Anyway, what are your thoughts about this group? Favorite album, how did you first get into them, etc. For me, in the early 80's I didn't even know 'prog' existed(and only really knew the music I heard by chance on the radio). Then I was at a friend's house and he had the self-titled Asia album(it was brand new). We listened to it and I loved it! So I went straight away and got the cassette tape for myself(my friend had the actual LP). Then when Alpha came out I immediately went and got that. Well anyway, being an aspiring drummer myself in those days, I thought Carl Palmer was really great(he is) and talked about him and found out that he had been in another really popular group before that called ELP(Emerson, Lake & Palmer). So then I rushed right out to get something by them, and ended up getting Brain Salad Surgery. Well I didn't like it! So it sat for a while until I eventually bought their self-titled debut(and liked that one). So then eventually I started liking BSS too and very soon even more than the debut. Well now I have all their albums except Love Beach and the ones after that. I still think BSS is the best one. But I love Trilogy a lot too. And Tarkus is awesome except a bit uneven imo toward the end. But those first four albums are all still really good. And ELP is definitely in my top 3 of all time prog bands(with Yes and Genesis).

P.S. Remember to copy your reply before sending! Just in case, you know what, gets you! 

Oh that sucks. Oh well, at least we always have those first four great albums(and Pictures).. And yeah Tarkus and Trilogy, can't argue with that at all, both fantastic albums. 

Barbu wrote: presdoug wrote: I prefer Triumvirat.

I'm sure that's something I should know, but.. no clue. 

Ok, I did some research and I think I found it? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumvirate_(album)

Interesting, I'll have to check that out.. Doubt I'll like it as much as ELP but who knows. 

That sound like some good @#%#$. Definitely have to check into that! 

And yeah, early ELP totally essential as far as prog goes. I agree. 

AZF wrote: In the 90's after getting into Pink Floyd, I thought about other bands. But the fact ELP were always having the piss taken out of them but me off. Eventually I learned not to worry about what other people thought and dived into the excellent "The Atlantic Years" compilation. Didn't see what all the hate was about as it was pretty great. I think "Tarkus" is still my favourite piece.

Yeah Tarkus is an interesting album. I don't like it quite as much as Trilogy(at the moment), but it is really good for sure.   

Edit: Oh I think you mean the first half.. Yeah, that is awesome. 

Logan wrote: Regarding the Triumvirat comment, we've kind of got our little memes here that act as internal jokes. For instance, all post '89 music sucks, which refers to an ex-poster. We're a bit of an eccentric group with different obsessions. I guess I was thought of around here as the Art Zoyd fanatic. As for ELP, I like the debut the most. The first album I got was Trilogy, and it was one of the first album I got when I got back into Prog, or into Prog in a big way back near the turn of the millennium.   I was looking for particular music that I remembered hearing when I was younger but didn't know what it was (that was Hairless Heart by Genesis). I found a sample on amazon, I think. In the meantime I also found music by ELP off Trilogy that I remembered. I must have heard the album Trilogy when I was a kid, because when I got the album I recognized the whole thing. Anyway, partially because of nostalgia, I really loved ELP back then. I stopped listening to ELP quite some years ago as my music interest shifted, but I do enjoy listening to them now and again. FOr me ELP often is just "too much" to handle. If you can't stand the heat, don't jump in the Lake (not that Greg was the problem). ELP is important from a Prog 101 perspective for sure. The band has become less fashionable in Prog circles as I think some think it took excess to too much of an extreme (too bombastic), but I think most would find music by ELP that would appeal. Stuff like "Oh Lucky Man: of course remains popular amongst classic rock fans.

Yeah I still hear that one on classic rock radio, as well as some karn evil. I kind of grow in and out of ELP too, but they are important enough to me that I thought they should be my first topic on here. Thanks for sharing. 

