"The Barbarian" is the opening track on the eponymous debut album of British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1970.
| "The Barbarian" | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | |
| from the album Emerson, Lake & Palmer | |
| Released | 1970 |
| Recorded | 1970 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:27 |
| Composer(s) | Béla Bartók arr. Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer |
| Producer(s) | Greg Lake |
Description
editThis piece of music is instrumental, and it is the shortest one on the album (4:27). Although the composition of "The Barbarian" was attributed to the three band members, it is an arrangement for rock band of Béla Bartók’s 1911 piano piece Allegro barbaro.[2][3] Although the original piece is for piano only, the band arranged the song for organ, piano, bass, and drums.[4] The music of the song is aggressive with a heavy metal style. Greg Lake used a fuzz box to give his bass a fuller, guitar-like sound. The band members did not give credit to Bartók, thinking that the label would arrange the matter. Bartók's family sued ELP for copyright infringement,[3] but eventually, the band gave equal credit to Bartók.[5]
Personnel
editReferences
edit- ^ Romano, Will (2010). Mountains Come Out of the Sky - The Illustrated History of Prog Rock.
- ^ Stump, Paul (1997). The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock. Quartet Books Limited. p. 98. ISBN 0-7043-8036-6.
- ^ a b "The Barbarian by Emerson, Lake & Palmer". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
- ^ Gecevičiūtė, Agnė. "A plastic approach to musical meaning : An analysis of the Barbarian by Emerson, Lake & Palmer". Actes Sémiotiques. 119.
- ^ "Emerson, Lake & Palmer - the Barbarian Lyrics". Letssingit.com.