ELP Digest Wednesday, October 11 1995 Volume 5 : Issue 25 The "There's No End" Edition Today's Topics: Emerson Interview from Gibraltar... from Alesis publication... Isle of Wight. Sheet Music ELP in Record Collector ELP article in Record Collector ELP Catalog (on Rhino) GX-1,Tarkus _Daddy_ Lee Jackson and Brian Davidson. Also, I like Pirates but not the Yamaha ELP at Royal Albert/Changing States/Thud ELP on the radio, opera Emerson sheet music ELP - Keyboard Fingering Patterns Prelude ======= This issue is a little big due to a Keith Emerson interview that appeared in a newsletter put out by the folks at Alesis (a musical equipment company). So, I'm sure you won't mind. (insert smiley here). Next issue will have even more news. Perhaps including the forthcoming release of the Keith Emerson Christmas album (CD remastered and, rumor has it, 14 minutes of additional music)! And, of course, the usual banter. And.... check out the ELP web site. I've put a link there to the Keyboard magazine web site that has the FULL TEXT of the Keybaord interview with Keith. A very nice service of Keybaord magazine! Read it while it's there. It will probably go away in a few weeks. Till next time, - John - ------------------------------------------------------------ From: arnold@kilsythe.banyan.com (John Arnold) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 09:09:39 -0400 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Emerson Interview from Gibraltar... from Alesis publication... Snagged this from Gibraltar. Thanks to those ELP Digest readers who also brought it to my attention. - John - From: kwatson@lithonia.com (Watson, Ken A.) Subject: Keith Emerson Interview Date: 21 August 1995 [...] This Keith Emerson interview came from a small magazine/large advertisement put out by Alesis called "First Reflection" that is presumably not widely distributed or at least you wouldn't be likely to see it unless you're on Alesis' mailing list or in a music store. I thought it might be of interest to Gibraltar readers so I included some excerpts. Actually, only the first part of the interview was excluded as it was basically Emerson and his keyboard tech slavishly praising Alesis' new S4 sound module. He's apparently using it to score the soundtrack for the "Iron Man" cartoon series. Guess you ELP fans'll be gettin' up with the kiddies on Saturday morning now for a while. FR (First Reflection): What is your philosophy of scoring to picture, and how has your experience in scoring films shaped this philosophy? KE (Keith Emerson): I've done about ten films now. "Inferno" was the first film I scored. Dario Argento was the producer. It was a good experience for me to sort of cut my teeth on, to coin a phrase. So I went to Italy to meet with Argento, and in one afternoon, I was sat in front of a movie screen and subjected to three of his movies. They're pretty gory. Dreadful. But I've always had an interest in horror since the Hammer Horror films back in England. Christopher Lee and all that. Argento was so enamored with me doing the music, what with the name of ELP, that he literally gave me free reign of all the music. As I set about writing it, I had to keep my small son out of the room while I watched the video because it was giving him nightmares. I went to Rome to record the orchestra, and we actually had to do it to film, watching the streamers--there was no click track. So I was watching and conducting from the piano, and if I was to late, I'd push it with the keyboard, rushing the orchestra to follow me. But many of them were getting sidetracked by seeing the horrible catastrophes on the screen. It was an experience, and the success of that brought me to Hollywood where Martin Pohl was working on a Stallone film, _Nighthawks_. They sent me a script and photographs of some of the location shots. And just going by that, I sat down and came up with what I thought would represent a great theme. I was on the phone with Martin Pohl, and he said that if you can bear in mind that what we want is something like "Naked City 2005". Slight jazz overtones. So I made a tape, flew to L.A., and met with Martin. Stallone came in--he was much smaller than what I'd seen on "Rocky"--and I played him what I did on my eight-track tape recorder in the barn. I explained the direction that I saw the film going in. He didn't say much and walked out of the room. He took Martin Pohl, the producer, with him. Martin came back after about fifteen minutes rubbing his hands and said "We've got a deal--he loves it". So basically you've got to keep your ears open when writing for film. You've got to really pay attention to the director, to