Edit: Yeah the first album is kind of special to me too, but I like the three after it better(just more my style). I kind of alternate between Trilogy and BSS as my favorite.  

fredyair wrote: ELP made probably the best symphonic prog music ever, but by the mid '70s they have already burned, contract deals and/or management made them go for too long. Their '90s album Black Moon kind of redeemed the group. Ultimately Emerson health problems were too much to overcome and ended costing him his life. Going back to the first albums, all the way to Works in my opinion, the lyrical and musical content was beyond anybody else and talk about musicianship! Emerson was the most gifted keyboard player of his generation, Palmer the best or at least top 5 drummer and Lake the best vocalist of the crop. So even though most people consider Yes and Genesis the best groups of the founding generation in my consideration ELP is the unmistakable number one.

I like Works but not as much as those first four. I kind of think of Yes as the unmistakable number one, but ELP is certainly right there and oh yeah Emerson is such a wizard on those keyboards! Gotta love it.

Oh is Black Moon any good? I've never heard that one..

Logan wrote: fredyair wrote: ELP made probably the best symphonic prog music ever, but by the mid '70s they have already burned, contract deals and/or management made them go for too long. Their '90s album Black Moon kind of redeemed the group. Ultimately Emerson health problems were too much to overcome and ended costing him his life. Going back to the first albums, all the way to Works in my opinion, the lyrical and musical content was beyond anybody else and talk about musicianship! Emerson was the most gifted keyboard player of his generation, Palmer the best or at least top 5 drummer and Lake the best vocalist of the crop. So even though most people consider Yes and Genesis the best groups of the founding generation in my consideration ELP is the unmistakable number one. Like 'em or leave 'em, I would say that ELP is THE quintessential Prog band. That said, at least in hardcore Prog circles, I think King Crimson tends to get the laurels as the King of Prog.

Oh no.. that means I guess I have to get into King Crimson now to call myself a real prog fan. I'm very familiar with their first album, "In The Court.." with my man Greg. But never cared about them after that. 

Oh boy.. King Crimson here I come lol

Logan wrote: I'm procrastiposting [sic] , whereas I should be working.    I really like the follow-up, In the Wake of Poseidon, which also features Greg Lake (don't know if you have heard it, but it is a similar album to the debut). Personally, Lizard is my favourite, and if by your username I'm right to guess that you like Yes, and if you haven't heard Lizard, this is worth listening to for Jon Anderson's vocals: Great thing about Prog is there's always more to explore, but that can be a double-edged sword, and the wallet sure can suffer.

I need to run to the store to get something for my freakin dinner here lol. But thanks so much for posting this! I'll check it out when I get back. And you're right, my username is supposed to be a "mashup" of Yes and Genesis. Yes is my favorite prog band. I love all their albums pretty much, but imo everything from "The Yes Album" through "Going for the One" just can't be beat. I love Genesis a lot too(I could actually talk about them all night lol). But gotta run. Be back later. 

"As for the quintessential rock band... I'm mostly inclined to give the title to Yes, specially if the Fragile / CttE line-up is considered.."

Man after my own heart! 

"As for King Crimson, you really can't call yourself a prog fan without knowing them.."

Yep I was afraid of that. Oh well, I'll have to start making myself like all their stuff now(or at least the essential stuff) like I did with Gentle Giant. Watch, then there'll be some other band that's now the 'acid test' of true prog fandom. And it'll be like this album of literally nothing but random, obnoxious noises. But if you 'can't get into it' or 'find it too challenging' then you're not a 'true prog fan.' No, I'm obviously joking around. But thanks for the suggestion and your input on ELP. I'll get to all those other prog bands later.. going to concentrate on King Crimson now. I listened to some of Red but wasn't liking it, I'll try again though. Plus those other 3 albums.. Poseidon, Lizard, Lark's. Then when I get to where I love those 4 albums maybe it'll lead to wanting to explore them even further.. But anyway it sounds like those are the one that are essential. 

 

ElP is a band I respect highly, but have always struggled with a lot of their albums. Somehow I always felt they were rather inconsistent. I would love some tracks but remained indifferent to others. Tarkus side 1 is fantastic,and Trilogy is an album to cherish. But saying that most albums have something of interest. For me it's the work of Keith Emerson that makes their sound on the pieces of music I like so attractive. Perhaps you should also take a look at The Nice,especially their version of America. Wow, that Hammond can scream.

