Emerson Lake & Palmer
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73218
Printed Date: November 27 2024 at 14:28
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Topic: Emerson Lake & Palmer
Posted By: Rush77
Subject: Emerson Lake & Palmer
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 13:02
| Hey everybody so i was lookin at the site and noticed that ELP is rated pretty low and i was wondering y so im gonna ask everyone who reads this their opinion on this band. Personally i find them to be utterly amazing and one of my fav bands of all time but thats just my opinion plz tell me wat u think about them |
Replies:
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 13:07
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I love them. My favourite band when I was 13+. Still one of my very top bands. They may get a bit of a slagging here though. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 13:12
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ELP's albums up through Welcome back My Friends... will always be favorites of mine.
Some people don't like them. It happens. ------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 13:13
Can't argue with that. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Evolver wrote:Posted By: Formentera Lady
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 13:30
| I personally think they are best when they play adaptions of classical music. I think I'll add a 4-star rating for 'Pictures at an Exhibition'. |
Posted By: Varon
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 13:45
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I like them very much . Personally I think this is the most powerfull band in progrock . It's in my top 5 of all time. Karn Evil 9, Tarkus, Take a pebble, Toccata are real masterpieces . That's a pity that their greatest album (1973) is very uderrated here . It should be in top 10 .
------------- Would you catch the final words of mine? Would you catch my words??? |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 22:25
| There are lots of ELP songs that I really like a lot. But the thing with them is that there is no one album that I would rate as a masterpiece as a whole (Pictures at an Exhibition my be the closest for me). I don't really like it when they go into that sort of "carnival" music, or I don't know how to describe it (as the "mass" part of Tarkus, or the third part of Trilogy, etc), I find it most annoying. |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 00:23
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They are an undeniable cog in the prog machine. I'm sure the "slagging" (new word for me, man I hope I didn't get baited into using a swear word I was not aware of) and low ratings referred to stems from a tiny grudge many feel for ELP's symbolic role in prog's late 70's meltdown. Obvious to most, less so to others.
------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow">  https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: 40footwolf
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 01:27
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I think ELP was an incredible idea with very flawed execution, but that said I find them endlessly fascinating to listen to. It's like they're so dated that they've become timeless, and I don't actually mean that as a dis. ------------- Heaven's made a cesspool of us all. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 01:42
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I wouldn't be posting here if I hadn't discovered ELP when I was about 13. I could write a long essay about them and how I feel about their music.I'll keep it brief though.
Keith Emerson - the word genius is often overused ,but not in this case.Great composer and keyboard player wrongly branded as a technician by clueless music critics. Great showman who helped make progressive rock music accessible.
Greg Lake - the rudder that stopped this juggernaut going off the road. Very intellegent guy with a voice at his peak that bar Justin Hayward was untouchable.Very underated guitarist and excellent producer as well. Decent songwriter ,he penned masterpeices such as From The Beginning and Lucky Man that were very important in making ELP a 'three dimensional band'.
Carl Palmer - an absolute force of nature!!. Considered a speed freak but able to do the subtle stuff like Take A Pebble as well. His drum solo was an event in itself.
My favourite albums are Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery although everything they did up to and inc Works Volume One was worthwhile. My favourite track is probably Pirates. Exquisite peice of music ,so smoothly played its untrue. Symphonic prog never got any better than this (imo)
Regrettably they didn't know when to knock it on the head. Works should have been the end and perhaps people might have had a generally more positive view of them of they had stopped after the orchestral tour.It does seem to me that money concerns at that point overtook artistic aims and thats where it truly went wrong.
