''In the Hot Seat'' is the ninth and final studio album by English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

band

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

, released on 27 September 1994 by

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

. Recorded at Goodnight L.A. Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, it was produced by

Keith Olsen Keith Alan Olsen (May 12, 1945 – March 9, 2020) was an American record producer and sound engineer, who worked with Magnum, Rick Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, the Grateful Dead, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Heart, Santana, Saga, ...

Production

The making of the album was complicated by health issues encountered by both keyboard player

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He becam ...

and drummer

Carl Palmer Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950) is an English drummer best known as founding member and the last surviving member of the progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He was also a founding member of progressive rock s ...

. Emerson had trouble with the ulnar nerve, which made it difficult for him to control his right hand. As the prognosis for recovery after the surgical treatment was not promising, he had to overdub the right-hand parts with his left hand. Palmer suffered problems with

carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunn ...

, which led to numbness in his fingers, but was rid of it by an operation. "Daddy" was written by Lake in memory of missing child Sara Anne Wood and was used to raise awareness of missing and abducted children. The royalties from the song initially brought in $5,000 and were donated to the Sara Anne Wood Rescue Center, a national non-profit foundation established by Wood's father. "Street War" originated in summer 1988 sessions by Lake with Geoff Downes under the project name Ride the Tiger, but was reworked for this album by adding and rewriting lyrics and composing new music. Ride the Tiger was finally released in 2015.

Reception

The album was a commercial flop. It received very little airplay and was the only Emerson, Lake & Palmer studio recording not to chart on the US ''Billboard'' 200. ''In the Hot Seat'' is their least-selling album. Marc Loren of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

rated ''In the Hot Seat'' 1.5 out of 5 stars, saying it "falls short on so many levels that not even the talents of three phenomenal musicians can save it," and named "Hand of Truth" and "Daddy" as among the few highlights. Keith Olsen later regretted having produced the album, saying it had "No songs, no preparation, no work ethic," while Carl Palmer described the album as "dreadful".

Track listing

2017 Deluxe Edition

Personnel

;Emerson, Lake & Palmer *

– keyboards, keyboard programming *

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and ...

– vocals, guitar, bass *

– drums ;Additional musicians *

Bill Wray Bill Wray (born Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American musician, composer and producer. His performing career spanned the mid 1970s through the early 1980s. Since then he has written and produced a variety of artists from glam metal to cajun. He is ...

– backing vocals (on "Thin Line") * Paula Mattioli – backing vocals (on "Thin Line") * Kristen Olsen – additional vocal (on "Daddy") *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the ...

– additional guitarshttp://www.brain-salad.com/Digest/back-issues/1995/elp-digest-05-20.txt * Richard Baker – additional keyboard programming * Brian Foraker – additional keyboard programming * Keith Wechsler – drum programming, additional keyboard programming ;Choir (on "Pictures at an Exhibition") * Fred White * Ricky Nelson * Lynn B. Davis * Linda McCrary ;Technical personnel *

– producer, engineer * Brian Foraker – engineer *

Joe Gastwirt Joe Gastwirt is an American audio engineer, known for digitally remastering hundreds of CDs and LPs for famous artists, including the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Helen Reddy, Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Blue ...

– mastering engineer (at Ocean View Digital Mastering, Los Angeles) * Hans Neleman – cover photography * Karl Kristkeitz – package design *

Brian Aris Brian Aris is a British photographer who began his career as a photojournalist. Initially, he was a front line photographer of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the plight of Palestinian children in Jordan, the civil war in Lebanon, famine in Af ...

– band photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control Emerson, Lake & Palmer albums 1994 albums Progressive rock albums by English artists Albums produced by Keith Olsen