Keith Emerson Hammer It Out The Anthology Out Via Sanctuary 16th May 2005

NEW YORK (Sanctuary Records) - This is the first double disc collection to bring together not only Keith Emerson's solo work and the exquisite music he wrote whilst with the Nice and ELP, but also a selection of music from his side projects, ELP off-shoot bands and soundtrack pieces for film.
Emerson first ventured into the film world in 1980 with the score to The Inferno, a cult horror movie by Dario Argento. Other commissions followed with Nighthawks (1981), starring Sylvester Stallone then Honky (1985) and Best Revenge (1986).
1986 also witnessed a revamped ELP emerge to release one album, this time with ex Rainbow/Whitesnake drummer Cozy Powell in place of Carl Palmer. The suitably titled Emerson, Lake and Powell album is represented here by the track Locomotion.
Further ELP related collaborations occurred that same year with band 'three' made up of Emerson, Carl Palmer and ex Hush vocalist Robert Berry. This band also made one album, To The Power Of Three and is represented here by the track Desda La Vida. The remainder of this collection fills in the gaps with solo material taken from Emerson's minimalist Emerson Plays Emerson album.

Throughout his career with the Nice, ELP and as a solo artist, Keith Emerson has proven himself as one of the greatest, most technically accomplished keyboardists in rock history. Emerson started his career by playing R&B with his band the Nice who got their first big break backing soul singer P.P. Arnold in 1967. Independently, the Nice carved out a niche for themselves in the fledgling prog-rock movement, with Emerson's classical flourishes and flamboyant showmanship (flinging knives at his keyboard etc.) leading the way. After the Nice, Emerson fleshed out his musical ideas to the fullest with ELP, which debuted in 1970 and had a series of highly successful albums throughout the decade. Keith Emerson made his solo debut in 1976 with the single Honky Tonk Train Blues, which hit the UK Top 30 but he did not pursue a solo career in earnest until after ELP's break-up in 1980.