From The Beginning

There are a heck of alot of 'best of' CD releases from Emerson Lake and Palmer.This one happens to be one of the better in my opinion and is well worth buying in place of others.in1Firstly it's a double CD so twice as much ELP as a single ButSecondly it has a really good selection of Live Tracks and ELP were always excellent live.This has some cracking tracks on that really showcase the trio's talents- and they were talented.Keith Emerson was brilliant on his Hammonds and keyboards- a genuine showman.Carl Palmer was and is an absolutely brilliant drummer.I had the priviledge of watching the group at the City Hall in Hull in their second ever concert and went to see Carl in his own show at Hessle Town Hall 2012.Tracklist:The small venue seating for 200 plus allowed the audience to watch up close- very close to the master of drums playing.If ever you get the chance to go and see him at a small venue I really would urge you to.Greg Lake was a decent base player and singer and as a 'lead or acustic guitar excellent.BUTIt is impossible to see what's on the Cds because at the time of writing there is no track listing- so here it is.Disk 1: 1. Fanfare For The Common Man Emerson, Lake & Palmer 9:42 2. Jerusalem. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2:44 3. From The Beginning Emerson, Lake & Palmer 4:13 4. Pirates. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 13:18 5. The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits. Carl Palmer 3:18 6. Abaddon's Bolero. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 8:07 7. Black Moon. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 6:56 8. Heart On Ice. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 4:19 9. When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 3:55 10. The Barbarian. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 4:27 11. Bitches Crystal. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 3:55 12. Nutrocker (Live At Newcastle City Hall, 1971). Emerson, Lake & Palmer 4:24Disk 2: 1. Karn Evil 9 1st Impression, Part I. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 8:41 2. Knife-Edge Emerson, Lake & Palmer 5:03 3. Take A Pebble Emerson, Lake & Palmer 12:29 4. Pictures At An Exhibition: The Great Gates Of Kiev (Live At Newcastle City Hall, 1971) Emerson, Lake & Palmer 6:35 5. Tiger In A Spotlight Emerson, Lake & Palmer 4:32 6. C'est La Vie. Greg Lake 4:16 7. Affairs Of The Heart. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 3:46 8. Toccata (Live In Anaheim, 1974) Emerson, Lake & Palmer 7:22 9. All I Want Is You Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2:33 10. A Time And A Place Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2:57 11. Watching Over You. Greg Lake 3:53 12. Hand Of Truth. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 5:22 13. The Sheriff. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 3:19 14. I Believe In Father Christmas. Greg Lake 3:33

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In my opinion, all the best stuff they created is on this five disc set, with excellent previously unreleased (to the best of my knowledge) live recordings from 1970 (London) and 1972 (Sol y Mar subsequently released, but more sense to get as part of this set) plus other odd tracks. You might not like some of their later tracks, but they are a minority in over 5 hours of music. Even if you have the remastered individual albums, there are enough live, alternate takes and unreleased items plus an excellent book with lots of photos to make this an absolute bargain and listening heaven. Remember the days when you had to turn the LP over to finish Karn Evil 9 .... happy Days, but this is a great reminder and worth adding to your ELP collection.

Some people have said this set is a wasted opportunity. I like ELP but am not an officionado, so cannot verify this point.What I CAN say with confidence is that this is a wonderful collection, harvesting material from a long and accomplished career.What I can also say is that...it is skilled, clever, over-indulgent, melodious and harmonious, occasionally monotonous and annoying, mind boggling, boundary-pushing and above all gloriously eccentric...but it wouldn't be ELP if it wasn't!Great value and terrific booklet too - enjoy!

I wanted a trip down memory lane,and here it is...a revisiting of my youth.Always enjoyed ELP,loved the melding of classical and rock,in much the same way as I enjoy jazz rock,blues rock...not an out and out rock fan,but always enjoyed the expansion of the form.ELP provided that,and more.Others are quite correct,it's a great box,inexpensive,and a piece of musical history.Did ELP kill prog?Maybe,but they had accomplices...and what days they were,back then!I enjoyed the crime if they did murder the genre,and enjoy it still,all these years on.

features the full 9min version of fanfare for the common man but it should have also included the 7" single edit version too.remainder are well known album tracks - mostly studio.2Cd set ends with Greg lake's 70's Christmas solo hit single i believe in father Christmas.remastered sound.

I am in the process of recompiling some of my favourite music from the 60s and 70s. This compilation included all of the ELP tracks I was looking for, as well as some great live tracks. Well worth a try foranyone wanting to hear why they were so humungeous back in the days of stadium rock. The accompanying book of notes is also well worth a read.

Not quite sure about this but there are some great tunes on it