btw Interesting that you write their name without the comma. Something of a bone of contention amongst ELP fans
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 02:27
Can't say I've ever noticed. First time I've ever seen this mentioned. I mean EVER. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 02:32
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ELP made some fantastic music. I'm crazy about the first album, the Tarkus suite, most of Brain Salad Surgery and some other stuff as well. They were incredibly creative up to Works 1. I like their classic adaptations, Emerson was very creative in the choice of composers (e.g. Bartok, Ginastera, Copland), and they rewrote some classical stuff in a great way, but I like ELP even better in their own compositions. |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 02:35
I always forget the comma in Jethro, Tull.  ------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow"> https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: seventhsojourn
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 03:49
Not a sweary word... the verb to slag is slang for to criticize, insult.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_%28slang - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_(slang )
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Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 05:43
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they are something of a scapegoat for prog criticism and always have been but their music transcends popular opinion and they wrote some of the greatest works of progressive music, but the real masterpiece i think is their fantastic cover of Pictures at an Exhibition which was the most beautiful moments i have ever witnessed at the reunion earlier this year. the first album and Trilogy are probably their most complete studio works despite the popular opinion that brain salad surgery is the classic Karn Evil and Toccatta i find to be the only shiners on that album with the remaining tracks simply being good pieces of music. I havn't noticed them getting to much heat from actual prog fans though i think they are highly respected as musicians and rightly so -------------  
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 06:40
Eh I'm a long time fan, but I think it has to do with their inconsistency. Because some people tend to get hung up about consistency. Their first few albums were really good, but some people can't stand the funny songs. Then they went all over the place with Works. Then they caught the commercialitis disease. But mostly because of this album cover:
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 06:55
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I like them, but that is a fairly recent development. The lack of guitar bugged me for a while. VDGG compensated for this with Dave Jacksons sax, but something seemed to be missing in ELP.
These days I find myself listening to them quite a lot. The debut and Trilogy are currently getting weekly plays in my house. I've found myself in possession of most of their studio albums, either on vinyl, CD or both, but they have never registered among my favourite bands, so it seems they have reeled me in, by stealth over the years. When they're good they're fantastic, when they're bad they're toe curling. A 3.5 star band, who could have easily been a five star band. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 06:56
Me neither. I notice the cover of Love Beach doesn't seem to have a comma. I suppose strictly speaking it should be Emerson, Lake and Palmer but frankly, who cares?
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 07:00
According to my college English professor, if you use an and or an & you still should use a comma.  As in Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 07:15
| then it would be E,L&P. |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 08:49
 I have great respect for their talent. I just can't listen to their music anymore and that's my deal. Years later I notice their egos were getting out of hand. Stories I heard from prog vendors or fans about. I seriously think it's a waste of human energy to track band members down for a meeting. They have for the most part answered the same stupied questions for years and dread the thought, especially when their asses are in a sling and they make 10 times less the profit than what was originally made. My brother used to talk with Blue Oyster Cult at every gig. He was on a mission to find the so called mystery behind the lyrics. Apart from the writings of Sandy Pearlman, he was under the impression that maybe the members themselves were into the occult. Eric Bloom explained to him that they were asked by the record company to study occult related subjects and keep the band image intense. My brother handed Bloom his cell and asked him to say hello to an old friend. Eric grabbed the phone and said,,,,"Your friend says your a dick" Do you see what I mean about these guys? Whether it's Emerson making rude comments about signing a mellotron or Palmer stopping his drum solo to ask an audience member to cut the tapping, it all means the same thing. They have been in the music business for so bloody long it has damaged their minds. I watched Greg Lake flip-out on promoters at the A.C. Casinos. They all seem on edge. The coolest person to chat with is Roger Glover. If it makes any sense to do so anyway  He is well spoken and draws a happy medium to his communication between himself and his fans. A very pleasant person. The best moment was when my brother asked Greg Lake to sign his "In the Court Of the Crimson King" cd. Greg just looked at it with disgust. He stated at the bar that we would never see a reformation of the original King Crimson. He then said that ELP reforming and doing a new release would be utter nonsense. He said that ELP was all about ego and he was happy to play with Ringo's All Stars. It's the business that did this to him. The experience of inner turmoil between Lake, Palmer, and Emerson had more to do with the nature of the business. What they were being asked of by record companies and the pressures they inflicted upon each other. |
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 15:29
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ELP are probably my favourite Prog Rock band of all time as they embody pretty much everything wonderful and wretched about the genre: Virtuosos, ego-maniacal, pretentious/tongue in cheek, vain, flamboyant, innovative, challenging, experimental, didactic (they're the only reason I started listening to classical music) They do seem to attract a LOT of flak on PA and some of it is richly deserved (Works, Love Beach, In the Hot Seat) but the five albums they released from 1970 to 73 are unimpeachable from any prog lover's perspective in my book. That's not to say these albums are beyond criticism but bashing same as 'not the real McProg' is like blaming Noah for the sinking of the Titanic. ------------- 
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 16 2010 at 16:21
BINGO
My listening to their work stops at Brain Salad Surgery.
It is revolutionary in the sense that at first the keyboards were used for effect ... and later strictly for solo potential and nothing else.
