ELP #9- Love Beach

Love Beach- 1978

Rating: 6

ELP? Oh, I thought they were the Bee Gees

Best Song: For You or Canario

Worst Song: Taste of My Love

     

       Well, this is pretty much the point in which you learn the ELP is pretty much dead. I can say that the album isn't terrible, for it still has one or two good songs, but the rest of the songs range from bad to awful. I'm pretty sure you can tell this isn't ELP by the really bad album cover. If there was no "Emerson Lake & Palmer" at the top, I would have guessed these guys were the Bee Gees.

       The biggest problem is the lyrics. I mean the lyrics on "Taste of My Love" are some of the worst I have ever heard. Peter Sinfield can make some good lyrics, but I thought the whole "Someone get me a ladder" line on the "Brain Salad Surgery" album would have told Greg Lake that this would not end up very well. Of course, another problem is the songs themselves. This album was forced to be made by the record company, and you know what happens when a group is forced to make an album: the album is junk. I could go on and on about this, but I am here to review this awful album's tracks, so here goes nothing:
      First on the album is "All I Want is You", in which you quickly realize all the differences from old ELP to this one. The song is a ballad, with Greg singing pretty well. The lyrics are surprisingly good on this song. However, Emerson must have updated his synths a bit because there is no Hammond organ on this album. The synths are cheesy, and Emerson doesn't even try to make any advanced keyboard techniques or solos. Palmer's drumming is for once Pretty much as complicated as Emerson's keyboard, which is not a good thing. Anyway, the song is a pretty normal pop song, with two verses and choruses, an extra section in the middle, and then a third verse and chorus, followed by chorus until the fadeout. It still sounds good, but is not at all what I expected. Then comes the title track, which is okay, and bordering on not good. Yet again the song is a pop song, just this one is even more cheesy than the last one. It is pretty much structured the same as the last one too. Greg sings good, but the lyrics are not very good. Emerson again uses his rather bad synths, just this time, Palmer's drums are more complicated than his synth line. This album is the only time in which I don't like Emerson's synths. If only the record company had let ELP go on the break they wanted...
      The next song starts off bad, with quiet synths before going into a song that starts cool. However, the lyrics are awful. This song is as bad as "Living Sin", just this time Emerson is removed of the Hammond organ. The pop song structure is similar to the last two, just there is multiple interludes between the verses and choruses. The drums are simple. Emerson's synths are annoying in some parts, but they are a bit better then in previous songs. Greg sings good, but the lyrics are too bad to notice. After listening to this song, I wondered if listening to this just for a review is worth it. Coming after that song is the much more enjoyable "The Gambler". Greg sings great, and Emerson's synths and keyboards are better. Palmer drums good as usual. The song has the same pop structure as the first two. The harmonica on the song sounds good for the most part. The lyrics are great until the interlude after the second verse. The backup vocals are bad and the last lyric Greg sings in that part sounds incredibly cheesy. Other then that, the song is good. After that is "For You", which is actually a very good pop song. The arrangement is the same as the previous song just there is no interlude. In this case, that is great. The opening is cool, and it goes into a nice first verse. The song has Emerson on his piano playing very nicely to Greg's voice. The drums are good as expected. Greg's guitar has a great part in the song. The lyrics are good except for 1 okay line, but are pretty much good. The chorus is fantastic. Emerson's piano backup Greg very well, and Greg's singing is awesome. Fortunately, the chorus is extended after the second verse until going into another cool part until fadeout. Quite Spectacular.
      The final song on the side is "Canario", which is actually really cool. The synths do not sound as cheesy, and manages to sort of remind me of "Hoedown". Keith gets a chance to shine again, and Palmer gets to drum... normally. The bass is good too. This song is probably the only song I can guarantee will appeal to ELP fans. Of course, because the song is on what is known as an awful album that sounds nothing like ELP, it gets overlooked because nobody wants to listen to it usually. Fans of ELP avoid this album as though it is toxic. Anyway, the band remembered that they had to make a second side, which is summarized in the side-long "Memoirs From An Officer And A Gentleman". It is bad, but has some ups to it. It has 4 parts. The first part, "Prologue/The Education Of A Gentleman", is super cheesy, but has some decent parts. Greg's singing is good, and whatever Keith is doing sounds okay. The synths grew on me a bit. However, the second part, "Love At First Sight", is great. Keith does some beautiful piano, and Greg's vocal melody is fantastic. There is no drums, which makes it sound better, actually. Once it gets later in the song, some good guitar comes in,  and the piano carries the song from there. Once the drums do come back, it still sounds good! Then, that part ends after a little bit more of the vocal melody and no drums. Then, the drums come back in and the song turns into some weird, pop song. I really don't like the melody, and the synths are a bit mopey and average. The drums are actually good. Then, once that part is over, it goes into a pretty boring march. The synths don't really do much to make it interesting, and the drums are like a normal march. Even the march itself doesn't sound that great. That ends the album.

