Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Your top 10 songs and studio album rankings

[treeduck]

There is an old thread of ELP top 10 songs but this is an update, a chance for ELP fans to reassess, plus this also includes a chance to rank the studio albums. I'm also going to add a three question poll.

[treeduck]

So what are your top 10 ELP songs? And how do you rank the ELP studio albums? You can include Pictures at an Exhibition if you like.

[zepphead]

I rated the albums -

Best: Brain Salad Surgery

Worst: In the Hot Seat

PAAE position: 5th (Behind Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus, Trilogy and Emerson Lake & Palmer

 

 

I need time to think about top 10 tracks.

[zepphead]

Ok - After an hour of deliberation (over breakfast), my top 10 tracks are -

 

1. Karn Evil 9 from Brain Salad Surgery

2. Tarkus from Tarkus

3. Trilogy from Trilogy

4. Lucky Man from Emerson Lake & Palmer

5. Toccata from Brain Salad Surgery

6. Fanfare For The Common Man from Works Vol. 1

7. The Barbarian from Emerson Lake & Palmer

8. Take A Pebble from Emerson Lake & Palmer

9. Hoedown from Trilogy

10. From The Beginning from Trilogy

Edited January 1, 2021 by zepphead

[custom55]

Top Album: Trilogy

Least favorite: Love Beach (WTF ? Love Beach ? )

1. Living Sin
    
   
2. Trilogy
    
   
3. Tarkus
    
   
4. From the Beginning
    
   
5. Take a Pebble
    
   
6. Lucky Man
    
   
7. A Time and a Place
    
   
8. Karn Evil 9 ( all impressions count as one ? )
    
   
9. The Barbarian
    
   
10. Still...You Turn Me On
    

Edited January 1, 2021 by custom55

[laughedatbytime]

1. Addicted to Love

 

That's about it.

[pjbear05]

Best: Trilogy

Worst: Love Beach

PAaE: 4th, behind Trilogy, E L & P, and Tarkus.

Top 10-no particular order:

1. Trilogy
   
2. Lucky Man
   
3. Pirates
   
4. From the Beginning
   
5. Knife Edge
   
6. Promenade
   
7. Black Moon
   
8. Endless Enigma Pt. 1/Fugue/Endless Enigma Pt.2
   
9. Tarkus
   
10. Hoedown.
    

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Favorite is a tossup between Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery, but I voted for BSS's consistency

Haven't heard all of them, but of what I have heard Works Volume 2 is definitely the weakest (though not bad)

Pictures At An Exhibition would probably rank right behind Tarkus at number 3.

 

Here's a ranking of what I know

 

Brain Salad Surgery

Tarkus

Pictures At An Exhibition

Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

Trilogy

Works Volume 2

 

However, if I had to live with just one ELP album, it would be the triple live masterpiece Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, Ladies And Gentlemen: Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

[pjbear05]

Favorite is a tossup between Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery, but I voted for BSS's consistency

Haven't heard all of them, but of what I have heard Works Volume 2 is definitely the weakest (though not bad)

Pictures At An Exhibition would probably rank right behind Tarkus at number 3.

 

Here's a ranking of what I know

 

Brain Salad Surgery

Tarkus

Pictures At An Exhibition

Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

Trilogy

Works Volume 2

 

However, if I had to live with just one ELP album, it would be the triple live masterpiece Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, Ladies And Gentlemen: Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

^^^This. Bitd ABC TV broadcast the California Jam, and ELP's set blew me away. I destroyed 2 vinyl copies of WBMF before picking it up on CD.

[HemiBeers]

Ok - After an hour of deliberation (over breakfast), my top 10 tracks are -

 

1. Karn Evil 9 from Brain Salad Surgery

2. Tarkus from Tarkus

3. Trilogy from Trilogy

4. Lucky Man from Emerson Lake & Palmer

5. Toccata from Brain Salad Surgery

6. Fanfare For The Common Man from Works Vol. 1

7. The Barbarian from Emerson Lake & Palmer

8. Take A Pebble from Emerson Lake & Palmer

9. Hoedown from Trilogy

10. From The Beginning from Trilogy

I'll take the easy way out and agree with this.

 

Emerson was a God to me in my teens when I was still studying classical piano. Now when I listen to ELP I consider much of it as over-indulgent noodling. Love Beach was a total sellout of an album to comply with the last album requirement of their record contract. Emerson apparently had a coke problem starting with Works that dogged the rest of his career. Never could catch the magic after ELP.

[HemiBeers]

Favorite is a tossup between Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery, but I voted for BSS's consistency

Haven't heard all of them, but of what I have heard Works Volume 2 is definitely the weakest (though not bad)

Pictures At An Exhibition would probably rank right behind Tarkus at number 3.

