The Return of the Manticore
Encyclopedia
The Return of the Manticore is a 4-disc retrospective on the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer
's career. It was released in 1993 and features several new recordings of previously released songs, most notably a studio recording of "Pictures at an Exhibition," presented in Dolby Surround Sound
. Also, a live recording of Dave Brubeck
's Rondo features on disc 2; the track, although performed by ELP in concert from the band's inception (as it had been by Keith Emerson
's previous band The Nice
), was previously unreleased on any live or studio album by ELP.
The box set is a fairly comprehensive cross-section of the band's history, offering tracks from all of ELP's studio and live albums (at the time of release), as well as new ELP renditions of hits previously recorded by bands they were members of prior to forming ELP.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
's career. It was released in 1993 and features several new recordings of previously released songs, most notably a studio recording of "Pictures at an Exhibition," presented in Dolby Surround Sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
. Also, a live recording of Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
's Rondo features on disc 2; the track, although performed by ELP in concert from the band's inception (as it had been by Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
's previous band The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
), was previously unreleased on any live or studio album by ELP.
The box set is a fairly comprehensive cross-section of the band's history, offering tracks from all of ELP's studio and live albums (at the time of release), as well as new ELP renditions of hits previously recorded by bands they were members of prior to forming ELP.
Disc one
- "Touch and Go" (EmersonKeith EmersonKeith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
/LakeGreg LakeGregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
) (new recording, originally recorded by Emerson Lake and Powell) – 3:01 - "Hang on to a DreamHow Can We Hang On to a Dream?How Can We Hang On to a Dream? is a song composed and recorded by Tim Hardin.A cover version with a choral arrangement by Duncan Browne was recorded by The Nice, as "Hang On to a Dream," on their third album, Nice and Nazareth on Snakes 'N' Ladders . A closer cover version was performed by...
" (Tim HardinTim HardinJames Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...
) (new recording, originally recorded by The NiceThe NiceThe Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
(Keith Emerson's band prior to ELP)) – 4:27 - "21st Century Schizoid Man21st Century Schizoid Man"21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by progressive rock band King Crimson from their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King.-Personnel:* Greg Lake – Vocals, bass guitar* Ian McDonald – saxophone* Robert Fripp – guitars* Michael Giles – drums...
" (FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
/GilesMichael GilesMichael Giles is an English drummer, best known as a co-founder of King Crimson in 1969...
/Lake/McDonaldIan McDonald (musician)Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
/Sinfield) (new recording, originally recorded by King CrimsonKing CrimsonKing Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
(Greg Lake's band prior to ELP)) – 3:07 - "FireFire (Arthur Brown song)"Fire" is a 1968 song by Arthur Brown, Vincent Crane, Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker. Performed by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, it was released as a single and on the band's debut album, also called The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. The single made #1 in the UK and Canada. In October, it made #2...
" (BrownArthur Brown (musician)Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
/CraneVincent CraneVincent Crane was a self-taught pianist, who studied theory and composition at Trinity College of Music, and graduated in 1964...
/Ker/Finesilver) (new recording, originally recorded by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (Carl PalmerCarl PalmerCarl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...
's band prior to ELP)) – 3:24 - "Pictures at an ExhibitionPictures at an ExhibitionPictures at an Exhibition is a suite in ten movements composed for piano by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.The suite is Mussorgsky's most famous piano composition, and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists...
" (new recording) – 15:33- a) "Promenade" (MussorgskyMussorgskyMussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer...
) – 1:46 - b) "The Gnome" (Mussorgsky/Palmer) – 2:07
- c) "Promenade" (Mussorgsky/Lake) – 1:44
- d) "The Sage" (Lake) – 3:10
- e) "The Hut of Baba Yaga" (Mussorgsky) – 1:16
- f) "The Great Gates of Kiev" (Mussorgsky/Lake) – 5:30
- a) "Promenade" (Mussorgsky
- "I Believe in Father ChristmasI Believe in Father Christmas"I Believe In Father Christmas" is a song by Greg Lake , with lyrics by Peter Sinfield.Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song this was not Lake's intention...
" (Lake/Sinfield) (new recording) – 3:26 - "Introductory Fanfare" (Emerson/Palmer) / "Peter GunnPeter GunnPeter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
" (ManciniHenry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
) (from Emerson, Lake and Palmer in ConcertEmerson, Lake and Palmer in ConcertEmerson, Lake and Palmer In Concert is a live album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer , recorded at the 26 August 1977 show at the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, which is featured on the album cover. It was released by Atlantic Records in November 1979, following ELP's breakup...
