ELP Appreciation thread !!!!

richardh wrote: Although one of my favourite bands I do think there is a massive Genesis bias on this website with many preferring the calm preciseness of Banks to the energy of Emerson. Ok fair enough as its a matter of taste but I think it does mean their albums are a bit overated.SEBTP has some dull stuff particularly More Fool Me,The BAttle Of Epping Forest and I know what I Like yet people complain about Benny The Bouncer which is a whole ..ermmm..2 minutes NOT the interminable ten minutes or whatever of Battle Of Epping Forest.Oh well.

Regardless of all their ups and downs and weaker songs, I absolutely love ELP. That's why I started the other thread of 'What's wrong with ELP?', it still does not fit into my head that this amazing band has got  NOT EVEN ONE album with 5 stars at PA, I find it unbelievable.

Edited by Gerinski - March 15 2010 at 14:18

I was listening to Pictures at an Exhibition once again today, and I guess I must say it really is my favourite album from them. All other albums have their weak or annoying parts (as well as their really great ones), but by listening to this one again, the "weak" song (the second Promenade with The Sage) are in fact rather beautiful (not as much as Take a Pebble or In the Beginning, but still nice), and the "annoying" song (The Curse of Baba Yaga) is indeed rather fun, I rather liked all the instrumental parts, the one thing I still find somewhat annoying in this son is the vocals (this is mainly the sort of vocals that makes some ELP songs annoying for me). The Great Gates of Kiev is nice too, though not a highlight. The rest of the album is really fabulous.

I really think highly of ELP's early recordings, especially the debut album, which is their best. They were trend setters, and justifiably so. I am not a big fan of Brain Salad Surgery, or any that came after it. A  group should be judged by their music, and that of early ELP is of a really high quality-i just cannot dismiss them as being pretentious or pompos because the music speaks of something beyond that. They were an inspiration to so many groups, especially my favourite band, Germany's Triumvirat.
           Only one thing is worse than people dumping on ELP's music, people who dismiss Triumvirat!

Once again my friends, allow me my indulgence.  There was no better band than ELP during their classic years.  And yes I'm comparing them with Yes, KC, Tull, and any and all of that ilk.

I'll have to take the time to read through the thread later in the week, but I'll just pop in now and at least say HERE, HERE  on the notion that ELP is a group that could really use more appreciation at PA.  

I think those people who have a reasonable grasp of the lineage of Rock music from the late 60's, even if they don't care for ELP's music or loathe Prog, would acknowledge the trio as an indispensable part of the genre's rich legacy. Due to their massive global success and very high profile that probably peaked circa 1974, those who despise Prog have made ELP culpable for the sins of the entire 1st generation of proggers. (and more) Certainly they were flamboyant, hedonistic, ostentatiously wealthy and egotistical but are we to believe that the 'terminally hip' Stones, Oasis, Sabbath, Who, Bowie, Beatles, Queen, Chilli Peppers, Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Deep Purple, Zep etc eschewed entirely such decadent Rock'n'Roll traits ?
Is Keith Richards a non-smoking, tee-total, vegetarian, christian, tree hugging celibate who lives in a one bedroom flat on a council estate and gives all his royalties to a drug rehabilitation centre ?

There are possibly three areas where Prog is deemed to have declared war on the aesthetic ideals of those who profess to speak for 'the kids on the street'

1 - A degree of virtuosity is required to play Prog. It's an entry level qualification and you cannot bluff yer way through Karn Evil 9 armed with three barre chords, a broom handle bass and a 4/4 tub thumpin' beat y'all. Ergo the entire genre is considered inaccessible and 'divorced from the reality of the streets bro'.

2 - The subject matter of Prog is more often than not borderline sci-fi hippy cosmology, but more importantly it ain't remotely about disaffected yoof, teenage rebellion and slaughtering your parents with a six foot safety-pin.(then devouring their remains)

3 - Prog does has a tiny sliver of Jazz and R'n'B in its DNA but is for all intents and purposes unequivocally 'white' music that does not source its development from funk, soul, blues, motown, dance music or basic primal rock and roll. Without wishing to embroil us in undue controversy on an ELP appreciation thread, there is more than ample evidence to suggest that (exclusively white) music journalists in both the UK and USA have always had a covert racist agenda when it comes to bestowing their laurel wreaths on the heads of those they will subsequently decapitate before the month's out.




Edited by ExittheLemming - March 14 2010 at 08:46

***thinks about ELP, shudders, and moves on...***

rdtprog wrote: People who don't like ELP says it's too bombastic and technical! For me, those caracteristics are not bad in itself. I really think the classical influence in their music make it difficult to be appreciate by a large fans base. I really enjoy the ELP sounds especially for the keyboards of Keith Emerson, but also the great rhythm section with Carl Palmer. They made great albums, but it has gone downhill at the end of their career. The 4 first albums are definitely a must have in a progressive rock collection. After that they're some good songs scatter on every albums.

Yes, it's especially funny when that criticism comes from Dream Theater fans. Well, I suppose love is blind...

People who don't like ELP says it's too bombastic and technical! For me, those caracteristics are not bad in itself. I really think the classical influence in their music make it difficult to be appreciate by a large fans base. I really enjoy the ELP sounds especially for the keyboards of Keith Emerson, but also the great rhythm section with Carl Palmer. They made great albums, but it has gone downhill at the end of their career. The 4 first albums are definitely a must have in a progressive rock collection. After that they're some good songs scatter on every albums.