I also think that the lyrics themselves were often quite confrontational and not always nice ... and I think that may have been a product of their personality clashes, but in the end, when they became "stars" ... the majority of their musicianship went down the drain in my book.
The first two albums made a point and showed something ... and after that, a lot of European bands did a lot better than ELP. I sometimes think they just got lazy. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Bitterblogger
Date Posted: November 22 2010 at 18:26
In regard to the lads, I always thought that symphonic prog encouraged elaboration, and ELP maybe went from there into bombast. But many love that aspect. It's undeniable that these three were superb musicians with technical know-how. Most critics seemingly went out of their way to um, Sl*g them.
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: November 22 2010 at 21:22
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I think they had to have been a huge influence on Spinal Tap.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 00:11
| From the debut and until Welcome Back My Friends they are all masterpieces to me, regardless of the inconsistent tracks here and there. Works I is also very worthy. Definitely one of my fav bands. |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 02:19
I don't think that a single month goes by or this album sleeve is being shown on a PA thread.
 It must be a legendary album
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Posted By: FromuzBand
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 05:53
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I've seen them on Сreation of peace festival in Kazan, Russia ------------- http://www.fromuzband.com" rel="nofollow - Progressive rock band FROM.UZ |
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 06:05
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Best band for a long time and left an indelible mark on prog and music in general. Unforgettable compositions such as Karn Evil 9, Tarkus, Take a Pebble. I have all their CDs and some DVDs.
But please stop posting this abomination
 ------------- 
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Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 06:06
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oops sorry how did that ahappen -------------
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Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 06:19
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Simple: your subconscious inner self is subscribing my earlier stated hypothesis, that Love Beach is a very important album in prog
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Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 06:42
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I like ELP but am not crazy about them. "Tarkus" and "Karn Evil 9" (1st and 3rd Impressions) blow me away. ------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: Cactus Choir
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 08:36
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At the top of their game (1970-73) they were creative and hugely exciting. They did more to popularise prog and open up opportunities for similar bands than any other group IMO. They bridged the gap between heavy rock - Zep, Purple etc - and prog like no-one else, having the power and aggression of the former and the variety and complexity of the latter. Quite a few on here don't like them but their importance to the genre is not in doubt. After their 70s peaks Genesis, Yes, Rush etc spent most of the 80s churning out dull, sub-standard quasi-prog. If you're going to go down the pan properly you need to release an album like Love Beach. Even ELP's implosion is a source of (comic) entertainment to me! ------------- "And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!" "He's up the pub" |
Posted By: Prog Geo
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 10:03
| Surely,a must-listen artist. |
Posted By: infandous
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 10:19
Along with Rush, ELP were the first REAL prog band I got into. I haven't listened to anything of theirs in a while, but whenever I do, I still enjoy it. Starting with Works, they pretty much lost me (though there is some half decent stuff on there). Interestingly enough, I heard the "An Officer and A Gentleman" suite on satellite radio this past weekend. The thought that came to my mind was that this was what it would sound like if Barry Mannilow wrote a prog suite  Seriously.But at their peak, they were fantastic. My favorite is either Tarkus (whole album, love it all) or Brain Salad Surgery (total masterpiece). But the first two and Welcome Back My Friends..... are also fantastic albums. I imagine the sl*g.ing comes from the fact that they were overly bombastic, pretentious, egotistical, and represent all the excesses of prog. Which is, incidentally, also what made them so great  |
Posted By: chrijom
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 13:29
| I used to listen to them alot bought all albums from their debut up till works II. Didn't mind Works I. However, I don't listen to them much now, for me they haven't stood the test of time as well as Genesis, Crimson, Yes etc. Just my personal listening habits. |
Posted By: darksideof
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 14:24
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love this band as one my top 70's band of all time. This is funny this topic was going on while I was creating a collage and I didn't know about it!!! Please check it out.  http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73487&title=welcome-back-my-friends-collage-appreciation ------------- http://darksideofcollages.blogspot.com/ http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darksideof-Collages/ |
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 14:32
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Karn Evil 9 (1st impression parts one & two) is truly a marvellous prog masterpiece. Tarkus less so, and I love Pictures at an Exhibition except that horrible "Nutrocker" Alas, had BSS not had the rest of the dross - it would be one of the best albums ever - my gripe with ELP, was that they were capable of producing sublime symphonic prog, but instead gave us Benny the Bouncer...... Genesis comedy song "Harold the Barrel" was the correct way to produce a quirky comic-prog classic....
