For those unaware, a genuine Supergroup takes hold with an extraordinary blend of Vision, Verve, and Virtuosity when Emerson, Lake & Palmer lays the foundations of Progressive Rock here on their self-titled album.

Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 33RPM LP brings to light the 1970 album’s epic scope, tonal depth, and precision details quite like never before [1/4” / 15 IPS analog copy to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe].

Supergroups existed before Emerson, Lake & Palmer formed in 1970. And, as we all know well, many came after. But few, if any, matched the English trio’s chemistry and its elevated combination of virtuosity, vision, and verve. Having influenced a multitude of followers, ELP’s prowess was obvious from the start. The band’s self-titled debut stands as a towering statement of creative imagination, execution, and discipline more than five decades after its original release.

Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 33RPM LP of Emerson, Lake & Palmer presents the benchmark album in audiophile sound. Clear, dynamic, and balanced, this collectible edition honors the perfectionist approaches that both informed the playing and recording of the record.

Distinguished with black backgrounds, this reissue brings to light the epic scope, tonal depth, and mind-bending degrees of musicianship on display. Aspects — textures, nuances, effects, melodies, tempo changes — that go hand-in-hand with the trio’s compositions and interplay are rendered amid broad soundstages and delivered with pinpoint detail. Whether you’ve owned multiple copies of this touchstone or seeking out your first version, you’ll relish the presence, separation, imaging, and crispness that help make every song come across as if the group has set up shop in your listening space.

Opening the door to the seemingly infinite possibilities of progressive rock while steering clear of excess, Emerson, Lake & Palmer achieved a rare feat in that its complex, cerebral music didn’t prevent it from attaining mainstream success. The gold-certified effort launched the career of a band that would sell tens of millions of records. It also landed a Top 50 single in the form of the ballad “Lucky Man,” whose vocal harmonies, folksy strumming, multi-tracked instrumentation, and breakthrough Moog solo almost feel quaint in the face of the other fare on the album.

Side One:
1. The Barbarian
2. Take a Pebble
3. Knife-Edge

Side Two:
4. The Three Fates a. Clotho b. Lachesis c. Atropos
5. Tank
6. Lucky Man

On what is a rather stunning, if not at times wildly uneven debut from what would become a long-line of supergroups in the world of progressive music, despite its obvious flaws (to us super fans and audiophiles, in general) it opened a door in what was previously a brick wall. Combining elements of blues, jazz, classical and rock, these guys could turn on a dime. Often during the same song.

This album utilizes and condenses a lot of their stage show and was obviously produced in a rush to not only get their name out there, but to fund their soon to be extravagant equipment and tours. Indeed, Emerson borrowed freely from the classics in the Nice and does so here as well. The songs however are a bit padded with a lot of improvisation, some of which works and some that ... well, let’s say don’t at the same high level.

Sound wise there was nothing like it at the time because these guys set out blazing their own trail from the get-go. While tracks like the keyboard heavy track The Barbarian and Knife-Edge (probably the heaviest song on the album and is Emerson’s take on a piece of music from Janacek’s “Sinfonietta”) established what would quickly become the identifiable ELP sound, the standout track here is the sublime Take A Pebble (a 12+ minute epic that takes us on a ride from the main jazz/prog theme to an acoustic piece provided by Greg Lake). Obviously, a patch-work piece, they’ve cobbled it into something otherworldly here. One of their best compositions with essential contributions by all three members.

The Three Fates starts in a contrasting manner to anything else on the album; with heavier section middled by a slower one and the noodling goes on (some might say a fully formed song doesn’t ever emerge, but no one can question the versatility of the instruments at play here). Whereas The Tank is another instrumental also showcasing some drum skills, the album closing on Lucky Man, which has a Moog solo at the end.

Of course, this last-minute addition of Lucky Man would become ELP’s Nights In White Satin, with an aforementioned brilliant, impromptu first take at the end on Emerson’s new out-of-the-box Moog synthesizer that would become one of the most famous synth riffs of all time. A diamond in the rough. It’s a classic of progressive rock, and in 1970 pointed the way for a heck of a ride for the next four years. Considering where their contemporaries were at this point and this album shines even brighter.

Indeed, everything on Emerson, Lake & Palmer is there for a purpose. Whether you aim to attempt to dissect all of the notes, shifts, and polyrhythmic bluster or just want to absorb this album as one living, breathing organism, this version invites you to do both as many times as you desire.

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