      "Love Beach", while pathetic in a lot of parts, still has a few moments that keep it from being outright awful. While it shows that ELP was pretty much dead, and that you should only listen to this album using Grooveshark and probably not buy it, it shows the fall of Progressive Rock. Compare this album to "Works Volume 2", which was released a year before. That album had really good melodies, LOTS of impressive Emerson work, and unique and cool drum-lines. This album just pales in comparison.

ELP #8- Works Volume 2

Works Volume 2- 1997

Rating: 13

The band has fun, and Palmer learns how to write good songs

Best Song: Watching Over You or Close But Not Touching

Worst Song: Bullfrog



       Unbelievably enough, the band managed to make this awesome record that is WAAAAY better then "Works Volume 1". It is even better then "Trilogy", mainly because there is no copy of "Living Sin" on this album. The funny thing is that this album is not a traditional ELP album because most of the songs are just the band having a great time. The other thing is that this is an album with outtakes. Just think about the fact that many bands have tons of outtakes that never make it on to an album. If all of ELP's outtakes were as good as these, or even worse then these, I would definitely buy them if they were put on a CD.
       Of course, I have to get on to reviewing the album sometime. The album opener is "Tiger in The Spotlight". If you were expecting some complicated, "Tarkus" sort of thing, then prepare to be surprised. This song like one of those songs that makes you want to get up and dance until you fall over. In other words, it's a catchy, fast paced tune. Lake sings his lyrics while Emerson keeps this awesome piano line with some synths. Palmer just goes ahead and drums (with occasional drum fills). Emerson solos sometimes between when Greg is singing. This song already sets the album on a excellent first note. The next song is "When The Apples Blossoms Bloom in The Windmills of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine". The song is instrumental, and highly entertaining. Emerson uses his synths to make a nice melody, while keeping a good flow to the song. Basically, the entire song is an awesome Emerson solo as he uses all his different keyboards.
       Remember how I said Palmer finally started to write some good songs in the album description? Well, this next song was written by Palmer is slightly lower then okay. "Bullfrogs" is an experimental Palmer song, with mildly interesting but sort of annoying saxophones, and a cool yet strange part that contains a flute. The end has a few different themes built into it, but for 10 seconds it just sounds like a mess before pulling itself together to end the song. After that is the title track of one of their previous albums, "Brain Salad Surgery". The Emerson synths make the song sound neat, while the drums are more complex then the first two songs. Greg sort of sounds like he did on "Benny the Bouncer", but still sings pretty well. The song is pretty short, and ends after 2 verses, an instrumental break, and another verse. This does not mean the song is bad, for it is highly enjoyable.
       Coming after that is the first honky-tonk song on the album, "Barrelhouse Shake-Down". Emerson uses the piano he uses on "Jeremy Bender" and solos with other brass and woodwind instruments. It is interesting most of the time, if only 10 seconds overlong (which is a very small flaw). Once that ends, the fantastic "Watching Over You" begins. It is a Greg ballad, with nice lyrics and a beautiful melody. It is pretty much just Greg's voice and his guitar at first, with some backing vocals appearing in some parts. It quickly becomes a bigger song, with a harmonica and what sounds like a single drum instead of a full drum set. The song is a classic Lake ballad, beating "Closer to Believing" from "Works Volume 1" by just a bit.
       Next comes the good song "So Far to Fall" that, like "Tiger in The Spotlight", makes you want to dance. Greg's voice sounds pretty cool on the song, and the lyrics are good at best. Emerson's keyboards are interesting, if not that special on this song. Palmer's drums are pretty much normal (for Palmer). Right after that is the next honky-tonk song, "Maple Leaf Rag". Emerson plays his great piano part and is backed by an orchestra and a flute. This is a cover of Scott Joplin's original song. It is good, mainly because it is repetitive. Luckily, it is about 2 minutes. The next song is "I Believe In Father Christmas", which has some of the best lyrics on the album. It is not a traditional Christmas song, because instead of being about Santa and stuff, it is about childhood belief and the commercialization of Christmas. That does not stop the song from sounding great. This version does not have the orchestra.
       Then Palmer finally realizes that he can make great songs and comes up with "Close But Not Touching". This is an instrumental with a fascinating melody and a cool drum beat. While if the part at the beginning kept going over and over, it would have been just a good song, but then the guitar starts soloing and makes the song sound 50% more awesome then it already did. It is quite a spectacular song. Then comes the final honky-tonk song, titled "Honky Tonk Train Blues". Emerson, of course, uses the honky-tonk piano and again solos with the brass and woodwinds, just to better song this time. As usual, the song is extremely interesting and makes for a fun listening experience. The final song on the album is the excellent "Show Me The Way to Go Home", another cover. Emerson does a piano intro until Lake sings two verses (no chorus). Suddenly, Emerson starts to solo as other instruments and drums join. Greg sings until only him, the orchestra, and the piano is left. Emerson does the outro and the album closes.
       My version of the album has some live tracks, and those are not counted in the rating, even though it would still be the same. The live tracks are "Tiger in The Spotlight", "Watching Over You" (which they announce as "Watching Under You" before correcting it and joking about it being "Watching With You"), and "Show Me The Way To Go Home". In all, the entire album shows the fun side of ELP, and, unfortunately, is the final fantastic album the band will have.