the producer. If the actors are present, listen to them. Listen very carefully, and then throw it all out the window (laughs). It's not a very rewarding field, film music. Because at the end of the day it's always the last thing on the budget. It's always "We've got the name, we've got the story, and we want some music. Who are we going to get?". And then normally the budget is the lowest thing in the film. FR: I understand that the music budget for most films is generally two to three percent of the total budget. KE: Yeah. It's not much at all. And when your music is all squashed down under the rifle shooting, you wonder what you've done it for. The goal for me is that I find writing for films very stimulating if I can have a record deal at the end of the day and people can listen to the music just for what the music is worth. That's one way around it. FR: I've heard that many of your projects from the early eighties are coming out on CD. _Honky_, for example, to name one of many. KE: I'm hoping, but that deal hasn't been concluded yet. We're still in negotiation. Various companies have been approached and there is an interest there. They have been remastered from the original tapes, and in fact I was lucky to salvage the tapes at the time I did. When I ran them over the tape heads, the oxide came off, so the tapes had to be baked. Once that was done, I went into a mastering studio in London, and they sound pretty good. FR: Are there any other titles in the works? KE: Quite a few actually. I'm also looking at getting the rights to release _Nighthawks_ on CD. They also discovered in the BBC vaults, who made the Beatles recordings, a host of "Nice" recordings which were made in 1967. That one's in the cards. FR: Is there any talk of new material from the Nice? KE: That has been spoken about. The same company that is interested in releasing the 1967 recordings wants to make the whole thing lucrative. "Give us something new, and we'll release the old". That sort of thing. We'll have to wait and see. I'm on very friendly terms with Lee Jackson, the bass player, and with Brian Davison. They're great guys. Actually, after I disbanded the Nice, we became very good friends. I have another album called _Off the Shelf_, which is all previously unreleased recordings. Me playing with a philharmonic orchestra to stuff you wouldn't expect. I hope that will coincide with the autobiography that I'm writing. I want to release the autobiography along with the CD. There's lots of things in the pipeline. Lastly, there's a deal in the works with Sony Classical to do orchestrations of ELP's music plus original works. FR: Orchestral adaptations of ELP's music should work rather well. Your recent _Changing States_ album, in fact, has a wonderful version of "Abbadons Bolero" performed with an orchestra. KE: Oh yes, that one. Right. That turned out rather well. FR: Have you heard the Yes orchestral adaptation album? KE: No I haven't. I've actually been told not to. Although I should find out where not to go. I need to listen to what they did. If there's an orchestration of "Roundabout", I would probably stick my finger down my throat. [Ed. note: Roundabout" is the first track on _The Symphonic Music of Yes_.] That's totally wrong. Some things can and cannot be orchestrated. When I worked for Emerson , Lake and Palmer, all I heard in my head were orchestrations. I didn't have the technology. I didn't have the instruments at my disposal like the [Alesis] S4. I had a piano, I had a Hammond, and a monophonic Moog synthesizer. What I was hearing when I was playing that was an orchestra. You could fool yourself sometimes. But at the end of the day, you'd know the only way you were going to make it was with an orchestra. FR: Have you had positive experiences working with orchestras? KE: I approached the LPO [London Philharmonic Orchestra] in the early 1980's, but they were very reluctant to do any of my music. They were all pretty much into their penguin outfits and playing Beethoven. I happened to write for trumpets out of the reach of most trumpet players. They really had to work to get those notes. And they'd be looking at me knowing I was from a "rock" group. They hid their inexpertise by trying to ridicule me. So it was sort of amazing to hear the LPO playing [The Who's] _Tommy_ just a few short years later. Then they're all suddenly very happy sitting up there playing their violins and such. And I thought, "God, it's awful." I thought I had paved the way for them to even consider working with a rock musician. It was such hard work. And then all of the sudden they're up there playing this three-chord