Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Take Us Back To The Seventies  

Album – Works Live 

Release Date- 24^th July 

Review by Linda McDermott  

More than four decades after it was first recorded, Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Works Live returns in a newly remastered edition courtesy of BMG, released on 24th July. Featuring refreshed liner notes and updated packaging, the album is available as a standalone release for the first time in over 30 years, giving both long time fans and newcomers the opportunity to revisit one of the band’s most ambitious live recordings. 

Originally released in 1979 under the title In Concert, the album captured ELP during their 1977 North American tour, a period that saw the progressive rock pioneers taking to the stage alongside a full orchestra. Recorded primarily at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, the performances showcase the trio delivering classics including Fanfare for the Common Man, Knife Edge, Pictures at an Exhibition and Peter Gunn. 

Following the band’s split, the original release was condensed into a single LP, but 1993’s expanded Works Live restored much of the material initially intended for the project. This latest edition revisits that expanded format, offering what many will consider the definitive version of an important chapter in the band’s history. 

Keith Emerson- piano, keyboards, instruments 

Greg Lake – bass guitar, vocals, guitar, instruments 

Carl Palmer – drums, percussion  

Formed in 1970, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer helped shape the progressive rock landscape, combining classical influences with technical musicianship and larger than life live performances. Selling more than 40 million albums worldwide, their influence can still be heard throughout the genre today. 

The Works period remains one of the most fascinating moments in the band’s career. Their decision to tour with a full orchestra was as bold as it was costly, becoming both a creative success and a financial burden. Thankfully, Works Live captures that moment in time, preserving the grandeur, technical brilliance, and energy that made Emerson, Lake & Palmer such a formidable live act. 

With renewed interest in the band’s legacy, and Carl Palmer continuing to celebrate ELP’s music with his live shows, the timing of this reissue feels particularly fitting. So, does Works Live still hold up nearly 50 years after it was recorded? I sat down with the newly remastered edition to find out. 

I can honestly say that I never really liked live albums when I was growing up. I always thought, why wouldn’t a band go into a studio and record the best version possible? Over the years, though, I’ve completely changed my mind. A live album doesn’t just showcase a band’s musicianship, it captures the atmosphere of the moment, painting a vivid picture in your mind. You can almost feel the energy of the crowd and the emotion that only a live performance can evoke. 

Works Live encapsulates that nostalgic feeling for those who were there, while also introducing a new generation to Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s unique sound. From the opening notes of “Fanfare for the Common Man,” you’re transported back to the late seventies and invited to immerse yourself in an era when progressive rock was at its most ambitious. 

The variety of tracks on offer highlights just how talented ELP were. There are love ballads such as C’est La Vie, with its delicate acoustic arrangement that never feels rushed. It’s easy to imagine it playing in a French café, accompanying a dramatic dance scene, or serving as the lament in a tragic opera. Watching Over You is equally beautiful, a gentle lullaby that must have the audience mesmerised. 

Elsewhere, there are instrumentals that feel as though they’ve stepped straight out of the soundtrack to a silent comedy, while tracks such as Peter Gunn and Tiger in a Spotlight inject a welcome dose of jazzy rock into the mix. The beauty of Works Live is that it never allows you to settle into one expectation. Just when you think you know where the album is heading, it changes direction entirely. 

Can you imagine what it must have been like to stand in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in 1977? It must have been a mind-blowing experience as Emerson, Lake & Palmer threw everything they had at the audience. From laid-back ballads and classical influences on jazz-infused rock, this is an eclectic collection of songs that remains well worth revisiting and exploring.  

Thanks to this reissue, Works Live has every opportunity to return to the forefront of the musical conversation, capturing the scale, ambition, and musicianship that made Emerson, Lake & Palmer one of progressive rock’s defining acts.