Twenty years ago I worked at a late night cocktail bar in Hove, East Sussex. The manager was Aaron Emerson. His old Dad Keith would pop by every now and then and have a few beers. Couldn't believe I was having casual conversations over the bar with him.

I got to see ELP five times during the first half of the Seventies. Having attended countless rock concerts there is no doubt in my mind that NO ONE combined musical brilliance and amazing showmanship like Keith Emerson.

Best concert I ever saw took place on 11/14/71, when ELP made its Chicago debut at the Auditorium Theatre, a great venue for these events. Except that ELP showed up more than hour late for a reason(s) that wasn't made public. (It played in Philadelphia the previous night) The rather obscure back-up band played overtime and impressed the hell out of me. I asked the guy next me who it was more than once, and his answer was the same -- yes. I figured that he couldn't hear above the noise, then a bolt of lightning hit me -- the band was named Yes! ELP finally arrived around 9:30 and wasted no time to put on a crazy good show. It was darn near midnight when the gig ended, and none of us seemed to care. All I could think was that I had witnessed something special that I would never forget. And 53 years later, I still haven't . . .

I’ve been listening to the Nice since the 80s. It’s great to see them get some love.

This may sound strange to some people, but I find their music and lyrics far more relatable to me than Yes

My favorite band--and I was lucky enough to see them twice in'74. That includes the Anaheim CA concert from which the live album came. Awesome.

After setting the Prog bar high on this debut classic, ELP absolutely deserved a day at the beach. 🌁

Emerson's manic showmanship that combined his creative spirit and preternatural mastery of Classical repertoire, Rock and Jazz etc, was really something to see and hear at the time. Though pompously myopic, Rock magazine critic's brutally panned the band in print, millions of listener's readily embraced their free-wheeling approach to performance and composition. Though their last few albums were disappointing efforts at " changing with the times," on the whole, their creative output was at it's best, stunningly original.

That's some serious guitar playng in the opening segment.

Loved it. The first ELP album is one of the finest rock albums ever. Its in my 5 favorite albums since I discovered it in 1972. Thanks to Lucky Man getting on the AM pop radio charts here.

Amazing ELP documentary. Its release was for us Yankees was in January 1971 and Lucky Man charted and pushed the album into the US Top 20. The Return of the Manticore box set featured the whole album except for Three Fates and Take a Pebble which its live version was used instead

This is the best documentary on elp I've seen so far. I recommend Keith's autobiography, pictures of an exhibitionist.

JCM, That is a fantastic guitar performance & impression of Take A Pebble at the beginning of this video. Very well done - beautiful.

Thank you very much for a wonderful rockumentary; great psychedelics with great music and superbly put together. Looking forward to more of your valuable work xx🎵👍❤️

An amazing band. They should be in the hall of fame. Just got the 2 box sets with all of their studio snd live albums. Great stuff.

Great video from the mammoth beginning of ELP! I learned a lot (as always!). So many tie-ins! Dam, you always get Santana in there, and I thought I knew everything that he did… But wow, you really did your homework! Another classic video documentary from JCM!

Excellent documentary. Very well done and enjoyable to watch.

Take A Pebble transformed my life as a budding keyboardist, aged 14. It exploded my head, along with the Hammond in Knife Edge and the Barbarian. Emerson remains my favorite to this day. Excellent retrospective here by JCM. I learned more about the inner workings and genesis of ELP in this video than I had acquired over five decades. Well done, JCM. I subscribed.

Lucky to see them in Phoenix in 76! Incredible! Palmer was spectacular!!!! Very underrated band! Great documentary as usual 🎉🎉🎉 Thank You!!!

I was very fortunate to see-Experience them, in 1974 on The Brain Salad Surgery Tour in Little Rock, Arkansas. They used a Quad Spund System and I stood as close to the Sound Mixer as I could, he was actually slightly Right of Center - for some Reason..? Possibly Keyboards Loudness issue...? Anyway, they were So ON FIRE that Night. If we'd only had the Digital Technology - Camera Phones... , etc. , That SHOW could have been a MASTERPIECE DVD!!!!

a great compliment for the research done for this video - this is a great standard - video editing is very good too - what a nice piece of work - thank you very much

I saw ELP live in November of 1971 at the University of Georgia. Opening band was Curved Air. Tickets were two dollars! Take that, Ticketmaster!

