LOVE BEACH

Back when this album was released, I would have rated it with one star. This album was far worse than anything they had ever release, so far beneath their previous output it was rendered unlistenable. But, now, more than three deacades later, I must re-evaluate that. They have released worse since then. Black Moon was marginally worse, and In The Hot Seat is far worse. So two stars it is.

The first half of the album is just terrible. Plain pop songs. But at least Lake still had his voice, Palmer could still play rings around almost every other rock drummer, and Emerson, for what little he was adding, was still Emerson.

The second half is better. Canario, yet another Ginastera-based piece, is very good, but not great. And the "epic", Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman, not as good as Pirates, which was nowhere near as good as Tarkus and Karn Evil 9, has some tolerable sections, as well as some snore inducing parts.