ELP back with album and tour

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER bounce back into the reckoning next month, after a two-year lay-off from group activity. The new double album is released on March 11 and they are now in the process of lining up an extensive concert tour accompanied by a full orchestra, beginning in the late spring. The new album titled “Works” takes them even further along the road away from basic rock. It features a solo side by each member of the trio, with the fourth and final side bringing the ELP group together again. The set consists of:

• Side One. Keith Emerson playing Steinway piano with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, performing his Piano concerto in three movements.

• Side Two. Greg Lake singing five numbers, accompanied by an orchestra and choir conducted by Godfrey Salmon.

• Side Three. Carl Palmer with six pieces, two of which are by Bach and Prokofiev. He is backed mainly by strings, though Emerson is featured on one track.

• Side Four. ELP perform two tracks supported by the Paris Opera Orchestra. The first is Aaron Copeland’s “Fanfare For The Common Man”, and the second the self-penned “Pirates”.

No details of ELP’s tour have yet been confirmed, although it is expected to take in several overseas territories before coming to Britain later in the year. But with a full orchestra accompanying them on the road, obviously they will be playing only selected concerts in the biggest venues.