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Harry Hood View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 19:10
Greg Lake.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 19:18
All their versions of classical works. 

Actually, most of their music but the fantastic "Tarkus" 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 19:33

Not enough guitar.

It's prog ROCK.
You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 20:26
I've only got BSS and Tarkus, and I only really love Karn Evil 9. The rest of BSS is trivial, but generally not bad (except Benny the Bouncer). Tarkus (the song) is quite good, but the rest of the album is just little bits of meaningless rubbish, really. Why did they feel the need to do this? It's discouraged me from buying any more ELP.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 20:33

A band that released two masterpieces (BSS & Triklogy) plus several very good albums, has no problems in my book.

I don't like Love Beach or In the Hot Seat, but I don't listen them.
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 20:50
Nothing is wrong with them. I just personally find their music to generally be boring. Wink

I moderately enjoy Tarkus, Trilogy, and BSS, but I don't even remotely consider myself a fan. I often find their music to be directionless, and lacking in interesting sections. People criticize Dream Theater for just being pretentious and self-indulgent soloing, but at least DT can create interesting solos. Most times when I listen to songs like Take A Pebble I get bored to tears.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 21:18
Originally posted by Gerinski Gerinski wrote:

Originally posted by Progologue Progologue wrote:

The debut is very good, Tarkus is similarly good, Trilogy fairly good. But I think they became pretty cheesy after that. 
All opinions are welcome and respected, but let me tell you: you're the first person I've known about to call Brain Salad Surgery 'Cheesy' !!!
"Man of stone born alone ties a rope around a tree and hangs the universe" "Ever day a little sadder a little madder somebody get me a letter" "LOAD YOUR YOUR PROGRAM I AM YOURSELF" If you like the music, fine (I don't anymore), but those lyrics are just dreadful.
if you own a sodastream i hate you
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 21:29
ELP is my favorite band (since I was 3 years old!!!!).... I don't know if the first album deserves 5 stars but the next 4 are definite 5 star material (Takus, Pictures, Trilogy ,BSS)....
People complain about them being pompous, pretentious, over the top, etc. but IT IS PROG! and those are some of the things that make ELP and prog so great and entertaining
Michael's Sonic Kaleidoscope Mondays 5:00pm EST(re-runs Thursdays 3:00pm) @ Delicious Agony Progressive Rock Radio(http://www.deliciousagony.com)

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 13 2010 at 22:14
I can say that I like ELP a lot, many great songs. For me the problem is that there's no really solid album for my taste. I have a similar "problem" with Dream Theater, I love their music, but based on songs I like, there's no album I really love on the whole from them either. In the case of ELP, they have many annoying songs for me. I think the closest to a full album that I like (from the ones I know) would be Pictures at an Exhibition. Oh yes, and Black Moon has just about no song that annoys me... but also just about no really impressive song (it does have some good ones anyway, but none on par with their peak).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 07:18
Originally posted by Henry Plainview Henry Plainview wrote:

Originally posted by Gerinski Gerinski wrote:

Originally posted by Progologue Progologue wrote:

The debut is very good, Tarkus is similarly good, Trilogy fairly good. But I think they became pretty cheesy after that. 
All opinions are welcome and respected, but let me tell you: you're the first person I've known about to call Brain Salad Surgery 'Cheesy' !!!
"Man of stone born alone ties a rope around a tree and hangs the universe" "Ever day a little sadder a little madder somebody get me a letter" "LOAD YOUR YOUR PROGRAM I AM YOURSELF" If you like the music, fine (I don't anymore), but those lyrics are just dreadful.
 
Someone get me a ladder (not a'' letter''). This was partly an injoke as they did a tour entitled something like 'Take A Ladder'  prior to recording BSS.
 
You quote other lyrics from KE9 that were co written with Pete Sinfield. Lake admittedly was very poor at writing sci -fi lyrics as it was an area in which he had little interest.
 
I am slightly annoyed that people are suggesting that Greg Lake couldn't write decent lyrics. The whole Trilogy album stands up very well lyrically. He was good at painting interesting images and could structure the lyrics well. Of course he was no Roger Waters or Tony Banks but he was far away from being a bad lyricist.Check out From The Beginning at least. Beautifull song. Also Lucky Man which he wrote as a teenager.Good stuff imo.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 07:42
Well, I would take my favourite KC/Gentle Giant/Genesis/Yes/JT albums over my favourite ELP album Tarkus, but I don't really understand the usual complaints against them, and especially the one about lack of rock.  Even though Gentle Giant have a lot of guitar in their music, it's still far away from rock.  So is Red Queen To Gryphon Three, lot of VDGG as well.   I agree with those who said that the complaints of pompousness levelled against them are precisely what make prog enjoyable and ELP is a very, very enjoyable prog rock band. Clap
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 08:02
Originally posted by Kazza3 Kazza3 wrote:

I've only got BSS and Tarkus, and I only really love Karn Evil 9. The rest of BSS is trivial, but generally not bad (except Benny the Bouncer). Tarkus (the song) is quite good, but the rest of the album is just little bits of meaningless rubbish, really. Why did they feel the need to do this? It's discouraged me from buying any more ELP.
I feel pretty much the same about those two albums - the debut and Trilogy are also worth getting; there's nothing on either as outstanding as the 2 great epics, but overall they're more consistent.
 
