Works Volume 1

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Works Volume I
Works Volume I cover
Studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Released March 17, 1977
Recorded 1976
Genre Progressive rock
Length 87:23
Label Atlantic Records
Professional reviews
Emerson, Lake & Palmer chronology
Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends
(1974)
Works Volume I
(1977)
Works Volume II
(1977)

Works Volume I is a 1977 album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It is a two-disc set divided into four major sections, one each highlighting each band member, and one for combined works.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The album was highly anticipated, as it had been four years since the release of ELP's last studio album, Brain Salad Surgery. However, it was extremely different from the synthesizer-driven music that most fans had expected. The main reason was the constant disagreements about the direction ELP should go.[citation needed]

Side 1 of the first disc was the Keith Emerson side, a classical concerto for piano and orchestra in three movements.

Side 2 was the Greg Lake side, and consisted of acoustic ballads, most of which were written by Lake & Peter Sinfield.

Side 3 (disc 2, side 1, the Carl Palmer side) was considered at that time to be the best of the three "solo" sides[citation needed], as it was the closest to prior ELP compositions. Palmer's side included a remake of "Tank" (from ELP's eponymous first album), with orchestral accompaniment. Another track on Palmer's side which was the rocker "L.A. Nights", featuring Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh on lead and slide guitar and scat vocal. Also, two arrangements of classical pieces figure on the Palmer side: one of Bach's Two-Part Invention in D minor, another, titled 'The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits', an excerpt of 2nd movement of "The Scythian Suite" by Sergei Prokofiev.

Side 4 (disc 2, side 2) featured the entire band together, and consists of another classical piece re-arranged for rock band, Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, and the long-form song "Pirates".

Because the sound was so different from their past albums, reaction was mixed. Works Volume I attracted new fans to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but turned off many others.[citation needed]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one

[edit] Keith Emerson

  1. "Piano Concerto No. 1"
    1. First Movement: "Allegro Giocoso" – 9:21
    2. Second Movement: "Andante Molto Cantabile" – 2:09
    3. Third Movement: "Toccata Con Fuoco" – 6:48

[edit] Greg Lake

  1. "Lend Your Love to Me Tonight" – 4:01
  2. "C'est la Vie" – 4:16
  3. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" – 4:35
  4. "Nobody Loves You Like I Do" – 3:56
  5. "Closer to Believing" – 5:33

[edit] Disc two

[edit] Carl Palmer

  1. "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits" (Sergei Prokofiev, arr. Palmer) – 3:20
  2. "L.A. Nights" (features Joe Walsh on guitars and scat vocal) – 5:42
  3. "New Orleans" – 2:45
  4. "Two Part Invention In D Minor" (J. S. Bach, arr. Palmer) – 1:54
  5. "Food For Your Soul" – 3:57
  6. "Tank" – 5:09

[edit] Emerson, Lake & Palmer

  1. "Fanfare for the Common Man" (Aaron Copland, arr. ELP) – 9:40
  2. "Pirates" – 13:19

[edit] Bonus Tracks

  1. "Tank" (Live) 9:49
  2. "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits" 3:13
  3. "Nutrocker" 4:18

[edit] Singles

  • Fanfare For the Common Man / Brain Salad Surgery
  • Cest la Vie / Hallowed Be Thy Name