If Emerson had done more "The Old Castle" style moog bursts - he'd have pleased a helluva lot more proggers than "Jeremy Bender"..... ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |
Posted By: questionsneverknown
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 14:42
Ah, the old serial comma dilemma. There is a cultural divide on this one. Americans tend to use it, Britons tend not to. Lynn Truss makes a strong case for the latter (well she is a Brit) in Eats Shoots and Leaves (in fact the punchline to the title is all about this). To my eyes the comma means "and," so you don't need that final comma, otherwise it means "Emerson and Lake and and Palmer." On the other hand, maybe those two ands imply a space for inserting other figures, you know, like Hendrix or Powell? Anyway . . . I deeply love ELP and just don't understand the hatred they experience on, of all places, a prog site. There are of course some good songs on Love Beach. (Shoot, did I just write that in public?) It's just that you shouldn't actually write a song called "Love Beach," and you certainly shouldn't then go to give that title to the whole album and then you absolutely should not shoot a cover with yourselves featured as the Second Coming of the Gibbs brothers. ------------- The damage that we do is just so powerfully strong we call it love The damage that we do just goes on and on and on but not long enough. --Robyn Hitchcock |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 15:10
I like what you are saying although I am prepared to defend Rush who for me took over ELP's mantle and created their own brand of sophisticated keyboard/synth based prog for the eighties. Their run of albums from Moving Pictures to Grace Under Pressure showed much of the invention that made ELP a great band even if it wasn't in the form of long intricate peices of music.
Love Beach is not that hateable an album really. Lake and Palmer actually perform well on it but sadly Emerson had lost all enthusiasm at that point and it shows (bar perhaps the piano bits on Memoirs Of An Officer and a Gentleman). The orchestral tour was everything he wanted and he admitted afterwards that he was depresssed that he couldn't recreate that massive sound. ELP would have ended at that point but for the contractural obligation with Atlantic records.
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Posted By: The Wrinkler
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 16:20
I'll admit, at first I thought ELP were a bit over rated. But to me, it took some time for me to grasp the full pretentious sound of ELP, and once you can acquire that sound, they are the best at what they do. 
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Posted By: Heathcliffe
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 18:10
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Like most people I loved the early albums,with the odd wince at dud tracks eg The Sheriff.And kinda lost interest as they went along.
What was interesting to me was Black Moon was a real return to form and a great album - somewhat overlooked though. |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 18:43
I think you were trying to do the next cover sideways left, the next one upside down, the next one sideways right, the next one on the back side ... gosh, even Hipgnosis would have thought that was funny! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 21:21
Yeah, Black Moon is a rather cool album, but still I wouldn't call it a return to form. For me, it is mostly a rather good POP album, with some hints at prog (Specially the Romeo & Juliet thing, ofcourse). |
Posted By: darksideof
Date Posted: November 23 2010 at 21:25
I agree Black Moon is a great album and it has a real deep sounds. I don't think it is prog like their early stuff, but it is good. The Piano songs are real great. ------------- http://darksideofcollages.blogspot.com/ http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darksideof-Collages/ |
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 18:48
| About ELP, i'm in love with the two T, TARKUS and TRILOGY are my happiness, i just remenber when i discovered them, i was 17, i was waiting for APHRODITE'S CHILD 666 release (prohibed at the time ) and a school friend brought me TARKUS what a revelation!!!so great keyboard work and sounds, i think their live performances are sometimes a bit too much but i still love their records.I even like the ones nobody like ,like emerson lake and powel |
Posted By: jammun
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 20:19
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My friends, we've been down this road many times before. I'll keep saying it...they were for a brief time the finest progressive rock band on the planet, Yes and Crimson and Floyd notwithstanding. As has been the case for many rock bands, and that is what they were at best -- a rock band -- they lost their way. But there 's no reason to dismiss those first four or five albums, which if there's some open ears about, are amongst the best ever recorded, warts and all. ------------- Can you tell me where we're headin'? Lincoln County Road or Armageddon. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 20:57
My opinion
Iván ------------- 
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Posted By: darksideof
Date Posted: November 26 2010 at 21:34
 So cruel.------------- http://darksideofcollages.blogspot.com/ http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darksideof-Collages/ |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 06:44
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I would also consider the debut album as a masterpiece. There is no weak track on it. The classical 'covers' like "The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" are wonderful, "Take A Pebble" is ELP's first classic (more or less) epic track, "The Three Fates" showed Emerson's unique talent for composition and soloing, "Tank" was a unique track, because of the way it was put together and the texture (synth sounds) and "Lucky Man" showed Lake's sense for melody and Emerson's instinctive talents for his soloing - at - the - spot on the Moog.
