The Barbarian (song)
| "The Barbarian" | |
|---|---|
| Instrumental by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | |
| from the album Emerson, Lake & Palmer | |
| Released | 1970 |
| Recorded | 1970 |
| Genre | Progressive rock, hard rock |
| Length | 4:27 |
| Composer(s) | Béla Bartók arr. Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer |
| Producer(s) | Greg Lake |
"The Barbarian" is the opening track on the eponymous debut album of British progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1970.
Description
The song is instrumental, and it is the shortest song 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.[1] Although the original piece is for piano only, the band arranged the song for organ, piano, bass, and drums.[2] The music of the song is aggressive with a hard rock influence. Greg Lake used a fuzz box to give his bass a fuller, guitar-like sound. The band members didn't give credit to Bartók, thinking that the label would arrange the matter. Bartók's family sued ELP for copyright infringement,[1] but eventually, the band gave the credit to Bartók too.[3] The song was never included in a compilation album of the band until the album The Essential Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
