EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER

Emerson, Lake & Palmer ROCKET 88

Welcome back, my friends, to their story in their own words.

Having conquered the world several times over while generating levels of wealth that a small nation would envy, in 1978 ELP, or Fingers, Spud and Porky Pig, as they nicknamed each other, were burnt out, tired and frustrated. Losing their creative compass, they floundered at Love Beach.

That cruel-but-fair assessment comes not from venomous critics but their own lips, an example of the candour and bluntness within this 272-page book, whose quarter of a million words are culled from decades of interviews, two autobiographies and previously unpublished material.

Lavishly illustrated throughout, it’s sobering to remember that as they posed for Love Beach thinking it was all over, they were just 38, 31 and 28 years-old. While clearly celebratory in nature, the book documents both the hidden pressures of instant fame and its outward trappings coupled with the obvious affection and no small amount of pride at their individual and collective achievements across a dizzying career.

Covering their formation to 2010’s last hurrah at the High Voltage festival, Emerson, Lake & Palmer is packed with vivid reminders of their triumphs, excesses, setbacks and successes.