ELP Digest Monday, 11 November 1996 Volume 6 : Issue 27 The "He Went To Fight Wars" Edition including the "Happy Birthday, Greg Lake" edition Today's Topics: ELP Goldmine Issue Rhino BSS vs. Victory submission for ELP Digest (Manhattan Collection) ELP lyrics Surgery: Brain Salad (hold the undressing) (fwd) Jethro Tull And ELP - Milwaukee review (fwd) Re: Jethro Tull And ELP - Milwaukee review Who I used to be? Greg Lake website End of Show Music Question Answered Reviews: Bonner Springs, Omaha, & Vegas Elp Stories ELP in Portland, OR on 9.27.96 Sept. 29th Boise Show ELP/JT at L B Day Amphitheatre EL&P Live in Osaka, Japan ELP in Phoenix ELP -Live in Japan!- 10/13 Live in Tokyo ELP Shows in Tokyo Re: End of Show Music Re: ELP Digest V6 #25 (more on the end of show music) Prelude ======= Well, 2 weekends ago I was away from my computer for Keith's birthday. This past weekend, I was away from my computer for Greg's birthday. So, I'll wish Greg a belated "Happy Birthday" from the ELP Digest readers a little late, too. I'm just about done with the reviews of the recently completed tour. So, the Digest will be looking more like the news and discussion we were accustomed to before the tour "real soon now". Of course, I've got a ton of ELP-related remarks from the Tull newsletter courtesy of Bjorne-Are that I'll probably bundle up into one really big Digest just for the sake of completeness at some point, too. That way, you can read them all in one place if you're interested or delete tham all in one fell swoop (I think that's an American idion) if you're not interested. Anyway, enjoy! Till next time, - John - ------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Oct 1996 08:17:58 +0000 From: kstober@attmail.com (Karen E Stober) Subject: ELP Goldmine Issue To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com This, from page 237 of the November 8, 1996 issue of Goldmine. What took them so long? "Coming soon to Goldmine! Bonus distribution of 600 copies!!" Emerson, Lake & Palmer "Say those three names together and everyone knows the sort of music you're talking about: intelligent, progressive rock kissed by classical music influences. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist, guitarist and vocalist Greg Lake and drummer Carl Palmer were tremendously popular in the early 1970s and their music is still played on turntables and CD players every day in homes around the world. Their fans still revere Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition, Trilogy and other popular ELP albums. Welcome back, Goldmine friends, to the show that never ends..." ISSUE DATE ADVERTISING DEADLINE MAILING DATE ON SALE DATE December 6 November 7 November 14 November 22 You guys are in for a break! I don't know how many times I hear "Stop being so fast, Karen! Give someone else a chance to buy something!" Well, I will this time. That week I'm on vacation in Florida...wont get the magazine until a week after the mailing or more. Can't wait! Take care, Karen E. Stober karen1@chelsea.ios.com kstober@attmail.com (will change shortly) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Oct 1996 15:18:20 -0500 (EST) From: Shawn McCann To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: Rhino BSS vs. Victory I finally got a chance to compare both "deluxe" releases of BSS. Unfortunately, the annoying clicks on Toccata at 0:02 are present on BOTH discs. Now to check out my Japanese vinyl LP...wonder if the clicks are on that, too? -- Shawn ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Oct 1996 19:07:38 -0500 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: Frank Sonnenberg Subject: submission for ELP Digest I have just purchased a CD entitled "Manhattan Collection". It is oddly devoid of credits and I'm hoping that some ELP Digest readers can shed some light on it. It lists Emerson, Cameron and Austin (each with a picture) but no performance credits. In fact, the only place Emerson's first name appears is on a banner on the cover that says "Includes Keith Emerson". There are 15 cuts, each with composition credit. Track Credit 1. The Dreamer Emerson 2. Prelude to Candice Emerson 3. Hello Sailor Emerson 4. Inferno Emerson 5. The Golliwog Cake Walk Debussy 6. Prelude Cameron 7. Icebergs Cameron-Gibbons 8. Cafe Parisien Cameron 9. Collision Course Cameron 10. Bon Voyage Cameron 11. Visions Austin 12. Black Velvet Austin 13. Savannah Austin 14. Hour by Hour Austin 15. Following the Light Owen By the way, the first cut, "The Dreamer" is identical to the first cut of the album "Best Revenge" and is one of the most beautiful piano pieces I've ever heard Emerson play (or anyone else for that matter). I got the CD from The Entertainment Connection, http://econnection.com. The label is "New Age Music", produced by Chord Records, distributed by RTV Communications of Fort Lauderdale, FL. The copyright date is 1988. Does anyone know a) Who are Cameron and Austin? b) Did they play together with Emerson, or is this a collection of three mini solo albums? Thanks, -- Frank Sonnenberg ------------------------------ Date: 10 Sep 96 03:05:06 EDT From: Andrew Weir <100253.2046@CompuServe.COM> To: John Arnold Subject: ELP lyrics Dear John Many thanks for the continued supply of ELP digests. I recently downloaded some back issues and found some references to the bizarre lyric transcriptions which have cropped up now and then, particularly in Japan. This reminded me that I was so annoyed by the mistakes in the 'Welcome Back My Friends...' set that I wrote out the correct version and mailed it off, not expecting to get a reply but feeling a sense of catharsis. So the following was partly a surprise and partly what I had expected: "east west japan Dec 22, 93 Dr Andrew Weir 8 Maxine Place Auckland 1005 New Zealand Dear Dr Weir, Thank you very much of your letter of Nov 25 that kindly pointed out our lyric mistakes in the ELP release. Based on your letter, I have ordered to make corrections for a1l upcoming new productions of this album and will also like to take this opportunity to thank you for sparing your valuable time to send a letter to us. Yours sincerely, (Signed) Frank Takeshita East West Japan (former MMG) International A&R Manager A Time Warner Company" Hope you find this of passing amusement... Best wishes Andrew Weir ------------------------------ Date: 12 Sep 96 05:00:45 EDT From: Andrew Weir <100253.2046@CompuServe.COM> To: John Arnold Subject: Surgery: Brain Salad (hold the undressing) Dear John A short note on an (allegedly) amusing topic. I recently received a copy of the Rhino swept-up version of 'Brain