Emerson Lake & Palmer Discography

[Silent Man]

Regarding The Nice:

They were awesome at their time. As a young man, I joined two of their concerts in Denmark, must be 50 years ago now. At their first concert, I stood about 2 meters away from bassist Lee Jackson, playing on a teardrop Vox bass I think, and I thought it was mindblowing. And I could still see Emerson throwing knives into the Hammond. At their second concert, they opened up with 'Karelia Suite', including a long intro that slowly built up to the main theme. It was majestic and unforgettable.
Their catalogue is not that big, just 3-4 studio albums I think. I was able to buy a 3CD collection for a fair price, remastered and all. It contained their first 2 albums plus a bunch of live recordings. Then I bought Five Bridges also, so at that time I think I had the complete collection. Some more might have come up later, I don't know.

Ars Longa Vita Brevis was the album I played the most.

Hammond-based bands was not uncommon at that time. I guess they wouldn't stand a chance nowadays. 'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown' was another one. They did a studio live recording on danish TV and I was glued to TV set. Again, it was fantastic. And the drummer was - Carl Palmer. So later on when ELP was formed, I was all set.

And BTW, I really loved their first album. It's like they just found their momentum and the music really kicks ass on this one. Just IMO of course.

Edit: the 3CD collection was named 'Here Come The Nice'.

[Orbert]

That must have been amazing, seeing The Nice!

Re-reading what I wrote at the beginning there, I may have come across as a bit dismissive of The Nice, and I definitely did not mean to be.  They were an important band in early Art Rock.  Even if their music didn't directly have a huge impact on people (not outside their circle at the time anyway), Keith cut his chops with them and thus through ELP impacted every keyboard player alive at the time.  Their Classical-Rock stuff is fun.  Jackson and Davidson weren't slouches, either.  I like the Refugee album they did with Patrick Moraz.

[Silent Man]

That must have been amazing, seeing The Nice!

Re-reading what I wrote at the beginning there, I may have come across as a bit dismissive of The Nice, and I definitely did not mean to be.  They were an important band in early Art Rock.  Even if their music didn't directly have a huge impact on people (not outside their circle at the time anyway), Keith cut his chops with them and thus through ELP impacted every keyboard player alive at the time.  Their Classical-Rock stuff is fun.  Jackson and Davidson weren't slouches, either.  I like the Refugee album they did with Patrick Moraz.

Yeah, I own that Refugee album too, on vinyl. And probably everything else related to these bands. I did a read-up regarding the ‘Here Come The Nice’ collection, and it appears that it contains 3 studio albums, plus live stuff. The third album was called ‘Nice’. I’m not exactly sure about the ‘Five Bridges’ album, but I think it was a studio album as well, and not included in the 3CD box set. Must play it again! The fun about having a huge collection like mine is that you forget about what is in there and sometimes find treasures!

As far as I remember, Emerson kept his style somewhat on the first ELP album - not much synth, if any - but his Hammond smokes. On their next album he established their synth sound (mostly Moog), which lasted on all their later albums.

[Orbert]

Emerson got one of the first Modular Moog synthesizers, if not the first, and that's when things really started to take off for both of them.  Moog had been making synths since 1964, but they were mostly seen as "experimental" instruments.  Moog gave that Modular to Keith around the same time as the first ELP album, and Keith figured out how to do things with it that Moog hadn't even imagined.  ELP helped put the Moog, and synthesizers in general, out there in the public ear.

Keith stuck with primarily Moogs for years, only switching to the Yamaha GX-1 around the Works sessions.  It was very different, and I think just doing something different and creating sounds in a different way was attractive to Keith at the time.

[Silent Man]

Emerson got one of the first Modular Moog synthesizers, if not the first, and that's when things really started to take off for both of them.  Moog had been making synths since 1964, but they were mostly seen as "experimental" instruments.  Moog gave that Modular to Keith around the same time as the first ELP album, and Keith figured out how to do things with it that Moog hadn't even imagined.  ELP helped put the Moog, and synthesizers in general, out there in the public ear.

