ELP albums after Brain Salad Surgery: How do you rate them?

[BigSixFan]

Lessee.

* If I made a Works CD, and did the following:

- ELP-ize the Third Movement of the Piano Concerto;
- ELP-ize The Enemy God and the Black Spirits
- Ces't La Vie

and include:

- Apple Blossoms
- Fanfare
- Pirates
- Tiger in the Spotlight
- So Far to Fall

That would rank just behind the Big Five. This would be followed by:

- ELPowell: 3/4 of the album is excellent, even if it does have a touch of Top Gun's Danger Zone to it.
- Love Beach: Forget the cover. Memoirs and Canario make up for the lame attempt to be a progressive pop band.
- Black Moon: Solid, but clearly 1990s in style, production and tone
- To The Power of 3: Aside from Desde la Vida, pretty forgettable
- In The Hot Seat: Pretty weak attempt to be modern.

The Keith Emerson Band's debut is extremely solid in many respects (I love The House of Ocean Born Mary suite), but this criteria needs two of the three, at least.

For me, ELP and Yes left their best work behind in the 1970s. I simply don't consider Yes West to be Yes any more than I considered Asia with Greg Lake to be a form of ELP. Simply different type of music for a different time.

[Farpoint Kevin]

It's a solid enough album with mostly good songs, but I find it a little safe. I wish there was a bit more of the instrumental firepower that made them famous. I also- again- don't like Palmer's drum sound on it, and rhythmically speaking, he plays some pretty plodding stuff on here.

There's a 'Rockline' interview from the time this album was new, BTW.

Yeah, I can see that. It's definitely not as daring or adventurous as what they were known for. I'm sure if I had been familiar with BSS, Trilogy, Tarkus and the like first, it would have been a letdown. As it stands, I pretty much started there and it was a glorious voyage of exploration from there on.

[StevegSr]

That would rank just behind the Big Five. This would be followed by:

- ELPowell: 3/4 of the album is excellent, even if it does have a touch of Top Gun's Danger Zone to it.
- Love Beach: Forget the cover. Memoirs and Canario make up for the lame attempt to be a progressive pop band.
- Black Moon: Solid, but clearly 1990s in style, production and tone
- To The Power of 3: Aside from Desde la Vida, pretty forgettable
- In The Hot Seat: Pretty weak attempt to be modern.

The Keith Emerson Band's debut is extremely solid in many respects (I love The House of Ocean Born Mary suite), but this criteria needs two of the three, at least.

For me, ELP and Yes left their best work behind in the 1970s.

Wow! These choices mimic my own. Spooky! Classy but spooky.

[JJ88]

Yeah, I can see that. It's definitely not as daring or adventurous as what they were known for. I'm sure if I had been familiar with BSS, Trilogy, Tarkus and the like first, it would have been a letdown. As it stands, I pretty much started there and it was a glorious voyage of exploration from there on.

I think I first heard Black Moon around 2007. The last one I heard was In The Hot Seat...saving the worst until last!

[jamesmanzi]

I know this is gonna be an unpopular opinion, but I just finished a Nice/ELP chronological listen-thru over the weekend, and when you listen to ELPowell thru Hot Seat in one day, Power of 3 actually stands out - to me at least - as the strongest of the bunch, or at least as strong as Black Moon.

[mkeneally]

I'm curious to hear Power of 3 again. It's been forever.

[Phlakaton]

I kinda like "Pirates" and some of the brassy jazz-rock/funk things by Palmer on Works, and there are parts of the piano concerto that are at least very listenable. Other than that I find ELP post-Brain to constitute a most horrid listening experience. A couple of the tracks from the ELPowell record would make for fine 80s downhill-skiing-commercial-jingles, but not too much else - for me.

Like minds I suppose... pretty much my assessment too. I did find myself listening to Pirates a bit for a time... but they lost something over the years and I dont play any of it now really.

