| Black Moon | ||||
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| Released | May 1992 | |||
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| Genre | Progressive rock, synth-pop | |||
| Length | 48:28 | |||
| Label | Victory Music | |||
| Producer |
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| Emerson, Lake & Palmer chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Moon | ||||
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Black Moon is the eighth studio album, and the first in fourteen years, by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in May 1992. [2] The band had broken up in 1979, and recorded Black Moon to kick off their 1990s revival.
The track "Affairs of the Heart" originated in summer 1988 sessions by Lake with Geoff Downes under the project name Ride the Tiger. Another song from the sessions, "Money Talks", became "Paper Blood" with a different chorus and new music. Ride the Tiger was finally released in 2015.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Classic Rock | [4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C [5] |
| Q | [6] |
Black Moon received mixed reviews. Jim Allen of AllMusic wrote in a retrospective review that the performers "stripped down their sound and amped up their attack." [3] In his book The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock, Paul Stump compared it favorably to its contemporary Union (by fellow progressive rock giants Yes). He explained that Black Moon "did at least aspire to interest and excite the listener, and it would be a churlish mind that overlooked a vigour in the playing which had formerly been notable by its absence. The material, though, suffered from the Yes malaise: cynicism and over-exposure to the wallet-fattening blandishments of easy-out FM mores, intervals and development procedures had blunted edges and dulled nerve-endings both of players and listeners." [7]
Half of the album's songs were played at the band's 1992-1993 concerts. Greg Lake included the songs "Paper Blood", "Farewell to Arms" and "Footprints in the Snow" in the setlist of his 2005 solo tour. "Farewell to Arms" was played at the group's final concert, at the High Voltage Festival in July 2010.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black Moon" (Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer) | 6:56 |
| 2. | "Paper Blood" (Emerson, Lake, Palmer) | 4:26 |
| 3. | "Affairs of the Heart" (Geoff Downes, Lake) | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Romeo and Juliet" (Sergei Prokofiev, "Dance of the Knights" from the eponymous ballet, Op. 64) | 3:43 |
| 5. | "Farewell to Arms" (Emerson, Lake) | 5:08 |
| 6. | "Changing States" (Emerson) | 6:02 |
| 7. | "Burning Bridges" (Mark Mancina) | 4:41 |
| 8. | "Close to Home" (Emerson) | 4:33 |
| 9. | "Better Days" (Emerson, Lake) | 5:33 |
| 10. | "Footprints in the Snow" (Lake) | 3:50 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "A Blade of Grass" (Emerson) | 2:15 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Black Moon" (Single edit) | 4:48 |
| 12. | "Affairs of the Heart" (Edited version) | 2:20 |
| 13. | "Paper Blood" (Edited version) | 1:34 |
| 14. | "Romeo and Juliet" (Edited version) | 1:33 |
2017 Deluxe Edition
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black Moon" | Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer | 6:56 |
| 2. | "Paper Blood" | Emerson, Lake, Palmer | 4:26 |
| 3. | "Affairs of the Heart" | Geoff Downes, Lake | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Romeo and Juliet" | Sergei Prokofiev, "Dance of the Knights" from the eponymous ballet, Op. 64 | 3:43 |
| 5. | "Farewell to Arms" | Emerson, Lake | 5:08 |
| 6. | "Changing States" | Emerson | 6:02 |
| 7. | "Burning Bridges" | Mark Mancina | 4:41 |
| 8. | "Close to Home" | Emerson | 4:33 |
| 9. | "Better Days" | Emerson, Lake | 5:33 |
| 10. | "Footprints in the Snow" | Lake | 3:50 |
| 11. | "Black Moon" (Bonus track - single edit) | Emerson, Lake, Palmer | |
| 12. | "Affairs of the Heart" (Bonus track - edit) | Downes, Lake | |
| 13. | "Paper Blood" (Bonus track - edit) | Emerson, Lake, Palmer | |
| 14. | "Romeo and Juliet" (Bonus track - edit) | Prokofiev |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression, Part 2" | |
| 2. | "Tarkus"
| |
| 3. | "Knife Edge" | |
| 4. | "Paper Blood" | |
| 5. | "Romeo And Juliet" | |
| 6. | "Creole Dance" | |
| 7. | "Still... You Turn Me On" | |
| 8. | "Lucky Man" | |
| 9. | "Black Moon" | |
| 10. | "Pirates" | |
| 11. | "Finale"
|
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [8] | 66 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [9] | 77 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [10] | 45 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) [11] | 16 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [12] | 23 |
| US Billboard 200 [13] | 78 |
Emerson, Lake & Palmer were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of the Nice, Greg Lake of King Crimson, and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster. With nine RIAA-certified gold record albums in the US, and an estimated 48 million records sold worldwide, they are one of the most popular and commercially successful progressive rock groups of the 1970s, with a musical sound including adaptations of classical music with jazz and symphonic rock elements, dominated by Emerson's flamboyant use of the Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, and piano.