stuff. Horrible! What I'd written was much more challenging, but it was a question of money. They realized that unless they followed the Boston Pops' direction, they were going to be no more. FR: In your upcoming orchestral project, will you be using MIDI gear, or will you just simply chart out the music and head to the recording studio? KE: I've thought about doing it that way. Just going boldly in and dishing the charts out, but I think that's pretty suicidal. One of the most enlightening things that I learned in the past few weeks was when Will and I went down to visit [Black Moon producer] Mark Mancina and [Lion King composer] Hans Zimmer at his studio [Cyberia, in Santa Monica,CA.] And all of the sudden it came to me that this project could be done very easily. Getting all the ideas down with the MIDI gear and then printing it all out. And then, carrying in all your work, have the orchestra in the studio play against what you've done. And then you work together. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 09:04:36 BST From: Oz Hardwick Subject: Isle of Wight. To: John E Arnold The current issue of "Q" magazine has a 25th anniversary feature on the 1970 Isle of Wight festival. The only ELP related piece is a brief anecdote from Keith on the subject of the cannon (as mentioned in the "Welcome Back" video). However, altogether more interesting is that there is going to be a (British) TV programme on 26th August, featuring previously unshown footage which was intended for an abandoned film project. Apparently the film-maker has 160 hours of film, 90% of which has never been seen, so fingers crossed that there may be some good ELP! I picked up a ludicrously expensive import of the Greg Lake live album yesterday, & I have to say it was worth every penny - a great set..."Parissienne Walkways" was just made for Greg's voice, & it's good to have the different arrangements of the old favourites. Oz. ------------------------------ From: DrWoody68@aol.com Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 21:54:43 -0400 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Sheet Music Hello.... I was wondering where I might find some ELP sheet Music??? Don.... [ Editor's note: Ahhh... another plug for the ELP web site. A "FAQ" area is emerging there. ( A "FAQ" is a "Frequently Asked Questions" document or web site.) We've started it off with an extract from earlier this year about the official sheet music publications that exist. - John - ] ------------------------------ From: pal.giortz@ad.dep.telemax.no Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 12:15:38 +0200 To: arnold@iii.net Subject: ELP in Record Collector Strolling along the shelfs searching for the September issue of Keyboard, I came across the August issue (no. 192) of the British magazine Record Collector, with the title "25 Years of ELP" on the front page, a to us well-known Keith picture at the back page, and containing a 12-page article of ELP including pictures, discograhies, a 2 1/2 pages of Asia, and individual pieces on Keith, Greg and Carl. It always surprises me when I find rather balanced musical-journalists works on ELP, but this is in that category, and I recommend it to everybody. ELP is also dealt with in the editorial, with the following: "This month we're celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first prog-rock supergroup, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. They were undoubtedly the biggest new band of the early 70s, rivalling Led Zeppelin for sales of records and tickets. But their penchant for concepting albums and rocked-up versions of classical themes soon left them out of favour with the press. You'd be hard pushed to find a positive word about them in a British magazine since about 1975. But even their diehard fans would admit that some of their spin-off ventures and more outlandish projects of recent years haven't matched their early works. But the news that Keith Emerson has decided to abandon rock music (sic !) in favour of more "serious" musicianship makes this the ideal time to look back at their lives and times - and the careers of related prog rock outfits like Asia, PM and Three." Well, well. Have any of you heard about this "retirement" from the rock music. I don't read the interview in the latest Digest that way. The article just says in the end that Keith is to concentrate on sound-tracks again. What do people know about Keith's future plans? Paul E-post Internet: pal.giortz@ad.dep.telemax.no ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 13:41:48 +0100 From: ag03kg@lion.rbgkew.org.uk (Alan Ginman) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: