What ever happened to E.L.P.?

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I prefer several ELP albums to anything by Camel, Renaissance, Van der Graaf Generator, and Focus.

Edited by omphaloskepsis - February 18 2025 at 07:17

In the US in the 70s they were quite a bit more popular than Genesis. However, these days the PG era of the band is much more widely appreciated than Genesis (even outside of prog circles). Even Gentle Giant are appreciated and more known (at least to prog fans). These days I'd say it's mostly classic rock fans and not so much prog fans who appreciate them. I'm talking about the fans from the old days. I doubt many younger music fans (of any genre) think too much of them. 

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - February 18 2025 at 07:08

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.

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.

Basically they could have very high ranking albums but quality control lets them down. If their debut album contained Tarkus then I am confident that would be a top 20 album on the rankings, as the quality is there when they got serious.

Edited by LakeGlade12 - February 18 2025 at 03:52

ELP were once the biggest band in the world and they were incredibly talented. As a teenager, I got into them while they were on hiatus in the mid-70s and then they returned with Works Vol. 1.  I thought the group side was fantastic and stood up well against their previous albums.  ELP weren't afraid to mix up musical styles which messed with the heads of the prog purists and then they became targets of the high priests of punk.  Admittedly, Works Vol. 2 wasn't an album as such (I wished they had done more stuff like 'Bullfrog', which sounded like Shamal era Gong to me!) and despite the post-modern irony of the cover (lost on 'serious' prog fans), 'Love Beach' sounded jaded although it has some good moments.  I was lucky enough to see their last ever gig in London in 2010 which was a huge reminder of how great they were.  The year after, in the same slot, I saw Dream Theatre (I left early...what a load of crap)

Forgive me if this question has been asked before, but how come Emerson, Lake and Palmer barely even make the Prog Archives Top 100 these days? (Their debut album is at No. 93, and as far as I can tell, that's it.) Oh, I must admit I never thought they were as convincing as Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull or other 1970s contemporaries... But to see them surpassed by the likes of Camel, Renaissance and Focus... For someone who grew up in the 1970s that feels very strange. Have classics such as TRILOGY and BRAIN SALADE SURGERY fallen out of favour? I'd like to hear your ideas.