I saw them back in the 70's at the Swing auditorium, what a incredible show! JCM, thanks for all of your hard work!

You could say, they were lucky men.

I saw the band at the Paramount Theater, Seattle in 1970. I was also lucky enough to have been at a King Crimson gig in at the Marquee Club in London,1969, Greg Lake on bass and vocals. I was 15 years old at the time.

I saw ELP in both July 1977 and March 1978 and I was 15 and 16 years old! "The Greatest Show In Heaven, Hello Or Earth! ELP is the greatest progressive rock band of all time!

BSS is their best album. Imaginative, exciting, textured and adventurous.

Great job, JCM, thank you.

I too found a cassette copy of Brain Salad Surgery that someone had dropped around 1974 and followed them ever since. Wonderful and otherworldly is all I can say. For a 3 piece band they created music that will last forever. A gift from the Gods!!!

From Ars Long Vita Brevis and In the Wake of Poseidon to ELP’s debut. Remarkable progress in one year.

🔥🔥❤️ BRILLIANT!!! Thank you JCM for starting a new fire in me for a band I already felt like I knew ! Your research and detail are awesome. I now see ELP on a totally different level. Can’t wait for more from the mind of JCM!!!

Another Great Episode-Thanx Jose !!!

The debut ELP album holds a special place in my memory and heart. Back in the late 70s, a radio station in Los Angeles would play full albums on Sunday nights. I heard that one at age 15 while walking home from a friend’s house; I never fell out of love w it. While so many bands of the 60s and 70s took their inspiration from American blues, ELP took their inspiration from European composers. Definitely on the “knife edge“ for that time. I think audiences were ready for an evolution. Thanks for the film. 😊

Very impressive research. Many things i did not Know. Thanks

Good documentary well done. Some new footage I haven’t seen before 👍🏻

21:15 that album is a highlight for including a cover of Dylan's Country Pie from his heavily underrated Nashville Skyline LP, amazing video man, i learned quite a lot from their beginnings keep it going !!

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

Like you, JCM, I have an uncle who had all of the ELP albums and I heard them all back in the 70s. I am particularly fond of "Trilogy". I really really like the video on YT of "Promenade/The Gnome". from "Pictures At An Exhibition ". This is a treat to watch the making of their first album. I don't believe there is another doc of it.

Another great video with painstaking research!

Amazing!

Dave Brubeck was my gateway to jazz.

Thank you for this. Though Zeppelin is my all-time favorite band, Prog Rock is my favorite genre of music. Your videos continue to give me both!

Easily one of the best debut albums of all time right up there with the doors, Led Zeppelin, and a few others I can’t remember… the quality of the music ,the sophistication and complexity of the songs are just incredible. That these three young guys could create that much great music continues to impress me every time I hear it.

Excellent documentary

Nice presentation, learned some new things, thanks, I saw Atomic Rooster, ELP and King Cimson all during or before 1973.

Ooooooo looking forward to this one 😊

Saw ELP at Rich Stadium in Buffalo in 1975. Great show!

My second ever concert. Winter of 1971 at the Academy of Music in NYC (14th & 3rd). I knew NONE of their music. Zero. A hit of Orange sunshine and a couple of doobs before hand and I was in for the ride of my life. ELP1, Tarkus and Pictures. Let me tell you I walked out of that venue with jaw agape. (Warm up band was Wild Turkey starring Glenn Cornick previously of Jethro Tull...also was great).

Just started the episode.... God bless you for such great content!!! Everyone, please share with your old school music fans so the channel can grow further. My favorite ELP is Trilogy 😊

I seen ELP in Pittsburgh im not sure about the date. But the welcome to the show song blew me away!

This was extremely well done! Like you, I became a hardcore fan after BSS was released, and I've been with them ever since. I have never seen such a combination of musicianship AND showmanship in all my years as a Rock music fan!!!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! My second lovely group after LZ. Waiting very (no, VERY) much!!

I know your main preference is Led Zep, but your ELP videos are great , please keep up the good work !

