Greg Lake - Legacy and Influence

Legacy and Influence

Although Lake contributed to many of ELP's songs, he was particularly noticeable for his acoustic guitar-oriented and soulful tunes such as "Lucky Man" (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), "The Sage" (Pictures at an Exhibition), "From the Beginning" (Trilogy), "Still... You Turn Me On" (Brain Salad Surgery) and "C'est la Vie" (Works Volume I). Lake became popularly known for his UK Christmas number two single, "I Believe in Father Christmas" in 1975, which was later included on the ELP album Works Volume II.

In addition to the enduring notability of those ballads, Lake is also highly noted as a bass player (both for King Crimson and ELP) as well as his electric guitar work in songs such as "Tarkus". As a singer, he ranges from soulful ballads such as "The Sage" to acerbic, guttural singing in songs such as "A Time and a Place". He experiments with different vocal timbres in the songs "Living Sin" (with very low, downtempo vocals) and "Benny the Bouncer" (where he sings with an abrasive slang accent). Throughout the 1970s, Lake was known as the svelte singer who could nonetheless deliver powerful, rasping vocals such as those in "Karn Evil 9".

Although a great deal of ELP's most notable output is instrumental (for example, "Fanfare for the Common Man", "Toccata", "Abaddon's Bolero" and "Hoedown"), Lake's lyrical contributions to the band should not be overlooked. His lyrics are often bitingly cynical toward Christianity (as in "The Only Way" and "Hallowed be Thy Name", for example), although he is equally acerbic toward spellcraft in "Bitches Crystal". Lake covered Blake's anthem "Jerusalem", although it opens an album that also includes lyrics hostile to organised religion. While many of his lyrics defy simple interpretation (songs such as "The Endless Engima" and "The Great Gates of Kiev" continue to be discussed among fans), his simple ballads have endured as well-regarded love songs ("Still You Turn Me On" and "Closer to Believing", for example). Although he does write about many typical progressive rock themes - for example, war and apocalypse in "Tarkus" and "Karn Evil 9" - he was unique throughout the 1970s with his regular output of comical songs: "Jeremy Bender", "The Sheriff" and "Benny the Bouncer" being the most notable examples. He was known to agonise over his lyrics, much to the chagrin and bewilderment of Emerson - for example, he did a great deal of research to make "Pirates" historically detailed and plausible, and he spent years perfecting "Hallowed be Thy Name", turning a series of lines from the Lord's Prayer against their original intention.