Works Volume 2
| Works Volume 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | ||||
| Released | 1 November 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1973-76 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, symphonic rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 43:54 | |||
| Label |
Atlantic Shout! Factory | |||
| Producer | Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, Peter Sinfield | |||
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Works Volume II |
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Works Volume 2 is the sixth studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1977.[1][2] Unlike Works Volume 1 (which consisted of three solo sides and one ensemble side), Works Volume 2 was a single album which seemingly was a compilation of leftover tracks from other album sessions that had not made those albums. While many derided the album for its apparent lack of focus, others felt that it showed a different side of the band, with blues, bluegrass and jazz being very prominent as musical genres in this recording.
Songs
"When the Apple Blossoms Bloom...", "Tiger in a Spotlight" and "Brain Salad Surgery" had been recorded at the 1973 sessions for the album Brain Salad Surgery but did not appear on it. Emerson's cover of "Honky Tonk Train Blues" had been released as a single in 1976, reaching #21 in the UK pop charts.[3]
Volume 2 also included a stripped-down version of Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas". An orchestral version of the song had previously been released as a solo Lake single in the UK in 1975 and became something of an annual Christmas standard there.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[5] |
| Classic Rock | [6] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable)[7] |
In a contemporary review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice facetiously remarked that it is "news" when "the world's most overweening 'progressive' group" makes an album "less pretentious than its title", but questioned whether it is "rock and roll".[5] In a retrospective review, Allmusic's David Ross Smith felt that it was "highly underrated" and wrote that the album's "brief pieces sustain interest; there really isn't a weak tune in the set."[4]
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Tiger in a Spotlight" | Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, Peter Sinfield | 4:02 |
| 2. | "When the Apple Blossoms Bloom in the Windmills of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine" | Emerson, Lake, Palmer | 3:56 |
| 3. | "Bullfrog" | Ron Aspery, Mick Hodgkinson, Palmer | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Brain Salad Surgery" | Emerson, Lake, Sinfield | 3:05 |
| 5. | "Barrelhouse Shake-Down" | Emerson | 3:55 |
| 6. | "Watching Over You" | Lake, Sinfield | 3:54 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "So Far to Fall" | Emerson, Lake, Sinfield | 4:55 |
| 2. | "Maple Leaf Rag" | Scott Joplin, arr. Emerson | 2:00 |
| 3. | "I Believe in Father Christmas" | Lake, Sinfield | 3:20 |
| 4. | "Close But Not Touching" | Palmer | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Honky Tonk Train Blues" | Meade "Lux" Lewis, arr. Emerson | 2:57 |
| 6. | "Show Me the Way to Go Home" | James Campbell, Reginald Connelly | 3:40 |
Bonus Tracks
- "Maple Leaf Rag (Single cut)" - 1:15
Singles
- "Watching Over You/Hallowed Be Thy Name" (UK release)
- "Tiger in a Spotlight/So Far to Fall" (German release)
Personnel
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Keith Emerson - keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizers, accordion
- Greg Lake - vocals, guitars, bass guitar
- Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
Guest musicians
- Ron Aspery - saxophone on "Bullfrog" (uncredited)
- Colin Hodgkinson - bass guitar on "Bullfrog" (uncredited)
References
- ↑ "Backstage Confessions". Beaver County (Pa.) Times. 1977-10-17. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer will release a new album, "Works, Volcume Two," on Nov. 1
- ↑ Palmer, Carl. "Discography". Carl Palmer Official Global Web Site. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ The Official UK Charts Company: Honky Tonk Train Blues
- 1 2 Smith, David Ross. "Works, Vol. 2 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- 1 2 Christgau, Robert (30 January 1978). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ↑ Fielder, Hugh (February 2005). "Eight by Three". Classic Rock 76. London, UK: Future Publishing Ltd. p. 104.
- ↑ Bloom, Michael (23 February 1978). "Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Works, Vol. 2 : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2012.