It's interesting, though, that Carl Palmer in an interview said that he couldn't understand why the first record was an instant smash. He said he didn't like organ drenched pieces like "The Three Fates". Personally, I love the track, but I can see his point. BSS shows best what ELP could do as a group. In that respect it's also interesting to look at a moment of group rehearsal for "Karn Evil 9" on the Beyond The Beginning dvd , where you can see that on the one hand Emerson was dominating the group clearly, but on the other hand that the group was nevertheless a tight working unit, really giving 100% to deliver a masterpiece.
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Posted By: Hawkwise
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 07:47
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Those First 4(studio) albums are wonderful wonderful records i have never listen to any of the others so wouldn't know but i do know i love those first 4 albums . ------------- 
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Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 08:46
I agree that ELP are a band you can love and hate in intervals
one year they are brilliant the next they lose their focus. Overall though the band are indispensable
After hearing Take A Pebble, it was the first time I knew I had heard genuine prog music. I was only 15. -------------
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Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 08:48
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Best ELP
1st.... Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends
(2nd BRAIN SALAD SURGERY; 3rd TARKUS)
4th... Trilogy
5th... debut
6th.... Works, side 4
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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 08:58
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Well, I haven't mention all the albums 1.- Debut: Very good 2.- Pictures at an Exhibition: Excellent and revolutionary, not a masterpiece, but still rated with 5 stars for reasons I mentioned in my review 3.- Tarkus: I find it boring and overrated (even when I hate this term), but still I recognize it has the touch of the genius 4.- Welcome Back my Friends....: One of the best live albums I ever heard, but live albums are pure performance not composition. Iván
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 10:56
Let's see, I will chalk up their albums with the other great albums of their year of release. 1970 (s/t) - Third and H to He to contend with. Coin toss between ELP and Third, H to He pips both. 1971 (Tarkus) - Brilliant album, my favourite from ELP, but will take Meddle, Acquiring The Taste, Nursery Cryme and Aqualung over it. 1972 (Trilogy) - Never been one of my favourites and this is another very strong year for prog. Close to the Edge, Foxtrot, Thick as a Brick, Octopus. Blown away. 1973 (Brain Salad Surgery) - My second favourite ELP album but once again, plenty of amazing albums to choose from - Dark Side, Selling England by The Pound, Larks Tongue in Aspic, In A Glass House. Nope. Haven't heard both Works albums and though the ratings don't suggest anything to choose over Wind and Wuthering, Novella, Animals, A Farewell to Kings or Going for the One, I won't comment. I am actually quite 'lenient' on Love Beach and would take it over Tormato and And Then There Were Three but not over Song for All Seasons and certainly not over Hemispheres. There's also Canterbury's last stand  Of Queues and Cures to be contended with. In summary, they frequently put it over one or other of the best prog rock bands and deserve to be mentioned alongside them - which they are in any case! - but never quite got to the very top. Their start was very strong, not to mention influential, but they don't seem to have grown from thereon and not after Tarkus at any rate. Genesis and Yes went from strength to strength from their own modest starts and KC had a monstrous second coming. A band with enormous talent and potential but, as harsh as it may be to say so, perhaps they didn't quite make the most of it.
