I've discovered a "new" old band.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Never even heard of them, but my stepdad left out a stack of CDs in his office that was almost all 60s/70s stuff that I know & like, so naturally, I'm ripping it all into iTunes while he's somewhere on business. Emerson, Lake & Palmer is really cool. I have the four-disc "Return of the Manticore." So I now think I'm up to about 600 CDs...I have the most random music collection.

[SeattleGirl]

1. Wow! I love this band. One I "discovered" when they first

hit the scene! Glad you found them.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. I think I've only discovered one band before they became popular.

Antigone Rising. I've seen them playing bars in NJ for a few years now (I think they've been around for about 10 years). All of a sudden, VH1 did a special on them and Starbucks released a Starbucks-only CD of theirs. They're a rockin' chick band that sometimes has a country sound even though they're Jersey girls.

[In_The_Wind]

3. I enjoyed listening to ELP when they were new!

oh no my age is showing again

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. Eh, don't worry about it.

Friday night I was partying with a 60 year old and her husband. I don't judge. They're cool and they can still party, plus their politics are good.

[reyd reid reed]

5. Heh

Age is nothing more than a gauge by which to measure your experiences; it's just a number like the marks on a ruler. It's more about how you feel.

And I Feel about 20.

[In_The_Wind]

6. That's very cool, reyd!

I like the way you think! I know you'll enjoy your new office space.

I act and feel about 35 most of the time. Yes, it's all about the attitude.


:hi:

[RebelOne]

7. You must be really, really young not to heard of them.

They were quite popular in the '70s.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. I'm 24.

I have probably around 200 CDs from the 60s-70s though, but I never heard of them until I got them from my stepdad.

[bbernardini]

9. LOVE ELP. Emerson is playing a theater very near to me soon.

I saw ELP's first show on their reunion tour in...hmm...1991 or 1992, I forget which. Emerson is a madman. However, as fine as Carl Palmer's drumming technique and orchestration ideas are, the man can't keep a steady beat to save his life. Listen closely to "Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2" and "Heat Of The Moment," and you'll see what I mean. (It's particularly noticable in the transition between the first verse and chorus of "Heat Of The Moment.")

[no name no slogan]

10. STEP AWAY FROM THE CDs

I will NOT watch another young mind get corrupted by the wankadelic drumming of Carl Palmer, the yodeling screech of Greg Lake, and Keith Emerson's fart-tastic Hammond gymnastics.

Eh, don't worry about it. I outgrew them by my junior year of high school (back in the mid-80s, when they were on "hiatus"), but I still own them all on vinyl (including the soporific "Love Beach").

[Squeech]

11. I got a few years on you guys

and I thought ELP were totally amazing when they first came out. I saw a live performance of "Tarkus" before the record was out, and it absolutely nailed me to the wall. I still remember the unearthly timbre of that synthesizer screech, it was so galvanizing.

I did eventually see through their tricks. First of all, they stole a lot of their good bits. There was a more comprehensive prog-rock thread a couple weeks back where somebody pointed out that "The Barbarian" on their first album was a rearrangement of Bartok's "Allegro Barbare." And that wasn't the only one; I invite all their fans to go to the library and check out Janacek's "Sinfonietta" and see if it doesn't remind you of "Knife Edge," like note for note.

Past that stuff, Emerson has just a couple modes where he excels. He has good independence of hands, but seems to do best where he can just keep up an ostinado with his left hand, e.g. all the instrumental bits of Tarkus. He has a real affinity for sea chanteys; they keep popping up from "Abbadon's Bolero" to "An Officer and a Gentleman." And he knows how to exploit the tritone. Most of his actual solos on the Hammond sound like vintage Jimmy Smith, just louder.

My take on it, ELP was engineered by Keith Emerson as Led Zeppelin for organ. (Like LynneSin isn't already pissed off at me enough :evilgrin: )

Now Carl Palmer, the years have not been kind to him. He was on top of his game for the first couple albums, then he audibly started to lose it, in spite of all his karate training. I suspect he was a drunk. I saw him with Asia (don't even ask why I bothered), saw him toss a drumstick up in the air and fail to catch it. One of the many reasons I preferred the Nice was, Blinky Davison had some finesse as a drummer, he wasn't just trying to pound the rhythm into submission. (Also the tunes were better.)