EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER: ON TRACK…

Informative track-by-track account of the trio’s complete works.

ELP have basically admitted that they never again reached the heights of 1973’s Brain Salad Surgery and while Goode writes in a lively and enthusiastic style throughout, he clearly relishes chronicling the group’s classic period, while keeping a cool critical head when assessing later albums such as Love Beach and Black Moon. He also highlights ELP’s widening creative differences and their attempts to preserve their identity when under pressure to modernise their sound. With no original interview material, while it’s thoroughly researched, it’s unfortunate that sources of the many quotes used to tell the story are

uncredited (a production hiccup?). It’s no easy task writing about every single song and the entry on Jeremy Bender from Tarkus is padded out with comments on the un-PC 70s, with the author defending ELP against potential accusations of homophobia. But although “Bender” is a slang term for a male homosexual, it’s also a legitimate surname and while Greg Lake’s playful lyrics appear to reference cross-dressing, the song’s titular character isn’t gay and this writer can’t discern any anti-gay sentiments. Goode writes, “Of course, we can over analyse these things – and do!” Writers do, indeed – and unravelling it can also be half the fun.