ELP Digest Wednesday, August 2 1995 Volume 5 : Issue 19 The "Fly Beyond Reason" Edition Today's Topics: Re: "Changing States" Emerson solo albums. Not disbanded! ELP stuff Greg Album From the Beginning transcription New Issue of Fanzine for the Common Man, etc. How to find the "Changing States" CD Orchestra performance in Abbadon's Bolero "Daddy" charity; "Mass" lyrics Gee, was ELP championed by the critics and I missed it? Gone Too Soon Knife Edge Lyrics more on Knife Edge lyrics... News and Comments For sale post ELP and producing... MASTERMIND Prelude ======= On the newstand now... Keyboard magazine (US edition), 20th Anniversary Edition, September 1995... A history of the magazine with some commentary by many prominent keybaord players including Keith. Here's an excerpt from what Keith has to say about the Internet (p. 50): "I think the use of the Internet is a very positive direction for keyboard players in particular. ... I know that there's already an ELP home page, and Will [ Alexander, Emerson's tech] and I are talking about setting up an Emerson page. ... This is the way forward." It's worth reading even though I do feel that the ELP albums got downplayed in their "charts" of significance. Of course, I think that Keith almost single-handedly created the market that allowed a magazine like Keyboard to exist. And since they're 20 years started in 1975, they don't give enough space to the "pre-Keyboard" works (e.g., Tarkus, Karn Evil 9) that set the stage for all that followed. Luckily, we know the truth... :-> - John - ------------------------------------------------------------ From: ASchulberg@aol.com Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 09:10:04 -0400 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Re: "Changing States" I was surprised to learn that this album was a 1989 production not released until 1994. What was the holdup? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 15:06:30 BST From: Oz Hardwick Subject: Emerson solo albums. To: John E Arnold > From: PEKer > Subject: Best Works/Changing States > To: arnold@iii.net > Date: Thu, 4 May 95 9:06:02 CDT > Mailer: Elm [revision: 70.85] > > I was wondering if anyone could comment on these two Emerson solo > discs: > > Best Works > Changing States > > Are they solo piano pieces, or standard synth/organ/piano-type works? > > Many thanks! > > Paul If anyone in the U.K. is having trouble getting the Emerson solo albums, I would recommend getting in touch with GFT, Unit 2, 87A Maple Road, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 4AW. I've just got "Changing States" from there, & they also have the Christmas album in stock. In general, they provide a superb mail order service, with a regular, huge catalogue of a vast array of progressive albums from around the world (reasonably priced, too)...worth checking out. Oz. ------------------------------ From: Bjorn-Are.Davidsen@s.prosjekt98.telenor.no Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 10:46:07 +0200 Content-Identifier: 8163 95/06/26 To: John E Arnold Subject: Not disbanded! This is an urgent message from Liv G. Whetmore, dated June 22nd! Re: ELP STILL ALIVE! In the latest issue of Progression and also as wriiten in earlier issues of this Digest, it has been stated that ELP have split! This is NOT the case! A good friend of mine, who is writing a book about ELP (hopefully due out end of this year), spoke to Carl Palmer a few days ago and Carl said that these sort of rumours come about every time ELP take a break.! They are making plans for next year, but Carl would not be drawn on exactly what these plans are! So sigh of relief, everybody - we may still get some more music out of these 3 guys under the ELP banner! Someone asked for my E-mail address - unfortunately I do not have direct Internet access and I rely on good friends, in particular Bjorn Are Davidsen, when I want to access the Digest! People can either write to me at the address below or E-Mail me via Bjorn Are! Keith Emerson's famous knives have been sold to a museum in England, Museum of synthesizer Technology in Albury, Hertfordshire, where they will be displayed under glass! I was fortunate enough to vitit Chris Newman at Inter Manual Rescue recently and held the knives, played his white YAMAHA GX1, his accordian etc. - a day to remember, to put it mildly! The Convention on September 9th is still coming on very nicely, for anyone wanting information, please contact me at the following address: Liv G. Whetmore, ELP Convention, 28 Stonebanks, Manor Road, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey KT12 2QE, ENGLAND Liv ------------------------------ From: D.Macgregor@bolton.ac.uk Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 16:00:45 +0100 To: ARNOLD@III.NET Subject: ELP stuff [ Editor's note: Sorry that this seems to have slipped through without being accelerated to the "ELP Digest fast track". I didn't realize until just now that this was a July 95 thing. My apologies for those of you who would have attended and couldn't. I'll try to make sure this kind of slip up doesn't happen again. - John - ] [...] I now understand that there will be an auction of Rock Memorabilia in Tiverton