Keith stuck with primarily Moogs for years, only switching to the Yamaha GX-1 around the Works sessions.  It was very different, and I think just doing something different and creating sounds in a different way was attractive to Keith at the time.

You are right, I remember photos showing him with someting looking like an old telephone switch board, plugging cables in and out. It was really fantastic what he got out of it, I guess he spent 100s of hours learning how to operate it.

More on The Nice:

Although Emerson used most of the time on the Hammond, he used to switch to an upright piano and perform endless traditional jazz improvisations with Davidson. I didn't fancy it too much, neither did the audience I think. It was still a rock /pop audience and traditional jazz was close to a no-go at these concerts at the time. I think he left it, when ELP was formed, even though they had a few songs of this piano-jazz style on their repertoire.

It was sad news for me, when he decided to leave The Nice. I think he had two reasons to do so:

Jackson couldn't sing. He sounded like a frog.

Neither Jackson or Davidson had the confidence /charisma to fill up huge stadions - but Emerson had, and he wanted it.

So he got Lake and Palmer, and by this hit the right spot. As seen with famous bands, the right combinations suddenly clicks and they create unforgettable music.

In 1970, I was at the Fehmarn festival in Germany and heard ELP for the first time. I think it was 3am at night and I barely remember what they played. To be honest, we smoked a lot of weed and drank many beers, for three days, in a terrible weather. I don't know how I survived this. At the same event, I also witnessed the last performance Hendrix did, before he died shortly afterwards.

[Orbert]

I couldn't find a generic Emerson Lake & Palmer thread so I'll put this here.  I found it while digging some Rachel Flowers videos.

Pictures at an Exhibition - Rachel Flowers at Prog on the Ranch

No rehearsal. "We just discussed some cues and transitions." Incredible.  I'm mesmerized watching her mess with the Nords' settings better than I could ever do and I can see!

Also during Prog on the Ranch, she played flute on some Jethro Tull covers, and guitar on some King Crimson.  I recently posted her video for "Montana" with Zappa Plays Zappa in the Zappa thread.

[nattmorker]

I couldn't find a generic Emerson Lake & Palmer thread so I'll put this here.  I found it while digging some Rachel Flowers videos.

Pictures at an Exhibition - Rachel Flowers at Prog on the Ranch

No rehearsal. "We just discussed some cues and transitions." Incredible.  I'm mesmerized watching her mess with the Nords' settings better than I could ever do and I can see!

Also during Prog on the Ranch, she played flute on some Jethro Tull covers, and guitar on some King Crimson.  I recently posted her video for "Montana" with Zappa Plays Zappa in the Zappa thread.

That was impressive, I haven't heard of her. She is awesome!

[Orbert]

She is indeed.  I first heard of her a few years ago when someone posted some vids of her doing ELP stuff.

[Silent Man]

I couldn't find a generic Emerson Lake & Palmer thread so I'll put this here.  I found it while digging some Rachel Flowers videos.

Pictures at an Exhibition - Rachel Flowers at Prog on the Ranch

No rehearsal. "We just discussed some cues and transitions." Incredible.  I'm mesmerized watching her mess with the Nords' settings better than I could ever do and I can see!

Also during Prog on the Ranch, she played flute on some Jethro Tull covers, and guitar on some King Crimson.  I recently posted her video for "Montana" with Zappa Plays Zappa in the Zappa thread.

What a performance! I understand it was a quick setup, not planned, and the singer shouldn't have been there - but that woman. If it was a blindtest, I wouldn't dare to say who was Emerson or her (aside from her different synth sounds). She just knows all the Emerson chops! And plays with ease!

I'm not a keyboard expert (my primary instrument is guitar), but I love the Hammond sound so much that I bought a 2ndhand Roland RD-700, which has (IMO) a decent Hammond sound with leslie effect.
Now when I hear that Nord C2D, it's like another world. It's so close to a B3 that I wouldn't dare to tell the difference. Yes, the roadies know the difference between ~20kgs. and ~300kgs.!