ELP article in Record Collector The predicted ELP article in Record Collector has appeared (the August edition in the UK). It is a comprehensive review of the 25 year on-off existence of the band. Whilst I wouldn't agree with all of the comments made, it is an intelligently compiled history of the band, with a full discography. It also covers the member's other projects, including a separate article on Asia. It puts forward an interesting idea, ie that To The Power Of Three is a good album, something that I must admit hadn't occurred to me before. I went back and played it again and must admit I can see a bit more in it now. A bit. Amazing what you can gain by listening to other people's opinions. It waxes lyrical about Robert Berry's new CD Pilgrimage To A Point and suggests that that would have been a better route for E and P to have gone down, rather than reforming ELP. I'm not sure I'd go THAT far, but then I haven't heard the album. Lastly, the concluding paragraph begins with the phrase `With Emerson having recently announced his retirement from the rock world, and his intention to concentrate once again on soundtracks...' That casual, throw-away remark turned my blood to ice. There is also an excellent editorial `Breaking Down The Walls Of Prejudice' about the trials and tribulations suffered by prog rock. It also contains the phrase `The news that Keith Emerson has decided to abandon rock music in favour of more "serious" musicianship makes this an ideal time to look back on their lives and times...' Sorry to add to the rumour mill, but Record Collector has definitely written ELP off. I do not know where they got their information from. If true, where does that leave KE? Writing film scores is doubtless a good career move, and no one would begrudge him a good source of income, but doesn't add much to the catalogue of good music. How many film scores do you know that stand up by themselves? Also, writing film scores uses a definition of the word `serious' that doesn't relate to any in my dictionary. Both E and L seem to be trying to sell old material rather than seriously producing new stuff. Whilst it's nice to have CDs of 14 year old concerts (although with no new material on it I doubt if I will buy GL's `latest' record), it would be good to know what these people are doing now. It is interesting that of the three, it is P who has been the most active and original when away from the others. One may not care so much for some of the things that he has done, but at least he has DONE things. I think it would be such a shame to waste the talent in the band members. Apart from KE's music writing and performing; GL's lyric writing and CP's drumming (when not imitating drum machines) have developed tremendously in the wide open spaces of ELP's music. This was the first time that I had read Record Collector and I was quite impressed with it. It is not just for collectors, but for all music fans. The issue in question has articles on, among others, John Entwistle of the Who and Rory Gallagher. I don't know if it is available outside the UK, but if it is, then it is worth looking out for. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Aug 95 18:45:48 EDT From: jerry@aip.org (Jerry_McCarthy) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: ELP Catalog It appears that ELP may have extricated themselves from Victory records at last. The latest issue of the ICE Newsletter (September #102) lists October 24 as the U.S. release date for their entire back catalog (minus the box set, Atlantic compilation, and ITHS) on Rhino Records. Has anybody heard anything about this? ====================================================================== Jerry McCarthy e-mail: jerry@aip.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There's no end to my life no beginning to my death Death is Life ====================================================================== [ Editor's note: This has been confirmed and, I think, we'll see some action on the Rhino front in the near future. - John - ] ------------------------------ From: DJRZeus@aol.com Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 01:42:47 -0400 To: Arnold@iii.net Subject: GX-1,Tarkus Just a quick note concerning Dan Barrett's note about the GX-1.The Yamaha GX-1 was an experimental instrument that was a hybrid analog and digital synth. It was the first keyboard to use FM synthesis which would later show up in the highly successful DX-7 (in 1983). Many at Yamaha nicknamed it the white refridgerator because it was so big. They cost $50,000.00 and Stevie Wonder and Jurgen Fritz ( of Triumvirat) are the only others I