Daily Doug Reaction

Hi

It's actually nice to see someone respond to this piece of music, and although DD can get into the incredible bits of orchestration of this piece (how do they do this live?) ... and the drumming ... in the end, I felt something missing.

I don't know what it is. I can't tell you. 

At the time, listening to this, it was difficult to get to what they were getting on about, although one thing was clear, and it was the computer image, even though at the time, there really were not available a lot of computers in order to be able to make the statements that they made here, though eventually the computerized thing took over by the 90's when personal computers were now possible and available to the public.

I do think that in some ways, it was less about the computers than it was about the mechanical voice of their audience, which continually wanted to hear their "hits" when all three of them were more interested in their music altogether than apart ... and to this day, not many fans of the band really can come to grips with this, and the incredible composing talents that helped Keith Emerson develop ... some musicianship that is above and beyond a lot of keyboard players, and should be RIGHTLY mentioned as a major composer, when these things are shown as a piano piece or an organ piece as Rachel Flowers has shown us.

The conflict, and it is in a couple of bootlegs, but blanked out in the live albums, were easy to hear ... during one part of Tarkus in a bootleg, several fans screaming ... Lucky Man ... and you or I would be upset if we were on the stage ... and eventually some folks did not like this ... and there is a story of Jim Morrison stopping everything, and telling them to shut up ... and stood still for many minutes and no one moved a finger ... and then he was able to continue the show and an hour later got a massive ovation ... he had won this battle with the audience. But ELP, could not win this battle ... their shows were too big, and the logistics were insane, not to mention the orchestra story that literally killed their spirits and lost them and the record company some money ... but I doubt that any record company is complaining about the money made that they are pocketing STILL today!

Today, listening to this piece introduced by DD, is a bit different ... all of a sudden you recognize the bits and pieces of incredible musicianship in the piece, that you did not exactly register before, or then! And, in some ways, this is good, and makes the appreciation of the piece/album that much better and more open to your ears.

Which is a good thing. You get to appreciate a great piece of music, although many folks don't seem to like the conceptual side of things in this album (same thing way back when!), and feel that the band should have just done a bunch of songs ... well, I don't think they would be ELP if it weren't for these compositions, rather than just songs, and this is what we MUST REMEMBER and is the difference between a great band, and just another band out there with a hit single!

Well done, DD, although I could ask that he listen to things once before so he can better discuss the details that he wants to, since he is always surprised when something unusual happens and in the case of ELP it WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, and it DID. When a person treats a lot of this music as just "songs", I am not sure that DD (and others) can appreciate the further potential of the music, and, as we know, and time has shown us, ELP deserves the credit for great music, which is still appreciated, and justifiably so!

Good job DD ... 

The legal adage never gets old: It can't be slander if it's true. Would have been proud of that one myself.