ELP Digest Sunday, 2 November 1997 Volume 7 : Issue 20 The "One Of Those People" Edition incorporating the Keith Emerson Birthday edition and the ELP Digest anniversary edition Today's Topics: re: Greg Lake's Christian faith Some thoughts about several items Tarkus and Emo/Yes ELP British Biscuit Broadcast Emerson and Peter Hammill Pat Travers [ More Fan Reviews from the summer tour. ] THE GREATEST SHOW IN HEAVEN HELL OR EARTH!!! E.L.P. show in Rome Quartu show review addendum to Quartu show review ELP IN ROME 21/7/97 elp in rome ELP in Bellinzona/Switz. Kingdom Festival 25.7.97 ELP gig in Rome Prelude ======= It was 6 years ago today (11/2/91) that ELP Digest Vol. 1 #1 was released to the world. At the time, ELP had been disbanded (luckily, that was only temporary!) and the World Wide Web was anything but world wide. I'm not even sure it had been envisioned by its inventors yet. The ELP Digest mailing list was a list of about 10 people who had posted ELP-related things in the since-renamed rec.music.synth mailing list. The person most instrumental in the start-up of the ELP Digest was Jim Smith, a person I always mention as the co-creator of the Digest. The Digest has always been sent out under my name but, without Jim's help and encouragement, I never would have ever gotten around to starting this list. (Thanks, Jim!) As I recall, Jim posted the original "Emerson Musical Quotes List" in rec.music.synth. After some e-mail back and forth where Jim gave me the names and addresses of some of his ELP internet contacts, I contacted them and asked if they minded if I put them on a list so we could easily share ELP-related mail. As traffic increased over the months preceding 11/2/91, Jim came through again and sent me some scripts and programs he had come across on the 'net that would help with this. The next thing I knew, I was mailing the Digest during my lunch hour from my corner cubicle in Cambridge, Mass. The rest, as they say, is history. With nothing but word-of-mouth avertising and the occasional mention in various posts on the Internet, the list has now grown to over 1,400 direct recipients. Of course, without the music of Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer, none of this would ever have happened. And it is definitely NOT a coincidence that the first issue of the ELP Digest was released on Keith's birthday. So... Happy Birthday, Keith! Thanks for creating music that has been an important part of our lives. Best wishes always from your fans around the world. ------------------------------------------------------------ From: DrumRolls@aol.com, on 10/23/97 11:40 PM: To: elpdigest@reluctant.com Subject: re: Greg Lake's Christian faith In digest #19. volume 7, Mr Arnold was kind enough to publish this piece on Greg Lake which I composed earlier this year. Since writing that, I have discussed my questioning Greg's Christian faith with some Christian friends. I am obviously not reading into the words of KE9 1st impresssion correctly. Apparently, it is the people who live in the "age of power" who are treating Christianity as if Christ is a part of a magic show-or whatever. I want people to please know that I was not knocking Greg Lake in any way, shape or form. I have FAR too much respect for him. I just had been troubled and grieved by those lyrics of KE9 1st impression which mentioned Jesus, along with what he says in "I Believe in Father Christmas" ( a song so beautiful and touching that I STILL get a lump in my throat upon hearing the original single version) and "Infinite Space". I don't know what he is saying. I am a born again Christian myself-and this is why it is so confusing. It has been reported that Greg also made the statement while flying over Japan in a jet "Jesus got all of the best gigs". My internet friend Malcolm Oliver-the person who posted the original "Greg Lake's Christian Faith" which I responded to- just informed me of this as well! I apologize if I offended any of you fellow ELP fans. And I'm sorry if I offended you Greg-if you read this. Stephan N. Barber (Steve Barber) ------------------------------ From: Uwe Hoepfner , on 7/15/97 6:31 AM: To: John Arnold Subject: Some thoughts about several items Dear Mr. Arnold, first my greatest respect and thankfulness to you and your work for ELP and the digest till now and into the future. I always had the feeling, as being an ELP fan since i was a boy back in 1970, that i was the only one on a lost planet. Now, that had changed. I have read your digest back to 1994 edition, which gave interesting views on several items, the discussion about ELP lyrics and chritianity, IN THE HOT SEAT, the 96 tour. I'd like to talk about my point of view as a contribution to the discussion. Many fans said, that, as time goes bay, they like ITHS more and more, others said, this is obvios, because by the time you get used to