) – 4:27 - "Tiger in a Spotlight" (Emerson/Lake/Palmer/Sinfield) (from Works Volume 2) – 4:32
- "ToccataToccata (song)Toccata is the second track from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery. It is an arrangement of the 4th Movement of Alberto Ginastera's Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 28 .The song features heavy use of synthesizers...
" (GinasteraAlberto GinasteraAlberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
, arr. by Emerson/Palmer) (from Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
) – 7:20 - "Trilogy" (Emerson/Lake) (from TrilogyTrilogy (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album)Trilogy is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1972. The front cover depicts Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, while the interior of the original gatefold sleeve features a photomontage showing multiple images of the band in Epping Forest...
) – 8:53 - "TankTank (song)Tank is the penultimate song from the British Progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album. The song was intended to showcase drummer Carl Palmer's unique drumming style...
" (Emerson/Palmer) (from Emerson Lake & Palmer) – 6:47 - "Lucky ManLucky Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer song)"Lucky Man" is a song by the English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, from the group's 1970 self-titled debut album. Written by Greg Lake when he was 12 years old and recorded by the trio using improvised arrangements,...
" (Lake) (from Emerson Lake & Palmer) – 4:37
Disc two
- "TarkusTarkus (song)"Tarkus" is the title track of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's second album. The progressive rock epic clocks in at 20:35. It was the longest studio song by the band until the three impressions of Karn Evil 9 and their concert performances. The name "Tarkus" refers to the armadillo-tank from the William...
" (from TarkusTarkusTarkus is the second album by the British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1971.In 1993 the album was digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio...
) – 20:35- a) "Eruption" (Emerson) – 2:43
- b) "Stones of Years" (Emerson/Lake) – 3:44
- c) "Iconoclast" (Emerson) – 1:15
- d) "Mass" (Emerson/Lake) – 3:11
- e) "Manticore" (Emerson) – 1:52
- f) "Battlefield" (Emerson/Lake) – 3:51
- g) "Aquatarkus" (Emerson) – 3:59
- "From the Beginning" (Lake) (from TrilogyTrilogy (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album)Trilogy is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1972. The front cover depicts Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, while the interior of the original gatefold sleeve features a photomontage showing multiple images of the band in Epping Forest...
) – 4:14 - "Take a PebbleTake a Pebble"Take a Pebble" is a song by the British progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It is the second track of their eponymous debut album. It was written by Greg Lake, and was arranged by the full band.The song starts as a soft ballad.....
[live version]" (from Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends... Ladies and Gentlemen) – 22:48- a) "Take a Pebble [beginning]" (Lake) – 4:58
- b) "Lucky Man" (Lake) – 3:02
- c) "Piano Improvisations" (Emerson) – 11:55
- d) "Take a Pebble [conclusion]" (Lake) – 2:53
- "Knife Edge" (music: JanáčekLeoš JanácekLeoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
arr. Emerson, lyrics: Lake/FraserRichard FraserRichard Fraser was a lyricist for the British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer .He is notable for receiving credit for their 1970 debut album's third track, the hit "Knife Edge" and for his lyrical contributions to Pictures at an Exhibition...
) (from Emerson Lake & Palmer) – 5:05 - "Paper Blood" (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) (from Black Moon) – 4:26
- "Hoedown" (CoplandAaron CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, arr. Emerson, Lake & Palmer) (from TrilogyTrilogy (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album)Trilogy is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1972. The front cover depicts Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, while the interior of the original gatefold sleeve features a photomontage showing multiple images of the band in Epping Forest...
) – 3:43 - "RondoBlue Rondo à la Turk"Blue Rondo à la Turk" is a jazz standard composition by Dave Brubeck. It appeared on the album Time Out in 1959. It is written in 9/8 and swing 4/4.-History:Brubeck heard the unusual "1-2/1-2/1-2/1-2-3" rhythm performed by Turkish musicians on the street...
[live version]" (Brubeck) (previously unreleased) – 14:28
Disc three
- "The Barbarian" (BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, arr. Emerson, Lake & Palmer) (from Emerson Lake & Palmer) – 4:28 - "Still...You Turn Me On" (Lake) (from Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
) – 2:52 - "The Endless Enigma" (from TrilogyTrilogy (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album)Trilogy is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1972. The front cover depicts Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, while the interior of the original gatefold sleeve features a photomontage showing multiple images of the band in Epping Forest...
