Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Paul Smeenus · 03-22-2013, 01:23 AM

Paul Smeenus · 03-22-2013, 01:03 PM

Well, I read through this thread and it appears I'm kinda the new boo-boo. I promise not to go bananas tho.

OK, "promise" is too strong a word. Let's just say I have reasonable confidence.

One thing I am taking away from this thread is that it's nearly entirely looking at this music as a completed body of work, I'd appear to be the only one that watched EL&P's catalog evolve in real time.

My first exposure as a 6th or 7th grader (or mebbe the summer in between) was when "Lucky Man" was released as a single. It sounded like a lot of 1970 top 40 singles, until Emerson's synth in the outro. That seemed so incongruous to the main ballad that I was hella intrigued. Then, Christmas of '71 saw this:

as their second single. I thought this was kinda silly so I again never followed up. The next single followed in '73, "Still...You Turn Me On" was way too much like "Lucky Man" for me and I still didn't bite. It was in '74 that I finally went in to their catalog, their California Jam performance was televised (taped, not live) primetime on ABC (there was only broadcast TV in those days, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and whatever independent local stations were in your city, Fox came along in the '80's). I was just impressed as hell by that performance, and ended up getting all the albums available at that time, the eponymous 1st, Tarkus, Pictures On An Exhibition, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, and the three record Live album. I was floored by all of them, even PoaE (I lost interest in that one to a considerable degree when I discovered the Mussorgsky/Ravel work). None of them were perfect, least of all my favorite, Tarkus. But the best of all those albums (except PoaE, which does have some good moments) were transcendent.

Speaking of Tarkus, I consider that a one side-one track album. Side two was totally tacked on to avoid putting out an album with a blank side two and/or breaking the title track in half. There's no earthly reason to turn that record over, and once I arrived at that conclusion after the first play (of side two) I never did again. I consider all the songs after the title track to be completely irrelevant to the album to such a degree that reading through this thread just now was the first time I'd even thought of them for decades.

When Works was released in '77 was when the anti-ELP diatribe from the Punk movement really got rolling, and to a large degree rightly so. I like their rendition of Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" but most of Works is way too full of itself and an easy and apt target for the DIY movement.

Love Beach = Dreck. Nothing else to say about that POS. No redeeming quality at all, it's been said it's good for a laugh but I find little humor in this once great band taking such a colossal public crap on itself.

Big Ears · 03-24-2013, 10:51 AM

ELP are my favourite band and I wish they had got Asia, Greg Lake Band, ELPowell, Ride the Tiger, Keith Emerson Band, soundtracks, etc. out of their system, so that they could reform after a break and work on the next Brain Salad Surgery. Sadly, Black Moon, In the Hot Seat and the final live album were not created with any conviction.

ELP's version of Pictures at an Exhibiton from The Royal Albert Hall, in 1992, is the best thing they ever did and it was never released (to my knowledge). It lead me to think that BSS 2 was still in them in the early nineties.

Paul Smeenus · 03-24-2013, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Ears

ELP are my favourite band and I wish they had got Asia, Greg Lake Band, ELPowell, Ride the Tiger, Keith Emerson Band, soundtracks, etc. out of their system, so that they could reform after a break and work on the next Brain Salad Surgery.

Well if all the horrid music produced after BSS (except some of Works) proved anything it's that they had run out of new ideas. I'm not familiar with the 1992 PoaE you're referring to, but I'll accept that it's good because they're performing something they'd already done. Sadly, I just don't believe they have another BSS/Tarkus/Trilogy in 'em.

As for the ghastly Asia music, CP really had little to no involvement in the songwriting, he was just the drummer and could've been replaced with any one of hundreds of capable drummers, the main thing he brought was his name. Wetton and Howe deserve most of the credit (or, to my way of thinking, the blame) for that yawner of a band.

Paul Smeenus · 05-28-2014, 11:31 PM

Unknown Soldier · 05-30-2014, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Smeenus

Well if all the horrid music produced after BSS (except some of Works) proved anything it's that they had run out of new ideas. I'm not familiar with the 1992 PoaE you're referring to, but I'll accept that it's good because they're performing something they'd already done. Sadly, I just don't believe they have another BSS/Tarkus/Trilogy in 'em.

As for the ghastly Asia music, CP really had little to no involvement in the songwriting, he was just the drummer and could've been replaced with any one of hundreds of capable drummers, the main thing he brought was his name. Wetton and Howe deserve most of the credit (or, to my way of thinking, the blame) for that yawner of a band.

