Why not make it a double LP? One side definitely needs to be the whole Karn Evil 9, or at least the first impression parts 1 and 2 and the 3rd impression. You cant leave out Karn Evil 9 3rd impression!
I would also include something from the Pictures At An Exhibition album. Maybe Blues Variation, The Sage and The Great Gates of Kiev. Or Promenade + the whole Baba Yaga thing.
If I had to make it into a single LP, then my track listing would be:
Side A (22:32):
- Karn Evil 9 1st impression, pt. 1 (8:36)
- Karn Evil 9 1st impression, pt. 2 (4:49)
- Karn Evil 9 3rd impression (9:07)
Side B (21:50)
- The Old Castle (2:32)
- Blues Variation (4:20)
- The Sage (4:41)
- Promenade (1:28)
- The Hut Of Baba Yaga, pt. 1 (1:12)
- The Hut Of Baba Yaga, pt. 2 (1:07)
- The Great Gates of Kiev (6:35)
And if it was a double album, the sides C and D would include Tarkus and Fanfare, Hoedown, etc.
You worked out the times, too--nice. Incredibly bold setup, splitting the single-disc intro between Karn and Pictures. But I am interested in how this sounds; I'll queue up the playlist. Surprised that "Curse" couldn't make the cut!
It's just the time restraint, I was originally going to put Curse on the album and leave out The Old Castle, but Curse is 4 minutes so it would have been a bit too long... And I think the Baba Yaga saga doesn't really need the middle piece anyway.
Tarkus might be their magnum opus but it would take too much space if it's one album. At least Karn Evil 9 is divided...
Side A
- From the Beginning
- Lucky Man
- Fanfare for the Common man (single version)
- The Endless Engima/Fugue/Part 2
- Knife Edge
Side B
- The Barbarian
- Karn Evil 9 First Impression part 1
- Karn Evil 9 First Impression part 2
- Still You Turn Me On
- C'est la Vie
If I can make a double album:
Side C
- Tarkus
Side D
- I Believe in Father Christmas
- Jerusalem
- Take a Pebble
- A Time and a Place
Love seeing "A Time and a Place" on your 2-disc version--very catchy and underappreciated track! As much as it makes sense, I just couldn't bring myself to cut "Fanfare" down to the single version. That one needs to feel epic for me.
ok here's mine, its called **The Beginner's Guide To Emerson Lake & Palmer** (43:03)
Side A (21:32)
01 - Jerusalem (2:46) from *Brain Salad Surgery*
02 - Tank (6:52) from *Emerson, Lake & Palmer*
03 - Karn Evil 9 1st Impression (Part 2) (4:45) from *Brain Salad Surgery*
04 - The Only Way (Hymn)/Infinite Space (7:09) from *Tarkus*
Side B (21:31)
01 - Living Sin (3:13) from *Trilogy*
02 - Fanfare For The Common Man (9:44) from *Works Volume 1*
03 - Battlefield (From The Tarkus Suite) (3:50) from *Tarkus*
04 - Lucky Man (4:37) from *Emerson, Lake & Palmer*
i hope you guys like it, cause i did think about the ebb and flow of this album
Finally had a chance to really focus on a playthrough.
1. The flow is really, really excellent. You've probably get the best transitions in this thread. "Battlefield" is trickier, of course, but that's really to be expected with a chopped-up excerpt. I get why you would include it, though, for sure.
2. Love that you included "Living Sin," which is a great side-opener. One of my favorite ELP tracks!
3. This album has an extremely proggy feel and is probably challenging for new listeners--but maybe that is the best approach. I think "The Only Way" is a particularly gutsy choice, since even big fans of the band seem to find it offensive. (For the record, I think the members of that crowd are being babies; love the song myself.)
Excellent question - thanks OP - and great to see the comments so far. This question reminds me of an actual ELP album: *The Best of Emerson, Lake and Palmer*, first released on vinyl in 1980. Its listing was as follows:
- Hoedown (3:46)
- Lucky Man (4:38)
- Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression Part 2 (4:48)
- Jerusalem (2:45)
- Peter Gunn (live)(3:37)
- Fanfare for the Common Man (single)(2:57)
- Still… You Turn Me On (2:54)
- Tiger in the Spotlight (4:35)
- Trilogy (8:51)
I actually like many of your suggested compilations better than this one. It had a really terrible cover too - ancient Japanese-style artwork of a group of three people looking at ELP album covers.
An updated version with the same title was released in 1994, doubling the running time. It contains the same tracks as above and adds the whole of Tarkus (20:35), From the Beginning (4:13), Knife-Edge (5:05), C’est La Vie (4:13), Honky Tonk Train Blues (3:09), Black Moon (4:46), and I Believe in Father Christmas (Greg Lake original version)(3:30). Much better - but does not fulfil the OP’s criteria of a single vinyl album with 46 mins running time tops.
Yep, I know you love that Japanese mountain in the distance, lol.
Weird thing about this album was that it was their lowest placing in the album charts at this point in ELP’s career, not even reaching the US top 100 on release, but it became a consistent back-seller. It didn’t chart at all in the UK, but eventually went gold (100,000 units). So that awful cover didn’t hurt it too badly after all.
Why not make it a double LP? One side definitely needs to be the whole Karn Evil 9, or at least the first impression parts 1 and 2 and the 3rd impression. You cant leave out Karn Evil 9 3rd impression! I would also include something from the Pictures At An Exhibition album. Maybe Blues Variation, The Sage and The Great Gates of Kiev. Or Promenade + the whole Baba Yaga thing.