Keith Noel Emerson was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became internationally famous for his work with the Nice, which included writing rock arrangements of classical music. After leaving the Nice in 1970, he was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups.
The Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer is an album by British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1980. Another compilation with the same title was released in 1994.
Pictures at an Exhibition is a live album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in November 1971 on Island Records. It features the group's rock adaptation of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, performed at Newcastle City Hall on 26 March 1971.
Tarkus is the second studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 14 June 1971 on Island Records. Following their debut tour across Europe during the second half of 1970, the group paused touring commitments in January 1971 to record a new album at Advision Studios in London. Greg Lake produced the album with Eddy Offord as engineer.
Brain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 7 December 1973 by their new record label, Manticore Records, and distributed by Atlantic Records.
Works Volume 1 is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released as a double album on 25 March 1977 on Atlantic Records. Following their world tour supporting Brain Salad Surgery (1973), the group took an extended break before they reconvened in 1976 to record a new album. They were now tax exiles and recorded new material in London and overseas in Montreux, Switzerland and Paris, France. Works Volume 1 features a side dedicated for each member to write and arrange their own tracks, while the fourth side features songs performed collectively. Keith Emerson recorded his Piano Concerto No. 1, Greg Lake wrote several songs with lyricist Peter Sinfield, and Carl Palmer recorded tracks of varied musical styles.
Works Volume 2 is the sixth studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 25 November 1977. Unlike Works Volume 1, Works Volume 2 was a single album compilation of leftover tracks from other album sessions, similar to the Who's Odds & Sods or Led Zeppelin's Coda. While many derided the album for its apparent lack of focus, others praised it for showing a different side of the band than usual, with blues, bluegrass and jazz being very prominent as musical genres in this recording.
Trilogy is the third studio album by English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in June 1972, by Island Records. The group had spent most of 1971 touring, and paused in September so they could record a new album at Advision Studios with Eddy Offord resuming his role as engineer. It would be his last with the group, as he later elected to work full-time with Yes. The album features "Hoedown", an arrangement of Aaron Copland's ballet composition which became a live favourite.
Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends – Ladies and Gentlemen is the second live album by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released as a triple album in August 1974 on Manticore Records. It was recorded in February 1974 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, during the group's 1973–74 world tour in support of their fourth studio album, Brain Salad Surgery (1973).
Emerson, Lake & Palmer is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released in the United Kingdom by Island Records in November 1970, and in the United States by Cotillion Records in January 1971. After the group formed in the spring of 1970, they entered rehearsals and prepared material for an album which became a mix of original songs and rock arrangements of classical music. The album was recorded at Advision Studios in July 1970, when the band had yet to perform live. Lead vocalist and bassist/guitarist Greg Lake produced it.
"Tarkus" is the title track of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's second album. The progressive rock epic lasts 20:35. It was the longest studio suite by the band until the three impressions of "Karn Evil 9". The name "Tarkus" refers to the armadillo-tank from the William Neal paintings on the album cover. The artist has explained that the name is an amalgamation between 'Tartarus' and 'carcass'. Consequently, the name refers to the "futility of war, a man made mess with symbols of mutated destruction." The song "Tarkus" supposedly follows the adventures of Tarkus from his birth, through a fight with a manticore, which he loses and concludes with an aquatic version of Tarkus named "Aquatarkus". Keith Emerson, when asked what work he is proudest of, named his "Piano Concerto" and "Tarkus".
Live at the Royal Albert Hall is a live album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was recorded at two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall during the Black Moon tour in early October 1992.
Emerson, Lake & Powell is the only studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Powell, released on 26 May 1986 by Polydor Records.
In the Hot Seat is the ninth and final studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 27 September 1994 by Victory. Recorded at Goodnight L.A. Studios in Los Angeles, it was produced by Keith Olsen.
"Nut Rocker" is an instrumental rock single recorded by American instrumental ensemble B. Bumble and the Stingers that reached number 23 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in March 1962 and went to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1962. It is a version of the march from Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.
The discography of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, an English progressive rock band, includes 9 studio albums, 24 live albums, 12 compilation albums and 17 singles.
"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, the song contains one of rock music's earliest instances of a Moog synthesizer solo. "Lucky Man" was released as a single in 1970 and reached the top 20 in the Netherlands. The song also charted in the United States and Canada. The single was re-released in 1973 and charted again in the U.S. and Canada.
"The Barbarian" is the opening track on the eponymous debut album of British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1970.
"Right Place, Wrong Time" is a song by American musician Dr. John. It was the first single from his sixth album, In the Right Place, and became his biggest hit single.