Devon U.K. in July 95. On sale will be much of the unsold KE Equipment plus an unauthenticated Steve Howe Gibson Guitar. According to the organiser Robert Forest, Steve can't remember if it is his or not!! If I can get phone numbers etc. I will post them on the net, although there isnt much time to bid. I suspect that the auction will be held at Oak Auction Rooms in the Tiverton/ Exeter area of Devon UK. I will try to find out more. As a guitar playing ELP Fan are readers aware that there is currently an Guitar Magazine special out with an acoustic GL track in tab. I am particularly keen to converse with Guitarists who have ELP Tab or Standard Notation Guitar Music. Whilst it seems strange for guitarists to be into ELP I have found that the gap left by the lack of a guitarist and KE's brilliant improvising means that playing along, allows a guitarist to experiment with tasteful ballads and full on rock tracks. Put in your own fills, solos and try to understand the chord structures. It's a unique challlenge and the lack of another guitarist means that in some sections you are free to improvise with three really great players. I also have also written patches for some of the sounds which I have attempted to emulate from to emulate from the ELP originals for a guitar and BOSS ME 10 multi effects processor. Fanfare is a good example and there are many sounds which can be emulated for guitarists to use. I will try to supply if anyone wishes ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Jun 95 18:49:06 EDT From: jerry@aip.org (Jerry_McCarthy) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Greg Album John -- Hi. For the next ELP Digest: >From the latest issue (July #100) of ICE Newsletter: JULY 11: King Biscuit's first four releases in their new King Biscuit Flower Hour In Concert series (by America, Deep Purple, Canned Heat, and Kingfish) have been joined by two other titles, a 1975 concert by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a 1981 show by THE GREG LAKE BAND with Gary Moore on guitar. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ====================================================================== Jerry McCarthy e-mail: jerry@aip.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There's no end to my life no beginning to my death Death is Life ====================================================================== ------------------------------ From: SWhalen116@aol.com Date: Sat, 1 Jul 1995 10:38:21 -0400 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: From the Beginning transcription I recently purchased the Spring 1995 Guitar Classics magazine. The issue was a compilation of reprinted pages from Guitar and Guitar Extra magazine. Starting on page 76 is the complete transcription of From the Beginning, including Emerson's synthesizer solo. There's also a short article regarding Greg Lake's technique on the piece. Included with the article is a picture of ELP in the snow at Olympic Stadium. ------------------------------ From: Bjorn-Are.Davidsen@s.prosjekt98.telenor.no Date: Wed, 5 Jul 1995 21:32:43 +0200 To: John E Arnold Subject: New Issue of Fanzine for the Common Man John! Re: New issue of FANZINE FOR THE COMMON MAN David is out with a new issue - # 14 - of his very good ELP publication Fanzine for the Common Man. This is a Keith Emerson special and cointains among other things: * KE bio 1944-71 * "Iron Man" listing (air dates/KE's music) * Info on KE's unreleased Piano Solo Album You don't have any choice really ;), so send a self addressed STAMPED envelope (US) or. S.A.E. + International Reply Coupon to David Terralavoro 43 Spring St. Wappinger Falls, NY 12590 Re: Massimo and ELP items! Someone asked for the address of Massimo Cavalucci, perhaps the greatest ELP collector of us all. Well here it goes: Massimo Cavalucci Via M. Rapisardi, 15 05100 TERNI ITALY Anyone interested may also get his telephone number from me. As to the question on his ability to understand English, I'm not sure about the reason for the question, however, my experience is that he understands it well, even if he may not be very fluent in writing it. He has so far replied to all of my letters (for the last 2 years) and sent me more than I have sent him, as well as more lists of ELP related items than I ever thought possible. My "A Time and a Place" booklet is very much based on Massimo's input. So send him a S.A.E and IRC's to get his list of ELP items! Or if you have your own list of items/tapes/CD's, he will exchange list against list! BTW, Massimo is at the moment working on a project which aims at collecting photocopies of the cover every ELP and related record/tape/CD. I'll be back with a list of what he's lacking, later! Bjo/rn Are ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 11:54:25 -0500 From: Antonio Augusto Gorni ep - pmt 0132 671805 To: aprasa@ccs.carleton.ca Subject: How to find the "Changing States" CD Cc: arnold@iii.net Hi! I read your question about where to find Keith Emerson's CD "Changing States at the ELP Digest. I bought it through "CD-Now", which can be reached through the Internet. Use the command telnet cdnow.com to contact them. I liked the CD, although