Emerson, Lake & Palmer-Works Volume 2 (1977)

Like its predecessor, "Works Volume 1", Emerson Lake and Palmer's sixth studio album, "Works Volume 2", is a compilation of tracks composed individually by the three musicians, along with others created collaboratively. It again comes across as somewhat pretentious, though it must be said that this new release features a significantly more interesting and creative repertoire. Some songs feel more organic, like the instrumental "When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine", a track originally intended for the album "Brain Salad Surgery" but never included. The title track from that album is another standout, a dynamic and daring piece. The jazzy "Bullfrog" is essentially a showcase of Carl Palmer's drumming prowess, while the boogie-woogie "Barrelhouse Shake-Down", the acoustic "Watching Over You", the big band jazz tracks "So Far To Fall" and "Close But Not Touching", the ragtime "Maple Leaf Rag" and the honky-tonk "Honky Tonk Train Blues", complete an album that, despite lacking a certain final cohesion, contains a repertoire of good songs, although certainly far removed from the grandiosity of his earlier studio works.