Works Volume 1- 1977
Rating: 9
Emerson: Classical. Lake: Melodies. Palmer: ?
Best Song: Hallowed Be Thy Name or Closer to Believing
Rating: 9
Emerson: Classical. Lake: Melodies. Palmer: ?
Best Song: Hallowed Be Thy Name or Closer to Believing
Worst Song: L.A. Nights or Two-Part Invention in D Minor
Now here is where ELP starts to spread apart a bit. The problem was that they all wanted to do solo work, but they knew that if they released it themselves it would not sell as well. So they said "Hey! I know! Let's make a bunch of solo stuff and put it on one album!", and that is exactly what they did. Of course, it is not even as close to as good as previous albums, but it has some great moments.
The biggest problem with the album is that, while Emerson and Lake do fantastic jobs, Palmer flops around with the song writing like an idiot. I don't have anything against Palmer (this is my favorite band, so if I hated him why would I like the band) but I think that he is not a very good songwriter by himself. Notice that on every album, there is no complete song writing credit by Palmer. Consider this a good thing.
Anyway, Emerson wrote his contributions on the first side, with a single 20 minute song. It is classic music with three parts, titled simply "Piano Concerto No. 1". The whole song features extremely impressive piano parts by Keith. At most times he sounds just like the old classic music composers that you learn about in General Music and forget about because you like different types of music. The thing is, this song was plenty of variety to be very interesting to mainly anyone. Besides, Emerson is backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and who doesn't like them? The only flaw is that it isn't something I would always actively listen to exactly.
Next in line is the Greg Lake tunes. All of them are ballads, even if "Hallowed Be Thy Name" really doesn't fit with the rest of the songs. First is "Lend Your Love To Me Tonight", in which Greg conjures a nice melody with decent lyrics. The drum line is simple, and the guitar too. Following that is "C'est la vie". The song is excellent, with a slow build-up. At the beginning it is just his guitar and his singing, which soon is joined by back-up instruments and backing vocals. Only on the last verse do you hear pretty much everything in the song. After that is the fun and great "Hallowed Be Thy Name". The lyrics are definitely the best on this album, and the piano that comes in between when Greg sings is pretty awesome. The orchestra line is strange, but fits perfectly. I even hear some brass here in there. For the last lyric, Greg keeps finding words that rhyme with it as the madness of the instruments continues. This song is memorable, with no doubt about it.
When the amazing "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is done, "Nobody Loves You Like I Do", the next Greg ballad, comes in. It has a harmonica to back up the main melody. The lyrics are okay, but when Greg sings them they sound much better. Synths are heard during the chorus, most likely not played by Emerson (unfortunately). The final ballad is "Closer to Believing". The melody is beautiful, which is undeniable. These lyrics are just as good as "Hallowed Be Thy Name", and Greg's voice sounds perfect. With it's mellow piano, Greg's soothing voice, the quiet guitar, and some great orchestra parts, this song is a great ending to Greg's set.
By moving on to Palmer's set, you quickly ask yourself what exactly you are listening to. The first song is "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirit", which is just some weird orchestra stuff with Palmer being experimental. It is actually good, and certainly better then the rest of the Palmer songs to come. "L.A. Nights" seems cool at first, but once the stupid voice says the title 5 seconds in, it just becomes boring, overlong, and experimental. Following that is "New Orleans", which is the other good Palmer track on the album. The guitar melody is catchy, and it is not extremely long. After that is "Two-Part Invention in D Minor", which is quiet and boring. The entire song is just what sounds like a triangle, the orchestra, and marimbas. The next Palmer song is "Food For Your Soul", which actually isn't half bad. It starts off well, but is ruined by a drum solo, which is followed by a cool melody with a flute (I love Jethro Tull). The final Palmer song (YESSSSSSS) is "Tank", which is just a remake of "Tank" from their first album. It is not even as close to as good, and is pretty much just unnecessary.
Once Palmer's madness is done, the band finally goes to their common side. This includes two songs, the first being the cool Aaron Copeland tune, "Fanfare For The Common Man". The only part that sounds like the actual song is the beginning part that appears every now and then. The rest is Emerson jamming and having a good time. It could be the best song on the album, but I feel it is overlong by about a minute. Other then that, no complaints. The last song on the album is "Pirates". It begins quietly until it suddenly starts to sound like, well, pirates sailing. After Emerson and Palmer's intro, Lake starts singing. The lyrics are okay, mostly because of the fact that they are a bit too pirate-like. After about 7-8 minutes, a lot more variety comes into the song, as it starts to blend some more different ideas. After Greg sings more fast paced things to fit the music, it goes back into a slow version of the earlier part until Greg finally sings the final lyrics and the album is over. To be honest, it isn't too interesting. There are bonus tracks on my version, but they are just 2 Palmer ones and "Nutcracker" from "Pictures At An Exhibition".