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Posted By: Tychovski
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 11:35
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I loved them at first - then went through a long period where they represented to me everything that was wrong with progressive music. I've recently come back around however. Currently I love listening to them, but I cant watch them or those old feelings start coming back. ------------- Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974, it's a scientific fact. |
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: November 27 2010 at 12:29
You write off so many equally memorable albums here. King Crimson's In The Wake... in my opinion stronger and more complete than it's predecessor Trespass maybe Hackett and Collinsless but it is one of Genesis' finest. Gentle Giants Debut needs no explanation Egg's self titled debut is easy to compare to ELP an upcoming prog trio exploring amazing new musical styles And you mentioned Third but forgot the real canterbury classic from that year - Caravan's If I Could Do It All Over Again... This album can't be forgotten, in my opinion the finest work from Canterbury scene -------------
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: November 28 2010 at 03:51
| I haven't heard If I would do it all over again...., don't know that I want to given I didn't like its more illustrious successor from 1971 so much. I want to listen to that Egg album though, strikingly like ELP indeed. I like Trespass and In the Wake of Poseidon but deliberately didn't bring them up because I don't consider them better than the ELP debut. In the Wake..is too much in Court's shadow and Genesis are still finding their feet on Trespass and Hackett and Collins would give their music much needed propulsion. Regardless, the year of ELP's debut remains the year for me when they came out strongest against other releases. With each passing year, there were more and more great albums but ELP didn't get all that better. |
Posted By: silverpot
Date Posted: November 29 2010 at 15:03
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I like ELP a lot and every album (well, at least the first five) has some wonderful moments and some great moments but also parts I don't at all appreciate. The interesting thing is that the first four studio albums are very similar, so I guess rogerthat is right, the first album was as good as it got. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 29 2010 at 15:42
I'm puzzled by a few things in your post.
Firstly when did Brain Salad Perjury become part of ELP's back catologue?
As I understand it (ignoring ELPowell and all the compilations and box sets) this is it:
Emerson,Lake and Palmer
Tarkus
Pictures At An Exhibition
Trilogy
Brain Salad Surgery
Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends
Works Volume One
Works Volume Two
Love Beach
In Concert (reissued as Works Live)
Black Moon
Live At The Royal Albert Hall
In The Hot Seat
Also the last comment about Genesis. What does this mean exactly? Are you saying that ELP were more talented than the 3 man line up of Genesis? Even as an ELP fan I'm not sure I agree.Would call it a draw.
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Posted By: KABSA
Date Posted: November 29 2010 at 17:20
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i always thought that the `live album` welcome back... was a poor stadium sound then i found the `hardback` edition .... wow digital mix [one of the first] the sound is terrific what was once a poor lp , now is something wicked ? what of the cd reissues , which mix is used ?
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Posted By: RMR
Date Posted: November 29 2010 at 22:07
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Well, It looks like I'm in the minority here, but ELP never did it for me. My main problem is that their classical influence overshadows their rocking side. Case in point would be songs like "Toccata" and "Jerusalem," which I find incredibly boring, and if it's not the classical pieces, they seem to have too many joke pieces like "Are you Ready Eddy," Benny the Bouncer," and "The Sheriff"... I just don't see enough substance. I think they are fantastic individual players, but not a good band. I also really don't like Greg's voice. I think his finest moment was signing" 21st Century," and that was through a megaphone. I will say I love "Tarkus," and I think it's a perfect 10. How's that for contradiction. Post Script: I also like most of "Karn Evil" as well, but when the computer starts talking at the end, it just kills it for me. ------------- RMR- Record Music Reviews http://www.recordmusicreviews.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.recordmusicreviews.com |
Posted By: The Wrinkler
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 01:44
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^ I felt the same way before... except Lake's voice, I've always liked it. It'll grow on you . Trilogy is a good consistent, and fun album to get those ELP juices flowing into your blood!
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 01:48
Some of the Welcome Back live tracks are available as 'straight from boards' mix (KE9 and Hoedown). You can find them on the bonus live disc for 'The Ultimate Collection' and they sound great.
I do like the deluxe editions of Pictures At An Exhibition and Welcome back. Not so convinced about the BSS and Works releases although you do get all of Works (Volumes one and two) in the deluxe edition which is nice.
Recently I got the Atlantic Years compilation that was released in 1992. I wanted it for the artwork and also to compare the sound with the recent remasters. Quite shocked at just how good the sound is and makes me realise that all these reissues add very little to be perfectly honest.
Now I'm searching for the Atlantic CD mixes of all ELP albums up to and inc Works Volume One that were released in 1990. I stupidly gave them away about 15 years ago thinking they were redundant. Doh! |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 01:53
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ELP were my favourite band of the seventies. I adored them with a fervour and passion bordering on the fanatical. Genesis and Rush came close to supplanting them at some time but ELP will always be one of my all time favourite bands. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 12:52
No, what I said is that a band that looses the two most adventurous key members as Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett, has an excuse to change the sound into something simpler, but ELP didn't suffer the loss of any member, they were always the same three (Except in ELPowell and Three). Iván -------------
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 15:22
Emerson Lake and Palmer didn't release anything in the eighties so I'm not sure how they could be guilty of anything in that decade.