the recording and get familiar with it. I had similar problems way back when I heard TARKUS the first time. I needed much time to get into, and even today ihear sometimes new things hearing the record again. Same thing with ITHS. There are several great songs on that recording, esp. IN THE HAND OF THRUTH, ONE BY ONE, THIN LINE, THE MAN ...,CHANGE. Okay, it isn't TARKUS, but who expected it? What can you do after doing KE9? Something different. They tried with PIRATES, and succeded, but no one wanted to know. After reading the interview KE gave the KEYBOARD MAGAZINE, THE MAN + ONE BY ONE would have been something similar to PIRATES. Try and hear those songs immediately one after the other, one can get a slight idea, what this could have been. This plus a KE with non-aching arm/hand will make a great thing out of that material. BTW, a question: One the KE solo CHANGING STATES, the piece THE CHURCH appears. Please enlightend by deaf ears, but the intro of that song includes the theme of ONE BY ONE, doesn't it. It appears from 00:00 - 00:16 and again 01:12 - 01:19, 01:28 - 01:37. That seems to be in KEs mind since long ago. Hey man, do it!!! I don't want to rate every ELP-Record, which is best, and which is worse. I'm one of those, who like "LOVE BEACH". CANARIO is well done, not as good as HOEDOWN, but close to FANFARE, which has its length in the solo part. THE GAMBLER closes for the fun songs like JEREMY BENDER, THE SHERIFF, BENNY THE BOUNCER. ALL I WANT.. simple but straight, i like the melody. Which i really don't like is FOR YOU, which is on ROTM discribed as "well crafted", but nothing more. I never understood, why they put this on ROTM, and not CANARIO or THE GAMBLER. The best is the second side, the MEMOIRS... It's sort of PIRATES, simpler and too long, but includes a story which is understandable and tells a different story about wartimes and the environment people grew up in. That time in 78/79 i was glad to hear something new and different from the boys, not what i expected, but tolerable. Nervertheless, i still think their two most outstanding works they ever released are the WELCOME BACK... live album (that TARKUS is much better), because it contains all the pieces special for ELP in great live performances (which shows: ELP is the greatest live act, and don't mean costumes, fancers and lights), the other one is WORKS I/II. It shows many interesting and different sides of the members of the group and what they capable of. But every ELP record has its specialities, and thats what i like so much, you can hear a piano concerto, a heartening ballad, then something progressive like TANK or BULLFROG, real stories (PIRATES, MEMOIRS..), science fiction (TARKUS,KE9), love stories (NOBODY LOVES YOU..), christmas songs, a bolero, transcripions of classical music, a Bob DYlan song etc. And that is, what i'm hoping for. A record, on which they show us again, what great musicians they are (see THE SHOW...!)and their superb compositions and transcriptions and covers. And to put some sugar on it, combined with a release of non-released studio and live perfomances. All this thoughts lead to the conclusion: This must be a double CD (minimum), something like a WORKS III. That could be, may be, the best compromise for all???!!! Leads the ressurection of the MANTICORE-Label the way??? Only just silly thoughts of a fan who cares.... Another point. The preparations for this tour showded some organising problem. What i really want to know is (from you, who seem to have more inside knowledge), who is managing them?. I understood so far, that Will Alexander manages KE, the people around Bruce Pilato do their work for GL, that leaves CP!? And who manages ELP then?? But why this chaos till the beginning of the tour, no merchandising, marketing, nothing. I was not the only one (remember, i speak about Germany), who only survives by the help of you, Mr. Arnold and friends. I asked in Berlin for tickets, the answer: "Emer... eh.. who??". Where was the appearance on radio, TV? To advertise the show, do something, a big balloon (btw there was one in Dresden, beside the stage, should have had the ELP-logo on one side,a tarkus on the other or something like that, the WELCOME BACK... motto in big fire-word over the stage...But, nothing. I wanted to get some trivia after the Munich-Show, there were only 2 different shirts an a cap, finito. If they don't want to make such a fuss, then is that okay with me, i like to see them in little audience 1000-5000 people, if they want more, something has to be done. Apart from that, at a minimum the basic tour organising has to be improved. Maybe i was wrong, and didn't see, what i wanted to see. Keep up the good work Uwe Hoepfner "But in the end, all that is left, is the regiment, and what it means, to be an officer and a gentleman" Memoirs of an officer and a