ELP #7- Works Volume 1



Works Volume 1- 1977
Rating: 9
Emerson: Classical. Lake: Melodies. Palmer: ?
Best Song: Hallowed Be Thy Name or Closer to Believing

Worst Song: L.A. Nights or Two-Part Invention in D Minor

      Now here is where ELP starts to spread apart a bit. The problem was that they all wanted to do solo work, but they knew that if they released it themselves it would not sell as well. So they said "Hey! I know! Let's make a bunch of solo stuff and put it on one album!", and that is exactly what they did. Of course, it is not even as close to as good as previous albums, but it has some great moments.
       The biggest problem with the album is that, while Emerson and Lake do fantastic jobs, Palmer flops around with the song writing like an idiot. I don't have anything against Palmer (this is my favorite band, so if I hated him why would I like the band) but I think that he is not a very good songwriter by himself. Notice that on every album, there is no complete song writing credit by Palmer. Consider this a good thing.
       Anyway, Emerson wrote his contributions on the first side, with a single 20 minute song. It is classic music with three parts, titled simply "Piano Concerto No. 1". The whole song features extremely impressive piano parts by Keith. At most times he sounds just like the old classic music composers that you learn about in General Music and forget about because you like different types of music. The thing is, this song was plenty of variety to be very interesting to mainly anyone. Besides, Emerson is backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and who doesn't like them? The only flaw is that it isn't something I would always actively listen to exactly.
       Next in line is the Greg Lake tunes. All of them are ballads, even if "Hallowed Be Thy Name" really doesn't fit with the rest of the songs. First is "Lend Your Love To Me Tonight", in which Greg conjures a nice melody with decent lyrics. The drum line is simple, and the guitar too. Following that is "C'est la vie". The song is excellent, with a slow build-up. At the beginning it is just his guitar and his singing, which soon is joined by back-up instruments and backing vocals. Only on the last verse do you hear pretty much everything in the song. After that is the fun and great "Hallowed Be Thy Name". The lyrics are definitely the best on this album, and the piano that comes in between when Greg sings is pretty awesome. The orchestra line is strange, but fits perfectly. I even hear some brass here in there. For the last lyric, Greg keeps finding words that rhyme with it as the madness of the instruments continues. This song is memorable, with no doubt about it.
       When the amazing "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is done, "Nobody Loves You Like I Do", the next Greg ballad, comes in. It has a harmonica to back up the main melody. The lyrics are okay, but when Greg sings them they sound much better. Synths are heard during the chorus, most likely not played by Emerson (unfortunately). The final ballad is "Closer to Believing". The melody is beautiful, which is undeniable. These lyrics are just as good as "Hallowed Be Thy Name", and Greg's voice sounds perfect. With it's mellow piano, Greg's soothing voice, the quiet guitar, and some great orchestra parts, this song is a great ending to Greg's set.
       By moving on to Palmer's set, you quickly ask yourself what exactly you are listening to. The first song is "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirit", which is just some weird orchestra stuff with Palmer being experimental. It is actually good, and certainly better then the rest of the Palmer songs to come. "L.A. Nights" seems cool at first, but once the stupid voice says the title 5 seconds in, it just becomes boring, overlong, and experimental. Following that is "New Orleans", which is the other good Palmer track on the album. The guitar melody is catchy, and it is not extremely long. After that is "Two-Part Invention in D Minor", which is quiet and boring. The entire song is just what sounds like a triangle, the orchestra, and marimbas. The next Palmer song is "Food For Your Soul", which actually isn't half bad. It starts off well, but is ruined by a drum solo, which is followed by a cool melody with a flute (I love Jethro Tull). The final Palmer song (YESSSSSSS) is "Tank", which is just a remake of "Tank" from their first album. It is not even as close to as good, and is pretty much just unnecessary.
      Once Palmer's madness is done, the band finally goes to their common side. This includes two songs, the first being the cool Aaron Copeland tune, "Fanfare For The Common Man". The only part that sounds like the actual song is the beginning part that appears every now and then. The rest is Emerson jamming and having a good time. It could be the best song on the album, but I feel it is overlong by about a minute. Other then that, no complaints. The last song on the album is "Pirates". It begins quietly until it suddenly starts to sound like, well, pirates sailing. After Emerson and Palmer's intro, Lake starts singing. The lyrics are okay, mostly because of the fact that they are a bit too pirate-like. After about 7-8 minutes, a lot more variety comes into the song, as it starts to blend some more different ideas. After Greg sings more fast paced things to fit the music, it goes back into a slow version of the earlier part until Greg finally sings the final lyrics and the album is over. To be honest, it isn't too interesting. There are bonus tracks on my version, but they are just 2 Palmer ones and "Nutcracker" from "Pictures At An Exhibition".
       "Works Volume 1" is still a good album, even though Palmer's side is terrible. It shows that Emerson and Lake were the main songwriters, and that Palmer simply made drum lines and other things related to his role in the band. This does not mean that the band was the same as ever. This album has many new different things never in an ELP album, along with the taking away of some too. ELP was starting to run out of fantastic material, but this albums proves that they still had some originality left until their career turned sour.