[ytserush]

Emerson got one of the first Modular Moog synthesizers, if not the first, and that's when things really started to take off for both of them.  Moog had been making synths since 1964, but they were mostly seen as "experimental" instruments.  Moog gave that Modular to Keith around the same time as the first ELP album, and Keith figured out how to do things with it that Moog hadn't even imagined.  ELP helped put the Moog, and synthesizers in general, out there in the public ear.

Keith stuck with primarily Moogs for years, only switching to the Yamaha GX-1 around the Works sessions.  It was very different, and I think just doing something different and creating sounds in a different way was attractive to Keith at the time.

You are right, I remember photos showing him with someting looking like an old telephone switch board, plugging cables in and out. It was really fantastic what he got out of it, I guess he spent 100s of hours learning how to operate it.

More on The Nice:

Although Emerson used most of the time on the Hammond, he used to switch to an upright piano and perform endless traditional jazz improvisations with Davidson. I didn't fancy it too much, neither did the audience I think. It was still a rock /pop audience and traditional jazz was close to a no-go at these concerts at the time. I think he left it, when ELP was formed, even though they had a few songs of this piano-jazz style on their repertoire.

It was sad news for me, when he decided to leave The Nice. I think he had two reasons to do so:

Jackson couldn't sing. He sounded like a frog.

Neither Jackson or Davidson had the confidence /charisma to fill up huge stadions - but Emerson had, and he wanted it.

So he got Lake and Palmer, and by this hit the right spot. As seen with famous bands, the right combinations suddenly clicks and they create unforgettable music.

In 1970, I was at the Fehmarn festival in Germany and heard ELP for the first time. I think it was 3am at night and I barely remember what they played. To be honest, we smoked a lot of weed and drank many beers, for three days, in a terrible weather. I don't know how I survived this. At the same event, I also witnessed the last performance Hendrix did, before he died shortly afterwards.

Wow. Some great memories you have there.

I love The Nice. I wish they'd done more together but then we' wouldn't have had Emerson Lake and Palmer.

[ytserush]

She is indeed.  I first heard of her a few years ago when someone posted some vids of her doing ELP stuff.

She's been doing that for most of her life. Very talented.

[Silent Man]

Emerson got one of the first Modular Moog synthesizers, if not the first, and that's when things really started to take off for both of them.  Moog had been making synths since 1964, but they were mostly seen as "experimental" instruments.  Moog gave that Modular to Keith around the same time as the first ELP album, and Keith figured out how to do things with it that Moog hadn't even imagined.  ELP helped put the Moog, and synthesizers in general, out there in the public ear.

Keith stuck with primarily Moogs for years, only switching to the Yamaha GX-1 around the Works sessions.  It was very different, and I think just doing something different and creating sounds in a different way was attractive to Keith at the time.

You are right, I remember photos showing him with someting looking like an old telephone switch board, plugging cables in and out. It was really fantastic what he got out of it, I guess he spent 100s of hours learning how to operate it.

More on The Nice:

Although Emerson used most of the time on the Hammond, he used to switch to an upright piano and perform endless traditional jazz improvisations with Davidson. I didn't fancy it too much, neither did the audience I think. It was still a rock /pop audience and traditional jazz was close to a no-go at these concerts at the time. I think he left it, when ELP was formed, even though they had a few songs of this piano-jazz style on their repertoire.

It was sad news for me, when he decided to leave The Nice. I think he had two reasons to do so:

Jackson couldn't sing. He sounded like a frog.

Neither Jackson or Davidson had the confidence /charisma to fill up huge stadions - but Emerson had, and he wanted it.

So he got Lake and Palmer, and by this hit the right spot. As seen with famous bands, the right combinations suddenly clicks and they create unforgettable music.

