Greg Lake (1947-2016). In a year where we’ve already had more than our fair share of loss, add another one to an already staggering list for 2016. As a member of the ground-breaking King Crimson, quickly followed by one of the quintessential exponents of Prog, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Greg Lake was at the forefront of a pioneering group of musicians, part of a genre to be known as Progressive Rock. He helped lay the groundwork for a movement that revolutionized Pop Music; took it out of its bare-bones simplicity and transformed it into a hybrid of experimentation and musical adventure; a genre which set into motion and influenced artists and bands for generations to come.
From King Crimson’s cerebral intensity to ELP’s theatrical dynamic, Lake was an essential element in both; adding the crucial element of heart and soul into the mix.
After Lake’s departure from King Crimson in 1970, a collaboration which gave the musical world two of its milestone accomplishments; In The Court Of The Crimson King and In The Wake Of Poseidon, two albums which have often been considered blueprints for the Prog movement, Greg lake co-founded the landmark Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
As ELP, Greg Lake became synonymous with a band which took the basic experimental premise of Prog and carried it to new uncharted heights and to a vast crossover audience. Emerson, Lake and Palmer became an enormous success and one of the most recognizable bands of the 1970s.
This concert, from their 1974 tour, features the band in what became their familiar setting – the Arena, the overflowing stadium. Shortly after the release of Brain Salad Surgery in November of 1973, their first release from their own label Manticore, Brain Salad Surgery continued a remarkable string of successes, which began with their self-titled 1970 debut.
As a reminder and a tribute to one of the pivotal figures in Pop music, here is that Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert – recorded at The Anaheim Convention Center in southern California on February 2, 1974.
RIP: Greg Lake – the music world was never the same after you arrived. The music world won’t be the same now that you’ve left.