ELP #6- Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends Ladies and Gentleman Emerson Lake & Palmer

Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends- Ladies and Gentleman: Emerson Lake & Palmer- 1974

Rating: 14

Just as long as the title

Best Song: Take A Pebble/Still...You Turn Me On/Lucky Man

Worst Song: Piano Improvisations

     I am yet to find a longer title for an album. Of course, it won't be as good as this album, but never mind that. This is a live album recorded for their "Someone Get Me a Ladder" tour (named after a song lyric on "Still...You Turn Me On" from "Brain Salad Surgery"). Quite a good album, with just a tiny flaw there and there.

     The album begins with "Hoedown" from "Trilogy". However, there is a difference between this version and the one on "Trilogy": This one is WAYYYYYY faster! Another difference is the cool synth solo near the end. Anyway, It sounds pretty awesome in all, with Keith's great organ playing. Then comes "Jerusalem", which sounds pretty much the same as the studio version. Greg's voice sounds good, and Keith sounds great as usual. Oh yeah, and Carl was there. Coming after that is the excellent "Toccata", which is, yet again, just like the studio version. Those epic noises at the end sound amazing still. After that song comes "Tarkus". "Eruption" sounds good, and "Stones of Years" has some extra added Keith notes, making it improve a bit off the original. After the awesome rampage in "Iconoclast", "Mass" comes in, sounding spectacular. Then comes "Manticore", which is some more rampaging. "Battlefield" begins, but after that excellency ends, Greg improves even more off the original: he sticks "Epitaph", which he made when he was in King Crimson, right in there. After that, "Aquatarkus" plays brilliantly and ends the song.

     "Take a Pebble/Still...You Turn Me On/Lucky Man" is a wonderful song (even though it includes multiple songs). It begins with "Take a Pebble", which has a slightly different riff than the original. After Greg's two great verses, Emerson solos until he ends the song (for now). Greg then picks up his guitar and sings "Still...You Turn Me On". This version sounds quite good. After that is "Lucky Man", which I REALLY, REALLLLLY enjoy. Then the album has it's downfall. "Piano Improvisations" is good, but is too long. The piano playing is amazing. Suddenly, Keith starts to play "Take a Pebble (Conclusion)". Greg sings his first verse after Keith's intro, and ends the song for real this time. Then comes "Jeremy Bender/The Sheriff". "Jeremy Bender" certainly improves off the previous version (and is much faster), but "The Sheriff" is not as good as the original. It is cool how Greg has alternate lyrics on "Jeremy Bender" and how Keith goes right into "The Sheriff".

     The "Karn Evil 9" suite comes in right after that last song. "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression" is, well, 1st. The first part doesn't seem to improve too much on the original. It does sound awesome as usual. Keith sounds great, along with Palmer. The second singing part of the song comes in, with Greg singing excellently. This goes straight into "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression Part 2", which has an extended drum solo right in the middle. The drum solo is interesting, if a bit overlong. Then comes "Karn Evil 9: Second Impression", which is good as always. After that is "Karn Evil 9: Third Impression". This seems to improve a bit off the original piece. Then Emerson does his synth thing, ending the song and the album.

     This is a worthy addition to the ELP catalogue, and even surpasses some of their studio albums. It certainly is yet another album that proves the band's brilliance.

ELP #5- Brain Salad Surgery

Brain Salad Surgery- 1973

Rating: 15

"KE9 has 3 parts! Oops, I'm sorry. Impressions.

Best Song: Karn Evil 9: First Impression (Both parts)

Worst Song: Is there one?

     ELP is my favorite band of all time, in case you were wondering. Sure they are pretentious, but I LOVE the creative ideas put on their albums. You would most likely give this album a lower grade then I did, mostly because a lot of people think "Toccata" is garbage. However, a lot of people think this is the peak, while I just barely believe "Tarkus" is better.

     The grand album begins with "Jerusalem", which is an excellent, yet simple song. One of the amazing things about the entire album, along with this song, is that the band wanted to make sure they could perform it on stage. Since they did that, every track on this album can be played exactly the same way live. Anyway, "Jerusalem" is a slow anthem that has Greg singing with his normally spectacular voice. Emerson's keyboards serve as an awesome backing, and Palmer is just being... well, Palmer. This song sounds concludes in an epic ending.

