Book Review: Emerson, Lake and Palmer-ELP

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rocket88 (November 12, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1910978647
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1910978641
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.69 x 1.18 x 11.26 inches
Website

ELP and I go way back to the '70s. I recall being introduced to the band by an excellent friend. I also remember making sure we watched the California Jam and the now legendary footage of Emerson spinning in the air playing his piano. Things like that you can never forget. What it was like being a music fan so long ago is what shaped the listening tastes that I have arrived at later in life.

Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar), and Carl Palmer (drums and percussion) were three extraordinary musicians that came together to create some of the most groundbreaking music in the progressive genre. While leading entirely separate lives with no friendships conceived outside the studios or stages, they could make magic happen where it counted the most.

I have had a great interest in the music of ELP and found all of the remastered catalog to be excellent. I did not know all the details about the men of this band or what made them so successful. This book, titled Emerson, Lake and Palmer - ELP, tells the tails of a run of success for several years that led them to exhaustion and the end of the band for many years.

The book is hardbound and quite beautiful, serving as a detailed remembrance of what it was like being a rock star in the 70s that produced unique music in rock. Today the only surviving member is Carl Palmer, who continues to bring the legacy of ELP to fans around the world. There are great pictures to enjoy while taking in this very personal account of a famous band. Nothing is sugar-coated. It is all based on reality and the words of each member of the band. I found that refreshing and intimate without any needed embellishments or cover-ups of good or bad feelings about the members.

The book is extensive and a tell-it-like-it-is account of an eight-year continuous recording and touring run. Brain Salad Surgery was the high watermark of their career, and they never reached those heights again. What I found interesting was reading about how they got that point of creativity. The music contained in their recordings and subsequent tours and adding an orchestra and going on tour changed the face of music forever. Progressive music took a giant leap forward thanks to ELP, and this fantastic account of that story is in this book's pages.

Of course, this is a highly recommended resource for any prog rock or ELP fan, and music fans in general, I believe would find a lot of enjoyment from reading the text and flipping through all the photos. Books about bands do not get much better than this! The 70s was a great time for rock music, and if you were there to experience it all, that says it all. If you were not there, this will give you a glimpse of what it was like and never will be again. It serves as either a remarkable memory or a lot of newfound facts and realizations that are well worth your time to experience.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-Progressive Music Reviews Founder

April 24, 2022

Symphonic Prog Review: The Flower Kings-By Royal Decree

Release Date: March 4^th 2022 (2CD, 3LP + 2CD and Digital)

Label: Inside Out Music

Website

The Flower Kings came into being in 1994 in Uppsala, Sweden, and apart from a 4- year hiatus from 2008 to 2012, they have played and recorded albums for over 20 years. The band have released 15 studio albums, from the debut in 1995, Back in The World of Adventure up to 2022, By Royal Decree, which is the album under review.

The band on this recent release had a total of 7 members, plus 4 guests. The band are Roine Stolt (vocals, guitar, ukulele, additional keyboards and orchestration), Hasse Froberg (vocals, 12 string guitar), Zach Kamins (organ, piano, synths and orchestration), Michael Stolt (bass, Moog Taurus and backing vocals), Jonas Reingold (fretted and fretless basses), Mirrko Demaio (drums and percussion) and Hasse Bruniusson (acoustic and electronic percussion).

By Royal Decree is a 2 CD release with a total playing time of just over 94 minutes and 18 tracks, 9 on each of the albums. The longest track on offer is found on disc 1, track 3 "Blinded" running for 7:52 minutes and the shortest track is to be found on disc 2, track 8, “Shrine” clocking in at 1:11 minutes.

For over 25 years now, The Flower Kings have been a constant in the world of modern prog but have retained the influence of the classic prog from the 70s, ensuring they produce music that appeals to prog fans globally.

The opening track, “The Great Pretender (6:59) is a perfect example of what The Flower Kings do very well. The basis of the sound is simple, drums, bass and guitar with a healthy scattering of organ, piano, Mellotron and Moog synths and the 2-pronged vocal attack provided by Roine and Hasse Froberg. The track is instantly recognizable as The Flower Kings, with the power of the bass and drums, the keyboards always there or thereabouts and the guitars adding just the right riffs at the right times. There are hooks throughout this opening track, which, in my opinion, is a superb introduction to the rest of the release.

Staying with disc 1, track 4, “A Million Stars Above” (7:19) moves to the ballad style of The Flower Kings and seems to be a plea for love, with its warm melodic style topped by the addition of a Roine Stolt ultra-smooth guitar solo which he throws into the mix with such ease. This track is a great example of the quieter side of The Flower Kings.

