I think there are worse offenders than ELPowell when it comes to dodgy 80s production and sounds...at least Powell stayed away from the syn-drum snare. 'Love Blind' has always been the most dated sounding track to me, but I first heard the album in 2005-ish...nearly 20 years after it came out.
Love Blind is probably my favorite track on the album honestly
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
But he did give in to the gated reverb sound, also prevalent at the time. Especially on Love Blind.Originally Posted by JJ88
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Yeah, but I don't have a problem with the gated reverb.
I don't remember 'Love Blind' having 'gated' reverb. But it's swimming in reverb nevertheless.
The song isn't bad but it's the most 'commercial' song on the album so stands apart. ('Touch And Go' was the single, obviously, but kept the old ELP aesthetic.) I'm not personally keen on the sound Emerson uses on the solo either.
I liked both 3 and EL Powell as they were the big ELP connection releases after the 79 split. Bit of a left turn but I ' m interested in comparing the drums , Powell is great on ELpowell and of course CP has a much more paired down, electronic triggered, blended sound on 3. He only cuts loose on Desde La Vida but the break kind of repeats the Wildest Dreams break and even his break on Roger Dalterys Under a Raging Moon. He had a tendency to repeat that style of break a lot in his 80s/ Asia work, ( Holy War/ Asia) in the 2000s.
Some more tunes from the new album - these sound great!:
^^^ Thanks for posting the tracks. This is shaping up to be a surprisingly compelling record. The songs and lyrics aren't particularly good IMHO. But somehow RB distills the Emerson-ness of the 3 era perfectly. Makes me want to listen over and over.
Agreed!
Posted this in the other thread but I'm surprised by how much I wound up liking this, these compositions really do have a lot of hard turns in them and are nothing like the majority of the other 3 album
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
In The US, the music on that album was probably as unfashionable on a major label as it ever got.
I'm glad it got released despite it's flaws. The planned second album never saw the light of day.
Not at Geffen. Their AOR guy John Kalodner lived for that kinda thing.
I totally love "This Letter." It starts out as this late-eighties-style acoustic number (like Extreme's "Hole Hearted") full of country-style picking and energy, and gradually adds more and more crazy keyboards until it's a virtual dervish of keyboard madness and the original acoustic origins are forgotten. It's really unique and fun.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
I meant Emerson, Lake and Powell in 1986. I wouldn't consider that very radio friendly in that era.
Even 3 or any other band that got airplay sounded similar to that.
That strummy first part reminds me of John Wesley.
Been listening to this album a lot the last few weeks. It's pretty magnificent.
Totally agree. I expected this to be a nice, light, nostalgic album, but it's so much more than that. There's a lot of talent and integrity on display here. Lots of twists and turns in the arrangements.
-noisynoise
www.polarizedguru.com - 5-piece jazz fusion group
www.incandescentsky.com - inventive improvisational instrumental ensemble
the second half of this in particular is really great. hearing that little "Tarkus" bit on the final track kind choked me up a bit, this is exactly the sort of music I hoped Emerson was gonna start making again some day
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
Great new interview with Berry where he talks about the Emerson estate asking him to remove Keith’s actual playing from the record and his plans for a tour!
http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/...ew.php?id=1287
Why can't Keith be known as both composer and 'rock' keyboardist? Without more deets, the decision or rationale by the Estate appears to be nutzo.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
That was one of Keith's wishes before he passed. I guess the idea of Keith playing keyboards over Berry's compositions is something they're not interested in.
It wasn't just Berry's compositions but KEs as well.
While possible, I truly cannot believe it was his actual wishes.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Mmmm... He promotes it as such, but I think more Berry built the songs around some ideas Keith was toying with.
I can verify it as 100% true.
that seems about right to me - a lot of the songs come off as someone trying to write in Keith's style, rather than Keith himself. which is, at least in the case of this album, very much a good thing.
I still think removing his actual playing is kind of ridiculous, especially if Berry's just gonna replicate it himself. Oh well. He does a really good job with it. I was pretty stunned to find out Emerson technically isn't on the album.
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
For this fan, that's a shame.
And that takes nothing away from Berry here. I am a fan of his work and am interested in the disc.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
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