     This next song is the song that a lot of people hate, "Toccata". Personally, I didn't like it the first time I listened to it, but now I believe it is fantastic. It starts with some quiet drums and keyboards until the keyboard suddenly gets louder and turns into a weird yet great synth/keyboard madness. The drums are pretty cool too. That parts ends with even more synths before Palmer starts to drum some more and uses his gongs. Soon, you start hearing bells and other instruments playing quietly. Then comes the main madness. Keith starts either a car alarm or a really weird synth and lots of other really strange car alarm-like noises start to come in. All these stop when Emerson returns to the main theme, and closes the song with strange synths and keyboards.

     Following that is a pretty ballad called "Still... You Turn Me On". This song has a lyric that most people hate (Every day a little sadder, a little madder, someone get me a ladder), but I don't really mind it. The lyrics in general are pretty good, and Lake's guitar sounds nice. the wah-wah guitar is also played pretty well. After that comes one of the strangest yet most hilarious ELP songs, "Benny the Bouncer". You expect to hear Greg's great singing, but instead you hear him doing this nasty yet amusing voice. The lyrics are strange yet funny, and the piano playing superb, along with the drums. Then the symphony begins.

     The big suite that concludes the album is "Karn Evil 9", which is basically "Carnival 9". This song is extremely awesome, especially the first "impression" (pretentious, but I don't care). First in the suite is "Karn Evil 9: First Impression Pt. 1", which starts with a look into the future. Greg is blaring some great vocals, and Emerson's keyboards are fantastic. That melody goes off for a little while after the first part, but I still enjoy it quite a bit. the lyrics are pretty cool. Suddenly, it breaks into a instrumental part that is entertaining without running too long. It then changes to a melody in which it seems like an actual carnival, with normal yet absurd things. Greg is amazing, the lyrics are wonderful Keith is doing some cool stuff, and Palmer is drumming nicely. After that, a instrumental part goes in and, if you have vinyl, the first side ends.

     The second side continues right where it left off with "Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression Pt. 2". This starts with good synth noises and Lake singing the excellent lyrics. Emerson solos during one of the verses before Lake solos on his guitar. Even Palmer gets a little drum solo fill before Greg starts singing again. The song ends with Emerson hitting his final keyboard notes before Greg belts out "SEEEEEEEEEEE THEEEEEEEEEE SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW". It sounds terrific.

     The suite continues with "Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression". This is basically a fabulous instrumental since I don't count the weird noises in the middle). This has Keith playing some spectacular piano playing, and the drums are fast paced. This turns into a part with an instrument I can't identify, but I like how it sounds. That part goes back to the beginning piano before ending. Then things get weird. Soon, some haunting piano is played, along with some bass. There are some weird noises, but there are also some strange vocal noises during it. Some piano playing is played over some of the noises later on. A little bit later piano does a little introduction to the beginning part again (with an added faster pace part) before the song ends.

     The final song and final part of the suite is "Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression". Most people believe this is a bad song, but I see no flaw in it, even though it certainly isn't fantastic. The keyboards comes back and lead the way for the song. Lake sings the lyrics well, even though they are not as great as the previous lyrics. This part is when the computers overpower the humans. The computer voice is provided by Keith speaking into his weird machinery. Later, the vocals stop and a nice instrumental part comes in with Emerson doing a sort of solo. The song moves into a long cool fast paced part. Emerson's playing is pretty awesome. After quite a while, the main part comes back with Greg singing and Emerson speaking that comes in with a good conclusion. However, Emerson starts doing a weird synth part that slowly gets faster before being so fast and ending the album.

     "Brain Salad Surgery" is certainly an amazing album, and is very worthy of praise. This is easily the 2nd best ELP album.

ELP #4- Trilogy

Trilogy- 1972

Rating: 13

If I hear Greg say "Coca-Cola" ever again, I'm going to smash something

Best song: The Endless Enigma (all parts)

Worst song: Living Sin

     This album is Greg Lake's favorite album by ELP. To quote him: "I do like Trilogy. It is my favorite ELP album. It couldn’t be anyone else. It truly is a definitive album. It is the very best of ELP in a way. It’s got flashes of all the best things of what we were." I would agree it does have quite a few of the best things ELP was, but the album does have it's mistakes (one in particular).

     The first song is "The Endless Enigma Pt. One", which is the 1st part of the three-song suite. It begins with the heartbeat drum made famous by Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". However, this was the first use of that skill, and gives the song a cool effect. After the first minute and thirty second of stop and starting piano, the song features his Emerson's Hammond and turns into a nice Lake song. The lyrics are great, even if occasionally questionable. Suddenly, the song starts it's ending by going into a weird piano part that transitions into "Fugue", the next part. "Fugue" is simply a very beautiful Emerson piano piece. It is perfectly placed between both parts of "The Endless Enigma".

