Emerson, Lake & Palmer

In the tradition of Cream and Humble Pie before them, Emerson, Lake & Palmer stand as the first supergroup of the progressive era, combining the talents of The Nice's keyboard player Keith Emerson, King Crimson vocalist and bassist Greg Lake and Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer. Emerson and Lake first pitched the supergroup idea to each other in late 1969 at the Fillmore in San Francisco-the latter ostensibly interested because it would offer an outlet for his guitar-playing (something he'd never manage to pull off with Robert Fripp in King Crimson), and Palmer finally succumbed to his cajoling. The group's high-profile performance at the Isle of Wight Festival in August 1970 led to a signing with Atlantic Records. Thus situated, the band, with Lake producing and Eddie Offord engineering, got down to the business of being super. Much like The Nice, their brand of prog rock was based on virtuosity and appropriation. They lifted themes from composers such as Bartók and Janá?ek, in particular the opening "The Barbarian" and the second side's "Three Fates." Of course, Emerson's command of the Hammond organ is nothing short of superb; just listen to how he draws out the incredible tones on the menacing "Knife-Edge." "Tank" serves as a showcase for Palmer's considerable drum talents, with the track growing to mammoth proportions when performed live. Lake's "Take a Pebble" demonstrates his contribution to the Crimson puzzle and the gentler side of ELP. His "Lucky Man" was aptly named; the single charted in the US, reaching No. 48, despite Emerson's whooping Moog solo, one of the first (and most incredulous) in a rock context. Despite the blatant showing-off, success seemed to be in the band's cards from the start. The album rose to No. 4 in the UK, while reaching No. 18 in the US.