Yes, but the Asia debut was still a great album though.

Paul Smeenus · 05-30-2014, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

Yes, but the Asia debut was still a great album though.

That's fine that you think so, I HATED that album

Neapolitan · 05-30-2014, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

Yes, but the Asia debut was still a great album though.

Asia came out of the gate with such a great line-up. Steve Howe on guitar and Carl Palmer on drums. Steve was stoked about the line up and essentially proud of the fact that the band broke the Top 40. It's one of the greatest albums of the 80s.

Paul Smeenus · 05-30-2014, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neapolitan

Asia came out of the gate with such a great line-up. Steve Howe on guitar and Carl Palmer on drums. Steve was stoked about the line up and essentially proud of the fact that the band broke the Top 40. It's one of the greatest albums of the 80s.

I find it just slightly less interesting than Nickelback.

Neapolitan · 05-30-2014, 11:59 PM

I felt that Steve Howe laid down some exceptional lead guitar work on Only Time Will Tell and Heat of the Moment. Mike Stone produced the album, he also produced bands like Queen (e.g. We Are the Champions) and Journey. It was an album by a solid band with a solid producer.

03-22-2013, 01:23 AM	#31 (permalink)
Paul Smeenus David Hasselhoff Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Back in Portland, OR Posts: 3,680	fecking love this

03-24-2013, 10:51 AM	#33 (permalink)
Big Ears Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Hampshire, England Posts: 434	ELP are my favourite band and I wish they had got Asia, Greg Lake Band, ELPowell, Ride the Tiger, Keith Emerson Band, soundtracks, etc. out of their system, so that they could reform after a break and work on the next Brain Salad Surgery. Sadly, Black Moon, In the Hot Seat and the final live album were not created with any conviction. ELP's version of Pictures at an Exhibiton from The Royal Albert Hall, in 1992, is the best thing they ever did and it was never released (to my knowledge). It lead me to think that BSS 2 was still in them in the early nineties. __________________ My Journal: Rabbiting On

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03-22-2013, 01:03 PM	#32 (permalink)
Paul Smeenus David Hasselhoff Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Back in Portland, OR Posts: 3,680	Well, I read through this thread and it appears I'm kinda the new boo-boo. I promise not to go bananas tho. OK, "promise" is too strong a word. Let's just say I have reasonable confidence. One thing I am taking away from this thread is that it's nearly entirely looking at this music as a completed body of work, I'd appear to be the only one that watched EL&P's catalog evolve in real time. My first exposure as a 6th or 7th grader (or mebbe the summer in between) was when "Lucky Man" was released as a single. It sounded like a lot of 1970 top 40 singles, until Emerson's synth in the outro. That seemed so incongruous to the main ballad that I was hella intrigued. Then, Christmas of '71 saw this: as their second single. I thought this was kinda silly so I again never followed up. The next single followed in '73, "Still...You Turn Me On" was way too much like "Lucky Man" for me and I still didn't bite. It was in '74 that I finally went in to their catalog, their California Jam performance was televised (taped, not live) primetime on ABC (there was only broadcast TV in those days, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and whatever independent local stations were in your city, Fox came along in the '80's). I was just impressed as hell by that performance, and ended up getting all the albums available at that time, the eponymous 1st, Tarkus, Pictures On An Exhibition, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, and the three record Live album. I was floored by all of them, even PoaE (I lost interest in that one to a considerable degree when I discovered the Mussorgsky/Ravel work). None of them were perfect, least of all my favorite, Tarkus. But the best of all those albums (except PoaE, which does have some good moments) were transcendent. Speaking of Tarkus, I consider that a one side-one track album. Side two was totally tacked on to avoid putting out an album with a blank side two and/or breaking the title track in half. There's no earthly reason to turn that record over, and once I arrived at that conclusion after the first play (of side two) I never did again. I consider all the songs after the title track to be completely irrelevant to the album to such a degree that reading through this thread just now was the first time I'd even thought of them for decades. When Works was released in '77 was when the anti-ELP diatribe from the Punk movement really got rolling, and to a large degree rightly so. I like their rendition of Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" but most of Works is way too full of itself and an easy and apt target for the DIY movement. Love Beach = Dreck. Nothing else to say about that POS. No redeeming quality at all, it's been said it's good for a laugh but I find little humor in this once great band taking such a colossal public crap on itself.