What ever happened to E.L.P.?

LakeGlade12 wrote: I am not a big fan of ELP but they do have a bunch of strong songs scattered across their 70s albums. I think what holds them back for me and the top 100 list is their bad filler/joke songs. With the exception of their debut all of their albums have several (or a whole LP side for Tarkus) short messy tracks that get on my nerves. When I read reviews of their albums these tracks often get criticism and cause people to lower their rating to 3 or 4 stars. Their debut album does not have this filler which is why it's my favourite from ELP and I'm not surprised it's the only top 100 album.

I strongly disagree, Tarkus' second half is great and provides a contrast to the first side.   'Jeremy Bender', 'Bitches Crystal', 'Time and a Place' are not filler.   The only joke cut is Eddy.   

I read a story long ago (can’t remember where…I don’t recall it being Keyboard magazine, but I could be wrong), where Emerson took exception to a reviewer calling ELP “…all pomp and no circumstance…”

He thought that if they want an Elgar march, he’ll give them an Elgar march. That effort became Karn Evil 9: 3^rd Impression which does indeed contain elements sounding like a grandiose Elgar processional march.

This is what made ELP unique to me. They brought a sense of humor to the approach to their music that few other artists did.

I must admit I still find TARKUS, TRILOGY and BRAIN SALAD SURGERY hugely enjoyable - and that includes TARKUS' B-side. I never had a problem with ELP's throwaway ditties. If Genesis could get away with 'Harold the Barrel', why can't ELP do 'Benny the Bouncer'? (Only 'Jerusalem' is a track I prefer to skip: far too pompous, just like most of PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION.)

BasedProgger wrote: I disagree. Tarkus is half of an amazing album and half filler. Trilogy is more listenable and my favorite by the band but doesn't have any real standouts (The Endless Enigma and the title track are fine songs but obviously can't be compared to Tarkus or Karn Evil 9). Brain Salad Surgery is the only other album besides their debut I think could be deserving of the top 100.

Edited by moshkito - 5 hours 6 minutes ago at 09:41

They should've sent an instruction manual along with that message. I found some iron but there are no tags on it. I'm not sure what the purpose of putting it on my head would be. I'm still listening for DOMContentLoaded. What's it supposed to sound like?

DearGood People of Progarchives:(function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||a.contentWindow.document;if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'913ea4f258f2d684',t:'MTczOTg4ODI4NC4wMDAwMDA='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.nonce='';a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();< height="1" width="1" style=": ; top: 0px; left: 0px; border: none; visibility: ;">

I prefer several ELP albums to anything by Camel, Renaissance, Van der Graaf Generator, and Focus.

Edited by omphaloskepsis - 7 hours 30 minutes ago at 07:17

In the US in the 70s they were quite a bit more popular than Genesis. However, these days the PG era of the band is much more widely appreciated than Genesis (even outside of prog circles). Even Gentle Giant are appreciated and more known (at least to prog fans). These days I'd say it's mostly classic rock fans and not so much prog fans who appreciate them. I'm talking about the fans from the old days. I doubt many younger music fans (of any genre) think too much of them. 

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - 7 hours 39 minutes ago at 07:08

" 'am or cheese?...."

^ ELP officially disbanded in 1979 but reformed as ELPowell in 85/86 and produced one decent album.  They were back as '3' in 1988 with Robert Berry replacing Lake this time but this iteration was not as successful.