EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER - Topic

Formed in 1970, Emerson, Lake & Palmer constantly set new standards during one of the most ambitious and exploratory decades in 20th-Century popular music. Drawn from The Nice, King Crimson, and Atomic Rooster they were hailed as progressive rock’s first supergroup. Combining driving dynamics, intricate arrangements, and virtuosic skill, between 1970 and 1978 they released seven studio recordings and three live albums, repeatedly achieving Gold and Platinum sales on both sides of the Atlantic. Releases such as Tarkus, Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery created distinctive sound worlds brimming with soaring themes, experimental timbres, yearning ballads, humorous pastiche and dramatic long-form conceptual works. While they also famously adapted pieces by classical composers, ELP always sounded like nobody else but themselves. That ELP's music continues to find new audiences is a striking testament to the trio's irrepressible blend of energy, intensity, and visceral excitement.