Great ELP Debate

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Arcer,

I think old ELP more than just about anything else would be very difficult to get into after the fact.  All Prog is bombastic, all of it.  It was so supposed to be that is what made it different.  It was also the reason it was criticized by rock and roll purists who only wanted three chords no talent and rebellion of some sort in their music.  ELP took it other extremes for sure.  This is the William Tell Overture and the 1812 Overture climax all rolled into one but played by three people using the top tech stuff of their time. We all loved it.  We packed arenas in droves to see it and bought albums by the millions. It out Kissed Kiss if you understand what I mean.  They tried but could not reach that level of outrageousness.  I love this stuff all the way down to the last note of Jerusalem. 

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Garion81 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 22 2004 Location: So Cal, USA Status: Offline Points: 4338	Posted: January 07 2005 at 13:59
	Arcer, I think old ELP more than just about anything else would be very difficult to get into after the fact. All Prog is bombastic, all of it. It was so supposed to be that is what made it different. It was also the reason it was criticized by rock and roll purists who only wanted three chords no talent and rebellion of some sort in their music. ELP took it other extremes for sure. This is the William Tell Overture and the 1812 Overture climax all rolled into one but played by three people using the top tech stuff of their time. We all loved it. We packed arenas in droves to see it and bought albums by the millions. It out Kissed Kiss if you understand what I mean. They tried but could not reach that level of outrageousness. I love this stuff all the way down to the last note of Jerusalem.
	"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?"

Wrath_of_Ninian Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: December 04 2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 230	Posted: January 07 2005 at 13:54
	Some are their greater moments are to be treasured. Unfortunately you have to sift through (or 'endure' as I put it) some 'less brilliant' material to find them... In all honesty, Brain Salad Surgery has some awful cringey moments, and I'm not sure the balance is fully redressed, but the album as a whole should be taken in the humour in which it was conceived. Trilogy and Tarkus are consideraby better albums, though both contain horror moments. If you haven't heard Benny The Bouncer or Jeremy Bender yet, expect things to get a lot worse before they get any better...

Reed Lover Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: July 16 2004 Location: Sao Tome and Pr Status: Offline Points: 5187	Posted: January 07 2005 at 13:41
	Yes But that's why we love em. wonderful botched singing on Jerusalem to boot!


arcer Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: September 01 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1239	Posted: January 07 2005 at 13:38
	For a start apologies to 3F before I start.... but I went out and bought BSS about a month ago, after a discussion with 3F on the merits of ELP, whom I hadn;'t heard a lot of. She recommended a particualr best of, I couldn't find it, so prompted for BSS as a) it was on sale and b) it's supposed to be their corwning glory. and .... I hate it. It just makes me laugh. I really wanted to like this record that is, apparently, so seminal, but to me it sounds like Spinal Tap. It's almost comical in its bombast, it's half-assed lyrics and its temerity. I liked parts of Karn Evil (couldn't tell you which impression) but ultimately I wish they'd done an impression of another band instead. It's debt to the cheesier elements of the late 60s psyche/neophyte prog movement are for me unbearable and the whole Jerusalem debacle is just painful to my ears. I had heard Pictures at an Exhibition before this but had dismissed that as a some kind of overblown error and was willing to investigate further but I now realise that all of ELP is like this. I know prog is over the top but come on!!! this is beyond the beyond. The questions i have to ask are: were ELP the most bombastic band on earth? Are they the single greatest reason why prog is so reviled? And are they as awful and comical as I think they are?