Greg Lake’s Magical is a well-deserved career-spanning 91-track, seven-CD set. Like Lake’s band mate Keith Emerson and the Variations, we get all the solo albums, plus some tasty rare gems and a treasure trove of Greg Lake beyond just his ELP oeuvre.
There’s Lake’s two solo studio albums from the 80s: the self-titled Greg Lake featuring guitarist Gary Moore wailing across lots of its heavier-than-expected tunes like “Nuclear Attack” and “For Those Who Dare”; and Manoeuvres, though not as strong, it includes some fine moments across the original 10 tunes with Lake’s voice resplendent throughout.
Two additional CDs titled From The Underground include different mixes and takes of songs by King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Emerson, Lake & Powell, Asia, the Greg Lake Band, collaborations with Geoff Downes and members of Toto. A good percentage of these songs have a distinct pop 80s sound, far and away from the vocalist and bassist most people know.
The remainder of the set covers three live albums: the solo Songs of A Lifetime and Live In Piacenza, and a show he did with Emerson in 2010 called Live from Manticore Hall. As live documents of the man’s songwriting, still rather rich voice, killer bass playing, and some great story-telling moments, these three hold up very well.
Presented in a 10″ x 10″ box, the set also features a 64-page coffee table book with extensive liner notes for each album along with unseen photos from the Lake family archive. You could say, that indeed, it was Magical having Greg Lake with us as long as we did.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