Salad Surgery', complete with montage interviews, booklet and two-way cover (ahem). When Emerson relates the story of how the group came to use Giger's artwork and the fuss over the - we're speaking 'mano a mano' here - male organ of generation, he says that the offending item was airbrushed (new spin on the phrase 'blowjob'?) and turned into a 'shaft of light'. That was to enable the album to be released in morally upright 1973. In degenerate, jaded 1996, what do we find? Why, the ELP logo of course, on the cover, and, on the back, an enlarged version of the woman's head, but cropped to avoid showing anything like a 'shaft'. How bizarre - all that 'revelation' in the booklet and interviews, but then the startled owner of this recording is deprived of any clue as to the original album's final appearance. I suppose this all means that it really is difficult to 'kick against the pricks'. At least the sound's ok... And no erroneous references to Keith's singing in KE9 (perhaps the abbreviation might be German: 'Keith Emerson: Nein!') Best wishes Andrew Weir ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 14:45:19 -0500 To: John Arnold From: reason29@nfi.com (Brian P. Reasoner) Subject: (fwd) Jethro Tull And ELP - Milwaukee review John-- Another in a series of rave reviews of ELP . . . A couple of weeks ago if someone had told me I would be sitting at the Marcus Amphitheater watching Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake, Palmer, I would have laughed in their face. But, when last Wednesday rolled around I was thumbing through the entertainment section of the newspaper looking for a movie to see, when I noticed an article about the joint concert that was only hours away. Nothing at the movies looked all that wonderful, so I figured "Why not?" Let me pause at this point and say that I was around when these bands were at their prime. I saw Tull on their "Aqualung" tour and their "Passion Play" tour. I saw ELP do the "Lucky Man" tour as well as the tour with the 100 piece orchestra. I was, you might say, a devoted fan of both these groups. As one might suspect, the crowd at the Marcus was very mixed. It ranged from ex-hippies pushing 50 looking to relive something from their glory years to sixteenish gen-X'ers looking to find something they missed the first time around. Both groups shared an unabashed enthusiasm for what they were about to see. ELP was the opening act, starting their set with "Hoedown". The first thing I noticed when the performance began was the apparent paucity of equipment. Not surprisingly, ELP no longer travels with the mega-truckloads of equipment they had in the seventies. Also, gone were the elaborate lighting and stage effects. Not even Palmer's rotating drum set made it onto the truck. The performance had an almost casual atmosphere about it. More like old friends getting together to reminisce, than a bunch of young hellions about to challenge the borders of reality. Fortunately, none of this negatively affected ELP's performance. They sounded very much as they did almost two decades ago. A slight edge has gone from Greg Lake's magnificent voice, but only a slight edge. Keith and Carl's solo's were abbreviated as compared to the seventies, but that has to be expected for the opening act of a nostalgia tour. Predictably, their set was a "Best of ELP" sampler. They ran through "Lucky Man", "You Turn Me On", "Tarkus", and "The Great Gate of Kiev", among others. For their encore to what to me was all to brief a set, they performed "Fanfare for the Common Man". At this point, much to my delight, Emerson even dragged out that old Hammond organ he was so famous for brutalizing during the seventies. What a hoot! There's Keith Emerson on his back, with the organ on top of him, playing "The Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" upside down. Who'd have thunk it. All and all their performance was perfectly delightful. My only regret was that it didn't last any longer than it did. I wish I could say the same for Jethro Tull, but alas, that's not possible. The first problem was that the band wasn't Jethro Tull, but rather it was Ian Anderson and four other guys playing old Tull songs. The second problem was that Anderson's voice is simply gone. He sounded extremely thin; often times drowned out by the rest of the band. He was often off key and out of time (hearing gone too?). The wild, frenetic prancing about stage that once was Anderson's trademark has disappeared as well. There was a porch swing on stage that he made frequent use of. Often performing from a sitting position. Fortunately, Anderson's skills with the flute have not diminished. That is unless you count his ability to toss it forty feet in the air, catch it, and continue playing without missing a beat. The instrumental portions of the program were thoroughly enjoyable. So, was Anderson's banter between songs. His famous wit remains intact. The songs performed followed ELP's format of best known tunes. They led off with "Aqualung" (!?) and went through other favorites such as 'Thick as a Brick", "Songs from The Wood", "Locomotive Breath", and "Cross Eyed Mary". Too bad, though, that Anderson's voice has betrayed him. To the "kids" that were in attendance last Wednesday, let me say this. If you think you saw Jethro Tull the other night, you are mistaken. What you saw was only a shadow of what was once one of the greatest live bands of all time. As for ELP, well that was much, much closer to the real deal. If these two groups should ever tour together again, let the band that is best preserved have the most limelight. ELP should be granted the top billing position. ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 14:46:33 -0500 To: John Arnold From: reason29@nfi.com (Brian P. Reasoner) Subject: (fwd) Re: Jethro Tull And ELP - Milwaukee review Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 1316 . . . and a follow up! My wife and I saw the bands perfom on Sep 10 in Minneapolis, MN. What I had hoped was just a sound problem with Jethro Tull aparently was nothing more than the downward slide of a great band. All that could be heard of the band was a bass drum that drowned out all the other instruments, Anderson's mouth of marbles, and his extrordinary flute ability. It was a shame that people seeing the band for the first time weren't given lyrics to follow along with. But as you say, the wit is still there :) As for the set....they lead off with Aqualung and did the said classics. For the encore, what there was of it, they did a garbled versoin of Cross-eyed Mary. We were surprised that they didn't play a longer encore, and that they left out popular classics as Bungle and Skating Away. In contrast, ELP put on a great opening show which lead off with "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends...." It was the first time my wife had seen or heard anything other than Lucky Man. She was quite impressed by the classical undertones in their music. And when that old Hammond came out, the dossile crowd was immediately on its feet :) Final verdict: ELP still carrying on strong.... Jethro Tull should stick to the studio or play acoustics. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 18:33:15 -0400 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: karen1@chelsea.ios.com (KarenStober) Subject: Who I used to be? From the Asia Armada #82 newsletter, comes this little gem: >From: David Simmons >Subject: Greg Lake Story > >Dave, > >Funny Greg Lake story, > >A friend was visiting an LA restaurant often requented by the fmaous >and near-so. He over-heard a waiter recount the following tale... > >WAITER: Sorry sir, but we've mixed up your order... it's gonna be a > little longer >GREG LAKE: You what? >WAITER: We mixed up your order. >GREG LAKE (with a smile): Do you have any idea who I used to be? > >*LOL* Cracked me up! Thought my fellow Armadans would enjoy it... > > ************************************************************** And so it goes... Karen E. Stober ------------------------------ From: BRUCETUNE@aol.com Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 00:28:09 -0400 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: GL website PLEASE LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT THERE IS AN ALL-NEW OFFICIAL GREG LAKE WEBSITE ( in place of the old one). IT'S HUGE AND TONS OF FUN! PLEASE GET THE WORD OUT!!! ALSO, COMING SOON ON HIS WEBSITE...THE GREG LAKE CYBERMALL WITH OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE AND AUTOGRAPHED ITEMS. CHECK IT OUT, DUDE. [ Editor's Note: This is the updated Greg Lake web site I mentioned a few issues ago. Its URL is http://www.dynrec.com/lake/ and can also be reached from the ELP web site I maintain. - John - ] ------------------------------ From: DMHM92A@prodigy.com ( JONATHAN R BRADY) Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 17:10:57, -0500 Subject: End of Show Music Question Answered To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com In the last issue of the Digest (issue #23), efore@ctonline.net submitted the following question: >>> Can anyone give me any information on the canned music that is played >>> at the very end of ELP's live shows? They have been using this since >>> at least the mid 70's, and I can't seem to get any info on it. >>> I suppose it could be an Emerson original. The taped music that is played at the end of every ELP show is by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) and is the closing to "St. Gregory the Great", the 4th and final movement to his "Church Windows" composition. It is sometimes followed by another piece of his called "The Birds", which you can also hear Keith playing at the very end of his Piano Improvisations on the Welcome Back, My Friends... album. ------------------------------ From: DMHM92A@prodigy.com ( JONATHAN R BRADY) Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 17:07:13, -0500 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: Reviews: Bonner Springs, Omaha, & Vegas LETTERS FROM THE FRONT At the risk of repeating what others have reported here I respectfully submit my reviews of the Emerson, Lake & Palmer concerts in Bonner Springs, KS, Omaha, NE, and Las Vegas, NV on September 14, 15, and 19, 1996, respectively. In the past year I moved from New Jersey to Denver, CO and so the news of this tour was a bit depressing to me because had I still been in NJ I could have easily seen ELP several times with very little travel. Still, Denver was on the early tour schedule so I felt OK that I was going to at least see them once. However when I found out that the Denver date was canceled I resigned myself to the fact that if I was going to see ELP in concert again I was going to have to travel. Consequently I ended up driving (flying has really started to scare me in the last few years) many hundreds of miles to see these shows. I was scheduled to see them in Phoenix on 09/18/96 but decided to forego it at the last minute due to safety concerns repeatedly expressed by my wife (and finally realized by me to have some validity!) of too much driving and too little sleep. Regardless of all the driving (3,000 miles in 4 days) it was well worth seeing Keith, Greg, and Carl perform again live. Even though the show is much shorter than what we are accustomed to, some ELP is better than no ELP! I'll start off with some common notes for all 3 shows and then go into the specifics of each one. To start with, the set list was the same each time and is as follows: Hoedown Touch and Go Knife Edge Bitches Crystal Hammer It Out (Emerson solo) Still...You Turn Me On (Lake solo) Lucky Man Tarkus/Pictures At An Exhibition medley Eruption Stones of Years Iconoclast Mass (first 3 verses only) The Hut of Baba Yaga The Great Gates of Kiev Encore: Fanfare For The Common Man/Rondo medley (w/ Palmer solo) As always, the playing from all three members is extremely good and, as a group, they are still very tight. The set moved quickly and there was no stage talk other than the introduction of solos. The crowd response was excellent in all cases with extra enthusiasm for Still...You Turn Me On and Lucky Man. Keith's setup is still at stage left, but he now has even less on-stage equipment than ever. To his right was his Hammond C-3 organ with a synthesizer on top. The Hammond (newly rebuilt by Al Goff) was cut down so that only the top half remained. The bottom cabinet has been done away with and the organ now stands on two stainless steel legs. It's actually a kind of neat, modernized look. To his left is a grand piano (probably 7') with a synthesizer on top. Actually, when I watched Will Alexander and his team disassemble Keith's rig, I found out that the "piano" is just a shell with the guts (keys, hammers, and strings) removed and a digital piano (or some other MIDI controller) set in place of the regular keyboard. Of course he still has the old Hammond L-100 (or A-100) that he hauls out during Rondo and abuses! Greg and Carl seem to have made their stage switch from the Black Moon tour permanent with Greg in the center and Carl at stage right. Greg no longer has his Persian carpet and has started using ear monitors of some sort. I never got