5. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Works Volume 1
AtlanticThose who only know ELP from their mellow radio hits (like Lucky Man and From the Beginning) are probably wondering why a band most-often compared to Yes and Jethro Tull would be included on such a list. But ELPs early albums, while still loaded with the usual self-indulgence associated with progressive rock, were often just as loud and heavy as Deep Purples. Sonically, the only real difference between Brain Salad Surgery and Machine Head was that the former mostly relied on keyboardist Keith Emerson to make everyones ears bleed. At the time, ELP were huge, even headlining over Black Sabbath and Deep Purple at the 1974 California Jam, one of the biggest music festivals of the 70s. After 1973s Brain Salad Surgery - their most popular (and heaviest) album - ELP disappeared for four years while its individual members indulged their egos with various solo projects. When they finally decided to pull their heads from the sand in 1977, a lot had changed. Punk rock reared its ugly head, disco ruled the airwaves, bands like Deep Purple were in their death throes and Pink Floyd had taken over as the face of progressive rock. In terms of remaining musically and culturally relevant, Works Volume 1 was the worst possible album they could have made at the time. First of all, it was an ELP record in name only, released as a double album, with each band member given complete control of an LP side in order to showcase their individual talent. Only side four featured the three of them actually playing together (including Fanfare For The Common Man, the last enduring track theyd ever record). Worst yet, almost none of it could be even loosely defined as rock; Emersons side was piano-based classical music, Lakes consisted of syrupy acoustic ballads, while Palmerwell, theres a reason drummers are seldom a bands primary songwriter. None of this music would have found an audience without ELPs name attached to it. Works Volume I reeked of a cynical cash-grab by a band whose members no longer had any creative use for each other, yet still depended on the value of their brand name.