hey /mu/, hope you dont mind if i ask two questions 1. what do

>>73168389
they're pretty nice m8

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>>73168389
ELP were slurred endlessly by the no-talent commies in the music criticism industry, who were scared shitless that popular music might actually get complicated enough to require people who actually knew shit about music theory to assess. Coupled with the fact that Greg Lake was a goody-two-shoes-heartthrob, which always kills a band's cool factor (see Roger Waters for the opposite effect), as well as the fact that their albums had a tendency to contain lots of filler, and you have a toxic combination. Their best songs (Tarkus, Karn Evil 9, Trilogy, Take a Pebble, Tank, Knife Edge, The Endless Enigma) are very good indeed, with a lot of thought put into their construction (by no means just "wankery"). Along with King Crimson, Yes and Genesis, ELP are absolutely essential prog.

2.) Works 1 is an acquired taste. It's the last album they made that wasn't total shit. It's a double LP, in which each band member gets a side and the final side is a group effort. The first side is Emerson writing a piano concerto that rips off every neo-classical composer of the modern period shamelessly, but it's still impressive *for a rock musician*. Greg Lake sadly just indulged himself with second-rate crooning, his side is the worst. Carl Palmer's side of the album is top tier if you are at all interested in drumming, my favourite by far. The final side is two pieces only, Fanfare and Pirates, which are about average late-ELP. They are decent, not bad, not amazing.

It's not a shit album (unlike Works 2), but you shouldn't listen to it until you are familiar with the debut, Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition, Trilogy and BSS.