gentlemen, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Love Beach, 1978 [ Editor's Note: Please note that since this was originally mailed to me, the ELP Management situation has gotten much clearer. The new official ELP web site and the new products that have been released (the web-available t-shirts, CDs, etc.) show that the "new" Manticore is clearly directed and seems poised for success. So I hope that is wayter over the bridge! - John - ] ------------------------------ From: "Bernard Delmage" , on 7/23/97 9:37 AM: To: elp-digest-request@reluctant.com Subject: Tarkus and Emo/Yes Tarkus was a musical "fantasy" before the fabulous artwork came along and Emo used phrases from it on their early tours in things like Take A Pebble. Listening to Tank and Tarkus it is easy to see how this big lumbering beast came about but I would be fasinated to hear from the artist, William Neal, how he came up with the concept for the sleeve. ps He also did the artwork for Pictures. As for Keith replacing Wakeman in Yes - can't see it myself. Yes are a guitar driven band and use keyboards more for texture. Could you imagine Keith holding down a few flowery chords for 10 minutes waiting for a brief solo? I've always wondered what Keith, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Alan White could do together though. There was some talk of ELP and Yes touring together - could you imagine them all on stage for a mega jam at the end! Finally thanks to all of the digest members who have sent back information on how us poor UK fans can get to see some footage of ELP on their current tour. Regards to all. Bernard East Sussex [ Editor's Note: Since Yes is now touring, the rumors of Keith joining Yes can now easily be dismissed. After Rick Wakeman left Yes earlier in the year, Yes has reformed with a new keyboard player and Keith has, of course, stayed with ELP. But, most of you knew that, of course. - John - ] ------------------------------ From: GARY BAUCOM , on 7/23/97 12:21 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: ELP British Biscuit Broadcast I have some questions regarding ELP's Biscuit broadcasts in the 70's. I'm familiar with the '73 KBFH broadcast that seems to be fairly well represented on WBMF..., but can anyone supply further details on a later Works-era British Biscuit broadcast? More precisely, does anyone know the exact date and location of the recording for the broadcast? And perhaps more importantly, what is the likelihood that this show would ever be released (officially), just as the Greg Lake KBFH show was. Or like the earlier Anaheim KBFH show, did the British Biscuit broadcast make it's way onto any live album (official live album that is)? Since I don't know the exact date of the recorded show, I can't determine for sure whether or not any of it appears on the official live ELP albums. Perhaps some of you know? To further compound my confusion, I have a friend who collects a few ELP rarities, and he has stated that he has seen 3 different dates/venues given for the British Biscuit broadcast (Wheeling, IL '77; Toronto '77; and Memphis '78). Can anyone confirm one of these dates? Gary ------------------------------ From: Doug Reith-Hart , on 7/24/97 6:55 PM: To: arnold@reluctant.com Subject: Emerson and Peter Hammill This may be old news (really old!) but a lot of people don't seem to know about a song collaboration between Keith and Peter Hammill. The song is called "Empire of Delight" and appears on Peter's 1986 album "And Close As This." I had forgotten myself, but was just listening to the cd.... I'd really like to hear Greg sing this one for a different perspective. Cheers Doug Reith-Hart rchaos@islandnet.com ------------------------------ From: DAN@ELIZPL.ORG, on 7/28/97 12:37 PM: To: ELP-DIGEST@RELUCTANT.COM Subject: Pat Travers ....So I'm browsing the "musical quotes" section of the ELP page, and what do I see? Pat Travers and KE have recorded a version of America? Plus there is a b side? Can someone shed any light on this matter.. Also, re: Burning For Buddy - it had been suggested that Carl's absence might be due to contracts of endorsement that may have conflicted with the project; but each player on the album has special thanks to their equipment manufacturers and many are different, ie. paiste, zildjian, sabian,dw,remo etc... What does Carl have to say? Dan ------------------------------ [ More Fan Reviews from the summer tour. ] ------------------------------ From: Lasse Magnusson , on 7/22/97 2:57 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: THE GREATEST SHOW IN HEAVEN HELL OR EARTH!!! Hello Ladies & Gentlemen! With almost 5 years abscence of European ELP-gigs, my expectation on the Hamburg concert on July the 12th were absolutely enormous. Were ELP able to live up to my as well as the other 1500 fans expectations? Yes, they were! This was my third ELP