     "The Endless Enigma Pt. Two" is a lot shorter then the first part, and begins with good piano that eventually turns into a synth part with a bell as the only percussion. That turns into the next part of the Lake ballad. The lyrics are pretty good. Lake then yells out the final word, and the synths quickly end the song. The entire suite is incredible. After that is "From The Beginning", which is another excellent Lake song. It starts off with just some nice guitar and Lake's singing. The lyrics are, as usual, great. There also appears to be bongo drums in the background, but I can't confirm if that is what they are. After that part comes an electric guitar solo. That solo goes into an Emerson solo until the song ends.

     "The Sheriff" is the next song, which proves that ELP developed a formula: One suite each album and one joke song. This formula was started in "Tarkus". Anyway, "The Sheriff" begins with laughing and talking until Palmer does a couple drum fills. These eventually lead up to the song. The lyrics tell the tale of Josie, who is wanted by the sheriff. Josie hides, gets caught, and then shoots the sheriff. This is highly entertaining, and Keith's keyboard solo in the middle serves as sort of a break. The song ends with a gun shot, followed by Keith playing his awesome Honky Tonk piano. Then comes "Hoedown (Taken From Rodeo)". This is a superb cover of Aaron Copland's original piece, and the Hammond organ plays the main melody. Lots of synths are added around that part.

     Following that is the title track. This is a very cool song, and has two parts. The first part has Emerson playing some nice piano while Greg sings his lyrics. Then Emerson slowing transitions into a faster piano piece that turns into a fast paced keyboard/synth war. It sounds pretty amazing, and is basically a giant Emerson solo fest. Eventually, the song changes and Greg begins singing again. The lyrics are good, but not anything special. After the short singing part, Emerson solos again until he creates a slow ending. Now, the album may seem as though it is spectacular. That changes quite a bit with the next song.

     The song that comes after "Trilogy" is the horrible "Living Sin". Greg delivers a deep voice, which sounds stupid and unpleasant. The keyboard line that starts the song sounds almost awkward, but Emerson quickly starts to play better, but he really doesn't do anything special to make the song stand out. Palmer's drums are good, but, as with Emerson's line, nothing special. Normally, the lyrics would be good, but this song's lyrics are really bad. I mean, the line "Hooked you up with coca-cola coming... nice and slippery" is a new contender for "WLE (Worst Lyric Ever)". Not only is that lyrics bad, but it sounds even worse with Greg's deep voice. The only good thing about the song is that Greg uses his regular voice during parts of the song, but this still classifies as garbage.

     The last song is "Abaddon's Bolero", which is pretty good in all. It starts off quietly and with not too many instruments, and then slowly increases in instruments and volume. These parts also have a better keyboard line, and the rest of the instruments have to build off that keyboard line. This effect sounds pretty awesome.

     I believe that this album is very good. It's just a shame that they included a terrible song such as "Living Sin". Fortunately, after reviewing this album, I never really have a purpose to listen to it again. Anyway, "Trilogy" is a great album, even though it has some bad flaws.

ELP #3- Pictures At An Exhibition

Pictures at an Exhibition- 1971

Rating: 13

Greg's lyrics don't make any sense, but not that I'm complaining

Best Song: The Curse of Baby Yaga or Nutrocker

Worst Song: The Great Gates Of Kiev

     This release is weaker then the last two, but is still a superb album. Anyway, before the band performed their first concert, they got the idea to create their own version of Modest Mussorgsky's original piece. However, this is VERY different from that version. 

     This is a live album recorded from ELP's first ever concert. Each piece is supposed to symbolize some sort of painting (except for the "Promenades" and "Blues Variations"). It starts with "Promenade 1", which is just a simple keyboard melody from the original classical composition. It is harmless to the album itself. After that is "The Gnome". That too is similar to the original piece, just with some added keyboards. The drums are an important part of the song, and both the bass and keyboards sound pretty cool. This song symbolizes a gnome running in short bursts. After that song comes "Promenade 2", which, like the 1st one, doesn't hurt the album at all. However, this time it is only Greg's voice driving the melody. The lyrics really don't make any sense, but Greg's voice sounds very nice. Then the album starts to stray away from the original.

     After that comes a Greg Lake original, "The Sage". This purely contains acoustic guitar and Greg's singing. Yet again, none of the lyrics really have any meaning, but they sound perfect. Parts of the acoustic guitar line sound suspiciously like the guitar part on the song "The Court of The Crimson King" by King Crimson. However, this song is different enough from it. I do not quite know what this part symbolizes. Then comes "The Old Castle", which barely sounds like Mussorgsky's piece. Some of those weird noises in the beginning are actually rather interesting, and no longer bore me like they used to. However, once the "current song" goes into an actual song, it sounds pretty awesome. The original symbolized a peaceful castle, but this symbolizes a castle under attack and on fire. That song goes straight into "Blues Variations". This song is pretty cool, and Emerson's Hammond line is excellent. It just runs a little bit too long. Then things change even more.

