LOVE BEACH

I quite like this album. There, I've said it, although I still can't admit to my liking for George Bush and small boys (the latter is a joke in case anyone was wondering). Obviously LB is a pale shadow of the intensity and brilliance of prime period ELP (BSS, Trilogy etc) but there are still pleasures to be had. Love Beach the track has some great snappy drumming from Carl Palmer and a jangly Beatles-style guitar riff, Canario is one of their best classical adaptations and For You is quite atmospheric and affecting in a cheesy, nightclub way. The opening of Officer and a Gentleman is quite beautiful and it's always a pleasure to hear Keith stretching out on the grand piano as he does on this side-long piece. Also, no-one mentions the unintentional humour to be derived from this album. Who can look at Greg Lake on the cover without smiling? He has just delivered what many considered to be a turd of an album that has flushed his career down the toilet and yet he bears the self-satisfied beam of a toddler on a pot. And for a cheap laugh check out the lyrics to Taste Of My Love, which even Motley Crue might have rejected as too crass. Mmm "taste it, taste it, taste it" indeed. I'll give it three and a half stars.