In 1970, I was at the Fehmarn festival in Germany and heard ELP for the first time. I think it was 3am at night and I barely remember what they played. To be honest, we smoked a lot of weed and drank many beers, for three days, in a terrible weather. I don't know how I survived this. At the same event, I also witnessed the last performance Hendrix did, before he died shortly afterwards.

Wow. Some great memories you have there.

I love The Nice. I wish they'd done more together but then we' wouldn't have had Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Yeah, as said I was disappointed when they split. But that was also because I was unaware about what was to come. I loved The Nice, but I’d say I loved ELP more!

[ytserush]

Emerson got one of the first Modular Moog synthesizers, if not the first, and that's when things really started to take off for both of them.  Moog had been making synths since 1964, but they were mostly seen as "experimental" instruments.  Moog gave that Modular to Keith around the same time as the first ELP album, and Keith figured out how to do things with it that Moog hadn't even imagined.  ELP helped put the Moog, and synthesizers in general, out there in the public ear.

Keith stuck with primarily Moogs for years, only switching to the Yamaha GX-1 around the Works sessions.  It was very different, and I think just doing something different and creating sounds in a different way was attractive to Keith at the time.

You are right, I remember photos showing him with someting looking like an old telephone switch board, plugging cables in and out. It was really fantastic what he got out of it, I guess he spent 100s of hours learning how to operate it.

More on The Nice:

Although Emerson used most of the time on the Hammond, he used to switch to an upright piano and perform endless traditional jazz improvisations with Davidson. I didn't fancy it too much, neither did the audience I think. It was still a rock /pop audience and traditional jazz was close to a no-go at these concerts at the time. I think he left it, when ELP was formed, even though they had a few songs of this piano-jazz style on their repertoire.

It was sad news for me, when he decided to leave The Nice. I think he had two reasons to do so:

Jackson couldn't sing. He sounded like a frog.

Neither Jackson or Davidson had the confidence /charisma to fill up huge stadions - but Emerson had, and he wanted it.

So he got Lake and Palmer, and by this hit the right spot. As seen with famous bands, the right combinations suddenly clicks and they create unforgettable music.

In 1970, I was at the Fehmarn festival in Germany and heard ELP for the first time. I think it was 3am at night and I barely remember what they played. To be honest, we smoked a lot of weed and drank many beers, for three days, in a terrible weather. I don't know how I survived this. At the same event, I also witnessed the last performance Hendrix did, before he died shortly afterwards.

Wow. Some great memories you have there.

I love The Nice. I wish they'd done more together but then we' wouldn't have had Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Yeah, as said I was disappointed when they split. But that was also because I was unaware about what was to come. I loved The Nice, but I’d say I loved ELP more!

I suppose you could argue that they are fairly similar to each other but I think the bands always thought each had different goals. Though you could sat the musical landscape was changing very quickly at that point.

[The Letter M]

https://youtu.be/_FMjCN6jEyY

Doug Helvering reacts/analyzes "Tarkus". If you haven't heard of Doug, he's a composer/professor/conductor of music, and his reaction videos have a lot of on-the-fly analysis of the music he listens to. This one on "Tarkus" is a bit different though, in that he's watching a video with transcriptions of the song, which helps him make his analysis easier!

-Marc.

[Stadler]

Hey, anyone have or have heard any of the shows from the "Official Bootleg Series", the four box sets they released of live material?  Is the sound any good?  Is it at least better than that Asia box that's out there (Quadra, not the new one with some of the same shows). 

[DTwwbwMP]

Would LOVE to do a "top whatever" list for ELP!

[Azyiu]

I don't know enough about their music, but I have always wanted DT to do a cover of Tarkus... I guess with MP gone it is unlikely to happen at this stage of their career, I guess?

[The Letter M]

I don't know enough about their music, but I have always wanted DT to do a cover of Tarkus... I guess with MP gone it is unlikely to happen at this stage of their career, I guess?

Closest you'll get is Jordan Rudess' cover of "Tarkus" from his album The Road Home.

-Marc.