I remember hearing Lucky Man on the radio a lot when I was a kid...I was fascinated with the sad words and that insane whooping thing at the end ...it was a magical song.  Fast forward 4 years and BSS was the very 1st prog album I ever bought, so ELP was my gateway and will always hold a special place.  Then I got Welcome Back... so got used to the sped up version of Tarkus so the studio version was pretty disappointing.  Of the 70's albums, I still give them all a spin in their entirety except Works I & II  & Love Beach (though I'll give Pirates, Fanfare, Hallowed be thy Name and Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman a listen once in awhile).  

Recently I got hold of the "Live at Mar Y Sol Festival 1972" album and it's incredible!  I think for sound quality and performance it blows Welcome Back... out of the water (though Welcome Back is still very cool).

After that they took a nosedive for me but 'ces't la vie'....no pun intended.

I can listen to the debut over and over again......a great early prog rock work imho.

Tom Ozric wrote: Man I love it when someone new enters our beloved cult When I first read this I immediately tried to delete my account, but it wouldn't let me!  First 5 albums = top-tier Prog. No question My pick will always be their Piccies album. Followed by Tarkus (both sides.....) You love all of Tarkus huh.. I usually stop listening after side one. I should probably stop doing that lol.

Kepler62 wrote: That tripple live album was terrific. Still have original vinyl. Great version of Aqua Tarkus. I remember when we got Love Beach it was a real downer. My friend just said, " well people, it's over" and lit up another joint. Not the band's fault. Best track for me was Fanfare For The Common Man. Might throw Trilogy on the turntable.  It's been a while.

Even after seeing that photo on the cover you were probably like, "Well no don't panic it's still ELP.." But then after the first two tracks you probably were like, "Oh..crap." I like Canario a fair amount from that album. 

scruffydragon wrote: Crimson may take many  years to acquire the taste for some of their albums, Larks tongues especially, but when it clicks the world of Prog will suddenly shift and many doors to many new and exciting species of music will suddenly open to you. Hmm, ok well guess it'll be worth it then..   ElP is a band I respect highly, but have always struggled with a lot of their albums. Somehow I always felt they were rather inconsistent. I would love some tracks but remained indifferent to others. Tarkus side 1 is fantastic,and Trilogy is an album to cherish.. For me it's the work of Keith Emerson that makes their sound on the pieces of music I like so attractive. Perhaps you should also take a look at The Nice,especially their version of America. Wow, that Hammond can scream.

The bolded part I completely agree with. Thanks for the suggestion about The Nice. I've seen them mentioned a few times now, so I may really have to check them out.. After I finish acquiring that taste for KC lol. 

Yeah I haven't listened to Works in a long time either. You sound like a true fan(not that everyone posting in this thread isn't). I'll definitely have to check out this Mar Y Sol Festival deal(I didn't even know that existed). 

Unfortunately yeah, they pretty much did. 

 

Interesting. I feel "Karn Evil 9" is the absolute pinnacle of their "progression." But everything they recorded in their initial four-year-long heyday is absolutely essential in my book. Still...they turn me on!

A true fan?  You might say that...I did see them at the Oakland Arena on the Works '77 tour   

A couple things about that show, the opening band was Journey.  It was about a month before they hired Steve Perry so hadn't blatantly gone commercial yet and still had the proggy tendencies of their early albums.  ELP had already fired the orchestra because they were losing too much money so you got Pirates with Keith filling all the orchestral parts like a madman.  Have always remembered one of Keith's great comments to the audience.  After a song ended a roadie came out and was working on Keith's setup...he walks up to the mic and says:

"I'm having a little organ trouble...bet you can all get into that" 

As far as the Mar Y Sol '72 album goes, you get a fantastic ripping 23 minute Tarkus, abbreviated 15 minute Pictures at an Exhibition, and their big show stopper from the early 70's, an 18+ minute Rondo with a killer CP drum solo and Keith with some of his finest live Hammond work ever, plus Hoedown, Take a Pebble, Lucky Man, and Keith's 10 minute Piano Improvisation showcase.   Plus the sound quality is significantly better than "Welcome Back..."

 

There's some good material on the Works albums.

 

I also like the Emerson, Lake & Powell record a lot.

 

Black Moon was a very enjoyable comeback.