the chance to ask him what their purpose was, but have heard from other fans that he enjoys using them. Carl is back to an all-acoustic drum kit (yay!) with two gongs. His drum kit has the ELP coat of arms (from the Royal Albert Hall album) on their sides and his signature on the front of the bass drums. As for their playing, what can I say. All three men have been the undisputed masters of their craft and leave no doubt that they still are. Keith, however, seemed to be having some difficulty with his right hand during the first two shows I saw, indicated by him flexing his fingers out quite a bit when he wasn't using it and occasionally shaking it and rubbing it. Also, as seen in the Gand Musictech video (thanks Ken and Rik!), he is definitely favoring his 4th and 5th fingers, which tend to curl under his hand when not in use. However, from what I could tell, his playing did not seem to suffer at all. He is still as amazing as ever. Greg's voice, as related in other reviews, is, indeed, undoubtedly stronger, smoother, and clearer than it was on the Black Moon tour. The higher notes are not the problem that they had appeared to be for him a few years ago. And Carl, having also recently recovered from repetitive strain injury surgery, is still in top form and has got to be the world's most amazing percussionist! As far as my opinions on the music selection, Hoedown is an excellent way to open an ELP show and I think it's GREAT to hear them doing Bitches Crystal! What a good choice of a previously unperformed piece. That left hand of Keith's literally flies over the keyboard and has re-inspired me to dig out the sheet music and try to learn it again.. I didn't do very well the first time I tried! Hammer It Out is nice to have as the piano solo, but that is how I would like to hear it-- as a piano solo, not a piano sound layered with strings and bells. Even though it appears on the Japanese release of ITHS Keith mentioned that he is playing it each night so he can find a version he is comfortable enough with to record and release in the future. Like Lucky Man, Stones Of Years is also done on the piano which is a nice touch, but Keith once again does an incredible organ solo midway through it! The Tarkus/Pictures medley works very well and is a great way to perform segments from both compositions in a short time period. It is also great to hear Mass being played lived after 10 years, I just wish they would include the last verse! Now, on with the individual reviews. Sandstone Amphitheater Bonner Springs, Kansas Saturday, 14 September 1996 The Sandstone is an outdoor amphitheater that probably seats about 5, 000 people with a lawn area above it. By the time ELP took the stage promptly at 8:00 p.m. it was about 90% full and the band got a very good reception from the audience. I thought the sound was very good with a nice mix of the instruments, but then I was sitting just to the left of the sound board. The only sound problem I could discern was Keith's solos during Bitches Crystal...the upper notes came through very clearly but as he traveled down into the midrange they became muddled in with everything else. Also, Keith played Bitches Crystal on the synthesizer that was atop his piano, instead of on the piano itself. There were two video cameras that were broadcasting the concert onto two video screens above the stage, but they were essentially useless. It was very apparent that the guys operating the cameras were not familiar with ELP's music, which is a shame because those video screens can be a very nice addition to the show, especially for the people seated further back. However, in this case, they just couldn't seem to get coordinated enough to zoom in on whoever was doing a solo and their camera angles left a lot to be desired when they did zoom in. When Lucky Man was performed, Keith did a constant piano accompaniment which added a really nice touch to the piece. His synthesizer solo at the end was more true to the original than it has been in recent years and the bass notes that were produced were absolutely incredible. I haven't heard and felt bass like that since ELPowell did Mars, The Bringer Of War! Even in an outdoor venue it just resonated through everything and the audience loved it. All in all it was a fantastic performance by ELP and they all seemed to be having a very good time on stage. The audience was very enthusiastic in their applause to the band and was a typical, well-behaved, ELP audience (except for the three drunks to my left and the girl two rows in front of me who felt the need to stand up and dance every 2 minutes, blocking my view!). Hopefully they will tour again in the next year or two and be able to play longer--it would be great to once again hear Pirates, especially with the new strength that Greg's voice has! Omaha Civic Auditorium Arena Omaha, Nebraska Sunday, 15 September 1996 This was a great show for me because I got to meet Keith, Greg, and Carl again, and (thanks to a lovely and very special lady traveling with the band!) I finally got to have my photograph taken with them! The show in Omaha was at a very plain, indoor auditorium that probably serves the farm community as an all-purpose building for livestock shows, trade shows, etc. as well as concerts. All of the seats on the main floor were just folding chairs lined up in neat rows with the row numbers written in chalk on the concrete floor There were probably upwards of 3,000-4,000 people present and it was probably the most well-behaved rock audience I have ever been a part of. They were very enthusiastic in their applause at the end of every song, but as each new song started everyone sat down and stayed quiet throughout the piece. An ironic and humorous touch to the show was that all the ushers were ladies who appeared to be in their 60's (some even older) and all were dressed in black skirts and white blouses with name tags. They were all very friendly and helpful and they added a nice touch to the environment. ELP put on a great show for the crowd, although they seemed a little bit more subdued than the night before and Keith opted to forego the butt-rub with his ribbon controller during Hoedown. I had a good seat at about the 15th row, center stage (about midway between the stage and the sound board) and the sound seemed rather good to me, although there was still the problem of losing the midrange notes during Keith's solos in Bitches Crystal. The big event for me, though was the encore. After they finished the Tarkus/Pictures medley, I and a few others made our way up to the front of the stage to prepare