[StevegSr]

Like minds I suppose... pretty much my assessment too. I did find myself listening to Pirates a bit for a time... but they lost something over the years and I dont play any of it now really.

Same deal with me. I can't listen to "Pirates" now.

[Farpoint Kevin]

I think I first heard Black Moon around 2007. The last one I heard was In The Hot Seat...saving the worst until last!

I agree completely there! Oh my. While I must admit, I loved the opening track "Hand of Truth?" or something like that...It was all downhill from there.

[Farpoint Kevin]

I know this is gonna be an unpopular opinion, but I just finished a Nice/ELP chronological listen-thru over the weekend, and when you listen to ELPowell thru Hot Seat in one day, Power of 3 actually stands out - to me at least - as the strongest of the bunch, or at least as strong as Black Moon.

I enjoyed a good bit of Power of 3. Not really what I listen to ELP for, but some strong songs I thought.

[regenerativemusic]

I remember when Works 1 first came out. I had been an ELP fan for about three years and they were my favorite group. This double album was like a whole other animal....the classical music, and the innovative group side was amazing. Plus, all the use of orchestra really made it a unique experience. A whole side of Lake was awesome, because it was all pretty much like his classic ELP songs, not like the stripped down rock stuff of his solo albums. I think those who look down on it don't have the experience of being a big fan when it first came out.

[DoubleDrummer]

Lots of good comment here...................not much disagreement either.
I thought I read somewhere that Romeo & Juliet was created as a soundtrack on something.................did I just dream that ?

[JJ88]

^I think Emerson recorded it himself before this ELP version, but I think that Emerson version came out later. Whatever, I find the ELP version one of their most turgid recordings, only enlivened by the occasional burst of synth solo. And I don't think there was much in the way of outtakes to have replaced it- there was 'A Blade Of Grass' but that's another piano instrumental, and 'Close To Home' covers that ground better.

[Svetonio]

I like Black Moon and Works Vol 2, but other post-BSS albums are really sh*t to these ears.

[miamiscot]

I only like Side Four Of Works Vol. I ---- nothing they did after that sounded good to these ears. And some of it was God awful.

[grego]

I remember when Works 1 first came out. I had been an ELP fan for about three years and they were my favorite group. This double album was like a whole other animal....the classical music, and the innovative group side was amazing. Plus, all the use of orchestra really made it a unique experience. A whole side of Lake was awesome, because it was all pretty much like his classic ELP songs, not like the stripped down rock stuff of his solo albums. I think those who look down on it don't have the experience of being a big fan when it first came out.

Share the same feelings about Works vol. 1. Btw, I don't see many of big ELP fans here...one or two maybe...too much of negative on every page. This doesn't correate with 'fan' kind of viewing.

[BigSixFan]

You can buy the KEB version of The Barbarian on iTunes as a single track. Best $1.29 you'll ever spend.

Indeed it is. The drum work by Greg Bissonette is as rock solid as they come. I've first heard Greg on a Joe Satriani album a long time ago and was amazed how a drummer who has very few frills still sound as powerful as he does. He is a step up from the 1980s and later Palmer, IMO. Palmer without the musicality of the earlier years is meh to me...

The KE Band debut sounds more ELP than some ELP albums. I guess I could say the same about U. K.'s Danger Money, particularly their epic Carrying No Cross. I wonder what other non-ELP albums are out there that out ELP the latter-day ELP?

[Mister Triscuits]

The KE Band debut sounds more ELP than some ELP albums. I guess I could say the same about U. K.'s Danger Money, particularly their epic Carrying No Cross. I wonder what other non-ELP albums are out there that out ELP the latter-day ELP?

As long as you're looking back as far as the '70s, I'd say Triumvirat's Spartacus!

[JAMOOL]

The KE Band debut sounds more ELP than some ELP albums. I guess I could say the same about U. K.'s Danger Money, particularly their epic Carrying No Cross. I wonder what other non-ELP albums are out there that out ELP the latter-day ELP?

How bout Chronometree by Glass Hammer?