) – 10:37- a) "The Endless Enigma Part 1" (Emerson/Lake) – 6:41
- b) "Fugue (Emerson) – 1:56
- c) "The Endless Enigma Part 2" (Emerson/Lake) – 2:00
- "C'est La Vie" (Lake/Sinfield) (from Works Volume 1) – 4:16
- "The Enemy God Dances with the Black Spirits" (ProkofievSergei ProkofievSergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
) (from Works Volume 1) – 3:21 - "Bo Diddley" (Emerson/Lake/Palmer) (previously unreleased) – 5:03
- "Bitches Crystal" (Emerson/Lake) (from TarkusTarkusTarkus is the second album by the British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1971.In 1993 the album was digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio...
) – 3:55 - "A Time and a Place" (Emerson/Lake/Palmer) (from TarkusTarkusTarkus is the second album by the British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1971.In 1993 the album was digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio...
) – 2:57 - "Living Sin" (Emerson/Lake/Palmer) (from TrilogyTrilogy (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album)Trilogy is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1972. The front cover depicts Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, while the interior of the original gatefold sleeve features a photomontage showing multiple images of the band in Epping Forest...
) – 3:12 - "Karn Evil 9Karn Evil 9"Karn Evil 9" is an extended work by progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer, appearing on the album Brain Salad Surgery. A futuristic fusion of rock and classical themes, it is regarded by many fans to be their best work...
" (from Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
) – 29:37- a) "1st Impression" (Emerson/Lake) – 13:23
- b) "2nd Impression" (Emerson) – 7:07
- c) "3rd Impression" (Emerson/Lake/Sinfield) – 9:07
- "Honky Tonk Train Blues" (LewisMeade Lux LewisMeade Lux Lewis was a American pianist and composer, noted for his work in the boogie-woogie style. His best known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded in various contexts, often in a big band arrangement...
) (from Works Volume 2) – 3:11
Disc four
- "JerusalemAnd did those feet in ancient time"And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date on the title page of 1804 for Milton is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808...
" (ParryHubert ParrySir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
/BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, arr. by Emerson, Lake & Palmer) (from Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
) – 2:44 - "Fanfare for the Common ManFanfare for the Common ManFanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice...
" (Copland, arr. by Emerson) (from Works Volume 1) – 9:40 - "Black Moon" (Emerson/Lake/Palmer) (from Black Moon) – 6:58
- "Watching Over You" (Lake/Sinfield) (from Works Volume 2) – 3:54
- "Piano Concerto No. 1 Third Movement: Toccata Con Fuoco" (Emerson) (from Works Volume 1) – 6:48
- "For You" (Lake/Sinfield) (from Love BeachLove BeachLove Beach is a studio album by English progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer released in 1978. It was the band's final album of original material until Black Moon and was produced to satisfy contractual obligations with the group's record company. It was a critical and commercial...
) – 4:27 - "Prelude and Fugue" (GuldaFriedrich GuldaFriedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.Born in Vienna as the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano from Felix Pazofsky at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium, aged 7...
) (previously unreleased) – 3:15 - "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman" (from Love BeachLove BeachLove Beach is a studio album by English progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer released in 1978. It was the band's final album of original material until Black Moon and was produced to satisfy contractual obligations with the group's record company. It was a critical and commercial...
) – 20:12- a) "Prologue/The Education of a Gentleman" (Emerson/Sinfield) – 5:34
- b) "Love at First Sight" (Emerson/Sinfield) – 5:36
- c) "Letters from the Front" (Emerson/Sinfield) – 5:18
- d) "Honourable Company" (Emerson) – 3:46
- "Pirates" (Emerson/Lake/Sinfield) (from Works Volume 1) – 13:18
- "Affairs of the Heart" (Lake/DownesGeoff DownesGeoffrey "Geoff" Downes is an English rock keyboard player, songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the bands The Buggles, Yes and Asia, of which he is the only consistent member. When he was a keyboardist for The Buggles, he played multiple keyboards to achieve a New Wave technopop sound...
) (from Black Moon) – 3:46
Personnel
- Keith EmersonKeith EmersonKeith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
: Keyboards - Greg LakeGreg LakeGregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
: Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Bass - Carl PalmerCarl PalmerCarl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...
: Drums and Percussion