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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.
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.