significant part of it was re-used at the ELP's album "Black Moon". All the best, Antonio ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 12:05:55 -0500 From: Antonio Augusto Gorni ep - pmt 0132 671805 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Orchestra performance in Abbadon's Bolero Hi! I read the note of Jim Smith (smith@s19.sr.hp.com) about the problems that KE faced during the recording of the orchestral version of Abbadon's Bolero. I was very surprised with this question. After all, those musicians are professionals or not? If they do not wanted to play KE's concert for any reason, they had to give up before - IMHO. As they accepted the job, I can not understand the lack of good will. Were they playing gratis? Well, may be they were forced to play with a gun pointed to their heads! Speaking seriously now, anybody knows the reason of these problems? All the best, Antonio [ Editor's note: They definitely weren't playing for free. In interviews over the years, Keith has chronicled quite a tale of "bad attitude" on the part of many classical musicians when confronted with a job to play unfamiliar and/or less "traditionally classical" music. This probably led to ELP's decision to hire their own orchestra for the Works V.1 tour. I recall reading how nice it was for ELP that almost all (if not all) of the orchestra members they hired for that tour were ELP fans and really were interested in playing with ELP. - John - ] ------------------------------ From: "tim siefkes" To: John E Arnold Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 16:08:28 +0000 Subject: "Daddy" charity; "Mass" lyrics > What is the name of the charity that proceeds from "Daddy" is going to? > Anyone know? I heard Greg Lake on the radio one day promoting ITHS and the > single, which is obviously about missing/exploited children. (Sounds like > Greg's either got kids of his own, or is expanding his lyrical palette...) That would be the Sarah Ann Wood Rescue Center, 1-800-THE-LOST according to the Greg Lake interview on KLSX. (Thanks, Emster!) _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ > Does anybody have the lyrics to _Mass_ from Tarkus? I remember picking out > the melody on music-store MiniMoogs years ago... MASS: The preacher said a prayer. Save every single hair on his head. He's dead. The minister of hate had just arrived too late to be spared. Who cared? The weaver in the web that he made. The pilgrim wandered in, committing every sin that he could, so good. The cardinal of grief Was set in his belief he'd be saved from the grave. The weaver in the web that he made. The high priest took a blade to bless the ones that prayed, and all obeyed. The messenger of fear is slowly growing, nearer to the time. A sign. The weaver in the web that he made. A bishop rings a bell. A cloak of darkness fell across the ground without a sound. The silent choir sing and in their silence, bring jaded sound, harmonic ground. The weaver in the web that he made. (lyrics Copyright 1971, 1980 Manticore Music Ltd.) (reproduced here from the "Tarkus" songbook) Tim Siefkes timsks@visi.com http://www.visi.com/~timsks Minneapolis, MN ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 09:38:02 EDT From: "Peter C.S. Adams 7-5263" To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Gee, was ELP championed by the critics and I missed it? I was reading an article on Vibe Online (June/July issue) by Frank Owen and was struck by the following passage: British pop theorist Simon Reynolds compares the current state of techno, divided into hardcore and ambient camps,to the late '60s, when acid rock split in two: blues-based heavy metal for the children of the proletariat, and artsy progressive rock for the sons of the bourgeoisie. Call it class conflict on the dance floor. And just as music critics championed the likes of Yes and ELP over Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, so ambient has been gaining all the press lately. I couldn't help thinking. "The critics liked ELP better than Led Zep, AND I MISSED IT!" :-> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And the #1 thing you can do to help the environment is ... become a vegetarian. Ask me why! --Peter C.S. Adams (adamsp@umbsky.cc.umb.edu) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ From: Bjorn-Are.Davidsen@s.prosjekt98.telenor.no Date: Tue, 11 Jul 1995 20:41:58 +0200 To: John E Arnold Subject: Gone Too Soon John! Just a short note to tell that Keith - according to an interview in the October 1994 Japanese "Keyboard" magazine, didn't play a single note on "Gone Too Soon". Another indication that Keith still has some integrity left, or just a result of his arm problem? Bjo/rn Are ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Jul 1995 13:07:03 -0500 From: Antonio Augusto Gorni ep - pmt 0132 671805 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Knife Edge Lyrics Some time ago I wrote to ELP Digest asking for the lyrics of Knife Edge. I found them at ftp.uwp.edu pub/music/lyrics/e/elp Antonio ------------------------------ From: arnold@kilsythe.banyan.com (John Arnold) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: more on Knife Edge lyrics... As