1. Tarkus
-1a 	Eruption 	
-1b	Stones Of Years 	
-1c	Iconoclast 	
-1d	Mass 	
-1e	Manticore 	
-1f	Battlefield 	
-1g	Aquatarkus 	
2. Jeremy Bender 	
3.Bitches Crystal 	
4.The Only Way (Hymn) 	
5.Infinite Space (Conclusion) 	
6.A Time And A Place 	
7.Are You Ready Eddy

Carl Palmer - Drums, Percussion
Greg Lake - Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Producer, Vocals
Keith Emerson -  Celeste, Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Synthesizer

Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1970 eponymous LP was only a rehearsal. It hit hard because of the novelty of the act (allegedly the first supergroup in rock history), but felt more like a collection of individual efforts and ideas than a collective work. All doubts were dissipated by the release of Tarkus in 1971. Side one of the original LP is occupied by the 21-minute title epic track, beating both Genesis' "Supper's Ready" and Yes' "Close to the Edge" by a year. Unlike the latter group's cut-and-paste technique to obtain long suites, "Tarkus" is a thoroughly written, focused piece of music. It remains among the Top Ten classic tracks in progressive rock history. Because of the strength of side one, the material on the album's second half has been quickly forgotten -- with one good reason: it doesn't match the strength of its counterpart -- but "Bitches Crystal" and "A Time and a Place" make two good prog rock tracks, the latter being particularly rocking. "Jeremy Bender" is the first in a series of honky tonk-spiced, Far-West-related songs. This one and the rock & roll closer "Are You Ready Eddy?" are the only two tracks worth throwing away. Otherwise Tarkus makes a very solid album, especially to the ears of prog rock fans -- no Greg Lake acoustic ballads, no lengthy jazz interludes. More accomplished than the trio's first album, but not quite as polished as Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus is nevertheless a must-have. ---François Couture, Rovi

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01. Jerusalem (Hubert Parry/William Blake, adapted by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer) - 2:43
02. Toccata (Alberto Ginastera, arr. Keith Emerson) - 7:19
03. Still...You Turn Me On (Grag Lake) - 2:51
04. Benny The Bouncer (Keith Emerson, Grag Lake, Peter Sinfield) - 2:18
05. Karn Evil 9 - 29:43 including:
a). 1st Impression (Keith Emerson, Grag Lake) - 13:31
b). 2nd Impression (Keith Emerson) - 7:08
c). 3rd Impression (Keith Emerson, Grag Lake, Peter Sinfield) -    9:06

Personnel:
- Keith Emerson - Hammond organ, piano, harpsichord, accordion, Moog Modular IIIc synthesizer,
 Moog Minimoog synthesizer, Moog Constellation polyphonic ensemble, ring-modulated "computer" voice on "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression"
- Greg Lake - vocals, 6- & 12-string acoustic & electric guitars, bass guitar, producer
- Carl Palmer - drums, percussion, gongs, timpani, percussion synthesizers

Emerson, Lake & Palmer's most successful and well-realized album (after their first), and their most ambitious as a group, as well as their loudest, Brain Salad Surgery was also the most steeped in electronic sounds of any of their records. The main focus, thanks to the three-part "Karn Evil 9," is sci-fi rock, approached with a volume and vengeance that stretched the art rock audience's tolerance to its outer limit, but also managed to appeal to the metal audience in ways that little of Trilogy did. Indeed, "Karn Evil 9" is the piece and the place where Keith Emerson and his keyboards finally matched in both music and flamboyance the larger-than-life guitar sound of Jimi Hendrix. This also marked the point in the group's history in which they brought in their first outside creative hand, in the guise of ex-King Crimson lyricist Pete Sinfield. He'd been shopping around his first solo album and was invited onto the trio's new Manticore label, and also asked in to this project as Lake's abilities as a lyricist didn't seem quite up to the 20-minute "Karn Evil 9" epic that Emerson had created as an instrumental. Sinfield's resulting lyrics for "Karn Evil 9: First Impression" and "Karn Evil 9: Third Impression," while not up to the standard of his best Crimson work, were better than anything the group had to work with previously -- he was also responsible for Emerson's choice of title, persuading the keyboardist that the music he'd come up with was more evocative of a carnival and fantasy than the pure science fiction concept that Emerson had started with. And Greg Lake pulled out all the stops with his heaviest singing voice in handling them, coming off a bit like Peter Gabriel in the process. And amid Carl Palmer's prodigious drumming, it was all a showcase for Emerson, who employed more keyboards and more sounds here -- including electronic voices -- than had previously been heard on one of their records. The songs (except for the light-hearted throwaway "Benny the Bouncer") are also among their best work -- the group's arrangement of Sir Charles Hubert Parry's setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" manages to be reverent yet rocking (a combination that got it banned by the BBC for potential "blasphemy"), while Emerson's adaptation of Alberto Ginastera's music in "Tocatta" outstrips even "The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" from the first album as a distinctive and rewarding reinterpretation of a piece of serious music. Lake's "Still...You Turn Me On," the album's obligatory acoustic number, was his last great ballad with the group, possessing a melody and arrangement sufficiently pretty to forgive the presence of the rhyming triplet "everyday a little sadder/a little madder/someone get me a ladder." And the sound quality was stunning, and the whole album represented a high point that the trio would never again achieve, or even aspire to -- after this, each member started to go his own way in terms of creativity and music. ---Bruce Eder, Rovi