Decided to give "Pirates" another listen. It's so ridiculous (even for ELP) but I still love how theatrical it is. By the way, I've noticed that ELP seem to have trouble ending their long pieces...always thought it was strange how "Pirates" just sorta..flops

[BigSixFan]

How bout Chronometree by Glass Hammer?

Decided to give "Pirates" another listen. It's so ridiculous (even for ELP) but I still love how theatrical it is. By the way, I've noticed that ELP seem to have trouble ending their long pieces...always thought it was strange how "Pirates" just sorta..flops

Too bad we didn't see a Works, Vol. 1 and 2 remade without the orchestration, a sort of Works Naked, where the excess was stripped away. I greatly preferred Pirates without the orchestration.

[Rick Robson]

Lots of good comment here...................not much disagreement either.
I thought I read somewhere that Romeo & Juliet was created as a soundtrack on something.................did I just dream that ?

Yes, I think you've just dreamt that, at least here I didn't read it yet, as it is pretty well-known that "Romeo & Juliet" is a suite by Sergei Prokofiev, to whom it was credited by ELP. And yes, Emerson recorded it before the ELP version, but came out later in his 95' album Changing States as "Montagues and Capulets", a shorter track with a slightly more uptempo beat, keeping also the original Sergei Prokiev's ballet title from which it originated.

On Black Moon there is also the track called "Changing States", originated from: Glazunov's Vremena Goda, op. 67, mov. 3, leading theme (autumn), Bacchanal introduction; Saint-Saens' Symphony no.3 in C minor, op. 78, mov. 4 (maestoso); and Bartok's Out of Doors, mov. 3 (Musettes). These quotes appear just after the introduction in the first part of the track.
A demo version appeared as "Another Frontier" on Keith's album Changing States, which features a longer and more beautiful organ melody on the mid-section, although I personally enjoy even more the Black Moon recording just because of a much more beautiful version of the last section.

PS:
From the Classical Music, I know just three tracks that were not credited to the author - 1) with Emerson, Lake & Powell, the main theme to "Touch & Go" is identical to the English folk song "Lovely Joan", better known as the counterpoint tune in Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves; 2) "Nutrocker", adapted by Kim Fowley (credited) from Tchaikovsky's "March of the Wooden Soldiers" (not credited); and 3) "Knife Edge", middle section based on the Allemande from French Suites No. 1 in D minor, by J.S. Bach.

[Rick Robson]

Too bad we didn't see a Works, Vol. 1 and 2 remade without the orchestration, a sort of Works Naked, where the excess was stripped away. I greatly preferred Pirates without the orchestration.

I enjoy pretty much the Live At The Royal Albert Hall recording of Pirates, despite the drumming sounds sort of ruined it to an extent it didn't comprise my appreciation of this track with orchestration.

[regenerativemusic]

Share the same feelings about Works vol. 1. Btw, I don't see many of big ELP fans here...one or two maybe...too much of negative on every page. This doesn't correate with 'fan' kind of viewing.

I always ascribe that to the fact that they are usually not big fans of classical music. If you accept classical music as superior to rock, then you generally like most of ELP. The people that say they like classical music will then like rock or prog rock that I give no value towards. I really am seeing that a lot of rock culture really has been destructive, addiction has always been there, but not like the last 40 years, and "the relapse happens in the head first." People who will eventually die of drug od's may try to get clean, but this sewer music keeps them back.

[revporl]

ELPowell wins hands down for me, probably my favourite ELP album after BSS. I like the ELP and Greg side of works and I don't mind some of the songs from Black Moon although the production and arrangements are dead lumpy. I can leave most of the rest.

I don't understand the previous comment at all btw!

[Rick Robson]

If you accept classical music as superior to rock, then you generally like most of ELP. The people that say they like classical music will then like rock or prog rock that I give no value towards.

A quite big generalization imo, people don't need to know absolutely nothing of Classical Music in order to like ELP, that's for sure.