"Works Volume 1" is still a good album, even though Palmer's side is terrible. It shows that Emerson and Lake were the main songwriters, and that Palmer simply made drum lines and other things related to his role in the band. This does not mean that the band was the same as ever. This album has many new different things never in an ELP album, along with the taking away of some too. ELP was starting to run out of fantastic material, but this albums proves that they still had some originality left until their career turned sour.
The biggest problem with the album is that, while Emerson and Lake do fantastic jobs, Palmer flops around with the song writing like an idiot. I don't have anything against Palmer (this is my favorite band, so if I hated him why would I like the band) but I think that he is not a very good songwriter by himself. Notice that on every album, there is no complete song writing credit by Palmer. Consider this a good thing.
Anyway, Emerson wrote his contributions on the first side, with a single 20 minute song. It is classic music with three parts, titled simply "Piano Concerto No. 1". The whole song features extremely impressive piano parts by Keith. At most times he sounds just like the old classic music composers that you learn about in General Music and forget about because you like different types of music. The thing is, this song was plenty of variety to be very interesting to mainly anyone. Besides, Emerson is backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and who doesn't like them? The only flaw is that it isn't something I would always actively listen to exactly.
Next in line is the Greg Lake tunes. All of them are ballads, even if "Hallowed Be Thy Name" really doesn't fit with the rest of the songs. First is "Lend Your Love To Me Tonight", in which Greg conjures a nice melody with decent lyrics. The drum line is simple, and the guitar too. Following that is "C'est la vie". The song is excellent, with a slow build-up. At the beginning it is just his guitar and his singing, which soon is joined by back-up instruments and backing vocals. Only on the last verse do you hear pretty much everything in the song. After that is the fun and great "Hallowed Be Thy Name". The lyrics are definitely the best on this album, and the piano that comes in between when Greg sings is pretty awesome. The orchestra line is strange, but fits perfectly. I even hear some brass here in there. For the last lyric, Greg keeps finding words that rhyme with it as the madness of the instruments continues. This song is memorable, with no doubt about it.
When the amazing "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is done, "Nobody Loves You Like I Do", the next Greg ballad, comes in. It has a harmonica to back up the main melody. The lyrics are okay, but when Greg sings them they sound much better. Synths are heard during the chorus, most likely not played by Emerson (unfortunately). The final ballad is "Closer to Believing". The melody is beautiful, which is undeniable. These lyrics are just as good as "Hallowed Be Thy Name", and Greg's voice sounds perfect. With it's mellow piano, Greg's soothing voice, the quiet guitar, and some great orchestra parts, this song is a great ending to Greg's set.
By moving on to Palmer's set, you quickly ask yourself what exactly you are listening to. The first song is "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirit", which is just some weird orchestra stuff with Palmer being experimental. It is actually good, and certainly better then the rest of the Palmer songs to come. "L.A. Nights" seems cool at first, but once the stupid voice says the title 5 seconds in, it just becomes boring, overlong, and experimental. Following that is "New Orleans", which is the other good Palmer track on the album. The guitar melody is catchy, and it is not extremely long. After that is "Two-Part Invention in D Minor", which is quiet and boring. The entire song is just what sounds like a triangle, the orchestra, and marimbas. The next Palmer song is "Food For Your Soul", which actually isn't half bad. It starts off well, but is ruined by a drum solo, which is followed by a cool melody with a flute (I love Jethro Tull). The final Palmer song (YESSSSSSS) is "Tank", which is just a remake of "Tank" from their first album. It is not even as close to as good, and is pretty much just unnecessary.
Once Palmer's madness is done, the band finally goes to their common side. This includes two songs, the first being the cool Aaron Copeland tune, "Fanfare For The Common Man". The only part that sounds like the actual song is the beginning part that appears every now and then. The rest is Emerson jamming and having a good time. It could be the best song on the album, but I feel it is overlong by about a minute. Other then that, no complaints. The last song on the album is "Pirates". It begins quietly until it suddenly starts to sound like, well, pirates sailing. After Emerson and Palmer's intro, Lake starts singing. The lyrics are okay, mostly because of the fact that they are a bit too pirate-like. After about 7-8 minutes, a lot more variety comes into the song, as it starts to blend some more different ideas. After Greg sings more fast paced things to fit the music, it goes back into a slow version of the earlier part until Greg finally sings the final lyrics and the album is over. To be honest, it isn't too interesting. There are bonus tracks on my version, but they are just 2 Palmer ones and "Nutcracker" from "Pictures At An Exhibition".
"Works Volume 1" is still a good album, even though Palmer's side is terrible. It shows that Emerson and Lake were the main songwriters, and that Palmer simply made drum lines and other things related to his role in the band. This does not mean that the band was the same as ever. This album has many new different things never in an ELP album, along with the taking away of some too. ELP was starting to run out of fantastic material, but this albums proves that they still had some originality left until their career turned sour.
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