Love Beach expanded and remastered

[Mister Triscuits]

'Canario' is decent, the music of 'Memoirs...' has its moments. But there's nothing especially exciting or inventive about either track, IMHO.

I've always thought "Canario" was terrific, a fairly successful shot at doing another "Hoedown." "Memoirs" is no "Tarkus" or "Karn Evil 9," but it's a pretty decent prog epic that I've always found quite enjoyable (despite some cringeworthy lyrics). But you have to get through five really dismal songs to reach those. I wonder if the album would have been any better received if they had simply switched the sides, so people's first impression wouldn't be those five stinkers.

[miamiscot]

I too bought the LP recently (for $3.00) and was stoked to see that insert was there - in all its glory!!! I wonder if I can still order any of this...

[Mister Triscuits]

I too bought the LP recently (for $3.00) and was stoked to see that insert was there - in all its glory!!! I wonder if I can still order any of this...

They probably still have a warehouse full of those jogging shorts. They might be so eager to get rid of them that they'd still honor the $1 shipping charge.

[arturs]

They probably still have a warehouse full of those jogging shorts. They might be so eager to get rid of them that they'd still honor the $1 shipping charge.

I checked ebay for the heck of it. Not a single piece of "Love Beach" clothing available.

[JAMOOL]

I wrote a half-hearted defense of the album here:

https://critterjams.wordpress.com/20...ve-beach-1978/

as dumb as the album is I'll always love it for the phrase "I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight" which is probably one of my favorite ELP lyrics. what an odd phrase.

[Mister Triscuits]

as dumb as the album is I'll always love it for the phrase "I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight" which is probably one of my favorite ELP lyrics. what an odd phrase.

My favorite line has always been "I like my dessert first, if you know what I mean." Yeah, we know what you mean, tubby.

[lak611]

I wrote a half-hearted defense of the album here:

https://critterjams.wordpress.com/20...ve-beach-1978/

as dumb as the album is I'll always love it for the phrase "I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight" which is probably one of my favorite ELP lyrics. what an odd phrase.

It sounds to me as if Emerson defended Love Beach since he was the producer. There are no producer credits on the liner notes or the record label, but it's known that it was Emerson, not Lake, who produced the album.

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[JJ88]

I've always thought "Canario" was terrific, a fairly successful shot at doing another "Hoedown."

I think that's my problem with it, not bad in itself but it's just another one in a 'classical rock' style, similar to things they've done before. (The Keith Emerson Band album had another Rodrigo interpretation, 30 years later.)

I sort of feel like UK's Danger Money is a better ELP album than the band themselves could manage at that point.

[Gerhard]

It sounds to me as if Emerson defended Love Beach since he was the producer.

Insights from the man himself:


Looks like Squids is having a hard time keeping from laughing out loud at a few points...

[Chichen Itza]

My favorite line has always been "I like my dessert first, if you know what I mean." Yeah, we know what you mean, tubby.

Real classy

[gojikranz]

I am impressed they actually continued the reissue program along this far seems like a lot peter out before they get to it. also that they actually dug up some unreleased stuff related to it.

might actually grab this one...

wonder who paid $107 for the test pressing of the new love beach vinyl though:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/...nlakeandpalmer

probably the same person who has that jacket.

[jefftiger]

I am impressed they actually continued the reissue program along this far seems like a lot peter out before they get to it. also that they actually dug up some unreleased stuff related to it.

might actually grab this one...

wonder who paid $107 for the test pressing of the new love beach vinyl though:

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/...nlakeandpalmer

probably the same person who has that jacket.

Based on your post, I looked at Amazon and found recent remastered versions of Works 1 and 2 (the latter with a bunch of additional live tracks). Does anyone have these? Is there any significant sonic difference? I can't tell if the extra tracks on Works 2 have appeared on previous versions. I know that at least a few of the tracks on the expanded version of Love Beach are on my British remastered edition (probably from Castle Music) from the early 2000s.

[polmico]

I wrote a half-hearted defense of the album here:

https://critterjams.wordpress.com/20...ve-beach-1978/

as dumb as the album is I'll always love it for the phrase "I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight" which is probably one of my favorite ELP lyrics. what an odd phrase.

Hmmm. I've seen it around here somewhere.

My favorite line has always been "I like my dessert first, if you know what I mean." Yeah, we know what you mean, tubby.

What the heck did he mean? Was it oral sex? Is that the dessert? Sex is the main course? Why does he still need to order dessert from room service, too? The metaphorical language is mind boggling useless! (I do like the song, though. Has sort of a "Living Sin" vibe.)

[chalkpie]

What the heck did he mean? Was it oral sex? Is that the dessert? Sex is the main course? Why does he still need to order dessert from room service, too? The metaphorical language is mind boggling useless! (I do like the song, though. Has sort of a "Living Sin" vibe.)

He might have meant desert, and just misspelled it. Its really hot.

