1988 wasn't really a good year for this kind of AOR prog music nor was it for radio, but there was lots of great stuff that year! That first full Cardiacs LP, Bummed by Happy Mondays, Spirit of Eden, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Lincoln by They Might be Giants (yes I'm a fan), most of the ones mentioned above..
In fact, To the Power of 3 was probably my LEAST favorite album that year, right next to Total Devo.
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
i actually liked 'To The Power Of Three' better then ELPowell & later stuff.
the songs were good but the production/mix seemed flat & tinny (kind of like Rush's Presto/RTB)
pity for Robert Berry- a very under-rated talent. (i'm gonna dust this one off and play it.... to be continued)
update: ok, i still like it. but wish the mix had more bass. short cd, but good.
Last edited by BravadoNJ; 07-22-2015 at 06:17 PM.
Dudes, 1988 was the year of Talk Talk. Full stop. What a revelation.
For one - and not exactly an irrelevant one, to put it like that. But hey, we're living in a world where a mag calling itself 'Prog' in all sincereity entitles Änglagård the dubious honour of being "Sweden's best kept secret" - thus approaching the level of Gilliam's Brazil here, for pete's sake.Originally Posted by N_Singh
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
You are right, but keep in mind, Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet and we were forced to listen to the (gad) radio.
Sadly, I live in Rhode Island where Top 40 and Dance Music dominated the radio stations in the 70's, 80's, 90's, and with the exception of the IHeart Radio Oldie stations, today. Every 10 years, someone starts a Jazz station that lasts less than a year. Other than 1 station on the radio, Prog rock had disappeared when this album came out. Of the groups you listed, only the Traveling Wilburys got ANY airplay here. It was so difficult to find any obscure (at that time) band and explore what they had to offer. 3 was on that list of obscure bands. They initially had a little airplay here and then got buried by the crap that ended up dominating the airwaves.
Today, with the internet, would 3 get any respect if it was released now? Probably not much, but back in 88, when other prog bands were unfortunately incredibly difficult to find, they filled a void.
I enjoyed 3 and will probably pick this up. I probably would have seen them that year had I found out they were playing at the Ritz in New York. I think WNEW broadcast that show and I taped it. I like it better than the studio album. Supposedly there was a second 3 album floating around in collectors circles, but I never was able to track that down. It's probably my favorite project that Robert Berry has been involved with.
Probably Like ELPowell more, especially live. Dig Black Moon too. Even Royal Albert Hall,
In The Hot Seat is the one I'm not fond of. That album convinced me that they were done although there were obvious medical issues around that time with Emerson.
Robert Berry details his time with '3' here: http://www.robertberry.com/three.html and claims that the unreleased songs from the 2nd album wound up on his solo release (which also contained songs that he wrote with Steve Howe for the unreleased 2nd GTR album)
This epic 10 minute track co-written with Palmer and Emerson is one of those was-gonna-be-3 songs:
Btw, aren't the three following videos identical?
When the Heart Rules the Mind
Talking Bout
Go
Thanks. I'm going to check that out.
Saw "3" live up front and REALLY up close in a small club in Bayshore , NY (Long Island)(about 2 to 4 feet away through out the show)..They came on real late , the club was packed but when the music started, MAGIC...88-89..?? No ticket stubs for this show.....
I, too, was there (even suffering with a case of acute tonsillitis). It was 1988. The club was called The Sundance. I remember it was packed with patrons. It was, however, a great show. There was also a live radio broadcast from the Ritz in Manhattan, the following week, that I remember taping...
Ed
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www.myriadtrio.com
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I recorded that Ritz show from the radio too. I'm pretty sure I still have it. I also recorded them when they were on "Rockline."
I still have that Ritz show on tape, also. Plus, I remember that particular "Rockline" show, as well, as if it were yesterday, and, I also recorded it then...
Ed
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www.myriadtrio.com
www.facebook.com/MyriadtrioNY
I remember that rockline as well. Emerson made a quip about people spilling their drinks, given the small clubs they were playing.
They played a brief instrumental-- was it honky-tonk train blues?-- and I think Palmer was percussing on telephone books or something . Ie, he didn't have a kit ready in the studio .
Yes, I believe it was Honky Tonk Train Blues, with a telephone book and a tambourine. That was classic!
Ed
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www.myriadtrio.com
www.facebook.com/MyriadtrioNY
bRETT and JAMOOL, thanks for mentioning those albums. I haven't listened to some of them in a decade or more, time to dig them out from my pile of CD's.
As for 3, I saw them here in Los Angeles at what was then called The Palace (now it's The Avalon). Great venue of about 2,000 capacity, 3 couldn't even fill that. I just thought it was sad, Emerson doing all his tricks like leaping on the piano and playing it from the lid, the organ thrashing, the weak original songs, I left really despondent. I'd liked the ELPowell album and really liked the two shows of theirs I saw, but 3 seemed like sheer desperation. It was a shame that Lake thrashed his voice from smoking, and while I enjoyed the ELPalmer shows I saw on the early tours in the 90's (the show in Las Vegas was fantastic), by the time they limped here second on the bill to Deep Purple, it was depressing. I saw the second-to-last show they did before they broke up in 1998 (not counting the High Voltage set) and it was really sad. Even from the back of a 6,000 seater I could tell there was tension between E & L and sure enough, they broke up not long after that.
What a poor way for one of the greatest bands of the early 70's to fizzle out.
...or you could love
Wasn't crazy about "3" when it came out, although I instantly liked Desde La Vida, but I like this album quite a bit now and listen to it regularly. Its a nice change of pace with the more melodic writing and I do really like Keith's work on this, its a unique album for him supporting writing in this style and he does a good job with it, and has some nice solos. On my Way Home is a good track. Lots of Roland D-50 on this album. Pissed I missed this tour. I did see the ELPowell tour, and that was great. Keith had the GX-1 with him and hearing Pirates played on that thing was very cool.
Yup. That was it. It's been forever since I last played the tape, but I remember it being pretty good.
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