concert (RAH Oct.26-92, Copenhagen Nov.8-92) and so far the best! This was one of the so called clubgigs on this tour and I must say I just loved it! At first, very good views from all over the place, hardly not more than 40 meters from the most far away point in the venue till the stage! Second, really good sound (with exception to "KE9" and some chords in to "Tiger...", I think it was some synthsounds that didn't appear.) Keith, Greg and Carl seemed to be in a very good mood (maybe they were glad to see the many english ELP-fans coming to this gig.) and gave us all what we wanted! I dont go through the set list as it has been reported before but once again they did the 2nd encore ("21st Century Man" incl. "America"!) GREAT! At the encores I succeeded in getting as close to the stage as 1,5-2 meters. Such a feeling! All I can say is: This gig was worth waiting for! Best regards, Lasse Magnusson Kinna, SWEDEN ------------------------------ From: "Stefano D'Alisera" , on 7/22/97 3:26 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: E.L.P. show in Rome Hello John, I'm really happy, because yesterday night 21th July here in Rome, (together 5,000 crying, singing and smiling people) I've seen a wonderful 'old type' ELP show. I'm 37 years old and for 100 minutes I've been back when I was 15. I was only five meters far from the stage and I can assure that the 3 BOYS were really happy for the fantastic established relationship between them and the crowd. Absolutely no problems for Keith that I have met in a snack-bar 2 hours before the show, but for the emotion I have not been able to say anything!!!! It is not important to repeat the songs list but is important to repeat that they are BACK !!!! Sorry my terrible English. Bye Stefano D'Alisera Rome - Italy ------------------------------ From: melis@cagliari.st.com (Adriano Melis), on 7/23/97 10:08 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: Quartu show review Hooray! ELP did a great show in Quartu, Sardinia, Italy, on July 18, and your fellow ELP fan was there to tell you how it has been. It was the second time I had the opportunity to listen to ELP live (the first was in Rome during the Black Moon tour) and even though the emotion was less (ooh! another ELP show! the same ol' stuff!) I must admit I enjoyed it more then the first one. The venue was a dusty velodrome, beaten by a strong Mistral wind, and the organization was pretty messy, so we entered the venue about 22:00 even although the show was scheduled for 21:30. I think there were about 2500 people, of two separated ages: HMetal fans around 20, and over 30 old fans like myself. (Yes, I confess I bought my first ELP album, BSS, in June '74, when I was 12 yrs old!) Our old friends entered the stage at 22:55; Keith and Carl in black leather, and Greg with a huge hawaiian shirt. At the beginning of the concert Greg seemed to be upset for some reason; however all of them looked very happy of the audience response toward the end. The songs were:(with my personal ranking, * to *****) - Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression, Part II (complete version) ***** - Tiger in a Spotlight **** - Hoedown (with problems with the bass remote transmitter in the end; during the rest of the show Greg used, to quote his own words, "direct injection") ***** - Touch and Go (the lead played on a square/sawtooth synth patch like in ELPowell album) **** - From the Beginning ***** - Knife Edge **** - Bitches Crystal ***** - Creole Dance ***** - Honky Tonk Train Blues *** - Take a Pebble **** - Lucky Man ***** - Medley: Tarkus: Eruption, Stones of Years, Iconoclast, Mass; ***** Pictures at an Exhibition: The Hut, The Gates **** - Encores: 1st) Medley: Fanfare for the Common Man; Rondo **** + usual ill-treatening of an old Hammmond + Carl's solo *** 2nd) 21st Century Schizoid Man (2 verses) + America. **** Considerations & Curiosities :-( Like in all the shows of this tour ELP played old pieces, skipping Black Moon and ItHS. I'd like to know why very good pieces like "Man in the long black coat", "One by one" or "Changing states" have been excluded from this tour. :-) Keith's right arm is visibly weaker than the other, however he goes on hammering on the piano on "Creole dance" (during which, in a pause, he whispered a satisfied " Yess!"). This assures us that now he is reasonably healthy and that we can have good hope for the future of Emo's career. :-| "Take a pebble" was played "in a hurry", but with many interesting variations like the jazzy intermezzo. I would have preferred a more relaxed version. :-) Italian TV news, the day after ELP show in Rome (21 July), broadcasted an enthusiastic review of the show. Don't know if they did videotape the show, but if they did, we can expect to see on Italian TV you-know-what. Well! :-) Greg's voice is smooth again! If the planned concept