know for sure who bought the GX-1 though I'm sure there were others. A "KEYBOARD" magazine issue on Emerson talked about it in some detail. Concerning the other polyphonic keyboard Keith used, it was not actually a Polymoog but a prototype of a model that Moog never released ( it seems like it was called the Apollo) but came out with the Polymoog instead. Keith used it on the Brain Salad Surgery tour and he rolled it into the space at the front of his rig so it was between him and the audience. Some one else was asking about Tarkus lyrics. There was a book printed with the music from that album which I have but it is packed away at the moment ( I'm moving) but if no one else steps forward, I'll try to enter the lyrics after the move. One question: are there any readers out there who own a modular Moog? I'm looking for an owners manual and a service manual for one. Also, I'm looking for Thom Rhea, formerly of Moog Music, if anyone out there knows him and where he is. I would love his Email address. Thanks DJRZeus@AOL.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 09:39:47 -0500 To: arnold@iii.net From: djones@iex.com (Douglas R. Jones) Subject: _Daddy_ I am new to the digest so forgive me if this topic has been discussed to death. I am a long time ELP fan, around 1972 memory is kinda foggy of that period, and like the last two albums I have gotten. _In the Hot Seat_ is very enjoyable. The song _Daddy_ however, eats me alive! I cannot believe the emotion that this song brings out! I have two daughters so this might have something to do with it. Anyway in the archives I noticed that the proceeds from this song are going to a Missing Childrens fund. Did Greg Lake know the family involved? I guess I am curious about the "story" behind the song. Any info that you folks could provide would be greatly appreciated! TIA, Doug -------------------------------------------------- 'I am a traveler of | Douglas R. Jones both Time and Space' | IEX Corporation Led Zeppelin | (214)301-1307 | djones@iex.com -------------------------------------------------- [ Editor's note "Daddy" was written about the abduction and murder of Sarah Ann Wood, a young girl from New York. The story was well publicized in New York and surrounding states but, as Greg tell it, the story came to his attention when it was featured on a syndicated TV show (I think it was "America's Most Wanted"). At the time, he hadn't met the family. But, after the song was recorded, he has met Sarah's family and has worked to raise money for the Sarah Ann Wood Foundation. I believe a man arrested in a later attempted abduction has confessed to killing Sarah but, as I recall, he still has not been able to tell authorities exactly where her body is. The girl who he attempted to abduct foiled his attempt and her efforts led to his arrest. She has been featured on the "Nick News" show on Nickelodeon in a discussion on the need for children to know how to deal with strangers. - John - ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 11:58:15 +0100 From: ag03kg@lion.rbgkew.org.uk (Alan Ginman) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Lee Jackson and Brian Davidson. Also, I like Pirates but not the Yamaha As a fan of the Nice, when they split up I tried to follow the subsequent careers of all of its members. Brian Davidson dropped out of sight (well, out of my sight, anyway). Lee Jackson went on to form Jackson Heights, which, between 1970 and 1973, produced the following four LPs: * Indicates information, possibly trivial, of interest to Nice/ELP fans. KING PROGRESS 1970 Personnel: Lee Jackson; 6 and 12 string guitars, Harmonica and Vocals Charlie Harcourt: Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals Tommy Slone; Drums and Percussion Mario Enrique Covarrubias Tapia; Guitar, Bass and Vocals * Includes the Nice song The Cry Of Eugene. Engineered by Eddie Offord. RAGAMUFFINS FOOL 1972 Personnel: Lee Jackson; Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Percussion and Harmonica John Mc Burnie; Vocals, Guitars and Keyboards Brian Chatton; Vocals and Keyboards. * Includes Chorale from the Five Bridges Suite, and featured Mike Giles, who played drums on most of the tracks. THE FIFTH AVENUE BUS 1972 Personnel: As for RF * Mike Giles on drums again BUMP `N' GRIND 1973 Personnel: As for RF * Mike Giles on drums on some of the tracks. Moog Synthesiser loaned and programmed by Keith Emerson. All albums produced by Lee Jackson. I consider it worth mentioning these because they might not be known to many people, particularly to those who discovered ELP and the Nice in retrospect. They are very good albums. They are all