[Relayer71]

After listening to classic Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Rush and others for many years I finally decided to check out Gentle Giant which I had heard a lot about and am SO glad I did. "Free Hand" and "In A Glass House" have not left my CD player or Ipod playlist for a couple of weeks now!

Of course it was easy for me to dismiss GG since they were nowhere as popular as the other bands in their day and for some reason the covers with the "Giant Face" really turned me off, so did the band name.

But it also seems I've overlooked one of the BIGGEST bands of the 70s era, Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

I picked up Trilogy a few months ago which I liked and I just got Brain Salad Surgery last week and have to say, WOW! Is it me or is Karn Evil 9 some of the most "out there" music ever recorded (in Rock, anyway)? The compositions and playing are astounding! I thought Phil Collins and Bill Bruford drummed phenominally but Carl Palmer is on a whole other level. And I don't mean he's "better", just that his style is even more fluid and especially unconventional. But it's not just him. Although there are some typical "rock" grooves and structure, and I find the lyrics weak, some sections of music just sound so uniquely "otherworldly", and impressively complex.

Any fans out there who can tell me which album to get next (after I fully digest this one!)?

Any other bands worthy of a listen from that 70s era?

 

[fante7]

You really need to check out the ELP album Tarkus! If you like Karn Evil 9, then you will definitely like Tarkus.

I love Carl Palmer's drumming, I saw him give a drum clinic once and it was phenominal.

 

[PSmith08]

Classic album. As has been noted, the lyrics range from pretty good to absurd, but the musicianship is solid. Emerson and Palmer were really up near the top of the game for their respective instruments. Greg Lake I could always take or leave.

I have been fond of the whole ELP oeuvre up to and including Works, Vol. 1 for some time.

 

[Floodedstatue]

If you can, get hold of the DVD-Audio of 'Brain Salad Surgery'. It is a totally different experience to the CD and makes great use of all surround-sound channels. It has a 5.1 Dolby Digital track that will play on any dvd player if you don't have a dedicated DVD-A player. Highly recommended!

 

[Relayer71]

What constantly amazes me, about 70s Prog Rock in general is how young these guys were when they recorded their classics. I believe Palmer was only 22 or 23 when "Salad" was recorded.

And the members of most of the bands I mentioned were in their early 20s as well when some of their more complexly written songs were recorded!

I love the music of non-mainstream groups of today like Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Sonic Youth, Mogwai, Tristeza, Explosions In The Sky, Trans Am, Tortoise, etc., and even bands like Radiohead (which are an anomoly these days for being so experimental and unconventional and still garnering mainstream appreciation, to a point).

And I see all these artists as talented and unique - in a way an extension of progressive rock in daring to be different and doing their "own thing" but not of these guys come close to the musicianship of these "kids" in the 70s. Neil Peart at 21 could play circles around most of these guys who are in ther late 20s, 30s (and in SY's case, 40s!). (although I think Trans Am's drummer is probably the best rock drumer today).

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relayer71 Any other bands worthy of a listen from that 70s era?

Some possibilities in the same kind of vein (loosely)

King Crimson
Early Genesis - up to Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The Nice - Emerson's previous band - heavy classical influence poppier than ELP
Roxy Music - early stuff up to "For your pleasure"
Pink Floyd
Van Der Graaf Generator - more obscure and self-indulgent

There was a lot going on musically in the 70s and early and late 70s were very different - ELP in the space of 2 years went from being the biggest rock band in the world to being regarded as "ego inflated rock dinosaurs" .

Still it was a fairly interesting time for "rock" music - if you can ignore stuff like Gary Glitter, The Bay City Rollers and so on...

 

[SiBurning]

I second Tarkus, and agree about the sound quality of the Brain Salad surgery DVD-Audio. Tarkus is just as epic as Karn Evil 9, but much heavier, more straight forward, and way over the top in a way that almost becomes humorous like B-grade sci-fi. It's very easy to hate for that, but it's (arguably) even more aggressive and all those things you probably like in Karn Evil 9. Just don't expect anything as sophisticated as Karn Evil 9.

One band you must hear is the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Celestial Terrestrial Commuters on the Birds of Fire album is amazing.

Frank Zappa also has some interesting stuff buried within his catalog. A lot of people who like progressive music like *some* of his stuff too. It's more in fun, but you might like the double album CD of Apostrophe & Overnite Sensation. Come to think of it, almost everyone I've known that likes King Crimson also likes most of Zappa's stuff.

 

[jonnyhambone]

Also a big ELP fan... check out Gong's Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy. quirkier and more psychedelic but very good.

 

[coolbluewater]

If you enjoy ELP as much as I do (I've got everything they've done and have been a fan since their beginning), you owe it to yourself to pick the the 2-CD "Welcome Back My Friends..." - the sound is amazing, it's all performed live and they do the entire Brain Salad Surgery song list in addition to Tarkus, Take a Pebble, etc. IMO their best, recorded at their peak. I remember listening to it back in '75 (3-LP vinyl set) on a Thorens turntable, Crown 200-watt amp, and ESS AMT-1 speakers and it was mindblowing. Fast-forward to present time - The sound quality of the CD set is still amazing - get it.

 

[Onix]

Don't forget Triunvirat's "Spartacus", the one with the mouse inside the light-bulb. They were pretty irregular regarding output, but that particular album is very good.

 

[Sovkiller]

Brain Salad Surgery is one of the few releases worth to have that exists in DVD-A also....

 

[zachary80]

I bought this cd right before Christmas and it is AMAZING

Impressive all around and, unlike most people, i love the varierty

 

[Doc Sarvis]

I'm a big ELP fan. Brain Salad Surgery is an all-time classic - they had such an aggresive sound, that it couldn't stay that way forever without flaming out. This album captures it at its most intense. Most people don't agree, but my fave on that album is their take on "Jerusalem". Something about it suggests the ultimate in delicious 70s prog-rock audacity and pomposity, and I love it.

A couple of ELP trivia notes:

1. "Tocatta" on Brain Salad Surgery is based on a movement from Ginastera's piano concerto. Not easy to find but worth it if you like cutting-edge music of the mid-20th century. Ginastera reportedly really liked the ELP version!

2. Lots of other classical sources for ELP music: "Knife Edge" from the 1st album is based on Janacek's "Sinfonietta". Multiple Copland sources. many others.

3. Emerson's Piano Concerto (on Works Vol. 1) is really fun - I would love to find an alternate recording (a different performance). Does anyone know if one exists?

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Sarvis 2. Lots of other classical sources for ELP music: "Knife Edge" from the 1st album is based on Janacek's "Sinfonietta". Multiple Copland sources. many others.

More so with "The Nice" whose "victims" included Bach, Dvorak, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Bernstein.

For me the Rock to classical crossing was more successful than those going the other way such as John Williams (the Guitarist).

Emerson was a hell of a keyboard player and apart from the "knifing the Hammond organ" pyrotechnics more restrained and less pretentious than Rick Wakemen (imo).

 

[Replicant]

Try Death Walks Behind you from Atomic Rooster and some Soft Machine stuff.