There are bits of ELP that I love to distraction, but there's also a lot that I find pretty much unlistenable. It's interesting to compare them with Egg, another keyboard led trio with strong classical influences but with a much more understated approach (and much lower sales).
'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'

Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 13:04
I place Pictures at An Exhibition, Self Titled, and Tarkus (Song not album) pretty high up, the rest I don't really care for except a song or two off of Trilogy.

And if we're going to bring up Egg....Egg at their worst is better than ELP at their best.  Except Egg was far too consistent to have a worst.


Edited by himtroy - March 14 2010 at 13:06
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 16:30
Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

no no no.... it is not 'what is wrong with ELP'...  it should be... 'what is wrong with those who can not get into ELP'
precisely-well said
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 23:12
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by Henry Plainview Henry Plainview wrote:

Originally posted by Gerinski Gerinski wrote:

Originally posted by Progologue Progologue wrote:

The debut is very good, Tarkus is similarly good, Trilogy fairly good. But I think they became pretty cheesy after that. 
All opinions are welcome and respected, but let me tell you: you're the first person I've known about to call Brain Salad Surgery 'Cheesy' !!!
"Man of stone born alone ties a rope around a tree and hangs the universe" "Ever day a little sadder a little madder somebody get me a letter" "LOAD YOUR YOUR PROGRAM I AM YOURSELF" If you like the music, fine (I don't anymore), but those lyrics are just dreadful.
 
Someone get me a ladder (not a'' letter''). This was partly an injoke as they did a tour entitled something like 'Take A Ladder'  prior to recording BSS.
 
You quote other lyrics from KE9 that were co written with Pete Sinfield. Lake admittedly was very poor at writing sci -fi lyrics as it was an area in which he had little interest.
 
I am slightly annoyed that people are suggesting that Greg Lake couldn't write decent lyrics. The whole Trilogy album stands up very well lyrically. He was good at painting interesting images and could structure the lyrics well. Of course he was no Roger Waters or Tony Banks but he was far away from being a bad lyricist.Check out From The Beginning at least. Beautifull song. Also Lucky Man which he wrote as a teenager.Good stuff imo.
Psh, typo! The question is not whether or not Greg Lake could write good lyrics, it's whether or not the BSS lyrics are cheesy. And they are.
if you own a sodastream i hate you
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 23:19
Originally posted by presdoug presdoug wrote:

Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

no no no.... it is not 'what is wrong with ELP'...  it should be... 'what is wrong with those who can not get into ELP'
precisely-well said

I'm just not into the music they made, I "get" it, I just don't find it enjoyable, there is nothing wrong with ELP(except some lyricsDead) or me.


Edited by A Person - March 14 2010 at 23:40
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 14 2010 at 23:34
I'm with Matt that there's nothing wrong with them or with the people who don't like their music.  I only really enjoy their debut lately, but I don't have a problem with other people liking/loving/hating/ignoring them.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 15 2010 at 00:03

I have never wanted to lisen to any of their classic 4 all the way through; they're very inconsistent.

Tarkus is my favorite epic though.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 15 2010 at 03:47
Originally posted by Kazza3 Kazza3 wrote:

I've only got BSS and Tarkus, and I only really love Karn Evil 9. The rest of BSS is trivial, but generally not bad (except Benny the Bouncer). Tarkus (the song) is quite good, but the rest of the album is just little bits of meaningless rubbish, really. Why did they feel the need to do this? It's discouraged me from buying any more ELP.
 
Bitches crystal and The only way are the best songs on the album Clap
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 15 2010 at 05:04
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by Henry Plainview Henry Plainview wrote:

Originally posted by Gerinski Gerinski wrote:

Originally posted by Progologue Progologue wrote:

The debut is very good, Tarkus is similarly good, Trilogy fairly good. But I think they became pretty cheesy after that. 
All opinions are welcome and respected, but let me tell you: you're the first person I've known about to call Brain Salad Surgery 'Cheesy' !!!
"Man of stone born alone ties a rope around a tree and hangs the universe" "Ever day a little sadder a little madder somebody get me a letter" "LOAD YOUR YOUR PROGRAM I AM YOURSELF" If you like the music, fine (I don't anymore), but those lyrics are just dreadful.
 
Someone get me a ladder (not a'' letter''). This was partly an injoke as they did a tour entitled something like 'Take A Ladder'  prior to recording BSS.
 
You quote other lyrics from KE9 that were co written with Pete Sinfield. Lake admittedly was very poor at writing sci -fi lyrics as it was an area in which he had little interest.
 
I am slightly annoyed that people are suggesting that Greg Lake couldn't write decent lyrics. The whole Trilogy album stands up very well lyrically. He was good at painting interesting images and could structure the lyrics well. Of course he was no Roger Waters or Tony Banks but he was far away from being a bad lyricist.Check out From The Beginning at least. Beautifull song. Also Lucky Man which he wrote as a teenager.Good stuff imo.


Lucky Man? Why was he lucky? - he got shot!
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