Greg Lake – The Anthology, A Musical Journey (BMG, 2020)
This 2-CD set is a superb tribute to Greg Lake, one of the greatest singer-songwriters from the late 1960s and 1970s in the rock field. Greg Lake was also an outstanding bass player and guitarist and this compilation follows his extensive musical career, from his early beginnings to his participation in two of the most significant rock projects of in the 1970s, progressive rock bands Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP) and King Crimson.
Greg Lake had a beautiful, easy recognizable vocal style. He recorded some of the best and most memorable rock ballads in the 1970s with ELP, including timeless classics like ‘Take A Pebble’, ‘C’est La Vie’ and ‘Lucky Man.’ He also had a much admired solo hit with the song ‘I Believe In Father Christmas.’
But it wasn’t just ballads, the album contains cuts from the finest ELP epics, revealing his mastery with a powerful trio.
From my perspective, Lake’s best work was made with King Crimson and early ELP as well as his early solo works. Later in his career, both ELP and Lake pursued more commercial music with mixed success. The music was less attractive and innovative, more formulaic, seeking radio airplay.
The double album comes in a very nicely packaged hard cover book with lots of fascinating rarely seen photos and essays by various music industry professionals and fellow musicians.
Buy The Anthology