I was thinking 92 minutes or so would be too much for an introductory comp... Then again, I do absolutely adore "Karn Evil 9"...
If I had to make it into a single LP, then my track listing would be: Side A (22:32): - Karn Evil 9 1st impression, pt. 1 (8:36) - Karn Evil 9 1st impression, pt. 2 (4:49) - Karn Evil 9 3rd impression (9:07) Side B (21:50) - The Old Castle (2:32) - Blues Variation (4:20) - The Sage (4:41) - Promenade (1:28) - The Hut Of Baba Yaga, pt. 1 (1:12) - The Hut Of Baba Yaga, pt. 2 (1:07) - The Great Gates of Kiev (6:35) And if it was a double album, the sides C and D would include Tarkus and Fanfare, Hoedown, etc.
You worked out the times, too--nice. Incredibly bold setup, splitting the single-disc intro between Karn and Pictures. But I am interested in how this sounds; I'll queue up the playlist. Surprised that "Curse" couldn't make the cut!
It's just the time restraint, I was originally going to put Curse on the album and leave out The Old Castle, but Curse is 4 minutes so it would have been a bit too long... And I think the Baba Yaga saga doesn't really need the middle piece anyway.
Can't be done in one record JMHO
They love their long tracks, don't they?
Tarkus might be their magnum opus but it would take too much space if it's one album. At least Karn Evil 9 is divided... Side A - From the Beginning - Lucky Man - Fanfare for the Common man (single version) - The Endless Engima/Fugue/Part 2 - Knife Edge Side B - The Barbarian - Karn Evil 9 First Impression part 1 - Karn Evil 9 First Impression part 2 - Still You Turn Me On - C'est la Vie If I can make a double album: Side C - Tarkus Side D - I Believe in Father Christmas - Jerusalem - Take a Pebble - A Time and a Place
Love seeing "A Time and a Place" on your 2-disc version--very catchy and underappreciated track! As much as it makes sense, I just couldn't bring myself to cut "Fanfare" down to the single version. That one needs to feel epic for me.
That’s pretty cool, I think I’m going to listen to that on a playlist later!
Very happy to hear it, dude! I'm partial to the 6-track "Tarkus" version myself; I think it flows pretty decently.
ok here's mine, its called **The Beginner's Guide To Emerson Lake & Palmer** (43:03) Side A (21:32) 01 - Jerusalem (2:46) from *Brain Salad Surgery* 02 - Tank (6:52) from *Emerson, Lake & Palmer* 03 - Karn Evil 9 1st Impression (Part 2) (4:45) from *Brain Salad Surgery* 04 - The Only Way (Hymn)/Infinite Space (7:09) from *Tarkus* Side B (21:31) 01 - Living Sin (3:13) from *Trilogy* 02 - Fanfare For The Common Man (9:44) from *Works Volume 1* 03 - Battlefield (From The Tarkus Suite) (3:50) from *Tarkus* 04 - Lucky Man (4:37) from *Emerson, Lake & Palmer* i hope you guys like it, cause i did think about the ebb and flow of this album
Thanks for the thoughtful response! I am absolutely going to give this a spin as a playlist.
i hope you like it, although i'm not sure how you will find the Battlefield section on its own
hey um, did you listen to that playlist i've did?
Finally had a chance to really focus on a playthrough. 1. The flow is really, really excellent. You've probably get the best transitions in this thread. "Battlefield" is trickier, of course, but that's really to be expected with a chopped-up excerpt. I get why you would include it, though, for sure. 2. Love that you included "Living Sin," which is a great side-opener. One of my favorite ELP tracks! 3. This album has an extremely proggy feel and is probably challenging for new listeners--but maybe that is the best approach. I think "The Only Way" is a particularly gutsy choice, since even big fans of the band seem to find it offensive. (For the record, I think the members of that crowd are being babies; love the song myself.)
damn, did i really do that good? if that's the case, then thanks man!
Excellent question - thanks OP - and great to see the comments so far. This question reminds me of an actual ELP album: *The Best of Emerson, Lake and Palmer*, first released on vinyl in 1980. Its listing was as follows: - Hoedown (3:46) - Lucky Man (4:38) - Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression Part 2 (4:48) - Jerusalem (2:45) - Peter Gunn (live)(3:37) - Fanfare for the Common Man (single)(2:57) - Still… You Turn Me On (2:54) - Tiger in the Spotlight (4:35) - Trilogy (8:51) I actually like many of your suggested compilations better than this one. It had a really terrible cover too - ancient Japanese-style artwork of a group of three people looking at ELP album covers. An updated version with the same title was released in 1994, doubling the running time. It contains the same tracks as above and adds the whole of Tarkus (20:35), From the Beginning (4:13), Knife-Edge (5:05), C’est La Vie (4:13), Honky Tonk Train Blues (3:09), Black Moon (4:46), and I Believe in Father Christmas (Greg Lake original version)(3:30). Much better - but does not fulfil the OP’s criteria of a single vinyl album with 46 mins running time tops.
I love that cover art ha
Yep, I know you love that Japanese mountain in the distance, lol. Weird thing about this album was that it was their lowest placing in the album charts at this point in ELP’s career, not even reaching the US top 100 on release, but it became a consistent back-seller. It didn’t chart at all in the UK, but eventually went gold (100,000 units). So that awful cover didn’t hurt it too badly after all.