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01. The Barbarian (adapted from Béla Bartók "Allegro Barbaro" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer) – 4:25
02. Take A Pebble (Lake) – 12:27
03. Knife-Edge (adapted from Leoš Janáček "Sinfonietta" by Emerson, Lake & Fraser) – 5:03
04. The Three Fates (Emerson) – 7:43 including:
a). Clotho (Royal Festival Hall Organ)
b). Lachesis (Piano Solo)
c). Atropos (Piano Trio)
05. Tank (Emerson/Palmer) – 6:46
06. Lucky Man (Lake) – 4:36

Musicians:
- Keith Emerson - organ, synthesizer, piano, clavinet, keyboard, Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer
- Greg Lake - acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, vocals
- Carl Palmer - drums, percussion

Lively, ambitious, almost entirely successful debut album, made up of keyboard-dominated instrumentals ("The Barbarian," "Three Fates") and romantic ballads ("Lucky Man") showcasing all three members' very daunting talents. This album, which reached the Top 20 in America and got to number four in England, showcased the group at its least pretentious and most musicianly -- with the exception of a few moments on "Three Fates" and perhaps "Take a Pebble," there isn't much excess, and there is a lot of impressive musicianship here. "Take a Pebble" might have passed for a Moody Blues track of the era but for the fact that none of the Moody Blues' keyboard men could solo like Keith Emerson. Even here, in a relatively balanced collection of material, the album shows the beginnings of a dark, savage, imposingly gothic edge that had scarcely been seen before in so-called "art rock," mostly courtesy of Emerson's larger-than-life organ and synthesizer attacks. Greg Lake's beautifully sung, deliberately archaic "Lucky Man" had a brush with success on FM radio, and Carl Palmer became the idol of many thousands of would-be drummers based on this one album (especially for "Three Fates" and "Tank"), but Emerson emerged as the overpowering talent here for much of the public. ---Bruce Eder, Rovi

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1. The Barbarian (5:09)
2. Take A Pebble (11:51)
3. Picture At An Exhibition (35:47)
4. Rondo (3:59)
5. Nutrocker (5:22)
6. Emerson, Lake And Palmer discuss the isle of Wight Festival (Bonus Track) (6:14)

Keith Emerson - Organ, Piano, Synthesizer [Moog]
Greg Lake - vocals, bass, electric & acoustic guitar
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion

As Keith will confirm in the interview available at the end of these Wight tracks, it was their SECOND show. Actually, six days earlier, ELP appeared in Plymouth (Guildhall). Lake even recalls that they were paid 500 £ !

Lake tells us that the band did not had a long time to rehearse. Four to six weeks in total and there you go for the Isle Of Wight music festival ! They were not particularly stressed since they were already experienced musicians.

Palmer recalls that they played around 3:30 PM (they were far from the top of the bill). Actually, they were the third band to go on stage. After "Spirit" : you know the ones who were at the origin of "Stairway To Heaven" and ... Mungo Jerry ! The rest of the day will look rather appealing : John Sebastian, Free, Sly & The Family Stones, The Who, Joni Mitchell and Ther Doors. Rather impressive, I must say.

They were already in the recording sessions from their album and several tracks were already under construction. "Barbarian" and "Take A Pebble" are two of them. Although "Barbarian" still need to be polished, this version of "Take A Pebble" is pretty well acomplished.

According to Plamer, they decided to play the suite "Pictures At An Exhibition" because Emerson already was interested in this work during "The Nice" period. They had already rehearsed it quite extensively but did not consider to play it live because of its complexity. I guess that since they did not have a lot of numbers to chose from, this very long number (over thirty-five minutes) was the central part of this live set.

