What ever happened to E.L.P.?

I read a story long ago (can’t remember where…I don’t recall it being Keyboard magazine, but I could be wrong), where Emerson took exception to a reviewer calling ELP “…all pomp and no circumstance…”

He thought that if they want an Elgar march, he’ll give them an Elgar march. That effort became Karn Evil 9: 3^rd Impression which does indeed contain elements sounding like a grandiose Elgar processional march.

This is what made ELP unique to me. They brought a sense of humor to the approach to their music that few other artists did.

LakeGlade12 wrote: I am not a big fan of ELP but they do have a bunch of strong songs scattered across their 70s albums. I think what holds them back for me and the top 100 list is their bad filler/joke songs. With the exception of their debut all of their albums have several (or a whole LP side for Tarkus) short messy tracks that get on my nerves. When I read reviews of their albums these tracks often get criticism and cause people to lower their rating to 3 or 4 stars. Their debut album does not have this filler which is why it's my favourite from ELP and I'm not surprised it's the only top 100 album.

I strongly disagree, Tarkus' second half is great and provides a contrast to the first side.   'Jeremy Bender', 'Bitches Crystal', 'Time and a Place' are not filler.   The only joke cut is Eddy.   

Said it many times before but PA listings tend to value consistency more than inspiration when it comes to album ratings. There is plenty wrong with the PA top 100 as far as I'm concerned, not just the lack of ELP. No Rick Wakeman albums at all (at least 2 should be in there) and he was a contemporary of ELP maybe even doing it better than them on Six Wives up to and inc White Rock. Scottish band Beggars Opera were also a tremendous band with all the chops of ELP. Their debut Act One was incredible. I think many reviewers actually don't appreciate this pure classical approach as Pedro suggests. The filler thing is a red herring imo. Just an excuse to mark them down for no good reason. For some reason Genesis can get away with Battle Of Epping Forest yet the knives are out when ELP do the 2 minute throwaway ditty BTB. My final thought is that ELP did untold damage to their legacy with the awful Love Beach. That was a horror story and their collective reputations took a massive hit and somehow never recovered from it. That gave all the ammunition needed to the punks yet in spirit they were as rebellious as any punk band which is the strangely ironic thing about the whole affair!

For this young prog fan, ELP sounds much more dated to my ears than most of the other 70s bands. My guess is it's the focus on keyboards, but then again other bands with lots of Hammond or Moog don't seem dated in the same way so I'm not sure. (Still love them though, I own all their albums!) My other guess is that they didn't really last as long as the others. Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, VDGG, etc., were still going strong (by prog standards) into the late 70s, whereas ELP seemed to have a creative burnout before the decade was halfway through. They had "reunion" albums in the 80s and 90s like King Crimson, but these were underwhelming at best.

octopus-4 wrote: Trilogy is in my own top 10 and I love Works Vol.1. I think I'm a fan and I often go to Rachel's versions of Piano concerto N.1 and Tarkus. But I have to admit that I listen to Camel and Renaissance more often

richardh wrote: Said it many times before but PA listings tend to value consistency more than inspiration when it comes to album ratings. There is plenty wrong with the PA top 100 as far as I'm concerned, not just the lack of ELP. No Rick Wakeman albums at all (at least 2 should be in there) and he was a contemporary of ELP maybe even doing it better than them on Six Wives up to and inc White Rock. Scottish band Beggars Opera were also a tremendous band with all the chops of ELP. Their debut Act One was incredible. I think many reviewers actually don't appreciate this pure classical approach as Pedro suggests. The filler thing is a red herring imo. Just an excuse to mark them down for no good reason. For some reason Genesis can get away with Battle Of Epping Forest yet the knives are out when ELP do the 2 minute throwaway ditty BTB. My final thought is that ELP did untold damage to their legacy with the awful Love Beach. That was a horror story and their collective reputations took a massive hit and somehow never recovered from it. That gave all the ammunition needed to the punks yet in spirit they were as rebellious as any punk band which is the strangely ironic thing about the whole affair!

A Top 100 anywhere without a single Wakeman album is just wrong, I concur!

I'm not sure about the other part. But I've noticed that the classical approach started getting sidelined with the advent of a different sound promulgated by the likes of Porcupine Tree, The Pineapple Thief, Haken, Devin Townsend Project (and solo), The Mars Volta, etc. It happens.

richardh wrote: My final thought is that ELP did untold damage to their legacy with the awful Love Beach. That was a horror story and their collective reputations took a massive hit and somehow never recovered from it. That gave all the ammunition needed to the punks yet in spirit they were as rebellious as any punk band which is the strangely ironic thing about the whole affair!

^ interestingly, the synth riff to Touch and Go comes from an old English folk song. So, they didn’t really create that melody line, but rather adapted it. Lovely Joan

Steve Wyzard wrote: richardh wrote: My final thought is that ELP did untold damage to their legacy with the awful Love Beach. That was a horror story and their collective reputations took a massive hit and somehow never recovered from it. That gave all the ammunition needed to the punks yet in spirit they were as rebellious as any punk band which is the strangely ironic thing about the whole affair! Then they doubled down on what went wrong with Love Beach and gave us In the Hot Seat. I know many people on this site don't enjoy ELPowell and Black Moon, but I really feel these albums gave them a whole new fanbase without disparaging their 1970's legacy. And then they flushed it all away with In the Hot Seat. How many bands get to release TWO career-killing nightmares?