to get an up- close view of Keith's organ antics during Rondo. I knelt down on the floor in front of the barricade that was about 4 feet from the stage and watched them play Fanfare For The Common Man from the closest vantage point I have ever had. When Keith and Greg came back out after Carl's solo I and everybody else from the first few rows were standing at the barricade watching Keith do his thing. As he jumped on top of his organ and plunged the knives into it I saw a few pieces of something (keys, bits of wood) come flying off of it. When he laid down on the stage and pulled the organ on top of him to do his upside-down and backwards Bach bit I had a great view and for the first time realized that about half of the keys on that organ are missing! It also appeared that none of the drawbars worked because when he went to adjust a few of them they just fell all the way back down to their bottom position! Keith had situated himself right on the edge of the stage so that his entire upper body (from his hips up) was hanging over the edge of the stage and if I wanted to I could have reached out and very easily been able to touch his head and shoulders, but I didn't want to disturb that master at work! Had the barricade not been there he would have been in the audience, as he was at the Royal Albert Hall on the Welcome Back video documentary. What a great show and experience! Aladdin Hotel and Casino Theatre Las Vegas, Nevada Thursday, 19 September 1996 This is the show I was really waiting for because I had a backstage pass for it and just being in a big entertainment city like Las Vegas tends to elevate the excitement of the audience and the enthusiasm of the band a notch or two. Sure enough this was the case. In fact, ELP even took to the stage uncharacteristically late at 8:05 p.m. All three guys seemed a bit more energized than at the previous two shows I had seen. Keith took some extra time running around with the ribbon controller and rubbing it on his rear end, did a bit more of his classic poses at the keyboards (gazing nonchalantly out at the audience during several complex passages as if they were the easiest things in the world to play, jumping and spinning in the air when going from one keyboard to the next, leaning backwards while playing, shaking his long hair at opportune times to the music, etc.), really let those incredible bass notes during the Lucky Man solo drag out more than ever, and when he went to pull the organ down on top of him during Rondo one of the two knives fell out from between the keys and was out of his reach, but rather than just leave it there he had Will Alexander scuttle out to fetch it for him so he would have both of them to throw towards the back of the stage. Also, his hand did not seem to give him the same discomfort it appeared to in Kansas and Nebraska. Greg's voice was still great and he seemed to push himself even more than the other nights and the audience literally erupted into applause when he started both Still...You Turn Me On and Lucky Man. And Carl, the ever-classy showman, did not fail to rise to the heightened level of enthusiastic playing and amazed everybody with not only his astounding drum solo, but also throughout the entire set, particularly during Knife Edge, Bitches Crystal, and Tarkus. Unfortunately, my backstage pass did not work out because the security guards would not let me go back until after Jethro Tull had finished playing at about 11:30. I kept telling them I was only there to see ELP and that if I waited until after Tull was done they'd be gone, but to no avail. A few tried to convince me that ELP were going to wait around but I knew they wouldn't. Sure enough by the time I got back there they were long gone. A few of the guards said they had left about an hour and a half ago and I wasn't surprised. Depressed, but not surprised. I have had the opportunity to meet all of them several times but each time has just been very brief encounter to simply say hello, get an autograph, shake hands, and thank them for the years of enjoyment and inspiration. What I have been (and still am!) hoping for is the opportunity to be able to sit and chat with them for a few minutes and ask a few questions. Oh well, someday. Still, it was a great show and well worth the long drive (750 miles each way) and even if I didn't have the backstage pass, I still would have gone. After all, it's Emerson, Lake & Palmer and they always, without question, put on a show that will never end in my mind and in my heart. Thank you Keith, Greg, and Carl. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Sep 1996 16:55:25 -0400 (EDT) To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: yrrcssb3@inforamp.net (Park Chin) Subject: Elp Stories Dear John, Would you be so kind as to put this in the next digest? When I met Bruce Pilato at the aftershow last month he mentionned to me that he is looking for people to tell him of what ElP has meant in their lives. Things such as when they first became interested, what attracted them to ELP, what significance they have had, perhaps any influences that ElP may have had on them etc. I told Bruce that I would be willing to help him on this. I would like to compile all of these stories and organize it for him. If anyone is interested in sharing with all of us it might be published on the Greg Lake page. Please send me your stories at yrrcssb3@inforamp.net Thank You Diane Chin Park Chin, York Region Roman Catholic Separate School Board 320 Bloomington Rd W. Aurora, Ontario Canada L4G 3G8 tel. (905) 713-2711 fax (905) 713-1272 ------------------------------ From: JLANCE@ups.edu Date: Sun, 29 Sep 1996 22:01:36 -0700 (PDT) To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: ELP in Portland, OR on 9.27.96 I saw them. It was an absolute dream come true. As a young ELP fan, I almost gave up hope of ever seeing the trio in person. But, for this tour with Jethro Tull, they descended from the ether once more. Thank you to all of the other fans out there for showing you support. If the guys think they're appreciated maybe they'll tour some more. Yahooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! Jori jlance@ups.edu p.s. anybody else go to see them that same night? I'm curious about your impression... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 12:36:13 -0600 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: tommi white Subject: Sept. 29th Boise Show Hi all. I'm new here, but had to make some comments on the show. I've been a fan for years. The first ELP show I ever saw was the SF Civic Brain Salad show (Keith's theramin blew up and took off one of his nails. The guy barely even flinched, just stuck the thumb in his mouth momentarily and kept right on playing! Also where he blew up more than a $5.00 fuse, and people appeared from everywhere with extinguishers to put the equipment out!) Last night's show was incredible, except for the dweebs sitting behind us who kept screaming for them to do "Welcome Back ...!" (I wanted to turn around and ask them if they meant Kotter or the 3rd impression from Karnevil #9.) They opened with Hoedown, which was great! But, I think Keith was in some pain last night since he missed some notes, is he having trouble with his right hand? Other songs included Knife Edge, Bitches Crystal, a new one "Hammer it out" (?) which Keith said wasn't released yet, Tarkus, and, for the encore, Fanfare. Fanfare was really great. Keith dragged out the old L100 and as he was standing on top of it attacking it with a knife the sound man was standing on top of a crate parodying him move for move. Keith saw it and started busting up. He continued to parody him for the rest of the L100 work. Does anyone know if there's a reason why they haven't done Karnevil? I saw them at Boise in '93, and the sponsoring radio station said they were asked not to play it because of the lyrics. Also, does anyone know why they're playing the supporting role to Tull? Anyway, great show, but FAR too short! (Just 60 minutes - including the ONE encore!) Tull came on, opening with Aqualung on stage (really cool!). The music was great, but Ian's voice was shot. After the show, though, my 10 year old daughter was hungry (1st concert, LOVED ELP, so-so to Tull) and we went to Denny's. I'm saying to my old man how ELP outplayed Tull, and maybe Ian should think of letting Martin take over more of the vocals, when I notice he's sheet white. I turn around, following his gaze, and there, standing not two feet away from me, in full ear shot, are Ian Anderson and Martin Barre! (OOPS!) To make a long story short, they are now AT our table: I'm groveling at this point, blubbering incoherently about having first seen him in SF during the Aqualung tour, shaking their hands, digging my Aqualung CD out of my purse with my free hand and squeakily trying to ask for an autograph. Ian takes the CD, which I couldn't open, and signs it for me. Then he talked to my daughter about the show for a couple of minutes! In the meantime, Martin's asking me how I'm doing! (I'd have been doing lots better if I didn't have my foot wedged in my mouth from having put down one of my all time favorites!) Too bad ELP was refusing all autographs outside the venue! (Of course, I'd probably have fainted dead away if I'd met Emerson - that or begged for a hint to help transcribe the low notes from some of his improvs!) Anyway, none of us will soon forget last night! :-) Tommi - "If we make it we can all sit back and laugh...but I fear tomorrow I'll be crying..." KC 69 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 Sep 96 23:22:04 -0700 From: Curt Cassingham To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: ELP/JT at L B Day Amphitheatre I attended the near sell-out crowd on Saturday September 28. It was a beautiful fall evening; temperatures still in the mid-70's. We sat in the fourth row, right in front of the stage-right speakers (thank goodness for earplugs!). Keith makes funny faces when he plays the Hammond... Keith's setup was as described in previous postings: on his right, his Goff/C3 "Tarkus", in a black painted case with chrome legs; the Goff/Leslie 122 in the stage-right wings. A Korg controller was atop the Hammond. On his left, a grand piano (the lid on full-stick), with the new Alesis 88-note MIDI controller on top. I chatted stage-side with Will Alexander for a few moments, before the show. I asked about "The Guest List", but he said ELP would likely split after their set. I'd be 'bout the last one to admit it, but I was disappointed with ELP this night. It was almost as if they're just "going through the motions." I don't know if it was because it's nearly the last stop in the North American leg, or what, but Keith was definately off. It sounded like his hands were...stiff? He made *lots* of mistakes in Hoe Down. He did get better, though, but the piano solo dedicated to Kevin Gilbert (did someone find out about him?) seemed short. The set list was as described in other postings, but they started ten minutes late, instead of early, as at previous concerts. They still played the full hour, though. Tarkus had some interesting variations of voicings during Eruption, which I liked. They saved Rondo for the "encore". You know, those daggers must be rubber - Keith threw 'em both at Greg's (Trace Elliott) bass speakers after plucking them from the L100! Greg's voice was much better than in '92 -- he hit most of the high notes. "Still..." made my wife shiver! Carl never ceases to amaze me. Jethro Tull opened with Aqualung; their stage complete with park benches (which Ian used frequently during the set). They also covered Bouree, with Martin Barre playing the 2nd flute part on a tenor flute. Beautiful! They played *five* tunes from the Aqualung album, including Cross Eyed Mary, Oh God, and Locomotive Breath. Of course, they played excerpts from Thick as a Brick: Ian played about three notes from the guitar intro and the crowd cheered their recognition. Ian stopped and remarked to Martin: "It's amazing! Only three notes, and they know we're going to play Stairway to Heaven!". The whole band picked up microphones and sang the multi-part Songs from the Wood. During the encore, which closed with the end of "Thick", they brought out the obligatory ten-foot "Tull" (excuse the pun!) balloons, and the audience bounced them around 'till they popped. Ian seemed like his old self (emphasis on "old". What is he? 55 or so?), and played extremely well (I play flute, too). The whole band was superbly tight, and more than made up for my disappointment with ELP. Later, Curt ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Oct 96 14:49:05 JST From: matunami@osakagas.co.jp (Haruhito MATSUNAMI) To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: EL&P Live in Osaka, Japan Hello, this is Matsunami writing. I'm poor at English, so sorry if it is difficult to understand. I went to EL&P live last night. I spent a wonderful time! But it was too short for me. About 1 hour and 35 minutes. set list Karn Evil 9 1st Impressin Part2 Tiger in a Spotlight Hoedown Touch and Go Bitches Crystal Still You Turn Me On From the Beginning Knife Edge Keith Piano Solo (in honor of his friend) Hammmer It Out Take a Pebble Lucky Man Tarkus(first half) - Pictures at an Exhibition(last half) encore Fanfare for the Common Man - Rondo Keith was good, Greg's voice was great, Carl's drumming was exciting. Total performance was better than four years ago concert. Bye! