#2
Keith Emerson probably did more to popularize the Moog synthesizer than anyone else other than Wendy Carlos. He toured with an extremely large modular system which served both as a musical instrument and as a visual stage prop.
I wasn’t sure which ELP album to highlight, but chose this one for its variety. Listen to some very heavy Moog sounds in the title track. Aaron Copeland’s ‘Hoedown’ is given the obligatory ‘transcription to electronics’ update with very successful results. The pop ballad From The Beginning has an erie and beautiful Moog accompaniment. Listen to the final cut, Abaddon’s Bolero, for a great example of how 70’s era multi-track studio practice can make the monophonic (only one note at a time) Moog sound like an entire orchestra. It is the title track which features a mighty Moog going full bore. It is the closest sonic cousin to a giant pipe organ played with all the stops pulled out.
By the way, Greg Lake was a founding member of King Crimson before he helped create ELP. Have a listen to In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969).
Trilogy
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
1972