basically acoustic, or at least low key electric albums. The first, KP, is the simplest in terms of arrangements, giving, as the liner notes by Tony Stratton Smith say, ribs and muscle to acoustic music. It has a raw, dark quality that was smoothed out on subsequent recordings. Vocals are mainly by LJ, with all that that implies. The next LP saw a complete change of personnel, which stayed in place for the rest of their recording life. RF was much softer and gentler, but with life, and, lacking from the first album but present in all of the others, humour. The subsequent records became more sophisticated and more `produced': still good, but a different mood, with nicely crafted songs, ranging from pure invention, through social comment (The Tramp) to vignettes of basic everyday life in a similar vein to Squeeze (Bump And Grind). The other members took over more of the vocals on the last two, adding a new dimension to the music. TFAB is available as a CD, the rest, I haven't seen. For reasons of space and laziness I have not included full track listings for these LPs. If anyone is interested in this information I am happy to provide it. In 1974, Lee Jackson teamed up with his ex Nice drummer Brian Davidson and keyboard player Patrick Moraz to form the group Refugee. Their eponymously titled first LP marked a return to prog rock for Jackson, as part of a keyboard based three piece band. The music was nicely put together without being earth shattering. The album cover displayed the lack of taste in clothes that many musicians have developed to a fine art. Patrick Moraz has gone on to make solo CDs, which I intend to try at some point. The question is, can anyone out there fill in the gaps in the careers of LJ and BD? According to a recent Digest, they have formed a group together and KE was thinking of working with them again. If anyone knows any more about these two musicians, I and I am sure others, would be interested in knowing. The guitarist David O'List, one of the founder members of the Nice and also, I believe, of Roxy Music, left the group quite early on. On the evidence of the tracks on which he appears, this might well have been because he was not a very good guitarist! If anyone knows anything to the contrary, I would be interested to hear. > The GX-1 had some great moments, I think. But I like Pirates a >LOT and I know some of you don't.. Hey, don't get me wrong, I really like Pirates. I think it is probably one of their best SONGS. The music is good and the lyrics are downright stupendous; GL and PS at their best. The Yamaha on this occasion is used reasonably well, but I still think that KE produced better music with more restricted equipment. For me, a lot of the sounds made by the Yamaha are simply ugly. In addition, records with the Yamaha as the main instrument do not have the dynamic range within tracks that earlier ones had, though Pirates is better than most in that regard. Alan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 17:21:19 +0800 From: John.Lukes@Ebay.Sun.COM (John Lukes) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: ELP at Royal Albert/Changing States/Thud Cc: John.Lukes@Ebay.Sun.COM X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII I finally got a copy of the ELP Live at the Royal Albert (hall?) and Love IT! I think it's a great performance and a very clean recording (IMHO). To know that Keith's ulner nerve disorder was probably kicking in then, increases my admiration for his high degree of musicianship and very excellent keyboard chops. This CD is kind of a "Black Moon" tour remembrance for me. I also got my copy of "Changing States" by Keith Emerson, produced by Kevin Gilbert, as I might have previously mentioned, I LOVE IT!!! Speaking of Kevin Gilbert, I just obtained his recent cd "Thud" after checking with PRA Records in Santa Monica about the bonus CD they are now packaging with "Thud". If you go looking for this CD, it should be shrink-wrapped with the bonus CD on the front, clearly marked with a humorous low-tech note about being a FREE bonus CD. I checked two local CD shops and one had copies with the bonus CD and the other had copies without the bonus CD. In both cases I recommended that they call PRA Records in Santa Monica, CA, and gave them the phone number, because PRA will send out copies of the bonus CD to be included with the THUD cd. For those who already bought THUD and didn't get the bonus CD, I suggest you call PRA Records in Santa Monica (area code 310-393-8283) and request to speak with someone who handles retail accounts. With that person, explain that you bought "THUD" and didn't get the bonus CD and ask if