Enjoyable and enlightening! Small point about triumvirate: Mike Bloomfield, John Hammond, Jr. and Dr. John had an album by that name. When the US ABC network recorded "In Concert" at UCLA in the summer of 1973, I thought they billed the "supergroup" as Triumvirate. There is also a current band with band with that name which has a Facebook page.

Great look at this band and it’s genesis and the debut album! Luck enough to see them in 1992

I saw them three time in Toronto during the seventies, amazing shows all of them, even the one when seat was behind a piller 😆. I learned to appreciate the masters through them, and of course, The Nice.

Great video! From a fellow Led Zeppelin fan, your channel is really good! 👍🏾 😊

Very nice, I saw ELP 3 times in the '70's ... totally mind blowing! It's a pity that so many of the videos have been ruined with the false colour effects though!

Amazing. Thankyou. Yes they really did set the bar high for themselves. But tarkus and BSS are the 💣 🔥

ELP said it all on Tarkus, brilliant album. ... I saw them live in Toronto do that album but by BSS I'd had enough.

If I were a concert promoter in 1968-69, I think I would have paired the Nice with the Vanilla Fudge on the road. That would have made for an interesting show. I understand Mark Stein later became friends with Keith Emerson. I'm not surprised, They both have a lot in common

Greg Lake has seemed overlooked to me. Bass and guitar player was always more than adequate and singing superb.

Excelente video! Hay mucho qué decir sobre éste primer disco de Emerson, Lake & Palmer que dista de sólo 8 años del Love Beach pero pareciera que hubieran pasado mil años! Y ciertamente ése primer disco de ellos fue el mejor, asi como el primero de King Crimson, aunque allí si difiero contigo ya que para mi la formación de 1972 a 1974 de Bruford, Cross, Fripp y Wetton fue tan buena como la primera (Soy gran fan de John Wetton) Pero bueno... Y en cuánto a ésa suite francesa de Bach a mi me la mandaron a estudiar en el conservatorio de música, no la conocía, y apenas empiezo a estudiarlas me dije "Ésto es de Emerson, Lake & Palmer!" 😂😂😂

Strangely enough, I bought this album on vinyl, 2nd hand, a few days ago. I only have this and " Brain salad surgery".

Curious to know where you got the live Palmer drum solo segment with Atomic Rooster ? Thanks

A revolutionary album. The only thing I can't get into is the straight-ahead jazz trio bit... it seems out of place somehow. Awesome review!

Zeppelin thieved from old blues artists and ELP thieved from old classical artists. Both thieving gits! Kidding :) I was an ELP freak in the 70's. I still listen to them. Thank you JCM for another great docu. More ELP vids! Brilliant!

This album never gets as much mention as it should as one of the top albums of the classic rock era, maybe because ELP were considered "prog" as opposed to just being a classic rock band. Personally, I never could get into the albums after this first ELP opus. They were good, yes, but much of the music was way out there, with tons of keyboard riffing and noodling, whereas the pieces on this LP are more concise and more simply constructed. The later stuff was hard to follow in many respects, aside from their hits. But this album was very accessible to a non-prog rock fan (like myself). And the music on this album is perfect. It's a prime example of where avante-garde / neo-classical / jazz tinged rock was heading at the time. And the use of the Moog Synthesizer is some of the best on any record..... Genius. Can't say which track is my favorite. Probably Tank.

I saw ELP when they were touring the Tarkus album, and, wow...I count myself very, very lucky. For sheer technical virtuosity combined with rock 'n' roll abandon, they held the championship until Yes came along. But of course that band had more members. Amazing what 3 highly talented and fully committed people can do. There were giants in the earth in those days. Sorry, yutes, there is nothing produced today that is even remotely comparable, NOTHING.

My older brother got to see them in 74 at the first California Jam show I went to the second show 4 years later but with a bigger line up including Bob Welch Dave Mason Santana Heart Ted Nugent Foreigner Aerosmith and Mohogany Rush. You can watch them both here on KZfaq

In 1970s they came out with a Christmas song and it was my first introduction to them . By the very early 1980s I was listening to them and their other works . I always have been a fan ever since.