 

Now, that 3 album (Emerson, Palmer, Berry), and In the Hot Seat...yeah those are forgettable.

Oh man! You saw ELP live with a (before Steve Perry)Journey.. Mercy you're lucky. What I wouldn't give to be able to go back in time and be catch that show! 

I like a lot of Works, just not nearly as much as the first 5 albums(including Pictures). And then I never really followed their career after that. I've listened to Love Beach a couple times but that's it(couldn't stomach it more than that). 

People keep mentioning Black Moon I'll have to check that out after I finish this KC deal. Listening to Larks' right now and just got done listening to Red again. So far seem kind of heavy and dark..

Tom Ozric wrote: EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER are among the most brilliant of Prog bands. I can't understand those who think otherwise.....??

Haha. I can't either. I think whoever this person is... needs to be labeled on here as "not a true prog fan."

I'm kidding of course. I love ELP but if someone else doesn't it's cool.

Cool I like that album a lot too. That's the one album by them that I do know, but I'm working on the others slowly but surely. So far I don't like them but that could change.. I didn't like Gentle Giant at first either(seemed too bizarre), but now I love them. 

Sounds like you know a lot about KC so I appreciate your knowledge and input. 

Definitely lucky...though I bet there's probably a small group of people around here who saw the BSS tour in '74 

I like Love Beach a lot, although the synths have always been irritating by comparison with those on the earlier albums. Even the otherwise bland In the Hot Seat, is listenable to me, just to hear Greg Lake's voice. To use a terrible cliche, he really could sing the telephone directory and make it sound good.

The ELP with Cozy Powell album has too much echo on Lake's voice, especially as it is not needed, but it does contain a worthy oddity in The Score. Dark Moon brought about the tour which produced the best ELP performance imo that came on the 1992 BBC broadcast from the Albert Hall, introduced by Alan Freeman. The DVD and CD were disappointing, because they omitted Pictures at an Exhibition and Pirates, but there is an official bootleg. Their presentation of this version of Pictures at an Exhibition/Pirates is monumental by any standard. 

I came to ELP from Lake/McDonald-era Crimson and Atomic Rooster (less so The Nice who are okay), and you cannot go wrong with either of them. Speaking of The Nice, Refugee without Emerson were very good - the instrumental, Ritt Mickley, stands out. Greg Lake's solo band albums with Gary Moore are worth hearing, as is Keith Emerson's OST for Nighthawks. 

 

I think it's a very underrated record. "The Score," "The Miracle," "Touch and Go," "Love Blind" and even "Step Aside" all rock my boat.

 

Big Ears wrote: Black Moon brought about the tour which produced the best ELP performance imo that came on the 1992 BBC broadcast from the Albert Hall, introduced by Alan Freeman. The DVD and CD were disappointing, because they omitted Pictures at an Exhibition and Pirates, but there is an official bootleg. Their presentation of this version of Pictures at an Exhibition/Pirates is monumental by any standard.

 

ELP's concert at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles remains one of the best shows I've ever seen. Incredible.

Big Ears wrote: Speaking of The Nice, Refugee without Emerson were very good - the instrumental, Ritt Mickley, stands out.

 

It's a must if you're into the keyboard trio prog rock sound!

 

Big Ears wrote: Greg Lake's solo band albums with Gary Moore are worth hearing, as is Keith Emerson's OST for Nighthawks.

 

I like those solo Lake records a lot.

 

Even better: Keith's scores for Dario Argento's Inferno, and Michele Soavi's The Church. The 3CD collection At The Movies contains those, plus Best Revenge, Murderock, Harmagedon, and Godzilla: Final Wars. (Keith's music for Marvel's 1994 Iron Man animated series is not a part of the set.)

Wow, this is a true fan. I gotta get into some of this stuff beyond just the first 5 albums lol. Great suggestions, thanks. 

I was 15 in '86. Born may of '71. Haha, those first 2 or 3 songs on Love Beach you're not crazy about though huh lol. 