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 11:10:56 -0700 (MST) From: tarkus@aztec.asu.edu (MARK A. DELUGT) Subject: ELP in Phoenix To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Hoedown - Not quite as fast as on WBMF, but quicker than they did it on the second leg of the BM/LARAH tour, nicely done; Greg and Carl were very tight. Touch and Go - Keith went more for a brassy sound than the ROTM version, Greg varied the bass line a little bit on the theme, giving it - to my ears - a more symphonic arrangement, well done. Hammer it Out - It was nice to actually hear this instead of just reading about it when it came out on the Japanese issue of ITHS. I really like this tune, it's a shame it wasn't included on the US issue, it probably wold have been the highlight of the album. It reminded me of a cross between Barrelhouse Shakedown and Creole Dance, with jazzy overtones. Still...You Turn Me On - Beautifully done, Greg's guitar had just the right amount of effects and his voice was clear and strong. Knife Edge - I was surprised how much the crowd got into this, especially the intro part before Greg starts singing; Keith had a great sound for the Bach-bridge part. Good. Bitches Crystal - Greg and Carl were very tight, this number had some serious energy; Keith's solo was better than the record, the crowd got totally into it. Tarkus/Pictures - Much better version of Eruption than in 92-93, Greg appeared to be playing the ostinato bass line without even trying (yes, he played it, not just pedal-pointing the root); the highlight was The Great Gates of Kiev, Greg's voice was just fantastic and Keith went for a vary rich and full (dare I say analog) sound combination of brass and string, very, very orchestral. Greg's voice appeared so strong and he was so confident that for the 'Death is life' line, he carried the last note up to the third from the root. Who would have thought that a couple of years ago? Lucky Man - This seemed to get the loudest cheer of the night; Ggreg's vocal style on this was a cross between the versions on WBMF and King Biscuit. Wel done, except the synth solo wasn't as booming as it was in 92-93. Fanfare/Organ Raping - A good, rocking version, except I really miss the trumpet introduction, coudln't they have spun a tape? After Keith molested the organ a bit he was getting ready for the backwards toccata and fugue scenario, but he couldn't keep one note from sticking, he kept slapping at it (with a smile) and eventually got the beast to obey. Overall - Keith was in very fine form, I didn't sense any of the struggling I've seen in some digest entries, especially on Stones of years, his solos just ripped. Greg's voice was just great, no weaknesses noted; it's as good as it was during the ELPow days. Carl gave his usual stellar performance, but he didn't seem 100% into it. The sound - much to my relief - was very good, the mix was well done except that Keith's keys could have been up a little more, but by no means were they smothered by bass and drums. It's a shame they only played an hour. Now, about that *other* band: Jethro Tull, much to my disppointment was lame. Ian Anderson should stick with the flute and leave the singing to someone else, his voice was no more than a hoarse croak; after reading some reviews of how great Martin Barre was I was truly disappointed, except for some farting around with a wah-wah, it was pretty forgetful. The rest of the band? Well, except for some dying rat key- board sounds, I can't even seem to find the energy to recall. In short, ELP blew away the farm boys. Surprised? I wasn't. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996 16:51:13 +0900 From: Masaki Kawakami To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: ELP -Live in Japan!- I am going to tell you about the concert on the 13th of October. In the full of people, the light was turned off, and then I heared the sequence sound of "KARN EVIL 9 1st impression part 2." Next was a usual MC as usual! "Welcome back my friends..." Three men was appeared. That was a beginning which was different from in U.S. The second song was SURPRISINGLY,"Tiger in a spot light." It was a speedy in progress as you can't breathe, they played "Hoedown", "Touch and go", "Knife Edge", and "Bitches crystal" like in U.S. Then there was Greg Lake's solo,"Still...you turn me on," but in addition to that "From the beginning." (He changed guitar between two songs, but why!?) After this was Keith Emerson's solo. He told us about the songs in Japanese! Well, he told us "...the second song is delightful," which was "Honky Tonk Train Blues." It continues to "Take a pebble." Then "Lucky man", "Tarkus - Pictures at an Exibition." And then, they said "bye" to us, but we, of course, didn't let them so. They came back for encore! That was "Fanfare for the common man - Rondo." Well my impression of them was that they were all relaxed with smile! Carl Palmer mistook at the end of the song,"Touch and go," but the mood was so great that we can have really fun time! I think Greg Lake's voice was a little difficult in "Still....," but most of the songs were good! Keith Emerson played very aggressive and we couldn't feel his age!! The show lasted for about 90 mins, but I felt much longer because of their great performance. I was very much satisfied with this show and hope to come to Japan again. Masaki Kawakami e-mail; kawakami@res.yamanashi-med.ac.jp ****************************************************** 川上 真樹 (山梨医科大学医学部医学科) 　　　 -Yamanashi Medical University- 4-9-30　Sengen-cho,Fuchu-city,Tokyo 183, Japan Tel:0423-69-5959 or 0552-74-4915 E-mail: kawakami@res.yamanashi-med.ac.jp ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 01:07:57 +0900 To: John Arnold From: t-sumita@da2.so-net.or.jp (Tomoyuki SUMITA(P)) Subject: 10/13_Live_in_Tokyo_I_touch_K.E&RibonControler Hi! I saw the ELP live in Tokyo 13th Oct. It was very exciting live. They played... ---------------------- Karn Evil #9 part2(*) Tiger In A Spotlight Hoedown (with Ribon Controler at audience without firecrack) Touch And Go (Emerson Lake & Powell) Knife Edge K.Emerson new piano solo Honky Tonk Train Blues Bitches Crystal Still You Turn Me On From The Beginning Lucky Man Take A Pebble (without G.Lake guitar solo) Tarukus(*) ‾ Pictures At An Exhibition(*) -Encore- Fanfare For