V2 Works

OKAY! we all know that 'Works Volume Two' is basically comprised of out-takes from 'Brain Salad Surgery' and the various solo projects that eventually became 'Works Volume One' but by God this album is fantastic. What a showcase of the diverse talent and musicianship of three incredible individuals!! Greg's song for his daughter 'Watching over You' is one that I will sing to my daughter if God's will grant it. How can you deny any tune from either Joplin (as in Scott, not Janis) or the way under-heard Meade Lux Lewis? 'Close But Not Touching' is the epitome of rock fused jazz.'Bullfrog' shows the range of Carl's talent. 'Father Christmas' might have made classical music fans cringe, but it is a perennial favourite at Christmas time. 'Barrelhouse Shakedown' puts Keith in a league of his own. He is the owner of the Moog. he is the master of the hammond. Here he completes his musical journey from the classics to the honky-tonk to the rock and roll fantasy that we all share. This album is not a formula album, but it may very well be the first album comprised of out-takes and solo efforts in the same vain as 'Beatles Anthology'.... ....which, as with most ELP albums, makes it well ahead of it's time....

Although often trashed as a completely inconsequential effort that had little to do with their usual epic-length conceptual prog works, "Works Vol.2" is actually an appealing odds-n-ends album that showcases several different sides to the group. For those who prefer it when the band cuts back on the ten-minute solos, it's actually a favorite, and features a highly diverse array of sounds and styles ranging from electronic pop/rock, folky ballads, humor, honky-tonk, jazz, jazz-fusion, and synth instrumentals. It is also an album that grows on the listener, with many hidden delights making themselves known only after several listens. Some of these include the ahead-of-its-time synth instrumental "When The Apple Blossoms Bloom" (which was the original b-side to "Jerusalem" in 1973), the intriguing Palmer instrumentals "Bullfrog" and "Close But Not Touching" (recorded with another band and in a Zappa-ish jazz fusion style with wah-wah guitar and wild sax work) and two more low-key but enjoyably humorous song outtakes from "Brain Salad Surgery", "Tiger In A Spotlight" and the missing title track. However, some of Emerson's honky-tonk and ragtime instrumentals, while very authentic and not unlistenable, are probably the most throwaway. The two finest tracks by far are Lake's two acoustic ballads "I Believe In Father Christmas" and "Watching Over You", neither of which are low-key or filler. The former is a perennial classic with some superb bell-like synth work supporting the acidic social comment of the lyric, while the latter is a beautiful, soothing lullaby with a touching harmonica solo; both would be two of his last great compositions. On the strength of these alone I would recommend "Works Vol.2", but the b-sides and outtakes which comprise the rest of it are clearly also worth hearing. Although you won't find any "Karn Evil 9"'s or "Take A Pebble"'s here, the album should be taken for what it is, an album akin to Led Zeppelin's "Coda" or The Who's "Odds'N'Sods", which fills in missing gaps in an artist's output. In ELP's case, these missing links were modest but still mostly enjoyable, with two bona fide classics as well. I believe this album was recieved the way it was because it was not packaged and promoted properly; with a pretentious title like "Works Vol.2" (which really had little to do with "Vol.1", although some of the tracks were outtakes from those sesssions) and fans expecting the typically ambitious trio to outdo themselves yet again, I don't think any were expecting an album like this. If it had simply been marketed as an odds-n-ends work like "Coda" or "Odds'n'Sods", I'll bet it would have been far more genially received.

The various tracks on this release don't flow into each other at all. That's the bad news. The good news is that each track stands up quite well on its own --- this is an extremely eclectic mix of contributions from the three band members.

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