Emerson had the idea of bying two antique canons and to use them to punctuate PAAE at the Isle Of Whight. He still needed to test them out. He did pick-up London Heathrow to do so ! Just before showtime, he asked one roddie to double the charge. So the explosion WAS huge.

"Rondo" is a bit noisy, with no real structure. It sounds a bit as a jam. It was the last number of this short set. As an encore, they will play "Nutrocker" which will be later on be included as the finale of "PAAE". I have always loved this song. Great track.

From this show, John Peel, a popular BBC music journalist called ELP's performance at the Isle of Wight, "a tragic waste of time, talent and electricity."

I do not agree with him. I strongly believe that this live performance is precursory of their legendary live sets. To have reached such a complicity in a so short period of time is quite remarkable. This is a piece of prog music history. ---ZowieZiggy, progarchives.com

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1. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression, part 2) (5:35)
2. Touch and Go (3:58)
3. From the Beginning (4:15)
4. Knife Edge (5:47)
5. Bitches Crystal (4:01)
6. Take a Pebble (6:39)
7. Lucky Man (4:24)
8. Medley: Tarkus/Pictures at an Exhibition (17:09)
9. Medley: Fanfare for the Common Man/Rondo (17:59)

Line-Up:
    Keith Emerson - keyboard
    Greg Lake - bass, guitar, vocals
    Carl Palmer - percussion, drums

These tracks have been issued under a number of titles, however the contents remain the same, a June 1997 performance from prog rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), not long before they took an extended hiatus from touring or recording together. The track list reveals the band heavily favoring their early titles, perhaps due, at least in part, to the trio's concurrent launch of their remastered CD catalog. While the vast majority of the set is fairly predictable in terms of song selection, ELP do throw a few curves, most notably the Tarkus (1972) deep cut "Bitches Crystal," as well as "Touch And Go." The latter originates from the one-off Emerson, Lake and Powell project with Cozy Powell (drums) in for Carl Palmer. However, even the 'oldies' have been given re-arrangements, some of which are subtle, while others would be evident even to the casual listener. Among the more blatant are the slight amendments to the "Tarkus" suite, which work in a medley with "Pictures At An Exhibition." The other somewhat conventional material such as the "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2" opener, "Lucky Man," "From The Beginning," and "Take A Pebble" are far from being rote interpretations, as the combo thoughtfully and diligently weave throughout the multi-layered melodies and tricky timing. Particularly inventive are Keith Emerson's blend of intricate keyboard runs on "Piano Solo," as he deftly displays his uncanny knack for improvising jazzy riffs and impossibly complex fingering tasks throughout "From The Beginning," and the "Fanfare For A Common Man/Rondo" epic that wraps up this collection. While casual and burgeoning enthusiasts who have not heard the Ladies & Gentlemen (Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends)(1974) concert collection would be well-served to do so, Live In Poland is otherwise recommended and suggested listening for the initiated. ---Lindsay Palmer, Rovi

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01. All I Want Is You (Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield) – 2:33
02. Love Beach (Lake/Sinfield) – 2:43
03. Taste Of My Love (Lake/Sinfield) – 3:31
04. The Gambler (Keith Emerson/Lake/Sinfield) – 3:21
05. For You (Lake/Sinfield) – 4:28
06. Canario (From Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre) (J.Rodrigo) – 3:57
07. Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman (Emerson/Sinfield) – 20:16 including:
a). Prologue / The Education Of A Gentleman – 5:34
b). Love At First Sight – 5:37
c). Letters From The Front - 5:18
d). Honourable Company (A March) - 3:46

Musicians:
- Keith Emerson - keyboards
- Greg Lake - vocals, guitar, bass
- Carl Palmer - drums, percussion

Love Beach isn't simply bad, it's downright pathetic. Stale and full of ennui, this album makes washing the dishes seem a more creative act by comparison. Greg Lake contributes a handful of tediously standardized song forms while taking his three-chord arias and bel canto blues as haughtily as though he were singing lyrics by Guiseppe Verdi, not Peter Sinfield. Keith Emerson delivers another rip-off from the classics and a side-long ballad. Reduced to being a session player in his own band, the latter's accompaniments now sound like advertising jingles.

Emerson's new meisterwork, "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman," is more interesting than "Pirates" was, but only because its composer has elected to work out the timbre changes on his keyboards rather than employ an elephantine orchestra again. Melodically, the tune is as vague as it is pompous; harmonically, it's a heap of sterile romantic clichés. That you can hear echoes of the ELP of old simply means that Emerson hasn't learned—or borrowed—a new riff in five years. Once more, Sinfield's lyrics are a grotesque embarrassment, probably accounting for Lake's wooden demeanor. ---Michael Bloom, web.archive.org

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