Black Moon in 1992 was a respectable come back album after so long and I was glad to see them still performing live.Sadly they followed that up with In The Hot Seat. Emerson and Palmer (both after operations on their hands) were virtual passengers on that album and were even replaced by session musicians for one track (Gone Too Soon).
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 15:51
I still get a massive rush listening to the first 2 albums ... I kinda lost the ability to listen to them more when they started doing fun songs for radio ... I would rather have the first album and if it makes the radio fine, if not ... who cares ... the music lives! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: November 30 2010 at 16:28
I don't remember them writing fun songs for the radio. I don't think they did. Actually i have no idea what you are talking about. Whats new. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 01 2010 at 01:39
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The 'fun songs' in total were
Jeremy Bender
Are You ready Eddy?
The Sheriff
Benny The Bouncer
total of about 12 minutes music on the first 5 studio albums (6 really as Works is a double)
Whats funny is that ELP's detractors constantly harp on about this as a reason they were'nt in the top league with Genesis,Yes and Pink Floyd.
ELP had a fun side to their music as evidenced on parts Karn Evil 9 but otherwise most of ELP's music up to and inc Works Volume Two was serious stuff.
Works Volume Two on the other hand was the beginning of the end as we all know ..but all good things come to an eventually.
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: December 01 2010 at 01:50
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I never considered The Sheriff a "fun" song. A stroytelling song certainly and an awesome song definitely.
I wonder if people dislike "Harold The Barrel"? ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: JeanFrame
Date Posted: December 01 2010 at 03:09
| I really like ELP personally, though I can understand why they generate flak. For some people, it's way over the top, but even if some of that is true, shouldn't we applaud their willingness to go out on a limb and try for adventure and invention rather than just plod the same weary path as so many other bands and musicians do? And even if you don't like the music, you can't deny that you're talking about three of the finest rock musicians ever. |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: December 01 2010 at 04:42
I love Harold The Barrell. I also like The Sheriff and the fun songs. ELP was enormously versatile.
 So was Genesis, BTW, but ELP is the most versatile of them all, I think. |
Posted By: Cactus Choir
Date Posted: December 01 2010 at 08:00
Yep, agree with that. The variety of ELP is the thing I like about them most of all - classical, jazz, ballads, heavy rock and yes even the much-maligned 'funny stuff'. ------------- "And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!" "He's up the pub" |
Posted By: Harold-The-Barrel
Date Posted: December 03 2010 at 07:09
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I love them but they are an acquired taste, they seem to alienate a lot of people, who find their music cold, they've always been perceived as "Pretentious" too, which of course they are, but they did it so well...didn't they?
------------- You must be joking.....Take a running jump...... |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: December 03 2010 at 22:25
The only "fun" song I really like from ELP is "Are you Ready Eddy?" |
Posted By: Cactus Choir
Date Posted: December 04 2010 at 06:30
You don't appreciate the pre-punk majesty of Benny The Bouncer? You don't know what you're missing!  ------------- "And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!" "He's up the pub" |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: December 04 2010 at 06:43
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Posted By: Blackbeard
Date Posted: December 04 2010 at 12:42
| For me they started greatly with a unique style, developing forwards, and then going over the top. They were not the first and they won't be the last with this kind of "history". |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: December 05 2010 at 12:33
Sorry, that's just not my thing. Perhaps some day when I put the CD once again I'll find out I do like it, but not now. |
Posted By: resurrection
Date Posted: December 12 2010 at 02:07
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ELP has to be one of the genre-defining bands. |
Posted By: resurrection
Date Posted: December 12 2010 at 02:12
Absolutely agree with this. I don't personally like their music all that much, but I don't think this point can be convincingly argued against.
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Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: December 12 2010 at 02:55
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ELP are one of the greatest Prog Pioneers of the century!
On DVD I recommend Isle of Wight concert
From The Beginning
and Live at Montreux
wonderful performances! -------------
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: December 12 2010 at 22:45
Is it From The Beginning, or Beyond the Beginning? |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 13 2010 at 02:04
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Beyond the Beginning is a 5 CD+ 1DVD set that includes the Manticore documentary from 1973.
From The Beginning is a 2 DVD set including a decent chunk of California Jam.
None of ELP's DVD's are that good in truth although there are a lot out there. Either the quality is lacking or the performances do not capture them at their best.
