# Emerson Lake and Palmer Top 5



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Growing up in the 70s ELP was one of my favorite bands along with Yes, and a few others. What are your top five tracks by this band? Here are mine.

The Endless Enigma
Take A Pebble
Tarkus
Karn Evil 9: First impression
The Sage, from Pictures at an Exhibition


----------



## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

starthrower said:


> Growing up in the 70s ELP was one of my favorite bands along with Yes, and a few others. What are your top five tracks by this band? Here are mine.
> 
> The Endless Enigma
> Take A Pebble
> ...


In the early/mid 1970s I listened to more prog/avant garde/Kraut rock than was good for me!

Gong, King Crimson, Can, Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant & ELP were staple.

1. Karnevil 9 (complete!)
2. Take A Pebble 
3. Tarkus
4. The Barbarian (Bartok's family sues and wins!)
5. The Endless Enigma parts 1&2 plus Fugue

It was quite difficult to get down to just 5


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Yeah, I probably have at least 4-5 each on their first five albums. The Barbarian is a favorite even if they did rip off Bartok. It's such a great sounding track!


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

_Karn Evil 9 1st Impression_
_Toccata_
_Hoedown_
_Battlefield_ 
_The Great Gates of Kiev_

Plenty of other contenders due to boiling down _Tarkus_ and _Pictures at an Exhibition_ into individual tracks, but I'm content to run with these.


----------



## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

I can't think of song titles offhand, so I'll go with LPs:

s/t
_Tarkus_


----------



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

^^ No offense, but I don't get how people have the audacity to rank albums without being able to name a single song.

The Endless Enigma


Knife-Edge
Take a Pebble

And that's all I really like of theirs. Really just The Endless Enigma. Not a huge ELP fan.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> ^^ No offense, but I don't get how people have the audacity to rank albums without being able to name a single song.
> 
> The Endless Enigma
> 
> ...


That's a good pick. I've always felt the two part piece linked with the fugue is one of the finest things they recorded.


----------



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

"Why do you stare, do you think that I care?
You've been misled by the thoughts in your head"

Funny set of lyrics too, adds a nice touch


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> "Why do you stare, do you think that I care?
> You've been misled by the thoughts in your head"
> 
> Funny set of lyrics too, adds a nice touch


And Greg Lake's vocal performance is inspiring. What a voice!


----------



## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

starthrower said:


> Yeah, I probably have at least 4-5 each on their first five albums. The Barbarian is a favorite even if they did rip off Bartok. It's such a great sounding track!


Knife-Edge from the same album was a rip off of Janacek's Sinfonietta. Also a great track.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I used to be a huge ELP fan. Then I lost interest for some number of years, now, I have new found liking for them.

I would have to go with:

The Endless Enigma
Take A Pebble
Tarkus
Karn Evil 9
Trilogy

I am still a huge prog fan, but my tastes now tend to lean more toward the avant-prog and Zeuhl subgenres now.

Avant-prog bands like: Thinking Plague, Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, Aranis, Henry Cow, Far Corner, etc.

And Zeuhl bands like: Magma, Setna, Eskaton, Zao, Corima, etc.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Here's a fun video for fans.

Lots of analysis.

Classical Composer Reacts to Tarkus


----------



## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I know this is cheating - but when at school in 1972, I was 15, our English teacher along with the music teacher organised a school outing by bus to Greens Playhouse in Glasgow to see ELP in concert - from a purely nostalgic point of view I'll submit the set list as my fav's:

1.Hoedown
(Aaron Copland cover)
2.Tarkus
3.The Endless Enigma
4.The Sheriff
5.Take a Pebble
6.Lucky Man
7.Piano Improvisation
8.Take a Pebble
9.Pictures at an Exhibition
(Modest Mussorgsky cover)
10.Nutrocker
(Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky cover)
11. Blue Rondo a la Turk


----------



## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Malx said:


> I know this is cheating - but when at school in 1972, I was 15, our English teacher along with the music teacher organised a school outing by bus to Greens Playhouse in Glasgow to see ELP in concert - from a purely nostalgic point of view I'll submit the set list as my fav's:
> 
> 1.Hoedown
> (Aaron Copland cover)
> ...


Wow! What a treat!


----------



## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

HenryPenfold said:


> Wow! What a treat!


My second ever concert - left a huge impression, the Pictures they played if I recall correctly was abridged but at that time not knowing the original Mussorgsky work well I can't clearly recall. I do remember thinking that Carl Palmer must have been superhuman the work he got through was staggering.

Edit - next November that concert will be fifty years ago.............


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I would've liked to have seen them in their early 70s days but I was a few years too young. I attended a show in '78 during their less exciting phase. I can't recall much about the show other than the fact that Greg Lake's bass sound was so powerful it rattled my rib cage! And the pot smoke created quite a dense layer of smog in the arena.


----------



## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

This is the image that stayed in my mind for a long time after the gig.

Emerson at his Moog.










The other recollection I have was him wrestling with his Hammond L100 - always the showman.


----------



## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

You know, for the most part, I became a fan after hearing *TARKUS* for the first time.

But after that it was the diversity of stuff on the albums, not necessarily a single track.

I'm still a huge fan, but I don't really listen to their music as much anymore, mostly because I find many of their lyrics offputting. I'm not offended, but more like _*embarrassed*_ at how juvenile or simple the lyrics occasionally are.


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

HenryPenfold said:


> Wow! What a treat!


Yeah - we were lucky if we got a day at Hartlebury Museum...again...


----------



## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

Malx said:


> This is the image that stayed in my mind for a long time after the gig.
> 
> Emerson at his Moog.
> 
> ...


On the Brain Salad Surgery tour he'd upgraded to the Polymoog, but still dragged the modular with him everywhere.


----------

