CD-Charts Position 1
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Brain Salad Surgery

by: Lake and Palmer Emerson

Release Date February 26, 2008
If you ignore the 'bonus tracks' which are far from a bonus other than for historical reasons, this album is a belter. Kicking off with a sublime version of William Blake's Hymn then going into Emerson's erratic interpretation of Ginastera's Toccata and then onto the rather mundane but plesant Still.... It's then followed by the 'humourous' Benny, leading to the EPIC Karn Evil 9. At 29 minutes, it's prog rock as you expect it!

CD-Charts Position 2
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At His Very Best

by: Robert Palmer

Release Date October 06, 2003
The only reason that this isn't 5 stars is because of the selection of material rather than a reflection on Robert Palmer's talent.

There are some iconic songs from the 1980's here & for anyone looking for some nostalgia or a feel for the music of that time this is good enough however, if you're a keen fan, you'll probably have most of it already.

You kind of get the feeling that he could & should have been bigger.

Recommended.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Trilogy

by: Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Release Date February 26, 2008
I really loved everything ELP did up until Brain Salad Surgery, which was interesting, but even I, who am a big fan of symphonic pomp, started to feel at this stage they'd gone over the top.

This is my favourite ELP album because it captures Emerson's Piano playing at its imaginative best but is balanced nicely with the synthesizers that he was blazing the trail with. Compositionally as well, I find this album their most balanced, consisting of distinct and well crafted songs, that aren't bloated pastiches of things crammed together like Tarkus or pick'n'mix collage like Pictures at an Exhibition.

First track, credited as three, is the Endless Enigma parts 1 and 2 with the oustanding jazz piano trio, Fugue, sandwiched between ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Who Killed Amanda Palmer

by: Amanda Palmer

Release Date September 15, 2008
This is Amanda Palmer's first solo record (the first of many, I hope) and it's a great showcase for her range of styles. Songs of joy and sorrow, laughter and melancholy, they're all here with Amanda's marvellous voice and words, all piano based but often enhanced with strings and brass and guitar. The production is spot on with some great string arrangements that bring a bit more light and shade to the songs but it's very delicately handled and not intrusive at all.

There are manic stompers like 'Leeds United', 'Runs In The Family' and the mad 'Guitar Hero' alongside more introspective and calmer songs such as 'Ampersand', 'The Point Of It All' and 'Blake Says'. Drama and frivolity, it's all here. And it wouldn't be an Amanda album without some oddities ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Pictures At An Exhibition

by: Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Release Date February 26, 2008
Every ELP album is half brilliance and half disappointment except for this. This is thunderous throughout. All the members allow each other to gel within the unit. Emerson plays manic keyboard with a flash of pomp and jazz thrown in. He also experiments in electronic sounds that few outside Hawkwind were making at the time. Lake is powerful. No wet lyrics here and the guitar thumps along. Palmer is controlled and forms a solid foundation. The original album released as an L.P.(Oh, how dated that sounds now) was cheaper than the studio albums (just like Relics-Pink Floyd and Earthbound-King Crimson, etc.)and became a real treat for fans. Having said this the original finished on Nutrocker. The extra, later, bonus track of Pictures detracts from it in my opinion so ignore it and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Tarkus

by: Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Release Date February 26, 2008
There are those that will claim this album was a milestone in prog rock and that the title track which paints vast panoramas across almost 21 minutes of soundscape set the standards for long pieces. Sadly I can't agree.

As much as I love the first album, this was a huge disappointment. The title track originally took up one half of the album and, whilst there is some surface charm to it, Emerson's keyboards threaten to get out of control and turn a unique sounding band into a self indulgent one. It's all abut the futility of war - but didn't so many albums tred that path in the early 70s.

Okay I suppose it would cause a stir in the rock defining days of 1971 but there's just too much filler. The second side tries to inject some charm into proceedings but sadly there's ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Brain Salad Surgery

by: Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Release Date October 13, 2008
5 Stars for Brain Salad Surgery, of course. 1 Star for this remastering on the Deluxe Edition (SACD).

The midrange on this Deluxe Edition has been jacked up with EQ and it is compressed enough so that Lake's vocals now grate a bit, but most difficult to understand is how this sound was considered appropriate for Palmer's drums. When his first beat kicks in with hi-hat in tow around 1:30 into "Jerusalem," I think some folks will probably say to themselves: "You've got to be kidding." The hi-hat was already a rough listen on the Victory but here it has been turned into a metallic pinch. I don't personally think that these EQ moves were a success. The added compression is also really annoying. The whole signal sort of "pumps" as a result. Surely some will rave about more "detail" and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance

by: The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Isidore Godfrey

Release Date March 24, 2003
I agree that this is the definitive recording. Doyly Carte at their very best. I like the quaint dialogue and I think its integral to the performance and fixes the piece in its very Victorian place. For me the high point is Valerie Masterson's brilliant "Poor wand'ring one" - absolute perfection!

CD-Charts Position 9
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer

by: Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Release Date February 26, 2008
How often do we find with classic groups that their first album is arguably the best? That certainly holds true with what is a classic prog rock album before the flights of fancy overtook them and they began to produce rather bombastic over the top rock.

It shows without doubt what a great band this trio could have been. Okay they stayed pretty good but at times they allowed their virtuosity to run away with them. Here it is more or less kept in check although there are signs at times of Keith Emerson running away with himself.

Overall there's just enough discipline to keep this album together and that's what makes it an all time classic to be celebrated alongside the likes of Deep Purple in Rock. Many of these pieces are timeless and I'm a big fan of Greg Lake's voice which is absolutely ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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The Ultimate Collection

by: Emerson Lake & Palmer, Lake & Palmer

Release Date February 26, 2008
Thanks to my elder brother playing Tarkus non stop in the early 70's, my love for ELP began before I reached my teens. This compilation is brilliant not only as a memory jogger but as an introduction to the whole "prog rock" thing, of which ELP were probably the best exponents. I still think that Greg Lakes' "Still.....you turn me on" is one of the best ballads ever written (apart from the "ladder")Tarkus is "prog" at its "story-telling" best and that ELP still have a very special place in my heart. If you have heard of them and were wondering what all the fuss was about, do yourself a favour and buy this album!