Works Volume 1

After the 1973 to 1974 world tour and the Welcome Back live album, the trio took an extended break. In 1976 they became tax exiles and recorded in London, in Montreux at Mountain Studios and in Paris. Lake found Montreux uninspiring, saying "You get sod-all inspiration!" Pete Sinfield claimed credit for the title, saying that if you are going to be pretentious you might as well do it big.

Side one is Emerson's three-movement Piano Concerto No. 1, played on a Steinway with the London Philharmonic conducted by John Mayer. A first session at Kingsway Hall went badly, with the orchestra struggling with the score and complaints about the acoustics, and a second at De Lane Lea Studios succeeded. Side two holds acoustic ballads by Lake and Sinfield. Side three is Palmer's, with an orchestral remake of Tank without the drum solo, Joe Walsh of the Eagles on guitar and scat vocals on L.A. Nights, and arrangements of Bach and Prokofiev.

Side four is the group. Emerson sought Aaron Copland's permission for Fanfare for the Common Man. Pirates, 13 minutes long, began as a piece Emerson wrote for a cancelled film of Frederick Forsyth's The Dogs of War. Lake and Sinfield wrote lyrics about pirates at Lake's mountain chalet, and the piece was recorded in Paris with the National Opera of Paris orchestra after Lake fell out with the orchestra in Montreux. Lake recalled Leonard Bernstein hearing it and saying "The singing's not bad."

The album reached nine in Britain and 12 in the US and went gold in both. Released as punk was getting under way, it received mixed to poor reviews. Rolling Stone disliked the Emerson and Lake sides, liked Palmer's and praised the two group pieces. AllMusic found Emerson's concerto to be on the level of a good music-student piece.