album will be out, I think it will reach at least ELPowell album quality... Can we hope for a 1998 tour with the new album pieces? I think it's enough. Best wishes to all of you and "many thanks and a garland of martian fire flowers" to John for his outstanding job on the Digest. Adriano -- ******** LIFE LONG AND PROGRESSIVE !!!!! ******** * Adriano Melis melis@cagliari.st.com * * TECHSO SpA +39 70 2103.462 * ************************************************* ------------------------------ From: melis@cagliari.st.com (Adriano Melis), on 7/23/97 10:08 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: addendum to Quartu show review Hi all, Forget to say that ELP came to Quartu thanks to Elena Ledda, a local folksinger that is also a long time ELP fan. She is member of the Town Council of Quartu, and without her work we wouldn't ever had the opportunity to see our heroes in Sardinia. Thanks Elena! Adriano -- ******** LIFE LONG AND PROGRESSIVE !!!!! ******** * Adriano Melis melis@cagliari.st.com * * TECHSO SpA +39 70 2103.462 * ************************************************* ------------------------------ From: Giovanni Savini , on 7/24/97 12:16 PM: To: ELP DIGEST Subject: ELP IN ROME 21/7/97 ELP IN ROME 21/7/97 11:40 24-07-1997 So here we are at last!!!! My first time with ELP!!!! The miracle happened in Rome, in a tennis stadium called 'Centralino del Foro Italico', right in the center of Rome, Italy. It was a very warm monday night, and about 2.000 ELP fans filled the venue. At 22:30, after two indecent supporting bands, ELP took the stage and it was 'Welcome back my friends....'. Lake's voice is really better than 1992, although he's not fully clear on some tones, he's gained a lot in clarity, power and extension. After all, he's a 49 years old guy who's doing this job since 1969!!! I don't know how many 'colleagues' have had the luck of regaining their voice after nearly losing it!!! Keith Emerson hit a wrong note during Karn Evil 9's solo, which, in my humble opinion, would have sounded better if played with electric guitar. The whole song was a bit confused, because there was a momentary lack of sync between K.E. and C.P. The following song is not really a favourite of mine ('TIGER IN A SPOTLIGHT'), and to be honest I think it was the lowest point of the show. Great playing, but not a great song. Then IT happened. 'Hoedown', and it was literally heaven. The sound was good, even if it seemed to me that Emo had problems in balancing the sound when he needed to have more than one sound simultaneously from a single keyboard. I noticed they didn't have a huge equipment, in terms of lights, instruments, etc. It seemed to me they wanted to do a show without having a stage production that would overwhelm the music. So it was ELP in the raw like it wasn't heard from in ages. Before the show I gave a look at the setlist which was attached to a mixer, and noticed thet just one encore was planned. So imagine my enthusiasm when, after 'Fanfare/Rondo', a roadie put Lake's microphone stand back in the center of the stage, and the three came back to perform 'Schizoid man/America'. Other highlights of the show were 'From the beginning', 'Knife edge', 'Bitches Crystal', 'Take a pebble', 'Lucky man', 'Stones of years', 'The great gates of Kiev'. A great show, really. K.E. looked a bit tired but had a lot of fun and played great (after Hoedown, he also said, in a very romantic way, 'What a lovely evening'...), Lake had fun also and sang great, Palmer was really powerful and precise, and his drum sound was finally more natural than the one he had in 92/93. Full set list: KARN EVIL 9 (1st Impression, part II) TIGER IN A SPOTLIGHT HOEDOWN TOUCH AND GO FROM THE BEGINNING KNIFE EDGE BITCHES CRYSTAL CREOLE DANCE HONKY TONK TRAIN BLUES TAKE A PEBBLE LUCKY MAN TARKUS (Eruption, Stones of years, Iocnoclast, Mass) / PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION (The hut of Baba Yaga, The grat gates of Kiev) Encore #1: FANFARE FOR THE COMMON MAN/RONDO (Inc. Drum Solo) Encore #2: 21st CENTURY SCHIZOID MAN/AMERICA All the best, Giovanni ------------------------------ From: Prott Bernd 2933 , on 7/28/97 9:09 AM: To: John Arnold Subject: elp in rome Hi John, due to a lucky coincidense with a business trip, I had the chance to see ELP live in Rome on the 21st July. The place was the tennis stadium of the olympic park. I guess some 3500 to 4000 fans filled this place. After two opening acts, which received a very mixed reception by the audience, ELP hit the stage at 22:15. Compared to the shows in Munich and Nurnberg that I saw, ELP were right into their songs from the first moment on. All three seemed very motivated to do something special and they really did. By the way the sound was nothing but excellent this time, maybe also due to the larger and open stadium environement. The line-up of songs was