Thanks Kevin, and thanks for bringing this thread to my attention. I'd have started an Emerson, Lake & Palmer thread myself save for the fact that I'm more of the following and joining along type rather than a leader.
The question at hand, who is most important?
My opinion is that Emerson was by far the catalyst of the band. Without him there is no ELP. Without Lake & Palmer then it's Emerson, Fill In The Blank & Fill In The Blank. Keith was going to make this music regardless of his supporting cast. He was already doing it with The Nice for three years leading to the formation of ELP and he continued creating similar music after the demise of the band.
Greg Lake and Carl Palmer allowed him to fine tune and expand upon what he'd established with the Nice. Of course advanced technology with Moog Synthesizers went a long way toward improving the scope and boundaries of his musical landscape as well.
Would there have been a Lucky Man, From The Beginning, or Still...You Turn Me On without Lake? No. Those were Greg's songs, and that's what he brought to Emerson's music. It drove Emerson up the wall that Greg's ballads were often what people think of when they think of ELP, and that the record company executives always wanted another Lucky Man on every album. Greg's angelic, almost choir boy vocals brought humanity to Keith's technical, electronic bombast. His contributions to longer pieces like Karn Evil 9, Tarkus and Trilogy can't be denied, and they wouldn't be the same without him. Also, he was a brilliant bass player who somehow managed to bring his instrument to the forefront despite the many layers of Emerson's keyboards.
As for Carl Palmer. I'll never say that he is just another drummer. His core jazz sense and overwhelming speed and skill set him apart from all others. But he really didn't write any music that I'm aware of. He contributed thoughts and improved upon passages and got credit where credit was due.