Yeah CTTE I didn't like the first time I heard it either. I had 90125 and people said, oh you gotta get Close to the Edge and Fragile.. basically along the lines of 'you're not a true fan if you don't have that early proggy stuff.' The same thing happened with Genesis btw(I had the self-titled album and people weren't satisfied until I got the earlier Gabriel stuff). So I was kind of forced into prog by the 'real' fans of the 80's stuff I was already listening to at the time. But anyway, you mentioned Van der Graaf Generator.. I'm sort of trying to get into them as well now(seem to be big on this forum). I listened to The least we can do.. and it was very just ok imo. But then I really liked the second song on Pawn Hearts. The organ along with whatever that distortion is was pretty kick ass. So not sure what to think of them so far. But yeah.. Crimson idk, I've listened to Red and 'Larks' a couple times each now and it's good. Both are very heavy.. and then become much more mellow.. and some interesting instruments and stuff, but it's not classic Yes lol. It's good but didn't blow me away basically. So I gave them a chance.. just, idk.. good but definitely not my favorite. 

Agreed...very overlooked.  Back in my vinyl days it was one of those "side 1 only albums" for me...but what a great side 1!!!  And I always thought the "Touch and Go" video was really cool too 

Predoug is our resident Triumvirat fanatic. If you like ELP definitely check them out.  The first three albums are the best.

The fourth album, Old Loves Die Hard, is a winner! (The first record is simply too derivative of ELP.)

 

 

 

 

 

zachfive wrote: Yeah Old Loves Die Hard has some great vocals by Barry Palmer

Barry P..Palmer?? Now I gotta hear this album..

Alright cool, thanks for the suggestion. 

And that's a bad thing? 

 

More stellar ELP-inspired albums you need to check out:

 

Ars Nova – Fear and Anxiety

Ars Nova – Transi

Ars Nova – The Goddess of Darkness

Ars Nova – Book of the Dead

Cherry Five – self-titled

Deja-Vu – Baroque in the Future

Gerard – Pandora's Box

Gerard – Live at Marseilles

Gerard/Ars Nova – Keyboards Triangle

Gerard – Keyboards Triangle 2

Jaime Rosas – Virgo

Jaime Rosas Trio – Extremos

Motoi Sakuraba – Gikyoku Onsou

Social Tension – MacBethia

U.K. – Danger Money

 

...and if you haven't heard Rick Wakeman's Six Wives of Henry VIII, or Criminal Record...you need to!

Dellinger wrote: YESESIS wrote: Rick %$#^ Wakeman.. now you're speaking my language! Thanks a lot for the suggestions. If you want some input on Rick Wakeman, I might be able to help you there too. He's one of my very favourite artists (along with Yes, Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield, and Dream Theater).

I appreciate it buddy. I used to be into Floyd but are they truly considered prog? Dream Theater I keep hearing mentioned but don't know anything by them, and this Mike person same thing. I already know a lot about Yes(them and Genesis are literally my favorite prog bands). LOVE ELP and Gentle Giant too though! 

My man Wakeman, does this Six Wives of Henry VIII and Criminal Record sound like classic Yes? If so then I might really have to check them out. I love everyone from the Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, Bruford lineup of Yes. 

For King Crimon (KC) the first albums until red would be not too hard I guess, but I suggest listening to their recent shows. It seems a little lighter to take and then see which songs you like and which albums they originally come from. Mainly KC was for me just getting used to a lot of dissonance and distortion...

As for ELP, adore their stuff! A lot of their songs have that typical classical feel. My favourites are The Endless Enigma, KE9 part (!)2(!), Tarkus obv., and yeah The Barbarian just rocks. Greg Lake is also my favourite singer (oh the first vocal part of Trilogy!). Though my very favourite band is Gentle Giant (with ELP and KC close behind), I guess that's my "obsession"?

Oh and yeah Dream Theater is probably the most popular Prog-metal bands, very technical, complicated rhythms (not really compared to tech-metal bands though) and has a lot of energy, but for me it gets boring after a while. And copying is somewhat against the nature of progressive rock, why many don't appreciate for example Triumvirat and In The Wake Of Poseidon (and shhh Neo-prog as a complete genre but shhhhh you can't say that ;)

 

Those albums are entirely instrumental, which is why I love them so much.

 

Rick's famous "symphonic" albums are Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I'm not sure if you'll like those.

