Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Singles, the Trio’s First-Ever 7-inch 45s Box Set, Is Coming Via BMG on August 26

Still... they turn us on. Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s first-ever singles box set, a deluxe collection featuring an even-dozen remastered 7-inch 45s culled from UK and international pressings and sporting rare, original picture sleeves and label artwork, is heading our way via BMG on August 26.

Simply titled Singles, this box set also contains a booklet with detailed liner notes, a foreword from ELP drummer Carl Palmer (the trio’s only surviving bandmember), rare band photos, and 12x7-inch companion art cards inspired by the original singles sleeves.

0714apnews.elpsinglescover2.jpg

Released in conjunction with celebrating ELP’s 50th anniversary, all tracks on the 1971-92 career-spanning Singles collection have been remastered by ELP mastering engineer Andy Pearce. As Carl Palmer rightly observes in the liners, “This box set of singles is very important to the development of ELP. The music that you will hear opened the door to radio around the world, and then the musical concept of ELP was born.”

Indeed, Singles, which retails for $109.99, covers the other side of the ELP coin, so to speak, for a band that became a deeply ingrained FM radio favorite for their classical-meets-progressive extended workouts as much as, if not certainly more so, the shorter songs that crossed them over into the mainstream. The three singles that instantly come to mind to illustrate the latter concept are “Lucky Man,” “From the Beginning,” and “Fanfare for the Common Man,” the latter of which hit No.2 on the UK Singles charts. Interestingly, “Still... You Turn Me On” was released only a B-side, even if we tend to think otherwise, given the cross-format airplay that song has received over the years.

0714apnews.elpsinglesbackcover2.png

It’s also telling that each member of ELP had their own personal history and relationship with the world of 45s prior to the formation of what many consider to be progressive rock’s first supergroup. With The Nice, keyboardist Keith Emerson’s fiery Hammond organ was featured quite prominently on several singles, most notably on their 1968 cover of Leonard Bernstein’s “America.” Bassist/guitarist/vocalist Greg Lake harbored his own aspirations of stardom by covering Janis Ian’s “Too Old to Go ‘Way Little Girl” with The Shame in 1967, and went for it again in 1968 with The Shy Limbs on “Reputation.” Meanwhile, drummer Carl Palmer’s first band, Craig, had a 1966 shot at the charts with “I Must Be Mad.”

As someone who has all of ELP’s LPs in various original and reissued editions yet not one single 45 of theirs, I’m all-in for getting my hands on their Singles box set. What say you? Chime in with your own fanfare in the Comments section below.

Music Direct Buy It Now

0714apnews.elpsinglescover2.jpg

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER: SINGLES
(BMG)

Single One
A. Lucky Man
B. Knife Edge​

Single Two​
A. Stones Of Years
B. A Time And A Place​

Single Three​
A. From The Beginning
B. Living Sin​

Single Four​
A. Jerusalem
B. When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine ​

Single Five​
A. Fanfare For The Common Man
B. Brain Salad Surgery​

Single Six
A. C’est La Vie
B. Hallowed Be Thy Name​

Single Seven
A. Brain Salad Surgery
B. Still... You Turn Me On​

Single Eight​
A. Tiger In A Spotlight
B. So Far To Fall​

Single Nine
A1. I Believe In Father Christmas
A2.Jerusalem
B. When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine​

Single Ten​
A. Canario
B. All I Want Is You​

Single Eleven
A. Black Moon
B. Black Moon (Album Version)

Single Twelve
A. Affairs Of The Heart
B. Better Days

X