[HOF]

I don't know enough about their music, but I have always wanted DT to do a cover of Tarkus... I guess with MP gone it is unlikely to happen at this stage of their career, I guess?

Closest you'll get is Jordan Rudess' cover of "Tarkus" from his album The Road Home.

-Marc.

There is also a cover of Tarkus featuring JLB and Derek Sherinian on Magna Carta’s Encores, Legends & Paradox tribute album. MP and Rudess each played on other tracks on that release, but it was Simon Phillips on drums for Tarkus.

[ytserush]

Hey, anyone have or have heard any of the shows from the "Official Bootleg Series", the four box sets they released of live material?  Is the sound any good?  Is it at least better than that Asia box that's out there (Quadra, not the new one with some of the same shows).

Have the first three boxes and the performances are what you would expect, but I highly doubt you'll sit through the sound quality. The reformation shows in the '90s sound pretty good but that's not an era I really visit much live as I really don't like many of those performances.

In short I'd put them in the same class as Quadra. Could never fathom who may have thought selling shows that sound this way "officially" was good idea. Most sound like they are essentially audience recordings.

Not sure I would have bought them if I knew about this beforehand when they were released but I love ELP so they are still here if I ever get the urge.

[ytserush]

I don't know enough about their music, but I have always wanted DT to do a cover of Tarkus... I guess with MP gone it is unlikely to happen at this stage of their career, I guess?

Closest you'll get is Jordan Rudess' cover of "Tarkus" from his album The Road Home.

-Marc.

He's also on a few tribute albums and has played a few tribute shows live.

[Stadler]

Hey, anyone have or have heard any of the shows from the "Official Bootleg Series", the four box sets they released of live material?  Is the sound any good?  Is it at least better than that Asia box that's out there (Quadra, not the new one with some of the same shows).

Have the first three boxes and the performances are what you would expect, but I highly doubt you'll sit through the sound quality. The reformation shows in the '90s sound pretty good but that's not an era I really visit much live as I really don't like many of those performances.

In short I'd put them in the same class as Quadra. Could never fathom who may have thought selling shows that sound this way "officially" was good idea. Most sound like they are essentially audience recordings.

Not sure I would have bought them if I knew about this beforehand when they were released but I love ELP so they are still here if I ever get the urge.

Thank you for this.  I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.  You're right, of course.  I got Quadra for like four bucks or something, so it wasn't too big a bummer (and I NEVER listen to it now).  The ELP boxes are not cheap, though and I can't see me paying the $60 or $70 they regularly command on Discogs for something I won't listen to.  There's enough official stuff that sounds good.

[ytserush]

Hey, anyone have or have heard any of the shows from the "Official Bootleg Series", the four box sets they released of live material?  Is the sound any good?  Is it at least better than that Asia box that's out there (Quadra, not the new one with some of the same shows).

Have the first three boxes and the performances are what you would expect, but I highly doubt you'll sit through the sound quality. The reformation shows in the '90s sound pretty good but that's not an era I really visit much live as I really don't like many of those performances.

In short I'd put them in the same class as Quadra. Could never fathom who may have thought selling shows that sound this way "officially" was good idea. Most sound like they are essentially audience recordings.

Not sure I would have bought them if I knew about this beforehand when they were released but I love ELP so they are still here if I ever get the urge.

Thank you for this.  I appreciate you taking the time to let me know.  You're right, of course.  I got Quadra for like four bucks or something, so it wasn't too big a bummer (and I NEVER listen to it now).  The ELP boxes are not cheap, though and I can't see me paying the $60 or $70 they regularly command on Discogs for something I won't listen to.  There's enough official stuff that sounds good.

No problem!  I didn't pay much for Quadra either but it was more than $4. I think it was in the $10 to $12 range shortly after it was released.

A lot of the performances on those ELP boots are top notch but most are average to below average audience recordings. Most of the official stuff isn't that much worse and in some cases just as good.

 Don't know how you feel about Emerson Lake and Powell, but their official bootleg is really good and sounds great.