that also featured a 70 piece orchestra (dismissed before the end of the tour due to costs).

The album kicks off with a fanfare / introduction before launching into ‘Theme From Peter Gunn’, and the upbeat ‘Tiger In A Spotlight’, and Lake’s acoustic ‘C’est La Vie’. Short blasts of ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ and ‘The Enemy God Dances with the Black Spirits’, all rather at the whimsical end of self indulgent, but excellent all the same. And then we get drawn in to the fantastic 11 minutes of ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’, with a manic second half, ‘Abadon’s Bolero’ another classic too.

Many tracks give each band member opportunities to shine, expand, solo, the works. But then the band did feature three virtuosos.

Disc 2 kicks off with 16 minutes of ‘Pictures At An Exhibition’, progressively manic and manically progressive, and it closes with 12 minutes of ‘Tank’, some lovely more abrasive elements and a drum solo too.

The music is wonderful, and in terms of actually progressing ideas, pushing boundaries, ELP were much more progressive than bands labelled thus because they had a heavy organ. From the classical end of prog rock, from whimsical to heavy and manic and back again, there’s the kitchen sink in here. Well presented in a gatefold card sleeve; the vinyl edition also sounds as good as it sounds. With Emerson and Lake both sadly passed, the legacy remains and this album is essential listening. No Karn Evil Nine, but we did get a 30+ minute rendition on ‘Welcome Back My Friends’.

Not just for fans of Emerson Lake & Palmer, but if you want to explore different avenues or just push the boat out, it’s well worth a listen. *****

Review by Joe Geesin

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