The Isle of Wight DVD is only about 10 minutes of live performance with the rest mainly footgage of the event like overhead shots of blokes peeing
 . The BBC switched the cameras off early for reasons that completely escape me. |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: December 13 2010 at 02:45
I have a 2 dvd set called Beyond The Beginning
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 13 2010 at 14:50
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Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: December 13 2010 at 18:00
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in the last year, i bought the ELP dvds Pictures At An Exhibition Special Edition,Beyond The Beginning, Live at Montreux,and one called Emerson,Lake and Palmer-C'est La Vie which features some tracks recorded in Montreal in the seventies and other things on other dvds i love every minute of every one of them! saw the band only once in Ottawa, Canada in January of 1993, and will never forget it |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: December 13 2010 at 18:39
I wanna say BEFORE the beginning ... since from that time on, their ego was so big and the waste of electricity was the only way you could tell! ... or listen to John Peel, of course! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: parapet
Date Posted: December 14 2010 at 03:43
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One of the best bands in rnr ever. they just deserved to be called the supergroup of the 70s. i think they are very underrated here at PA for their virtue, originality, influence and ideas. By my opinion they have the best keyboard player in prog rock ever, and their lyrics written by sinfield are also among the best in pop music ever.
------------- SMART preachers of our doom Telling us there is no room. Not enough for all mankind And the seas of time are running dry. |
Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: December 14 2010 at 05:40
 ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 13:08
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I believe that ELP fans should really appreciate this: and ------------- 
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Posted By: rdtprog
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 14:05
Great! |
Posted By: Bitterblogger
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 18:07
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At one of our HS assembies, some ensemble played "The Barbarian"--this was in 1975
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Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 18:28
More than great. For a high school band, it's incredible. ------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: dennismoore
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 19:53
The music of Keith Emerson will live on forever and he will take his place among the greats, Mozart, etc... The kids here who diss ELP will get to watch on the sidelines for the rest of their lives as "their" prog bands like Tool & Radiohead come and go, as musical experimentation without practice, composition and virtuosity will always be popular then forgotten as the new generational sensation takes its place. ELP music will live on forever as truly great. Nope, not simply my opinion. Just watch it happen. One can get a PhD in music by studying Keith Emerson's works and his compositions are repeatedly being performed by orchestras around the world. How can a person who claims to "listen" or appreciate actual music dismiss that??? ELP is not popular here??? Whatever. My buddy from Boston, Mass. said it best: "The masses are asses". His words, not mine. Long live ELP!!!!! Go out and buy the new 5.1 & 2.0 remixes of ELP "ELP" & "Tarkus" http://www.amazon.com/Tarkus-Deluxe-Edition-Emerson/dp/B008FPZQRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346546763&sr=8-1&keywords=elp+tarkus DVD-Audio & CD set for the price of a CD!!!!!! Next time I will say what I really think of ELP and the media & pundits who diss them. ------------- "Yeah, people are unhappy about that - but you know what, it's still Yes." - Chris Squire |
Posted By: Bitterblogger
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 20:08
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Yes, many of us here on PA are EP supporters, but outside our echo chamber they're pretty much forgotten--what's on the radio? Karn 1st Imp. Pt 2, Lucky Man, and From The Beginning. Sure, they deserve more; there's lots of awesome music. But time has, sadly, passed them by. And Keith is an amazing musician, but any comparison to a giant like Mozart is just silly. |
Posted By: AEProgman
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 22:11
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ELP did bring the genre into the view of the masses in the day and should not go un-noticed for that. Not sure why the "low" or should say lesser than expected ratings are in this forum, most likely the "too commercial" view of them. I remember the California Jam, which was full of a bunch of classic rock bands (Deep Purple, Eagles, Black Sabbath, etc...), but they were the main event at the end.
They are in my top 10 or so. I love Toccata as it is a based on the "Fourth Movement of Alberto Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto", simply amazing. ------------- 
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Posted By: AEProgman
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 22:35
-------------
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Posted By: Dayvenkirq
Date Posted: September 01 2012 at 23:42
| Of all the things I've heard from ELP (ELP, Tarkus, and BSS) I really enjoy "Take a Pebble", almost all of Tarkus (except for the sh$%ty "Are You Ready, Eddy"), and almost all of BSS, 4.5/5 (except for that sucker "Benny the Bouncer"). I really should give the first two aforementioned albums a few more listens some time around and then go on to give another shot to Trilogy and Pictures at an Exhibition. |