Emerson, Lake & Palmer "Black Moon (2011 RM, Sony 88697848682, EU)"

Black Moon is the eighth studio album, and the first in fourteen years, by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in May 1992. The band had broken up in 1979, and recorded Black Moon to kick off their 1990s revival.

The track "Affairs of the Heart" originated in summer 1988 sessions by Lake with Geoff Downes under the project name Ride the Tiger. Another song from the sessions, "Money Talks", became "Paper Blood" with a different chorus and new music. Ride the Tiger was finally released in 2015.

Black Moon received mixed reviews. Jim Allen of AllMusic wrote in a retrospective review that the performers "stripped down their sound and amped up their attack." In his book The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock, Paul Stump compared it favorably to its contemporary Union (by fellow progressive rock giants Yes). He explained that Black Moon "did at least aspire to interest and excite the listener, and it would be a churlish mind that overlooked a vigour in the playing which had formerly been notable by its absence. The material, though, suffered from the Yes malaise: cynicism and over-exposure to the wallet-fattening blandishments of easy-out FM mores, intervals and development procedures had blunted edges and dulled nerve-endings both of players and listeners."

Half of the album's songs were played at the band's 1992-1993 concerts. Greg Lake included the songs "Paper Blood", "Farewell to Arms" and "Footprints in the Snow" in the setlist of his 2005 solo tour. "Farewell to Arms" was played at the group's final concert, at the High Voltage Festival in July 2010.

Track listing

1. "Black Moon" (Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer) 6:56
2. "Paper Blood" (Emerson, Lake, Palmer) 4:26
3. "Affairs of the Heart" (Geoff Downes, Lake) 3:46
4. "Romeo and Juliet" (Sergei Prokofiev, "Dance of the Knights" from the eponymous ballet, Op. 64) 3:43
5. "Farewell to Arms" (Emerson, Lake) 5:08
6. "Changing States" (Emerson) 6:02
7. "Burning Bridges" (Mark Mancina) 4:41
8. "Close to Home" (Emerson) 4:33
9. "Better Days" (Emerson, Lake) 5:33
10. "Footprints in the Snow" (Lake) 3:50

Bonus tracks:

1. "Black Moon" (Single edit) 4:48
2. "Affairs of the Heart" (Edited version) 2:20
3. "Paper Blood" (Edited version) 1:34
4. "Romeo and Juliet" (Edited version) 1:33

Producer: Mark Mancina

Engineers: Steve Kempster, Stephen Marcussen, David Mitchell

Assistant engineers: Anthony Danbury, Gil Morales, Marnie Riley, Brett Swain, Charlie Watts

Mixing: Steve Kempster, David Mitchell

Mastering: Stephen Marcussen

Digital editing: Jay Rifkin

Programming: Tim Heintz, Gary Hodgson, Ian Morrow, John Van Tongeren

Keyboard technician: Will Alexander

Hammond Organ technician: Al Goff, GOFF Professional

Vocal arrangement: Mark Holding