Antonio Gorno pointed out, the lyrics to Knife Edge are on ftp://ftp.uwp.edu Since ftp.uwp.edu is almost always busy, I was able to get them on a mirror site: ftp://mirrors.aol.com in /pub/music/lyrics/e/emerson.lake.palmer Here they are... Knife Edge by Emerson, Lake & Palmer Just a step, cried the sad man, Take a look down at the madman. Bearded kings on silver wings Fly beyond reason. From the flight of the seagull, Come the spread claws of the eagle Only fear breaks the silence, As we all kneel, pray for guidance. Tread the room, cross the abbess, Take a look down at the madness. On the streets of the city, Only spectres still have pity. Patient queues for the gallows, Sing the praises of the hallows. Our machines feed the furnace, If they take us, they will burn us. Will you still know who you are When you come to who you are? When the flames have their season Will you hold to your reason? Will you die with your chance? Can you still keep your balance? Can you wake from the nightmare? Trancribed by Rich Kulawiec, rsk@ecn.purdue.edu. ------------------------------ From: Bjorn-Are.Davidsen@s.prosjekt98.telenor.no Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 09:47:35 +0200 To: John E Arnold Subject: News and Comments Great to see the backlog may be "disbacked", even if I guess you must almost have had you back broken by both working and putting out Digests! I really hope you know what you are doing with getting back to a more immediate Digest as that may stimulate even more contributions :-) And so far the ELP Page really start looking "cool". I hope it soon will be up to date with all the info some of us has provided (an easier task than setting up the page!) on things like (forgive me if I'm foregoing you own ads in this area, and delete as you feel suits the reality...) * Complete (?) list of ELP (and related bands) recorded and filmed performances * Info on how to get ELP videos and such * Opinions on ELP's best and worst works, for "beginners" * FAQ (containing some of the above and more) * Classical Quotations by ELP [ Editor's note: A number of these things are already starting to appear on the Web site. And check in weekly to see the site unfold as I build it! - John - ] NEWS: ELP IN RECORD COLLECTOR! Finally it seems like ELP is going to be covered by Record Collector! The July 95 issue had a short announcement (complete with address and such) on the ELP Convention in Birmingham, Sep 9th, with a picture of ELP getting some Melody Maker prize in 1972 (best band or something, I guess). And it was said that ELP was the best selling act that yet had to be covered by Record Collector, however, that was to be amended!!!! Let's really hope they do it seriously and not in the typical condescending way the press has tended to present them. RE: TRIUMVIRAT I have finally had the opportunity to dig into Triumvirat's music. After hearing a lot on them being " heavily ELP inspired" it was very interesting to listen to "Old Loves Die Hard" (1978?) and "Spartacus" (1975). The experience gave me a lot to reflect on. It's no doubt that Trimumvirat's keyboardist Jurgen Fritz was "passionately in love" (like many of the Digest readers) with Keith, and really held a high standard on keyboard playing. He's able to play fast, heavy and emotionally on piano, moog and various synths. He's really into a lot of ELP and strives hard at getting exactly the same sound as Keith on organ and moog. However, it NEVER gets longer than pastiche. Some looks on ELP as pastiche of classical music, and even if I VERY much disagree with that, Triumvirat is like having a pastiche of a pastiche. Fritz copies riffs from Tarkus and Trilogy, mixes it with some more rock oriented cliches and ends up with something that sounds exactly like the nasty critics say ELP sounds like! I mean "pompous", "pretentious", "dinosauric" and the rest.. When comparing the bands I realised even more the incredible creative originality of ELP, both in their interpretation of classics and in their own compositions. Triumvirat very much proves that instrumental virtuosity is not sufficient to make "Great Music". ELP had both that and things like understanding of what makes a piece really stand out, combined with emotion, a tongue-in-cheek attitude and a constant drive for the new and unexpected. I will not discourage anyone from getting Triumvirat records, even if they are hard to find! Compared to mainstream rock it's a band well worth looking into, and they really make ELP shine in comparition, which always is a bonus :-) RE: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION It may perhaps trigger related actions from ELP'ers to share a wonderfull experience on using Pictures as background music to pictures at an exhibition :-). At work I'm rather busy doing the in-thing at the moment, which is business process reengineering. To involve "the line" we have had large "Brown Paper Fairs" showing old and new processes on large brown papers and having people walk around and comment on the "pictures" . Being in charge of those fairs I did also volunteer to provide music... So I had the wonderfull experience of putting in "In The Hot Seat", programming the