[gojikranz]

Based on your post, I looked at Amazon and found recent remastered versions of Works 1 and 2 (the latter with a bunch of additional live tracks). Does anyone have these? Is there any significant sonic difference? I can't tell if the extra tracks on Works 2 have appeared on previous versions. I know that at least a few of the tracks on the expanded version of Love Beach are on my British remastered edition (probably from Castle Music) from the early 2000s.

I believe the live tracks on works 2 are works live resequenced a bit so that it and works II can fit on two cds.

[JJ88]

Many years ago I found Works Live on Victory for £1 or something, and have always been disappointed with it. It's taken from two tours, sure, but has a thoroughly weird running order- ending with 'Tank', huh? It also somehow misses the highlight of the orchestral excursion, 'Pirates'.

I kind of like the arrangement of 'Peter Gunn' though, which is why I keep it!

[JAMOOL]

not to mention the sound quality is pretty dodgy - Lake's bass sounds like a box full of rubber bands

[polmico]

What do the liner notes say? Is there anything interesting that hasn't been already mentioned previously?

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Some interesting quotes from Lake. He acknowledges the contract situation, notes the lyrics to "Officer" don't interest him. He had a chance to reevaluate the album and, like Emerson in that interview with Squids, suggests there are some very good moments on the album. I tend to agree.

"Honourable Company," included in (presumably) single form on this disc is really a good piece of ELP-ery. Lake's voice sounds good throughout the album and, as previously noted, Palmer has a very good drum sound.

The album has got its fair share of cringeworthy moments, but there is some good (perhaps not great) moments--in other words, it's on par with the Works albums and the ELPowell album for me. Good music by a band I'm not slavishly devoted to.

[polmico]

He might have meant desert, and just misspelled it. Its really hot.

Hmmm. Might get sand in some uncomfortable places, but I guess he's not worried about that given the lyrics to the title track.

[JJ88]

not to mention the sound quality is pretty dodgy - Lake's bass sounds like a box full of rubber bands

The Alembic with the treble apparently set to stun.

A bad period for Emerson's sounds too- that bit on 'The Gnome' in Pictures... where it sounds like something from a gameshow.

[GuitarGeek]

I always regretted not buying the shorts or shiny jacket! I unfortunately sold (or maybe threw out) my vinyl Love Beach (bought on the day of its release) a long time ago. So, I no longer have the tour gear advertisement.

I've got the advertisement. I bought my copy of the alubm, sometime in the 90's, I think, at a thrift store (which is no longer there, alas!) and get this, it was unopened! Of course, stupid me had to open it up and play the record once. I remember virtually nothing about it. I think my copy might have been a cut out now that I think about it.

[GuitarGeek]

It's too bad the actual LP couldn't have had the animated cover somehow.

Well,t he Rolling Stones had that lenticular cover on Satanic Majesties, way back in 1967, so the technology was certainly there. It's just a damn shame nobody connected with ELP had enough of a sense of humor to go through with something like that.

DIdn't Emerson actually apologize in Keyboard magazine for this record? I have a vague memory of reading an interview where he apologized, and said he didn't like the album title. Apparently, they did some sort of survey, where they walked up to people in the airport or shopping malls or whateve,r and asked them, "Which of these sounds like the title of an ELP album?!", I guess Keith's point being, it didn't.

[GuitarGeek]

The Alembic with the treble apparently set to stun.
.

The "bed springs" bass tone, I like to call it. That's what it's always sound like to me: Someone plucking on a spring. I'd still love to what the logic was there. Was that the bass tone he was actually going for? Or did he have trouble figuring out the controls on the bass? Or was he running the bass in stereo through two amps (similar trick to what Entwistle did for many years), and somehow only the bridge pickup amp got recorded? Or was it down to poor mixing choices at the time? I mean, seriously. What! THE! FRELL!?!?!?

[pb2015]

DIdn't Emerson actually apologize in Keyboard magazine for this record? I have a vague memory of reading an interview where he apologized, and said he didn't like the album title. Apparently, they did some sort of survey, where they walked up to people in the airport or shopping malls or whateve,r and asked them, "Which of these sounds like the title of an ELP album?!", I guess Keith's point being, it didn't.

I remember this as well, that he said sometime in the late 70's/early 80's in that magazine that he did an informal poll to try to convince Atlantic that the title and cover were not what ELP's fans wanted.

[JJ88]

As bad as the cover/title are, there's also no getting away from the issue that the songs up to (but not including) 'Canario' are well below par for the band. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with a more streamlined sound- 'Lucky Man', 'From The Beginning', 'A Time And A Place', 'Still You Turn Me On'- but these songs didn't work IMHO.

Preceded by the odds-and-ends Works Volume 2 and followed by the desultory In Concert, that's three fairly half-hearted albums on the trot- something they never recovered from. (Well, the ELPowell album sold reasonably well, but other than that...)