 

However, I strongly recommend the album Rick put out a few years back called Out There. That one featured Damian Wilson on lead vocals and was the best thing Rick had done in many years.

Be careful friend! *looks around* Please don't say things that you umm 'shouldn't say on here.' I..I don't want there to be a problem. 

Your favorite band is Gentle Giant?? And you're obsessed? Hmm, I might be able to identify with that a little bit. 

Anyway thanks for your input about ELP. I largely agree with it and although Lake is not my favorite singer, he's definitely right up there! Oh and I greatly appreciate your advice about KC, I may have to give them another chance. 

Cool! I don't need singing. I really like albums like The Snow Goose by Camel or Nouveau Calls by Wishbone Ash. Now I HAVE to check these out. Thanks again. 

dr wu23 wrote: I suppose my only knock at ELP are the little 'beer hall' cute songs they included here and there on the early albums after the debut. To me they ruined/interrupted the flow of the longer more prog like tracks and the nice ballads. I never understood the point of that.....imho it would have been better to put them all on an album dedicated to the 'fun' songs so as not to affect the flow of the other albums with themed prog tracks.

Oh like Jeremy Bender. I'm not a huge fan of those either, but don't mind them. Sort of make the records slightly more interesting I suppose lol. Idk, to each their own. Thanks for your input though. 

If you do a search on here I believe you can still find some good threads on instrumental prog. 

Cool, that sounds totally right up my alley. Thanks a lot.

And I just finished listening to the debut album all the way through, and it was pretty much like I remembered.. VERY good but still don't like it as much as the three studio albums that followed(they're just more my style).  

Cosmiclawnmower wrote: My Favourite ELP lp (by miles) is the self titled first lp, vinyl on the original pink Island label.. and I really like Tarkus. I like Trilogy too but to a slightly lesser extent. My main problem with Brain salad surgery is the production; its very tinny and harsh with limited mid range and an odd metallic sheen over the whole thing.. I understand that perhaps that was intentional for Karn Evil 9 and fits into the futuristic theme but it just makes it almost unlistenable to my ears.. I admit, this is listening to original vinyl on a reasonable spec set up, not a re-mastered version. I briefly worked with a guy who in a previous position worked for ELP in logistics in the 70's and we went to see them on the Black Moon tour and it was a seriously good show and re-kindled my interest in their early lps. And, yes, I thought some of the Emerson, Lake and Powell lp was very good too..

Wow, that's cool. And thanks for your input. 

 

 

It's still considered one of his "instrumental" albums, unlike, for example, JttCotE, 1984, Time Machine, Rock 'n Roll Prophet, Out There, etc.

Awesome, thanks again for all the recommendations. Yeah, even sometimes on an album I'll be jamming out to the music and then singing starts and I'll like, "oh no come on.. don't ruin it!" 

Well only two singers were the same for both sessions(Liza Strike and Barry St. John)but you can still hear strong similarities in the backing vocals nonetheless. 

Dellinger wrote: Oh yeah, one more thing, for the Genesis loving part, you might want to check out Big Big Train's English Electric albums. I really loved those ones, and they had that feel from Genesis, without ripping them off. Though, actually, given the sound they achieved, I would love if they would make a tribute album of classic Genesis.

I do love my classic Genesis.. ANY Genesis tbh.  Yeah wow, thanks a lot for all of these great suggestions in all these posts tonight. A lot to digest lol. And that Mike guy sounds great.. 4 albums in a row of pure instrumental magic. Mercy, that sounds fantastic to me. And that Catherine of Aragon performed by almost the CTTE lineup.. anything done by that version of Yes has to be good! So thanks again for all your suggestions.. looks like a whole lot of terrific stuff here for me to discover.. 

Yes & genesis 1970-1977 have far more quality and consistency.

I would recommend - The Par Lindh project - Gothic Impressions - thats very ELP in parts and It's a brilliant CD!

 

I concur, and the next two are even better: Mundus Incompertus, and Veni Vidi Vici.

 

A decade later, Par Lindh returned with a new album and line-up for Time Mirror, which is also good.

 

Check my big list of recommends in this thread.