Works Volume 1
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''Works Volume 1'' is the fifth 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. Init ...
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 as a double album in March 1977 on Atlantic Records. Following their world tour supporting ''
Brain Salad Surgery ''Brain Salad Surgery'' is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 19 November 1973 by their record label, Manticore Records, and distributed by Atlantic Records. Following the tour in suppo ...
'' (1973), the group took an extended break before they reconvened in 1976 to record a new album. They were now
tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
s and recorded new material in London and overseas in
Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. ''Works Volume 1'' features a side dedicated for each member to write and arrange their own tracks, while the fourth side features songs performed collectively. Keith Emerson recorded his Piano Concerto No. 1, Greg Lake wrote several songs with lyricist
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...
, and
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 ...
recorded tracks of varied musical styles. The album peaked at No. 9 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and No. 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and went gold in both countries, the latter for 500,000 copies sold. The group track "
Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that year ...
", Emerson's adaptation of the 1942 composition by
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
, was released as a single in May 1977. It went to No. 2 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
to become the band's highest charting single in the UK. Additional material recorded in 1976, plus songs from previous studio sessions, were released as ''
Works Volume 2 ''Works Volume 2'' is the sixth studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1977. Unlike ''Works Volume 1'' (which consisted of three solo sides and one ensemble side), ''Works Volume 2'' was a single album and it was seemingly a compilat ...
''. Both albums were supported with the 1977–1978 tour, which featured the band playing with an orchestra on stage for some early shows.


Background

In August 1974, Emerson, Lake & Palmer finished their ten-month world tour in support of their fourth album, ''
Brain Salad Surgery ''Brain Salad Surgery'' is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 19 November 1973 by their record label, Manticore Records, and distributed by Atlantic Records. Following the tour in suppo ...
'' (1973). This was followed by the triple live album '' Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends ~ Ladies and Gentlemen'' (1974) which earned the group their highest charting position in the US with a peak of No. 4, and No. 6 in the UK. The trio took an extended break, having been on the recording and touring circuit each year since their formation in 1970. Keith Emerson said that at this point in their career, the group's musical direction had been "milked dry" and wanted to spend time planning their next step. In 1976, the three had decided to start on a new studio album and became
tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
s, meaning they had to record overseas. Lake recalled that this was an unpopular opinion as the members had family based in England. They settled in
Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...
, Switzerland where they recorded at
Mountain Studios Mountain Studios was a commercial recording studio founded by American singer and composer Anita Kerr and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio was under the ownership of Queen and then long ...
. Lake recalled his time there was difficult for creativity: "It's so grey. There's nothing there. You get sod-all inspiration!" Emerson supported his view and called it "the end of the earth", but he and Palmer praised the studio facilities and the quality of the equipment. Lyricist
Pete Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mos ...
has claimed credit for the album's title, explaining, "I suppose if you're gonna be pretentious, you might as well do it big. They had all these bits floating around. But 'Bits' didn't really sound right." For ''Works'', Lake wanted to take a more serious approach in writing and singing ballads, and felt singing with an orchestra added greater variety to his songs. Both tracks on side four features Emerson playing a
Yamaha GX-1 The Yamaha GX-1, first released as Electone GX-707, is an analog polyphonic synthesizer organ developed by Yamaha as a test bed for later consumer synths and Electone series organs for stage and home use. The GX-1 has four synthesizer "ranks" or ...
synthesizer. In March 1977, Lake said that the band had completed additional material that would be released on ''
Works Volume 2 ''Works Volume 2'' is the sixth studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1977. Unlike ''Works Volume 1'' (which consisted of three solo sides and one ensemble side), ''Works Volume 2'' was a single album and it was seemingly a compilat ...
''.


Music


Sides one to three

Side one features Emerson's Piano Concerto No. 1, a three-movement work for piano and orchestra. Emerson performs on a Steinway grand piano with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Mayer, who assisted on the orchestral arrangements. He wanted to write a serious piece that would not date itself, with the aim of having it performed by others in the future. Working hard on the score, Emerson looked back on it shortly after the album was released: "I've squeezed every ounce of myself into that thing. And I feel very satisfied." An initial recording session took place at
Kingsway Hall The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music. It was built in 1912 and demolished ...
in London with mobile studio equipment, but the orchestra had difficulty understanding the score and performers complained of the hall's acoustics, resulting in Emerson "wasting a lot of money." A successful session arose when recording relocated to
De Lane Lea Studios Warner Bros. De Lane Lea Studios is a recording studio, based in Dean Street, Soho, London. Although the studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes, major artists such as the Animals, the Beatles, Soft M ...
. When it came to preparing material for the album, Emerson dedicated a period to "think and write" following his depression after his Sussex home caught fire two years prior, burning his possessions and music he had put down. The work's third movement reflected Emerson's mood at the time of the fire, and was able to get "a lot of anger" out through the music. In the band's ''Beyond the Beginning'' documentary, Lake recalled that Emerson invited composer Leonard Bernstein to listen to the work during his visit to the Paris studio where the recording was being mixed. Upon listening to the work, Bernstein said it "reminded him of
Grandma Moses Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), or Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is a prominent example of a newly successful art career at an advanced age. H ...
", a folk artist. Emerson, however, did not recall Bernstein saying this. Side 2 is the Greg Lake side, and consists of acoustic ballads, all of which were written by Lake and
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...
. Side 3, the
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 ...
side, includes a remake of "Tank" from the band's self-titled debut album released in 1970, with orchestral accompaniment and minus the drum solo. "L.A. Nights" features
Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
guitarist
Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...
on lead and slide guitar and
scat vocals In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...
. Two arrangements of classical pieces are included: Two-Part Invention in D minor, BWV 775 by
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
and a piece titled "The Enemy God Dances With the Black Spirits", an excerpt of the 2nd movement of the ''
Scythian Suite The ''Scythian Suite'', Op. 20 is an orchestral suite by Sergei Prokofiev written in 1915. Background Prokofiev originally wrote the music for the ballet ''Ala i Lolli'', the story of which takes place among the Scythians. Commissioned by Serge ...
'' by
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...
.