they would be willing to send it to you. But don't rip these folks off, if you didn't buy THUD, don't lie just to get a free CD. If you don't want THUD, you probably won't want the bonus CD either, anyway. If you want to know what THUD is like, check out Giraffe or Toy Matinee. -JOHN ------------------------------ From: "J.W. Bruce Shaw" To: John E Arnold Subject: ELP on the radio, opera Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 17:03:59 -0700 On Thursday Aug 17 at 12:30 p.m. station 100.3 "The Bear" in Edmonton had their daily trivia quiz as part of the Flashback Cafe program. That days's quiz question: "In 1983 [?] Emerson Lake and Palmer, right after releasing their amazing "Brain Salad Surgery" album, also released a 3 volume live album with a title that must hold the record for the longest title of an album, its one, two....uh, seventeen words long. The trivia question is...what is the name of this album. I will take the 10th caller on the Rock Line from Hell [phone number given]. (Several voices in background yelled ..I know..I know) No, not you guys..it's gotta be a caller. And now from the Brain Salad Surgery album ... here IS.. Emerson Lake and Palmer!" Followed by all Karn Evil 9 Impression 2 2nd half. I tried to call in but the battery on my cell died. I rushed back to the office but someone had just gotten the answer. Whoever you are, congratulations, and thanks to "The Bear" for continuing to feature the music of Emerson Lake and Palmer. On another note [i'm sorry..bad pun..mea cupla..mea culpa..mea culpa maxima] I may have mentioned this briefly before...but has Keith considered doing a rock opera. This has a number of points going for it 1. It would be an extended work to satisfy himself (judging from recent interviews) as well as the many fans wanting a longer work. 2. There are plenty of libreti out there that could be adapted, or he could collaborate with Lake, Sinfield, Salmon and others. 3. It could be performed by a variety of forces, synths, chamber orchestra, full orchestra, student (eg. University) orchestra. 4. There would be an opportunity to cooperate with other musicians while still leaving opportunities for solo work by Lake. Perhaps Peter Townsend, Roger Waters, and others who have already done work in this field could be approached. 5. People LIKE Rock Opera and will pay well to go see it. It is a completely different audience than regular rock concerts. These people are more musically mature and would probably be more open to Keith's imaginative leaps in style and harmony. A short list of successful rock opera/oratorio/musicals either presently/recently in production or making comebacks: Pink Floyd/Roger Waters The Wall Peter Townsend Tommy Synchronicity[?] another one on PBS..[Trashmaniac???] something about being cheated by record producers...[ED help me] Rice Jesus Christ Superstar Webber Phantom of the Opera Bernstein Mass 6. There would finally be a visual medium for interpretation of ELP's longer works other than concert videos. Sci/Fi stuff has been making a real comback lately...maybe some of the thematic material (text and music) from Karn Evil 9/Tarkus/Harmageddon could be used. Opera goers LOVE special effects. 7. Keith has already proven that he can work with visual material from his soundtracks (Inferno, Best Revenge, Nighthawks...) but I get the impression that he has been limited by the poor quality of scripts. 8. Opera halls already exist in all major cities and the band is already familiar with at least some of them (they played Jubilee Auditoriums in Edmonton and Calgary that are our opera halls in Alberta), and all the lighting equipment and expertise required is already in place...greatly reducing touring expense. Musicians can be hired locally to flesh out the orchestra. 9. If Keith is having problems with his hands and/or Greg is having vocal problems this is less of an issue with opera as substitutes may be used (or MIDI) as the audience has come primarily to see the opera. Opera audiences are used to substitutions. Or neither may need to perform at all...and can make their money off the royalties. Another idea just occured to me...several people have mentioned that ELP's renditions of "classical" pieces (Pictures, Copland works, Ginastera works, Bach preludes and fugues) have encouraged them to listen to classical works with a new ear. This happened in my case and I ended up making a partial career out of music. How about a video or TV series doing exactly that! The speciality and public channels love that sort of thing. Finally...played Emerson's version of Promenade from Pictures at a wedding a few weeks ago. The