CD-player on the last track and with a "repeat" . I also attempted to put on the 1971 CD, however, that was too noisy for the common man, so I very soon returned to the Manticore version. Several people recognised the music, and even realised that it was ELP. Most found it just nice to have music and wondered what it was. So get going, folks! RE: COMPOSING I heartily thank those of ypu who took the time to comment on Geir's long piece on (Gentle Giant) composing technique! I'm really no expert in that area, even if I think have some feeling or understanding of what's "good" and "bad" - or at least new and unexpected - when listening to music. So please eleborate more, so those of us who are not musicians (and even perhaps some who are?) get to know more what ELP really did on their first five albums and neglected to do later! Please, please, please... RE: THE NICE From some sources I've heard that a group called the Nice (anyone heard about them?) have reformed, albeit with a different keyboard player. This time it's no Swiss, but a Swede, Per Lindh, known for his participation in the group Manticore and his 1994 solo CD "Gothic Impressions" - both acts rather inspired by The Keyboardist. I guess that means we'll get good old nice music, and not any refugees:-) Bjo/rn Are ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jul 1995 08:51:57 -0500 From: "Jonathan Block" Subject: For sale post To: "Arnold" I have a few rare ELP CDs for sale. If anyone wants a list, e-mail me at: jblock@gartner.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 15:32:44 +0100 From: ag03kg@lion.rbgkew.org.uk (Alan Ginman) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: ELP and producing... Much has been written about the decline in ELP's last two albums being due to an excessive influence by Lake. It is worth pointing out that these are the only two albums NOT to have been produced by him (leaving aside the half way house of Love Beach). According to the recent German interview, Emerson, and, tacitly at least, Palmer, went to great lengths to ensure that they had anyone but Lake producing them. Perhaps the problem is that Lake had too LITTLE influence on these albums. Tarkus was written largely by Emerson, but the album was produced by Lake. The subject of ELP music tabulature on the Internet has been raised. I have come across tabs for three pieces: From The Beginning; Lucky Man; and The Sage. These are guitar tabs which might not be quite what people had in mind, but they can be found on: ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/guitar/e/ emerson_lake_and_palmer. Further up that path, at ftp:/mirrors.aol.com/ pub/music/artists/e/ there are more references to ELP. A lot of them go round in circles and you end up where you started from, but there is a useful discography of ELP as a unit and in other groups. It doesn't go beyond 1991, but is reasonably complete. There are some lyrics here as well. And oh, how I agree with the person who wrote saying he didn't like the Korg synthesiser. It is, in Emerson's hands, at least, an ugly sounding device. What a shame that it dominated the ELP sound for so long. And to think he paid $50,000 for it, followed by an 'undisclosed sum' for John Paul Jone's. Listen to the first LP (Hammond/Leslie, grand piano plus sparing use of the Moog). It has a clarity and dynamic range lacking in most subsequent recordings. The Korg approach is much more two dimensional. This reached its peak (nadir?) in the ELPowell album. Perhaps Palmer adopted his Bam Bam Bap! style in order to be heard over the Korg. Incidently, for the first use of this style, listen to Eight Miles High from the 3 album. I have finally tracked down a source of Changing States in the UK. Pastel Blue Records at http://www.demon.co.uk/pastel/index.html, have it on their lists as an American import. In my experience this is not a quick way of purchasing records, as they have to be ordered direct from the distributors, but they are relatively cheap by UK standards.. Alan [ Editor's note: The "Korg" you're talking about is actually a Yamaha GX-1. And, even though I ralize there are many that didn't like the sound, it did some great brass sounds (e.g., Pirates and brass-ish lines have frequently dominated the ELP sound) and did a great harmonica (e.g., Fanfare...). The GX-1 had some great moments, I think. But I like Pirates a LOT and I know some of you don't. And, remeber, it's a whole different universe now than it was in 1977 when Will Alexander and Keith had to struggle to get/keep the GX-1 tuned up. No digital oscillators back then. I recall one of Will's last tasks each night before the show started was doing a final strobe-tune on the GX-1. At least, I think it was Will... - John - ] ------------------------------ From: Bjorn-Are.Davidsen@s.prosjekt98.telenor.no Date: Wed, 5 Jul 1995 14:12:56 +0200 To: John E Arnold Subject: MASTERMIND [ Editor's note: Mastermind has been mentioned in past issues as a band influenced by ELP. At least one of the Mastermind band members reads the ELP Digest so I thought I'd include this to help them get a little more exposure. - John - ] John! This may have been submitted to you already