The Common Man ‾ Rondo (with K.E.wild organ play and C.P.drum solo) (*): not play all part ----------------------- It was abot 80 minutes live. It was a little bit short , but they played what we want. Particularly, at a solo part of Hoedown, K.E played with Ribbon Controler at audience. He came near to my seat which is 8th row!! Many fan and I came near to him and touched him and R.Contoler but he continued to play excitingly. We could see Take A Pebble, recently they did not play , I think. In the live of Black Moon tour and ELPowell tour, I head many live CD, but they did not play. K.Emerson play some keyboard. Left side: Hammond B3 and Korg Trinity? Right side: Stainway short MIDI Grand piano and synthesizer(I don't know) And Moog Ribbon controler and old organ for Rondo to stab. If I can select their live music, I wanted see Pirates in stead of Touch and go. They played 6 night in Tokyo. I will go see again 10/17. =================================== Tomoyuki SUMITA E-Mail : t-sumita@da2.so-net.or.jp ----------------------------------------------------------- Please send e-mail to not nifty address but internet! 　　　　 (Nifty : MXF04256） =================================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 03:37:11 +0800 From: HASNAIN CHIBA <"hchiba@netvigator.com."@netvigator.com> To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: ELP Shows in Tokyo from : Hasnain Chiba (Hong Kong) We just returned from Tokyo and would like to report on the shows there. We could only stay up to the 16th of October,so we managed to see the first three shows which were on the 12th(Kokaido Hall)/13th (Koseinenken Hall)/& the 15th (the first of 3 shows in SunPlaza). The seating was great,on the 1st day we were on the 5th row ,in the 2nd, the 25th row and the 3rd we got seats on the balcony 2nd row,all shows we sat at the middle. The hall acoustics for all three shows were different,maybe it was due to where we were sitting,but the sound was best at the first two shows,but visually to see ELP,I felt the balcony was best but on that day the mix had just too much treble and was unbearable at times especially when the Hammond was played at a high.The midi piano also sounded extremely treblish. Anyway here is the set list played :- 1. Intro:Karn Evil 9 1st Impression,Pt.2("Welcome back my friends...bit) 2. Tiger in the Spotlight 3. Hoedown (with the Ribbon Controller bit except it did not work on the first day & the audience had a good laugh) 4. Touch & Go 5. Knife Edge 6. Bitches Crystal (extremely good on stage) Lake Solo: 7. Still..You Turn Me On 8. In the Beginning Emerson Midi Piano Solo: 9. Interlude/Hammer it Out-on the 2nd&3rd day was Interlude/Honky Tonk Train Blues 10.Take A Pebble 11.Lucky Man (given a new piano treatment with synth)-still great 12.Tarkus ("Eruption to Mass") straight into : 13.Pictures At an Exhibition ("Hut of Baba Yaga/Great Gates of Kiev") Encore 14.Fanfare for the Common Man (including Drum Solo/Rondo plus Keith's organ mauling routine & 2 to 3 bits of classical themes thrown in. The shows lasted approx. 1 hour 25 mins.each and yet we felt that the shows were a bit short especially when "Tarkus/Pictures" & "Fanfare" already took away approx.45 mins. Still we loved it and thought it was much better than the 1992/93 concerts we saw. Also worth noting is that in "Stones of Years" from Tarkus, Keith gave a wonderful piano solo plus organ and that the synth solo that appears in the end of "Lucky Man" always gives me rush.Keith is No.1 in always getting the perfect synth sound in his records & concerts. Greg's voice a bit hoarse especially in "Still..You Turn Me on" and was even worse on the third day throughout the show and you could see he was suffering a bit. Maybe it was because of all the shows in USA but yet he still sounded better than he did at the Albert Hall. "Bitches Crystal" was simply wonderful and a great choice for the shows. Keith's trademark treatment of his organ mauling routine was great and he got this sound out a like a woman making small talk & at the same time he was gesturing to it was so funny you'd wish he'd go on forever. Also when he did his "Interlude" bit it was so rich & beautiful that you feel it is about time that he comes out with a piano solo album. As for Carl he still played great & his drumming was quite powerful and the mix on all 3 shows seemed to favour his drums. I am sorry to miss the remaning 3 shows in Tokyo but the trip was all worth it as we managed to see the shows as well as pick up a lot of Cd's & Ld's ( there is no CD & Video market in the world better than Tokyo).We also saw Steely Dan on the 8th,the show was over 2 hours and the band great. We"ll buy for now and lets hope that ELP RETURNS FOR MORE. P.S. ELP(especially Keith) try and make a trip to HONG KONG,Japan is not the only place in the FAR EAST). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 19:21:00 -0400 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: Bill Berends Subject: Re: End of Show Music >From: efore@ctonline.net >Subject: End of Show Music > >Can anyone give me any information on the canned music that is played >at the very end of ELP's live shows? They have been using this since >at least the mid 70's, and I can't seem to get any info on it. It is the final minute of Ottorino Respighi's "Church Windows" (Vetrate di chiesa) Four Symphonic Impressions; 4th Impression "St. Gregory the Great" (San Gregorio magna). Bill -- ================================================= Bill Berends http://www.mosquito.com/‾bberends/mastermind/ ================================================= ------------------------------ From: Gasone@aol.com Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 23:41:53 -0400 To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com cc: efore@ctonline.net Subject: Re: ELP Digest V6 #25 Content-Type: text Content-Length: 589 re: From: efore@ctonline.net > < Music at the start is Respighi The Pines of Rome Music at the end is Respighi The Birds AFTER a brief organ fanfare blast BY EMO himself inspired IMHO by Saint-SaensThe Organ Symphony Op.78 Rik Pepe rikpepe@snet.net or gasone@aol.com Richard K. Pepe 210 Bradley Avenue Meriden, CT 06451 203-237-1119 ------------------------------ Digest, mailing address, and administrative stuff to: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com | +=> The same for now... ELP-related info that you | want to put in the digest to: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com 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 6 Issue 27] *************************************