THE NICE & EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER( Special Review)

The poisoned year of 1967 gave off psychedelia, mutations, bizarre augmentations and radical insurrections in rock. In 1967, from this whirlwind also emerged the phenomenal virtuoso, master keyboardist Keith Emerson and his avant-garde group, The Nice. At the beginning they were four young men with a sound that was extremely bold and experimental, which even today sounds advanced and cannot be fully absorbed without a prior musical initiation. To understand The Nice, it is necessary, first of all, to have musical knowledge in the areas of traditional and contemporary classical music, as well as jazz and blues. All of this was mixed with great drive, creativity and pomp, making The Nice a pioneering group. Deep Purple would start in the same way and at the same time, but The Nice was more radical and erudite. In fact, conductor Jon Lord was Keith Emerson’s harmony teacher. The Nice became famous for its power-trio lineup: keyboards, bass and drums. The first LP, released in 1967, featured guitarist David O’List, the superb and virtuosic drummer Brian Davison, and the phenomenal bassist and vocalist Lee Jackson. Alongside, of course, mentor Keith Emerson. This first work is excellent, with more acidic and progressive tendencies due to the presence of O’List’s guitar, which greatly changes the overall musical expression. With the departure of this excellent guitarist, the band established the trio format for posterity, creating four more crushing albums that would mark an entire chapter in rock history. The music of The Nice is eclectic. Their compositions are generally about 10 to 15 minutes long and are based on the Hammond organ, acoustic piano (unequalled to this day), drums and bass with precise jazz-like divisions and interventions and incredible arrangements. Very difficult music to compose, rehearse and perform, as it requires a vast musical background. Emerson plays J.S. Bach, Sibelius or Beethoven just as well as Scott Joplin, rags and blues. Moreover, for keyboard players he is a reference school, especially in relation to the sonic excesses he extracts from the Hammond B-3 organ. On the piano the man is precise, with a spotless technique that is jaw-dropping. The Nice would be a pioneer of an era that would give the world the future Emerson, Lake and Palmer. It would also initiate a series of other high-level imitators, that is, a new school within rock such as Vincent Crane (Atomic Rooster), Triumvirat, Tritonus, Epidaurus, U.K., etc. The Nice would inspire King Crimson, from which an entire school of musicians emerged to make an impact in the 1970s, including bassist Greg Lake, who provides vocals and strings on the group’s first album, In the Court of the Crimson King. Lake debuted with Emerson, Lake and Palmer at the Isle of Wight Festival in August 1970. I cite here, for purposes of essential research for those interested, the essential albums of The Nice group: The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (1967), Ars Longa Vita Brevis (1968), The Nice (1969), Five Bridges Suite (1970), Elegy (1971). In reality, the work developed by The Nice would not even be matched by the later ELP itself, despite inevitable comparisons. ELP would be more bombastic, and Keith Emerson would make use of Moogs and more aggressive synthesizers, with fewer jazz insertions and more rock. The Nice is more purist, raw, and from a time when innovations were a major feat and risk for producers, so much so that in one of the group’s performances the indifference was so great that Emerson literally set off a bomb on stage so people would pay attention to the band’s sound. Therefore, it has always been difficult for great art to reach the masses, as the voice of the masses has never been the voice of God.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the epitome of the splendor of 1970s progressive rock, were one of the most successful groups of the genre, selling more than 40 million albums and filling large stadiums. They were also criticized for incorporating some of prog’s excesses. Although the trio produced several shorter, more melodic songs that received radio airplay at the time of their release, ELP’s true strength lay in epic classical rock pieces, which often occupied entire sides of albums and became the centerpiece of the trio’s increasingly grandiose live shows. As a supergroup whose members had already played in renowned English bands, ELP was seen as a success from the very beginning. The flamboyant keyboard virtuoso Keith Emerson, notable for his many synthesizers, had already achieved success in the UK with the band The Nice. Vocalist, bassist, and guitarist Greg Lake, whose unmistakable voice and catchy melodies were among ELP’s most accessible elements, had been an important member of the original lineup of King Crimson. Drummer Carl Palmer, known for augmenting his massive drum kit with gongs and other percussion instruments, had been a member of Atomic Rooster and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. NOTE: Tarkus and Toccata are piano pieces from the pianist Alberto Ginastera(Argentine).

Pictures at an Exhibition was great LP !!The second Live Album inspired by Mussorgsky(URSS)age 19 piece.Of course full vocal arrangements by Lake its very beautiful too!!My predilect album of all.

Keith Emerson plays at first time live a Big Modular Moog Synthesizer.

ELP albums from the early 1970s, such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Tarkus, Trilogy, and Brain Salad Surgery, balanced longer tracks with more radio-friendly songs like “Lucky Man” and “From the Beginning,” while the fact that Pictures at an Exhibition was a classical suite spanning an entire album did not prevent it from becoming one of the top 10 best-selling albums in the United States.

The trio’s adventures reached their logical conclusion with Works, Volume I, from 1977, a double album that combined group collaborations with solo pieces, including an Emerson piano concerto that occupied an entire side of the record. That album and its sequel, Works, Volume 2, a single disc, were commercial failures, as was an enormous tour with a full orchestra, whose operating costs resulted in estimated losses of $3 million. The Works albums and tour proved to be ELP’s last major gasp. (**)Are great LPS...!!!Of course Fanfare for Common Man was a great music of the " Works Black  Double Album".Composed by Aaron Copland(  Like "Rodeo" from Trilogy great album) The "Works White Album" it's another great  music for fans,with high approach technique ,and Scot Joplin's inspirations on Ragtime.The change in public taste, including the rise of punk and new wave, made the group’s style seem outdated, and after the release of the bad Love Beach in 1978, ELP disbanded.

(*)E,L&P short review( I agree)  from Teachrock .

(**)My note

S.O.S.ART BLOG( If you wish, click on my photo to help our Blog!! ) Thanks and Welcome!!!