Emerson, Lake & Palmer Deluxe Edition (Razor & Tie Recordings, 2012 reissue)
Razor & Tie Records begins its anticipated collection of Emerson, Lake & Palmer reissues with the band’s self-titled first album. Emerson, Lake & Palmer was the first progressive rock super band. It brought together three outstanding young British musicians. Keyboardist Keith Emerson had already made an impression with the band The Nice that combined rock with classical music. Singer, guitarist and bassist Greg Lake came from one of the royal families of progressive rock, King Crimson. Drummer Carl Palmer was a member of one of the pioneering prog band Atomic Rooster.
The album Emerson, Lake & Palmer Deluxe Edition was an instant classic, with a mix of instrumental virtuosity and some of the most beautiful rock ballads of the early 1970s. At the time, Keith Emerson used primarily piano and organ. The only clearly audible synthesizers were the memorable epic solo that appears at the end of ‘Lucky Man’ and the final part of ‘Tank.’ These were, in fact, two of the first synthesizer solos that made it to commercial radio and opened the doors for the further use of the versatile electronic musical instrument.
The Deluxe version contains 3 CDs. Disc 1 includes the original album released in 1970. Emerson, Lake & Palmer Deluxe Edition ‘The Barbarian,’ an instrumental with a scorching bass, drum and organ intro. Current day bands should take a listen to how rich and powerful Emerson, Lake & Palmer sounded with only three musicians. Although the drums are powerful, they are highly creative and extremely varied.
Next comes the unforgettable classic song ‘Take A Pebble,’ with Greg Lake’s unmistakable voice. The band creates a mysterious atmosphere with the use of soft high hat cymbals, beautiful piano sections, remarkable bass lines and some Keith Emerson experimentations such as the strumming of the piano strings.
Track 3, ‘Knife-Edge,’ also features vocals by Greg Lake, with spectacular electric organ melodies and improvisations by Emerson, combining classical, jazz and blues elements.
On ‘The Three Fates’ Keith Emerson introduces the majestic sounds of a church organ as well as piano that eventually lead to a jazzy mix of classical piano, percussion and bass.
‘Tank’ is another instrumental with remarkable bass lines, brilliant harpsichord-style keyboards and really fine drumming by Palmer, including a solo. Yes, this was the time when rock musicians were allowed to feature solos in studio albums, before the tyranny of format radio.
The album ends with ‘Lucky Man,’ one of the most recognizable songs by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and also one of their first hits. Although the piece begins as an acoustic guitar, vocal and drum song, this ballad made history with its synthesizer solo conclusion.
So what’s new about this reissue? Disc 2 contains new 2012 stereo mixes of most of the original tracks from Emerson, Lake & Palmer except for ‘Tank.’ This new stereo mix was carried out by British musician Steven Wilson, who in addition to his successful band and solo career, has also become the favorite engineer of artists and labels that are remastering classic progressive rock recordings.
Wilson has done a great job. I like the new mixes. The overall sound is improved and the bass has more relevance. Disc 2 also includes various unreleased instrumentals and several alternate versions of ‘Take a Pebble’ and ‘Lucky Man.’ You can hear up to three versions of this song: acoustic, electric with a psychedelic-style guitar solo and the prog rock version with a more creative guitar solo and synthesizer.
Disc 3 is a DVD with 5.1 Mixes of the 6 original tracks and High-Res Stereo Mixes of the bonus tracks on Disc 2.
Overall, Emerson, Lake & Palmer Deluxe Edition is a superb classic album that belongs in any rock collection from the 1970s and a must have for progressive rock fans.