     "Promenade 3" comes in, and that has the melody from the first two, just drums have been added. It would hurt the album if there was another "Promenade", but this was the final one. After that comes "The Hut of Baby Yaga 1", which has a fast paced keyboard and drum line. It follows the originals melody 75% of the time. Next comes the strangest yet best part of the album, "The Curse of Baby Yaga". This was not in Mussorgsky's composition, and is purely ELP's amazing skills. It starts off with some harmless yet cool synth noises that, unlike the ones on "The Old Castle", add to the song. It then breaks into a cool jam before erupting into excellent madness. Emerson plays his Hammond like a madman, Greg kills his guitar/bass and sings random absurd lyrics that sounds pretty good, and Palmer beats his drums to death. That then goes into "The Hut of Baby Yaga 2", which is just a faster version of the 1st one. That entire melody symbolizes a witch in a hut.
    
     Then comes the worst song on the album, "The Great Gates Of Kiev". The thing that brings the song down is the random keyboard break that happens twice in the first three minutes. The keyboard is so quiet, and you really can't hear an interesting melody on the second time until the 2:25 mark. That quickly goes into the strangest guitar part which no longer bores me as it did, and is pretty interesting. As much negative things I said about the song, I still enjoy it; just not that much. Greg's singing is good, and when he says "Death is life" near the end, it actually feels like an ending. Then ELP stops playing and the crowd cheers.

     Now the suite is done, but suddenly, Greg says "You want some more music?". the crowd appears to say yes, even though I thought I heard some people say no. Anyway, Keith starts playing on a clavinet, and he plays "Nutrocker". It is a marvelous song, and I consider a sort of joke song, like "Jeremy Bender" from "Tarkus". The best part is when Greg starts screaming "YEAH!!!" and the crowd mimics him. Finally, Keith stops playing and the album ACTUALLY ends.

     In my opinion, this is at least a bit better then Mussorgsky's original piece, while at most a great improvement over the old composition. "Pictures at an Exhibition" is a very worthwhile album, even though it has it's share of flaws.

ELP #2- Tarkus

*Tarkus- 1971*

Rating: 15

Ham or Cheese?

Best Song: Tarkus

Worst Song: None here

     Have you ever had a dream about a armadillo tank? If you have, and you have stared at the cover of this album, is this what you saw? Did you find it unusually fascinating? Wait, why am I talking about armadillo tank dreams? Anyway, this is one of my favorite albums. It is also the best album about a armadillo tank, considering you don't just go into a record shop and see a version of "Tarkus" by The Backstreet Boys (or The Beach Boys). Now, to get back on topic, "Tarkus" by ELP is among the greatest albums I have heard, and should be in your collection.

     The album starts with the amazing title track. It begins with a bunch of voices all strung together until going into the first part, "Eruption". This part is about a volcanic explosion that causes "Tarkus" to be born. This part includes lots of fast keyboards, and Palmer's gong. In addition, Emerson uses his Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer. That part then goes into "Stones of Years". Lake sings a song that appears to be about hearing, speaking, and knowing. This is most likely the best vocal part. Suddenly, that song goes into the third part, "Iconoclast". "Iconoclast" is a warplane/pterodactyl. "Tarkus" easily defeats it. This part seems like a even faster version of "Eruption" with a few added parts to help make it connect with the part that follows.

     The next part is "Mass". "Mass" is a lizard/lobster/rocket launcher. Lake sings in this part about religious things, and Emerson has a solo between one of the verses. Lake also plays an electric guitar in parts of the section. "Mass" then goes into "Manticore", which is "Tarkus's" final enemy. This battle happens between the "Eruption" theme and the new "Manticore" theme. Eventually, "Manticore" wins. This part is another Hammond organ festival with short drum breaks during certain sections. The next part is "Battlefield", where the battle concludes and "Tarkus" begins to head to a river. This is a song completely written by Greg Lake. It actually has a guitar solo, which is unusual in a ELP song. The lyrics are some of the best on the album, and the keyboard is excellent as usual.

     The final part, "Aquatarkus", symbolizes "Tarkus" going to the river and becoming, you guessed it, "Aquatarkus". This part has Palmer doing a march-like rhythm on his snare drum as Keith's keyboards represent "Tarkus". Finally, there is a reprise of "Eruption" that, instead of moving on, creates an epic ending. Normally, you would expect the rest of the album to be not so good. Actually, the rest of the album is awesome! It comes in with "Jeremy Bender", which is ELP's shortest song ever. The lyrics are funny, Keith's honky-tonk piano is nice. The drumming fits the song very well. Following that is "Bitches Crystal", in which Emerson's piano rocks. Greg's voice packs tons of energy, and Palmer's drumming is amazing as usual. After the 1st and 2nd piano solos, Greg's voice sounds so powerful you wonder if Greg almost killed someone in the making of the song.

