7/4 Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 link Box Elders Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Prog Attacks! Hailing the oft-derided genius of these bloat-tastic motherfuckers by Phil Freeman March 4th, 2008 12:00 AM Sorry, Nuge. Sorry, Frampton. Double-live albums are for pussies. The '70s were the era of the triple-live album. Santana's Lotus. Yes's Yessongs. Wings' Wings Over America. Shit, you can throw Chicago's four-disc Chicago at Carnegie Hall on the list—just don't throw it on the stereo. And, of course, Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends, the album that proves the trio considered the 20-minute studio version of "Tarkus" restrained: Live, it balloons to a mind-crushing 27:24. And let's not even discuss the 35-minute version of the "Karn Evil 9" suite that ends the show. Emerson, Lake & Palmer were some bloat-tastic motherfuckers. Except they weren't. As this deluxe reissue series reveals to the neophyte, the band's brand of epic, classical-soaked prog was actually tight as hell. When you've only got three guys up there, even if each of them plays like a meth-addled octopus (and at least two of them do— guitarist/bassist/vocalist Greg Lake's virtuosity is slightly more understated), the trend is always gonna be toward rhythmic impetus rather than solo frenzy. Simply put, Emerson, Lake & Palmer fucking rocked. Their self-titled studio debut, from 1970, was a collection of stuff each member wrote individually, except for "The Barbarian," which was cribbed from Bartók, and another cut, "Knife Edge," that's based on Janácek but also includes a healthy chunk of Bach. (In fine British rock tradition—see "Zeppelin, Led"—the songwriting credits didn't reflect these appropriations until years later.) But the pattern— brain-blastingly loud organ and Moog lines, thundering yet surprisingly jazzy drums, almost mellow vocals, and songs that cribbed openly and shamelessly from classical—had been set. It continued on the band's second and third discs (both released in 1971), Tarkus, and a live run through Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Trilogy was relatively pop-friendly by comparison, and featured "From the Beginning," ELP's second big single after "Lucky Man," from the debut. But then came their studio masterpiece, the album that made them gods to stoned high-school students across America. Brain Salad Surgery, the 1973 album that got them selling out arenas (and the only one of these Shout! Factory reissues to come in a digipak, the better to reproduce its foldout H.R. Giger artwork), is a stone killer from beginning (their recasting of William Blake's hymn "Jerusalem" as an epic call to prog-rock battle) to end (the hilariously cynical "Karn Evil 9" suite). Revisiting this catalog 35 (!) years later, it's amazing how little music has "progressed." Snip 20 random seconds of Emersonian Moog-frenzy from the live album and play it for a Wolf Eyes fan—see if he can tell the difference. Another quality that leaps out is the propulsive rhythm work. What happened to all the great British drummers? In the early '70s, English boys could actually wail—Carl Palmer, John Bonham, Bill Bruford, Alan White, and even Phil Collins were kicking ass behind the kit. This allowed ELP to dip into honky-tonk and even swing rhythms when the mood struck them—which it did with almost distressing frequency ("Benny the Bouncer," "Are You Ready Eddy," "Barrelhouse Shake-Down"). For prog-rockers, they sure liked to look backward. Listeners interested in sonic surprise should do the same. These six studio albums and two live discs are the gateways to a world of balls-out craziness the likes of which is nowhere to be found in rock circa 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 a bit of a previous conversation about these folks from another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 (edited) I'm definitely a fan of Greg Lake, which is really the only reason that I listen to any ELP (and that isn't very often). I still have the debut album which has some nice moments, my favorite album is actually Trilogy which I think works pretty well most of the way through. I've owned some of the other albums in my life but I never liked them enough to justify going back out and re-purchasing them. I would say that of all the 70's prog rock bands, ELP has dated badly. p.s. - I do like Emerson's score to Dario Argento's Inferno however.... Edited March 5, 2008 by Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six string Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I'll admit to being a fan back in the day. I was already familiar with Greg Lake through King Crimson's debut and only vaguely familiar with Emerson's involvement with Atomic Rooster. I really liked the first ELP album, particularly Take A Pebble, Barbarian and of course Lucky Man. Tarkus was pretty cool for its suite on side one. I was less enamored with Trilogy, though I learned From the Beginning on guitar. Brain Salad Surgery was a return to form and I saw the tour in San Diego, positioning myself right down front between Keith and Greg. I still have a few photos from the show. However, I can't get into them anymore. I don't own any their music and have no reason to revisit them. It was a prog phase I was in at the time and which I got bored with. I think that live album was the last thing I ever bought from them. The concert was pretty cool for a stoner as it was one of the early quad shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Clugston Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 link Snip 20 random seconds of Emersonian Moog-frenzy from the live album and play it for a Wolf Eyes fan—see if he can tell the difference. I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 My most enduring memory of ELP was a late night TV show, an in concert program, in which Keith Emerson played his keyboards suspended in mid air while he and the keyboards were spun around, head over heels again and again. To me, that summarized how some technically skilled musicians too often fell prey to bombast, showmanship and poor taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogak Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 (edited) of course the reviewer didn't mention these guys, but it is true about british drummers-in jazz too. alan jackson, john webb, tony oxley, tony levin, bryan spring, trevor tom(p)kins. john marshall, not my favorite, but him too. others i am forgetting... Edited March 5, 2008 by dumpy mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 (edited) Bill Ward Let's face it, the guy was playing some interesting stuff behind the Iommi/Geezer Butler onslaught. Faeries Wear Boots is a good example of how he kept things swingin' instead of ploddin'. Ian Paice This guy STILL kicks ass to this day. I still remember hearing the live version of Space Truckin' from Made In Japan for the first time, I was so blown away by the snare work in that song. Edited March 5, 2008 by Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 I like the first album, it is very good. The later albums are hit and miss. Greg Lake's best work was with KC, it restrained his worst tendencies. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 "Who'll make his mark", the captain cried. "To the devil drink a toast. We'll glut the hold with cups of gold And we'll feed the sea with ghosts I see your hunger for a fortune Could be better served beneath my flag If you've the stomach for a broadside Come aboard my pretty boys I will take you and make you Everything you've ever dreamed." "Make fast the guns tonight we sail when the high tide floods the bay, cut free the lines and square the yards get the black flag stowed away the Turk, the Arab, the Spaniard will soon have pennies on their eyes and any other laden fancy we will take her by surprise I will take you and make you Everything you've ever dreamed." Six days off the Cuban coast when a sail ahead the spied "A galleon of the treasure fleet,' the mizzen lookout cried "Closer to the wind my boys," the mad-eyed captain roared "For every man that's alive tonight will be hauling gold aboard." "Spare us," the galleon begged but mercy's face had fled Blood ran from the sreaming souls the cutlass harvested Driven to the quarter deck the last survivor fell "She's ours my boys," the Captain grinned "and no one left to tell." The Captain rose from a silk divan With a pistol in his fist And shot the lock from an iron box And a blood red ruby kissed "I give you jewellery of turquoise A crucifix of solid gold One hundred thousand silver pieces It is just as I foretold You... You see there before you everything You've ever dreamed." Anchored in an indigo moonlit bay Gold-eyed roun fires the sea thieves lay Morning... white shells and a pipe of clay As the wind filled their footsteps They were far... far... away. "Our sails swell full as we brave all seas On a westward wind to live as we please With the wicked wild-eyed woman of Portobello town Where we've been told that a purse of gold Buys many man a crown They will serve you and clothe you Exchange your rags for the velvet coats of Kings." "Who'll drink a toast with me I give you Liberty This town is ours... tonight." "Landlord, wine make it the finest Make it a cup for a seadog's thirst Two long years of bones and beaches Fever and leeches did their worst So fill the night with paradise Bring me peach and peacock till I burst But first, I want a soft touch in the right place I want to feel like a King tonight Ten on the black to beat the Frenchman Back you dogs give 'em room to turn Now open wide sweet Heaven's gates Tonight we're gonna see if Heaven burns See how she burns... Oh she burns I want an angel on a gold chain And I'll ride her to the stars It's the last time for a long long time Come the daybreak, we embark..." On the flood of the morning tide Once more the ocean cried. "This company will return one day Though we feel your tears it's the price we pay For there's prizes to be taken and glory to be found Cut free the chains make fast your souls We are Eldorado bound... I will take you always forever together Until hell call our names..." "Who'll drink a toast with me To the devil and the deep blue sea Gold drives a man... to dream!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Lyrics were not ELP's strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crabgrass Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 I saw Emerson, Lake & Palmer on their "Works" tour. They had a full 40-piece orchestra (with every instrument miked) with them. I was so expensive, by the following night they had cut the orchestra to 20 pieces and after that they did without it altogether. I'll bet one or more of them lost one of their mansions over that tour. Still though, it was the loudest, purest, least distorted sound I think I've ever heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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