Ian Anderson, the leader of Jethro Tull, is one of the most influential Progressive Rock musicians of all time. He was a fundamental part of the evolution of the genre, which began in England in the mid 60s, and he carried the flag for that style of music in the decades that followed. Jethro Tull was not the only important band to emerge during that era, sharing the spotlight with other groups, including supergroups such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Over the years, Anderson has spoken about many of those bands, including the one formed by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer. What is Ian Anderson's opinion on Emerson, Lake and Palmer Ian Anderson is a big fan of the supergroup and said the world is a better place for having ELP. "Back then, when we were doing Thick as a Brick, bands like Yes and Emerson Lake and Palmer were already gaining a reputation for being a little pompous and showing off with their music. I think that was OK. The reality is that certain members of Yes were quite humorous about it; they could laugh at themselves — as, indeed, Emerson Lake and Palmer privately laughed amongst themselves about themselves." "They’d do that with me, too. There’s a ready understanding that what we are doing is a bit ‘Spinal Tap,’ in more contemporary comparative terms. I personally think the world is a better place for having Emerson Lake and Palmer and Yes, because their music was quite elevated. "Great tunes, and some innovative playing. But, of course, it was to many people a bit excessive. I think some writers and some musicians found it pompous. Because they were displaying their technical skills as musicians sometimes in way that made them seem like party showoffs.” Ian Anderson told Something Else! in 2014. Ian Anderson listed ELP as one of the "Big 4" of Progressive Rock The musician even listed them as one of the Big 4 of Progressive Rock music once. "I guess I have a preference for those that aren’t trying to clone early Genesis, let alone King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Palmer or Yes. And I guess you really have the big four there that I just mentioned," he told Vintage Rock in 2002. Anderson praised the band many times, but once said that they were "complete show-offs". Also that initially didn't like the band's bassist and vocalist Greg Lake. "I was never a fan of Genesis, but their musicianship was incredible. And ELP were complete show-offs. But Greg Lake, who I never liked in the old days, became someone I was very close to in the years before he died," Anderson said to Classic Rock magazine in 2020. He had the chance to know the members of ELP better when they toured with Jethro Tull in the 1990s. He became a good friend of Greg Lake a few decades later when the musician was a guest on a couple of cathedral concerts Anderson did. ELP was formed in 1970, three years after Jethro Tull and were the first Progressive Rock super group. The keyboardist Keith Emerson had previously been a member of The Nice, Greg  Lake (Vocals, guitar, bass) had previously been a member of King Crimson and the drummer Carl Palmer had played with Atomic Rooster. Together were extremely successful and sold an estimated amount of more than 48 million records worldwide. He initially hated the Greg Lake Christmas hit song but then changed his mind Although he didn't like Greg Lake at first, a few decades later, as Anderson said, he became a good friend of the musician. One of Greg's most famous songs is "I Believe in Father Christmas", released as a single in 1975. It was inspired by a portion of "Troika" of Sergei Prokofieve's "Lieutenant Kijé Suite". Anderson initially hated that song but later on changed his mind as he recalled in an interview with Rocket 88 in 2023 about performing the track. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) "Greg Lake, who I remember talking to a little bit back in 1995. (He) became a real buddy in the years just before he died. He asked me to appear with him at a church in London at Christmas. Subsequently he did a couple of my cathedral shows. Two or three years later, he played at Canterbury Cathedral in the year of the huge snowstorms at Christmas. Also Salisbury Cathedral not so far away from where he lived. I felt the loss of Greg quite keenly." "Even to this day, some years later, I still perform the song that we did with Greg. His 'I Believe in Father Christmas' song, which he did with us. God bless Greg and his particularly fine rendition of 'I Believe In Father Christmas', which I always hated. I thought it was the most tacky, silly Christmas song ever, until I actually had to study it, listen to the lyrics, learn the song. I thought: 'This is actually a really good Christmas song'. Once you get inside the lyrics and realize what it's about, wow! It's a song that I think I find it very easy to relate to," Ian Anderson said. Greg Lake passed away in 2016, a victim of cancer, at the age of 69. Ian Anderson was a big fan of Keith Emerson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc6ymS4NGxg&list=RDcc6ymS4NGxg&start_radio=1 Ian Anderson was a big fan of the late keyboardist Keith Emerson since the musician was still a member of The Nice. He mentioned their version of "America" in an interview with Planet Rock in 2020 as one of his favorites of all time. “The Nice were contemporaries of ours at the Marquee Club when we first got a residency there. They were quite well established at that point.” “Indeed I was quite captivated not only by the showmanship of Keith Emerson. Who obviously had some considerable chops as a Jazz and Classical pianist. But the band as a whole: Blinky Davison, the drummer and Brian, singer and bass player. He was a bit of an unsung hero of The Nice. I always thought he had a certain charm. Plus he was the only one that really communicated anything. The others were pretty much silent,” Ian Anderson said. After years of struggling with health issues that made it difficult for him to play at the same level he used to, Emerson tragically decided to take his own life at the age of 71 in 2016 The supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer was active from 1970 to 1979, 1990 to 1997 and for the last time in 2010. They released 9 studio albums, the final one being "In The Hot Seat" in 1994.The post Ian Anderson’s opinion on Emerson, Lake and Palmer appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.