Fun Fact the LP and Single version of I Believe in Father Christmas differ. One has the orchestra

Emerson lake and palmer is 1 of the greatest super groups ever had brain salad surgery on LP What a great album that was

Super banda

👍👍😊

Of course we all love Greg Lake. And we’ve all heard the story for many years that Lee Jackson had a limited mediocre voice, and this is one reason Emerson wanted to move on to new horizons. But I love Lee Jackson’s voice; particularly on Five Bridges, in which Jackson wrote lyrics specifically about his home town of Newcastle.

Just had a thought..ELP was the Prog version of Cream. RIP Old PC.

Hey JCM, sorry to drop this in the wrong video but hope you can help me with this task: I'm writing an article about Led Zeppelin's influences for my radio show and looking some names to add aside from the obvious ones. Any suggestions? Could be influences for the band in general o for the members in particular.

Here in the US alot of people had a chance to see ELP on TV " The California Jam". Obviously Emo wasn't " playing the piano" because when a piano is upside down the hammers can't hit the strings silly. It was a tape! Still he gets an " E" for effort. BTW - it wasn't an actual American flag but stars and stripes painted on canvas. Emo on Rockline 1981 with Jim Ladd. ELP went and played Royal Albert Hall in 1993. ( Maybe no one expected Rock Stars to be around in 25 years- or was it merely forgotten?? King Crimson had tried recording " Lucky Man". Isnt it odd that ELP are known on radio for acoustic songs Lucky Man and From the Beginning???? Thanx JCM PS- Carl Palmer is going on the road soon

oh ya mean YES II???? good stuff

Excellent job as always, JCM! About a month ago, I discussed the early days of ELP in two programs on my new channel as well. Between the two of us, I think we covered most of this history, with very little overlap. Part 1: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/icdza9CfuJrKiJs.html Part 2: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p82VpdyirtK2d2g.html

I just can’t get into ELP. I like a couple of songs but not many. Still like hearing about them though

only in this moment i've took the double meaning from The Nice to The Knife ot Genesis Song. lol

To me they were second to the Beatles. I saw ELP twice in Atlanta.

i definitely likes elp.

ELP 👍

Palmer doing Gershatzer with AR.

Could be

Top 5 bands of yours not counting Zep or ELP?

WHY? The video color effects throughout brought back sad memories of the horror-show that was the ELP concert film "Rock and Roll Your Eyes." A perfectly good early show that was completely ruined... destroyed by terrible colour comic book video effects. The director, I think his name was Ferguson was trying to be Kubrick on a budget. It was like taking bad acid and doing a psychedelic four-colour Mona Lisa neon paint by numbers kit with the numbers mixed up. Roll your Eyes Indeed! Remember reading it was re-released as "Pictures at an Exhibition"? on DVD. Somewhere in storage I have a stack of folded one-sheet posters in different colours from that film. Shown as a midnight movie in the mid-70s...

Tank was influenced by Channel 1 Suite by Buddy Rich from 1968. It also contains what many drummers at the time considered a couple of the best drum solos ever. A big influence on Carl I think. Very Tank here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iahjoKxn0bPUpas.htmlsi=57B-fGBoHEADVtFP&t=28

I just discovered mahavishnu orchestra...you must listen. Im no longer the same there are no wrong notes.

17:59 The urban legend that they played with or talked about putting a band together with Hendrix is not true. Emerson & Lake, of course, did not particularly dispel or dispute that legend.

This is purely subjective and not meant to be nit-picky; But to my ears Lucky Man is in D major, not G major. Yes, the first chord you hear is G, but the pattern is IV V I in the verse; and then V minor (A minor) II minor (E minor) I (D major) in the chorus.

Hot take, but I think Atomic Rooster's debut is just as good as ELP's. I at least listen to it more these days.

I loved ELP but personally I think Lucky Man is bland.

Please,please,PLEASE watch the pronounciation. "Plymouth" is a famous place.

have you read Gospel of Jesus Christ with the hope of joining keith and greg in Heaven and hopefully not in the near future carl. a life long fan of elp since 1970

Carl palmer was better than neil peart.

ELP SUCKED,,,AND ALWAYS SUCKED !!!!!