identical to the other shows, but ELP performed at a much faster speed and it ended up to be one of those very special events, when everything goes right and ELP are motivated to give something extra in each song. I think it was especially the audience reaction to Creole Dance that carried Keith away. The crowed applauded and cheered for more than 5 minutes. Keith just stood in front of the stage and didn't know how to believe this. After this reaction Keith kind of exploded, he took every chance to solo during the songs. No signs of physical or mental problems could be realized, just pure joy to perform. Greg and Carl took up his speed and let Keith drive the whole concert from now on, and he did. E.g. his mostly improvized Hammond solo during Tarkus was simply the best I ever heard of him, even the big C3 was shaking under this pure playing energy. After the first end it just took a minute to bring the boys back on stage, the audience had not even started to shout for an encore, I think all three were now so fired up that they just wanted to continue, Carl did extra on his drum solo and Keith did extra on his improvisations. After the usual L100 abuse (Bach Toccata down under) which didn't convince Keith himself as it looked, he closed the lid of his piano, jumped on top of it and performed his Bach interpretation again while lying on his belly. Even for the second encore we didn't have to wait very long, Schizoid Man and America closed a sensational performance that night after a bit more than 2 hours. At the end all three received their well earned standing ovation while standing arms in arms on the stage. After the show while walking around the stadium parking lot, I met Will Alexander to talk for a moment. I thanked for the very good job on the sound and we talked a bit about the sound problems in Germany. Than I saw a group of fans waiting at a small gate. In this moment Greg stepped outside and was warmly received by the fans, he immediately started signing autographs and I got his on my ticket. A short time later Carl followed and signed autographs for everybody. Now Keith was awaited, but this was the only dissapointing moment that night, when he came he had hidden himself in a huge bath robe, he stepped outside and headed directly for a waiting taxi, not a single word or waving, not a single moment to sign autographs. Everybody was dissapointed through his behaviour. O.K Keith you did great that night on stage, maybe you needed a moment in quietness off-stage or you had other good reasons, maybe next time. In total it was one of those really special performances you can be thankful to have seen, and to meet the guys was the little personal extra even after 27 years. Best wishes Bernd Prott ------------------------------ From: Thomas Naldi , on 7/28/97 9:57 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: ELP in Bellinzona/Switz. Kingdom Festival 25.7.97 ELP was designed as headliner of the first evening at this three day open air festival in the southern part of Switzerland. They took over the stage after a scheduled but cancelled performance by Saga and a thrilling concert of the italians Litfiba. One could clearly observe the change of generations as at the end of Litfiba's show, we could easily get through the crowd to reach the front of the stage, from where we followed, among other longlasting ELP fans, the whole concert. The show started at 23.30 with the usual schedule mentioned from other concerts. The first half of the show seemed to be quite hard for Keith as he didn't seem in big technical shape. Hoedown and Creole Dance played too fast not letting one appreciate Keith's finesse of touch. Especially Creole Dance should be played with a normal piano sound instead of this midi mixed effects. The second part of the show was great. Tarkus again recognised as the best of ELP's works ever! The crowed was now really into the show and everyone, ELP included enjoyed the feeling very much, so that we received a special gift from ELP: after the first usual encore Fanfare/Rondo, they returned on stage for a second encore, surprising the crowd by playing King Crmson's 21st Century Schizoid Man!! shifting into America!!! Another great experience with ELP ------------------------------ From: iuo@synapsis.it, on 7/29/97 12:33 PM: To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: ELP gig in Rome The first word that crosses my mind at once thinking about ELP show in Rome is: WONDERFUL. The day before I also attended the concert in Castiglione delle Siviere (a little town near Mantova), but the gig in Rome was quite a different matter. About 3,500 people filled the Centralino of Foro Italico, an open venue, and I think there was the sold out in spite of a very bad promotion. The audience were very warm and ELP received a real ovation when entered the stage with the lights dimmed and the famous announcement: 'Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, ladies and gentlemen: Emerson Lake & Palmer!'