ELP - Welcome Back My Friends... - Very Rare MINT 1974 UK 1st Pressing Triple LP

	£		32
	$		42

Artist & Title: Emerson, Lake & Palmer ?– Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends ~ Ladies And Gentlemen

Very rare MINT 1974 UK FIRST PRESSING 11-track vinyl triple LP recorded live on their 1973/74 World tour. Housed in a superb fold-out 'ELP' die-cut and embossed picture sleeve complete with the original, mint condition, inner sleeves. The cover shows just a little light shelf-wear (but is generally sharp and clean) and the vinyl looks, and sounds, mint. There are no stickers or sticker removal marks as this genuine first pressing never had a “Special Price” sticker.
The records are in Mint condition and sound as wonderful as ever, and the triple gatefold cover is in Excellent condition with minimal shelf-wear. A superb copy of this stunning album!
Highly desirable for its A1/B1/C1/D1/E1/F1 first pressing matrices and Mint condition vinyl, and increasingly difficult to find in ANY condition on vinyl, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to add this superb rarity to your collection at an extremely advantageous price.

Catalogue Number: Manticore Records ?– K 63500

Release date: 19 August 1974

Overall Grade: MINT/EX (LP/Cover)

Matrix/Runout: Side 1: K.63500.A1  Side 2: K.63500.B1  Side 3: K.63500.C1  Side 4: K.63500.D1  Side 5: K.63500.E1  Side 6: K.63500.F1

? 1974
Made in UK
Produced by Greg Lake
Recorded live on E.L.P.’s 1973/74 World Tour
A Manticore Recording Distributed by WEA Records Limited ? & © 1974
Sleeve printed and made in England by Gothic Print Finishers Ltd., London, SE9 2EQ
Package Concept and Design: Michael Ross
Photography: Carl Dunn

This stunning triple LP from the peak of ELP’s fame is hardly ever offered for sale in this collectable condition.

“Not only is Welcome Back My Friends one of the most cleanly recorded live albums, it is also unarguably the most exciting, as it has a "closeness" that the others lack. “

This is the extremely rare real thing: a genuine Mint/Ex condition UK first pressing. The record is in Mint condition while the triple gatefold cover fully merits an Excellent grading. All items are free from any major defects like scratches, tears, creases, stickers, dog ears, writing, stains or the like. See pics. All items are the genuine originals bought together by me in 1974 not reprints or replacements. The LPs are the original UK 1974 stereo LPs, which were only played once or twice on top-end audiophile equipment and lovingly cared for.

“the live version of Tarkus is arguably the single greatest, most exciting live prog-rock recording of all time.”

THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THIS ALBUM EVER OFFERED FOR SALE IN RECENT TIMES

Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends... Ladies and Gentlemen, Emerson, Lake & Palmer is a 1974 live album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was originally packaged as a three-disk vinyl set in a gatefold ("trifold" with two sections opening away from the centre) cover, the inside of which used the letters "E", "L" and "P" as retainers for the individual disks (the version offered for sale here). The album reached No.4 on the Billboard album chart, making it ELP's highest charting album in the US.
This was the last ELP release for almost three years while the band took an extended break to recover and pursue some solo projects that eventually ended up on their next release Works in 1977.
The album was recorded during the 1973/1974 Someone Get Me a Ladder world tour. The title of the album comes from the introduction to the performance, itself a paraphrase of the opening line of the song "Karn Evil 9: First Impression, Part 2". The "welcome back my friends" hook was also used by Alan Freeman on some of his radio shows.

This may be your only ONCE IN A LIFETIME chance to own this rare piece of rock history in this condition.

“The performances are mind-blowing.”

There is nothing that proves the worth of a band so well as a live album. If they can reproduce in concert what may have taken many takes in the studio, they are musicians of a high order. Emerson lake and Palmer show themselves to be exactly that with this triple LP of live performances.
What a good live performance brings is a sense of risk: can they really take it that fast? There's a very complicated section coming - can they do it? The answer on this release is 'yes' and 'yes' and in many ways this is a better album to play than the studio versions, simply for the satisfaction of hearing three musicians at the top of their game performing live on stage.
Hoedown is a good start. I have heard Keith Emerson do this in such a rush that it seems he is trying to beat himself to the end. This performance is much better controlled.
Jerusalem is good: Lake's voice was still at maximum strength. Toccata and Tarkus are excellent versions.
I find myself increasingly drawn to Take a Pebble, with the piano improvisations showing Emerson's mastery of the keyboards. But for me, the high spot is Karn Evil 9 performed in its entirety and live. It is a tour de force. I still listen in admiration at the sheer complexity of this piece in a first-rate live performance.
This is a recording of ELP at their very best. Some people berate prog rock, but I hope that everyone who listens to this album will recognise the musicianship and talent that has gone into it.
For Prog Rock fans, it is essential listening.

A fantastic time warp example of this rarity in amazing condition, a true investment grade item - get it while you can!

AND IT MUST SELL IN THIS ONCE ONLY AUCTION

You can read more about this album and ELP all over the web.

I pack my records professionally in stiff corrugated cruciform record boxes leaving the Vinyl (housed in anti-static bags) outside the Sleeve.

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“Superb piece of vinyl - wonderfully packaged”

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