from Alan, however, if not here's a copy, taken from today's issue of Gibraltar. I have already ordered the CD, but have not had the fortune to listen to it yet. Bjo/rn Are > From: "Alan J. Mallery" > Subject: Mastermind > Date: 13 June 1995 > Mastermind: III - Tragic Symphony (1995; Prozone PRO595-2) 48m > ========================================================== > (Ed. note: The review is based on the Japanese release, but the disc > information above is from the US release, a division of Dutch East India.) > Berends brothers Bill and Rich are back with their third release,"Tragic > Symphony". They have gone the way of Dream Theater and Echolyn, having > secured a major label contract, in Toshiba-EMI Japan. A US deal is in the > works. If you're not familiar with Mastermind already, they are a power-trio > of guitar, bass, drums, with some thick Emersonian keyboards. However, upon > closer examination you will discover that the "keyboards" are actually > triggered through MIDI guitar! They have previously released two albums on > the ZNR label. > The album starts out with "Tiger! Tiger!", a song by Virgil Thompson with > lyrics by William Blake. It has a slow, plodding groove, utilizing a > forceful theme. All the rest of the music and lyrics are penned by Bill > Berends. Up second is "The Power and the Passion," which starts out with > a Keith Emerson-like keyboard theme and builds on that. This has some of > the best rhythm work on the album. Of course as indicated by the title, > the lyrics are very heroic and inspirational. After a few choruses of > that, there is a long instrumental jam on the same themes. The only tune > I was disappointed with was the third track, "All the King's Horses." > It's an attempt at a ballad, though I failed to be moved by it. The lyrics > seemed a little too planned out and trite for me. There's a nice melodic > "synth" solo in the middle though. Perhaps an attempt at a hit single? > The disc closes out with the centerpiece of the album, the three part > "Tragic Symphony." It opens with a fiery yet melodic guitar theme, the kind > which stays in your head. Here the lyrics also deal with relationships gone > wrong, but seem to work in this context. The tragic lyrics build along with > the melancholy music to enforce the story. Some really nice guitar playing. > The second part is a slower section with acoustic guitar and MIDI. This > combination sounds great together. I was a little dismayed while > listening to the third part, "Into the Void." It's a long instrumental > piece, which I kept waiting to relate back to the first two parts somehow. > The opening theme of "The Power and the Passion" is briefly stated, but > still the piece stands out as a separate instrumental rather than being > connected to the trilogy. For the most part, some real good stuff, though > it occasionally meanders. Some real tasty guitar solos and MIDI-guitar > (sounds like Emerson torturing his GX-1!). > Overall, I was impressed by the improved production over their previous > recordings. At first I was disappointed since the energy level seems a bit > toned down in most parts compared with the album _Brainstorm_. But after a > few listens I found a lot of nice subtleties, and found the melodies sticking > in my head. The highlights for me were Bill's guitar and MIDI-guitar > playing. His complex runs and clear tone remind me of John Petrucci of > Dream Theater. He also produces a variety of Moog and GX-1 like tones. > Rich Berends proves to be a very capable drummer. The vocals aren't the > most dynamic, but do not distract from the music. This disc proved to be > a real "grower" on me, and is worth checking out! > =================================================================== > Alan Mallery/aka: ajmaller@ouray.cudenver.edu\aka2: Emerson@aol.com > =================================================================== > Now Playing: John Cage - 5'38" (extended dance remix) > /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ > ***************************************************************************** > * Remember to say you heard about it in Gibraltar! * > ***************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Digest, mailing address, and administrative stuff to: arnold@iii.net ==\ \ => The same for now... ELP-related info that you / want to put in the digest to: arnold@iii.net =/ Back issues are available from the World Wide Web ELP Home Page: URL: http://bliss.berkeley.edu/elp/ Note: The opinions, information, etc. contained in this digest are those of the original message sender listed in each message. They are not necessarily those of the mailing list/digest administrator or those of any institution through whose computers/networks this mail flows. Unless otherwise noted, the individual authors of each entry in the Digest are the copyright holders of that entry. Please respect that copyright and act accordingly. I especially ask that you not redistribute the ELP Digest in whole or in part without acknowledging the original source of the digest and each author. Thanks! ------------------------------ End of ELP Digest [Volume 5 Issue 19] *************************************