Side four

The fourth side features two group performed pieces. "
Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that year ...
" is an adaptation of the same-titled piece by American composer
Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...
. Emerson sought Copland's permission so the group could use it; Copland found their version appealing but was puzzled at the solo section in the middle two of fairly straightforward renditions of his piece. The 11-minute "Pirates" originated from a piece Emerson had written for a cancelled film version of
Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', '' The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', ''The Devil's Alter ...
's book '' The Dogs of War''. When Lake and Sinfield got together to write lyrics for the track, Emerson had told Lake that he wrote it with mercenaries in mind, which Lake found distasteful and wanted the song to be about something else. He conjured images of the sea upon listening to Emerson's piece, which made him think of pirates. Sinfield liked the idea, and the pair wrote words at Lake's mountain chalet. "Pirates" was recorded in two separate studios; Lake had a falling out with the orchestra used in Montreux, so recording moved to Paris with the National Opera of Paris orchestra and conductor Godfrey Salmon. Sinfeld recalled the band wanting Leonard Bernstein to conduct the orchestral arrangements on "Pirates", and arranged for Bernstein, who was conducting at the nearby
Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...
, to visit the studio and hear the piece. Lake said: "I pressed the play button, and he put his head in his hands and from beginning to end, he didn't move ..If he didn't like something, you would be told ..he looked at me, and he said, 'The singing's not bad.' ..I'm sure he didn't realize that I was the singer". Sinfield remembered Bernstein describing it as "primitive".


Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's retrospective review was mixed. They particularly criticised the solo sides of Keith Emerson ("on the level of a good music-student piece, without much original language") and Greg Lake (C'est la Vie', the featured single, says little that ' Still...You Turn Me On', from their previous album, didn't say better and shorter"). They offered some praise for the Carl Palmer and group sides, but concluded that the group songs "cover a lot of old ground, albeit in ornate and stylish fashion." Paul Stump's 1997 ''History of Progressive Rock'' characterized the album as excessive, indulgent, and "clodhoppingly stereotypical", but also asserted that it "is not without merit". In particular, he argued that while doing a piano concerto is a pompous and indulgent idea, Emerson pulls it off reasonably well, and his impressive virtuosity fits more comfortably in this context than in Emerson, Lake & Palmer's rock workouts.


Track listing

Source:


Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes. Emerson, Lake & Palmer * Keith Emerson – keyboards * Greg Lake – vocals, guitars, bass *
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 ...
– drums, percussion Additional personnel * London Philharmonic Orchestra on "Piano Concerto No. 1" * John Mayer – conductor on "Piano Concerto No. 1" *
Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...
– guitars and vocals on "L.A. Nights" *
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...
– lyrics on side two *Godfrey Salmon – orchestra and choir conductor on side two and "Pirates" *
Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris The Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris is a French Symphonic Orchestra dating from 1672. Since the opening of the Opéra Bastille in 1989, the orchestra has also been called the ''Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille''. History In 1672, the Paris ...
on "Pirates" Production *Keith Emerson – production on side one *Greg Lake – production on sides two and four *Carl Palmer – production on side three *Peter Sinfield – production on side two *Tony Harris – orchestral arrangement on side two *Ashley Newton – art direction *Ian Murray – design, artwork * John Timperley – engineer *Roger Cameron – engineer * David Montgomery – Emerson photography *Kenny Smith – Lake photography *Alex Grob – Palmer photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Sampling

*The same verse and chorus melody as in the song "C'est la Vie" is used for the Zdravko Čolić's 1984 song "Ruška" and the Divlji Kesten's 1995 song "Svrati ponekad".


References

Sources * {{Authority control 1977 albums Emerson, Lake & Palmer albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Keith Emerson Albums produced by Greg Lake Albums produced by Peter Sinfield