 

Here's a ranking of what I know

 

Brain Salad Surgery

Tarkus

Pictures At An Exhibition

Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

Trilogy

Works Volume 2

 

However, if I had to live with just one ELP album, it would be the triple live masterpiece Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, Ladies And Gentlemen: Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

^^^This. Bitd ABC TV broadcast the California Jam, and ELP's set blew me away. I destroyed 2 vinyl copies of WBMF before picking it up on CD.

Yeah that triple live album had the same magic as ATWAS.

[custom55]

quick story about ELP...

 

1977

 

I was putting in a new battery in my car that morning and I had tickets to ELP Works tour at MSG that evening. I went to open the battery box and one of the brass staples flew up into my eye. Very painful and I had a little bleeding so I went to the emergency room and the Doc put an eye patch over the eye.

 

I attended the show that night and when the song Pirates came on, I felt one with the song.

 

That's all.

[HemiBeers]

quick story about ELP...

 

1977

 

I was putting in a new battery in my car that morning and I had tickets to ELP Works tour at MSG that evening. I went to open the battery box and one of the brass staples flew up into my eye. Very painful and I had a little bleeding so I went to the emergency room and the Doc put an eye patch over the eye.

 

I attended the show that night and when the song Pirates came on, I felt one with the song.

 

That's all.

:madra:

[Tony R]

The “best of” ELP is about all I could listen to. They’ve never made a full album of good songs and are ridiculously overrated.

[Fridge]

I don't even know 10 ELP songs.....

[Tony R]

I don't even know 10 ELP songs.....

 

You aren’t aware of the 10 part piano concerto named “Lick My Love Pump”?

[Tony R]

Favorite is a tossup between Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery, but I voted for BSS's consistency

Haven't heard all of them, but of what I have heard Works Volume 2 is definitely the weakest (though not bad)

Pictures At An Exhibition would probably rank right behind Tarkus at number 3.

 

Here's a ranking of what I know

 

Brain Salad Surgery

Tarkus

Pictures At An Exhibition

Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

Trilogy

Works Volume 2

 

However, if I had to live with just one ELP album, it would be the triple live masterpiece Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, Ladies And Gentlemen: Emerson, Lake, And Palmer

^^^This. Bitd ABC TV broadcast the California Jam, and ELP's set blew me away. I destroyed 2 vinyl copies of WBMF before picking it up on CD.

Yeah that triple live album had the same magic as ATWAS.

:lol:

[treeduck]

The “best of” ELP is about all I could listen to. They’ve never made a full album of good songs and are ridiculously overrated.

I wish me and Tony R were in a band together and we played nothing but ELP songs non-stop for the rest of our lives, until we died in a pool of excessive notes. :codger:

[stoopid]

You mean they had more than 10 songs? I thought it was one per album. :P

[stoopid]

I don't even know 10 ELP songs.....

 

As big of a fan as I am, there might only be 10 songs I would casually spin or consider recommend worthy. They're really great songs though.

[treeduck]

You mean they had more than 10 songs? I thought it was one per album. :P

And me and you should be in a band too and all we play is the same one note over and over. The trick is though we dance to it, and not just any dance but a carefully choregraphed sequence of movements to the quality level of ice dancing legends Torvill and Dean.

[Mithrandir]

Top 10 in no order

 

Tarkus

Bitches Crystal

Karn Evil 9 1st impression

Jerusalem

Still...you turn me on

Tiger in a Spotlight

Fanfare for the Common man

From the Beginning

Toccata

I believe in Father Xmas

Edited January 4, 2021 by Mithrandir

[stoopid]

You mean they had more than 10 songs? I thought it was one per album. :P

And me and you should be in a band too and all we play is the same one note over and over. The trick is though we dance to it, and not just any dance but a carefully choregraphed sequence of movements to the quality level of ice dancing legends Torvill and Dean.

 

Um, okay. Can it be Gb ?

[treeduck]

You mean they had more than 10 songs? I thought it was one per album. :P

And me and you should be in a band too and all we play is the same one note over and over. The trick is though we dance to it, and not just any dance but a carefully choregraphed sequence of movements to the quality level of ice dancing legends Torvill and Dean.

 

Um, okay. Can it be Gb ?

I'll get back to on that. :hail:

[Entre_Perpetuo]

You mean they had more than 10 songs? I thought it was one per album. :P

And me and you should be in a band too and all we play is the same one note over and over. The trick is though we dance to it, and not just any dance but a carefully choregraphed sequence of movements to the quality level of ice dancing legends Torvill and Dean.

 

Um, okay. Can it be Gb ?

 

Ugh, flats. Give me F# every day instead.