With orchestral swells and symphonic arrangements, Emerson Lake & Palmer put the Prague in '70s progressive rock. There was something of that dark, European artistry in their compositions that always made their music more grandiose than their stateside counterparts. Brain Salad Surgery was a conductor's wet dream. Works like the "Impression" study in four movements were epic to the nth degree. Influenced by Mussorgsky and Stravinsky, ELP wreaked havoc with the conventions of what rock and classical music could and could not be.
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