bride loved it. Keith, do I owe you a royalty??? Bruce.Shaw@env.gov.ab.ca (403) 427-6810 (403) 479-2270 FAX ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Aug 95 23:47:08 -0700 From: "David H. Jameson" To: arnold@iii.net Subject: Emerson sheet music Hi, I'm not particularly interested in Emerson's personal stuff. However, I do think he's one of the greatest musicians ever (and certainly my favourite). Although this may sound a bid gruesome, I wonder if enough people could persuade Keith Emerson to provide transcriptions of all his compositions so that they may be saved for future generations? I hope Keith lives a long and prosperous life but I think his music is important enough for it to be always available. It's too difficult to transcribe from listening to it (how many hands does he have:-) I've seen some transcriptions (there's one with Trilogy and The Endless Enigma, and I believe there was a transcription of Tarkus) but I want them all!!! Cheers, David Jameson -- [ Editor's note: There are many of us who would like to see a collection of transcriptions made available. And, I believe Keith and Will Alexander are trying to pull something like this together. Please stay tuned to see what comes from this effort. - John - ] ______________________ Dr. David H. Jameson Manager, Computer Music Center IBM Research Division PO Box 218 Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 dhj@watson.ibm.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 00:21:41 EDT From: DMHM92A@prodigy.com ( JONATHAN R BRADY) To: arnold@iii.net Subject: ELP - Keyboard Fingering Patterns John, Here is a note I sent to Steve Plotczyk. I thought I would send you a copy in case you felt it was suitable to print in an upcoming issue of the ELP Digest. [ Editor's note: And yet another plug for the ELP fingerings chart, the "quotes" list, etc. on the web. All of these documents are updated on the Web every time I get an update. So, I don't always bog down a Digest with them. If you're interested, please check out the web site every few wweks to see if there's been an update. - John - ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve, I saw your fingering charts in issue #20 of the ELP Digest and thought I would add my fingerings to your list as well, being that some of them are different from the ones you have already collected... Take A Pebble Ostinato (Left Hand) F3 C4 G4 C4 F4 Bb3 C4 G3 Steve Plotczyk 5 2 1 2 1 3 2 4 Jonathan Brady 5 2 1 2 1 3 2 4 (same) Eruption Ostinato 1 (Left Hand) F2 Bb2 Eb3 Bb2 Ab3 Eb3 Bb2 Fb3 Cb2 Gb2 Dan Barrett 5 2 1 5 1 2 5 1 2 4 Steve Plotczyk 5 3 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 4 Jim Smith 5 3 1 3 1 3 5 1 3 4 Sandy Smith 5 2 1 5 1 2 4 1 2 4 Sandy Smith 5 2 1 4 1 2 5 1 2 4 Robert Vasseur 5 2 1 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 Robert Vasseur 5 3 1 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 Jonathan Brady 5 3 1 3 1 2 4 1 2 4 Eruption Ostinato 2 (Left Hand) C2 F2 Bb2 F2 Eb3 Bb2 F2 Cb3 Gb2 Db2 Steve Plotczyk 5 3 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 4 Robert Vasseur 5 3 1 5 1 2 5 1 2 4 Robert Vasseur 5 3 1 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 Jonathan Brady 5 3 1 3 1 2 4 1 2 4 Eruption Ostinato 3 (Left Hand) E2 A2 D3 A2 G3 D3 A2 E3 B2 F2 Steve Plotczyk 5 3 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 4 Robert Vasseur 5 3 1 5 1 3 5 1 2 4 Robert Vasseur 5 3 1 4 1 2 4 1 2 4 Jonathan Brady 5 3 1 3 1 2 4 1 2 4 Infinite Space Ostinato (Right Hand) D3 A3 G3 B3 C4 D3 A3 G3 B3 C4 C4 F3 F3 F3 Steve Plotczyk 1 3 2 4 5 1 3 2 4 5 5 1 1 1 Jonathan Brady 1 3 2 4 5 1 3 2 4 5 5 2 2 2 Infinite Space Ostinato (Left Hand) D2 A2 G2 D3 E3 D2 A2 G2 D3 E3 E3 A2 A2 A2 Steve Plotczyk 5 2 3 1 1 5 2 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 Jonathan Brady 5 2 3 1 1 5 2 3 1 1 1 (same) 2 2 2 Notice that I use the same fingering for all 3 Eruption ostinato patterns. I find it works pretty well having the same fingering for each one...maybe makes it a little easier and adds more continuity to the piece from a playing point of view. Although Ostinato 2 does get a bit strenuous on the wrist. I'm looking forward to trying out some the other patterns that you and Robert Vasseur use on that one. Please feel free to add my fingerings to your list and to the ELP Digest..at least the ones that are different from everybody else's. Thanks for starting these charts...it's interesting and fun to see how other people play and interpret Keith's music. Jonathan R. Brady Phillipsburg, NJ ------------------------------ 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 25] *************************************