. The group soon seemed in great shape. The complete version of "Welcome back..." earned great enthusiasm and, at the end of the piece, there was another lengthy ovation. Great surprise: in this tune Keith used again the Moog modular III C (such as in "Hoedown" and "Fanfare for the common man"), not only with the ribbon controller (for the pyrotechnics in "Hoedown"), but playing the synth as in the heyday of ELP. Song after song the crowd got warmer and warmer and ELP replied to it playing better and better. Emerson, as usual, wanted the visual contact with the audience clearly. While he was playing, Keith looked at the people constantly with a positive feedback that turned very soon into an intense exchange of great energy. The burning audience in Rome (especially the people that stood near the stage and, therefore, closer to Keith) gave him an almost endless energy as Keith showed playing an outstanding "Creole Dance", that drove everyone bananas. The whole crowd shouted the name 'Emerson, Emerson' for long. Very moving! And yet the best went later with "Tarkus". In fact, Keith played the most incredible solo in "Stones of years" that I've never heard. 4 minutes and 19 seconds (I clocked it!) of technical and musical magic from the best rock keyboardist all over the world: after the piano solo, the Hammond C-3 solo. It's really impossible to describe what Keith did with his beloved organ. The people stood open-mouthed to the wonderful performance and I was astonished too, though I've listened to various versions of the solo into "Stones of years". But Keith surpassed himself! The wizard strikes again! Now, I'd want to talk about the other two musicians. Lake's voice is greatly improved and his bass playing is more powerful and grooving compared with Black Moon Tour. Palmer's performance was OK and, luckily, he seemed to be very distant from the Palmer of five years ago. In this tour Carl's drumming is much stronger and more straightforward than in Black Moon Tour, in which his drumming was too 'flabby' and too slave of the electronic gadgets of his drums. Welcome back, Carl! Coming back to the show, in the first encore the band performed a medley of "Fanfare for the common man" (featuring Keith on his mammoth Moog) and "Rondo", included Carl solo and Emerson show on Hammond, in which he played also the theme of "O sole mio"! At the end of the encore, ELP waved and came out of the stage. The tape of the final tune finished to run and, so, a lot of people were leaving the venue when, suddenly, ELP were back on the stage with great surprise of the audience. When the group struck up "21st century schizoid man", the excitement of the crowd reached the top. Nobody expected a second encore (ELP never gave it in the previous tours) and, even less, the 'cover' of the King Crimson piece, played for the first time live in this tour. The show went off smoothly: excellent sound, good light-show and, last but not least, no technical problem for the equipment. Unfortunately, a negative factor was the sound of the GEM midi piano (GEM = General Music, an Italian factory that produces keyboards), sound that was too metallic and not very clear compared with the sound of Yamaha midi piano, that Keith played in Black Moon Tour (Keith get Yamaha piano back, please!) The audience were very pleased with the concert and they liked, in particular, "Welcome back..." (in whole version), "From the beginning" (played by all three), "Bitches Crystal" (another great surprise for most people) and the version of "Take a pebble" with the jazzy interlude. A lot of people sang along with Greg in "From the beginning", "Lucky Man" and "21st century schizoid man" and this was really touching. In my opinion, the set was okay, except for "A tiger in a spotlight", an ordinary song that isn't surely among the ELP highlights. I'm very sorry the band dropped "Pirates" (one of the best compositions ever written by Emerson), but I've been content if ELP had played, in place of "Tiger in a spotlight", the beautiful "The endless enigma" or, why not, "The barbarian" (Palmer wanted to perform this piece on tour, as he told during the interview in the last issue of 'Impressions'). Anyway, the concert was terrific and it will be unforgettable for all us who attended. Heartfelt thankyou to ELP for the magical evening of music in Rome! Bruno ------------------------------ Digest subscrition, mailing address, and administrative stuff to: elp-digest-request@reluctant.com ELP-related info that you want to put in the digest to: elp-digest@reluctant.com Back issues are available from the ELP Digest web site: 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 7 Issue 20 ] *************************************