     The next song is "The Only Way (Hymn)". The organ is cool and slightly haunting, while Greg's voice is very good. The lyrics are deep, and the piano that comes in later is up to Emerson's normal quality. This song goes directly into "Infinite Space (Conclusion)". The melody Keith plays on his piano is pretty cool, and Palmer's drums are sort of simple compared to the other songs. That, however, is not a complaint. The song is completely driven by the piano. After that comes "A Time and a Place", in which Emerson returns to his Hammond organ. Greg's voice sounds awesome, and the drumming is exceptional. The lyrics are cool, and the section where the drumming disappears, Greg sings another verse, and Keith plays his synthesizer is excellent.

    The album seems to be over, but than the hilarious "Are You Ready Eddy?" runs in. Emerson rocks his piano (and almost kills it in the solo), Greg singing is spectacular, and Palmer has a fast drum beat going. Greg adds in a lot of comments during the song when he's not singing, and the lyrics are quite funny. At the very end of the song, Keith says "Ham or Cheese?", causing Palmer to repeat that and laugh. That alone makes this song worth it to listen to. Then, if you bought the Surround Sound Deluxe Edition, it comes with the sad Greg Lake song "Oh My Father", the song Keith sings, "Unknown Ballad (Maybe It's Just a Dream)", and an alternate instrumental take of "Mass". All of these are also pretty amazing. I won't go into the details, since they technically aren't on the album, but these songs would not ruin the rating in any way.

     "Tarkus" is stellar, and should be in you collection. If you don't have it, BUY IT. You won't regret a minute, unless you hate Prog.

ELP #1- Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

Emerson, Lake and Palmer- 1970

Rating: 15

Debuts don't get much better then this
Best Song: Take a Pebble
Worst Song: There really isn't one

     Wow. These guys really do know how to make a stunning debut! I really can not find a single flaw in this album. Every song on this album is fantastic, some more fantastic than others. Of course, ELP got better (and worse) as they went on, but this album is truly amazing.


     It starts with "The Barbarian", in which Emerson's signature Hammond organ is first introduced. The guitar line later strums a single note and takes the song into a neat piano section. It then goes back into the main theme and ends. "The Barbarian" isn't the most amazing ELP song, but certainly is a spectacular album opening. Following that song is "Take a Pebble", which is Emerson and Lake domination. The beginning ballad is very nice, and the Emerson solo is joyful and fun. Suddenly, the Emerson solo ends, and Lake's guitar starts to play. The guitar starts quiet and nice but then it goes into a rodeo tune that reminds me of "The Clap" by Yes. However, that doesn't last too long until going back to Emerson's solo fest. Lastly, the ballad returns, and the song slowly comes to a end.

     Next comes the great "Knife Edge", which, while not exactly original, is awesome. Emerson uses his Hammond organ again, and Lake's singing is clear yet slightly bitter (in a good way). The lyrics are interesting, and after the first two verses, Emerson breaks a sort of solo. After the solo, the next verse comes in, and the song slows down and kind of explodes into fireworks for no reason. The song after that is "The Three Fates". There is, well, three parts, each talking about one of the fates. The first fate, Clotho, features the signature Hammond, and is kind of strange. The second fate, Lachesis, is a two minute piano segment. The third fate, Atropos, is easily the strangest part. Emerson, after sort of repeating part of the first part, plays his piano as Greg and Palmer quickly play their instruments as the song becomes an awesome yet chaotic segment. Then the song, like the last song, it explodes for no reason. I don't understand it, but it sounds pretty cool, so I don't care!

     "Tank" comes right after "The Three Fates", and a good Palmer drum line comes in. Greg and Emerson quickly come in for a while until you just hear Emerson and Palmer. Palmer goes into an exciting drum solo featuring my favorite addition to his drum set, the gong. After the three minute drum solo, the song goes into a march-like section in which Emerson uses a Moog synthesizer. After the song fades out, the ballad "Lucky Man" begins. It seems sort of simple, but I enjoy it greatly. After two verses and choruses, some guitar plays over the backing vocals. Then two more sections come in, and Emerson does a Moog solo until the song ends. The solo was recorded in a single take without Emerson even knowing they would include it on the album.

     "Emerson, Lake, and Palmer" is an essential album to be included in your second basement, or maybe even your music collection. Either shall do. 

Introduction to ELP

Well, as you can tell by the title of both this site and heading of this paragraph, this is another music reviewing site. I already have a reviewing page (located here), but I decided to start my own site. Now, first things first:
1. Reviewing system: All reviews are on a scale of 0 (being the worst) and 15 (being the best).

2. Sub-headings/minor-headings: Every review shall contain some headings explaining the rating, providing a random caption, and the best song and worst song.

3. Discographies: On this site, I review all the albums by a certain band. I am starting with Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP).

So, that's all the important information about this site. Reviews will probably be every few weeks or so (unless I forget).