Still, on the first disc, Track 8, "Peacocks on Parade" (5:22) shifts the emphasis away from the vocals, i.e., it is an instrumental to all intents and purposes, which highlights the superb keyboard work of Zach Kamins above the guitar of Roine Stolt. This is another good example of the different facets shown by The Flower Kings.

By Royal Decree is an album that improves each time it is played as the hooks latch on inside the listeners’ heads. Double albums can sometimes be criticized for “filler” tracks and comments such as, “if only they had missed off the album, tracks X, Y and Z they would have made a killer single album”. The Flower Kings new album appears to have sidestepped these thoughts and while it is true there are no epic-length tracks as many previous albums have included, the band have made an extremely listenable, good album. I will concede that By Royal Decree is not the best Flower Kings album I have heard but I will never sit on the fence and heap praise on any release that falls below the levels I would expect from a particular band.

By Royal Decree is a great album, perhaps not quite deserving the use of stunning or superb, but these 18 tracks showcase a band that knows what they are good at, and I would ask people to give By Royal Decree a few listens, let it settle into your head, and I am sure many listeners will find a space for this album on their CD shelves.

Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson
April 10, 2022

Tracks :                       
CD 1 (52:19)
1. The Great Pretender (6:59)
2. World Gone Crazy (5:07)
3. Blinded (7:52)
4. A Million Stars (7:20)
5. The Soldier (5:26)
6. The Darkness in You (5:17)
7. We Can Make It Work (2:53)
8. Peacock on Parade (5:22)
9. Revolution (6:03)

CD 2 (41:48)
1. Time the Great Healer (6:17)
2. Letter (2:26)
3. Evolution (4:50)
4. Silent Ways (5:04)
5. Moth (4:41)
6. The Big Funk (4:44)
7. Open Your Heart (5:20)
8. Shrine (1:11)
9. Funeral Pyres (7:15)

Progressive Instrumental Vinyl Review: The Hallucinant Telepherique-Call of The Resonant Star

Release Date: April 1, 2022

Label:  Erratic Music

Website

That fantastic and versatile sibling team of Gino Montoya (Guitars) Sergio Montoya (Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Guitars) are back on the progressive music radar with their third embodiment of The Hallucinant Telepherique. I know that is quite a mouthful but a genius name for a group. The latest effort is titled Call of The Resonant Star. It keeps them on track for their sci-fi storylines and more esoteric subjects.

They always release a limited number of copies (500) of the recordings on vinyl. And it sounds incredible. You all knew I was going to say that, didn't you? Well, it is true; most music does sound better on vinyl. When it's all progressive instrumental, it is a party of assorted ear candy.

Side one starts with "No Third." It begins with a layer of keyboards that follow the pace and changes that the guitar offers. They go from fast and furious to quirky and complex. That is their template for this band, and it never fails to entertain. The keys are a nice touch and give some space and order to the otherwise extreme changes. It is a classic prog instrumental track and a great way to open the curtain to more.

The title track "Call of The Resonant Star" is the magnum opus clocking in at 12:02. What you hear is everything that they can produce in one track. A nice acoustic guitar starts with a gentle keyboard passage, and then they are blasting off the launching pad into a more aggressive-driven style. Jazz flavored guitar lines enter the mix with more keys and more muscular guitar work. I was reminded of Al DiMeola's electric phase (Electric Rendezvous is my favorite). A multitude of changes is the goal here and a different kind of segue into heavy bass and more of the jazz-prog keys. What an amazing slice of music!

"Spider" is a shorter track at 5 minutes, but in the realm of prog, that is the norm for one that is not extended, such as the previous track. It closes out side one with a light and airy atmosphere, some great bass, and some nice blended guitars. Keys are in the spotlight, and I couldn't help myself; Chick Corea came to mind more than once. The keys that drank too much energy drink imitates a spider on the move going in for the kill.

Side two opens with "The Unread Letter" (4:54). It sounds like a soundtrack to conflicting emotions reaching an apex. Then it all stops and changes course with the entrance of a bass line to drive it all along further. It is like a dream state of pensiveness, then back to a more energetic path of swirling emotions and all the color they hold and ever-changing, then to the finale of musical fireworks. It is instrumental genius from where I sit.

"Turn" offers some lovely Latin flavored picking to start some nice rhythms between several different musical passages of joy and excellent instrumentation. At times it is intense and complex to a lighter instrumental road with some of those melting synth sounds for that sci-fi effect. I could liken it to a classic sci-fi movie like the original The Day the Earth Stood Still. That came to mind and this music ignites those kinds of images in your mind.

"Penumbra" (4:17) has a very mellow start with the soft guitar sounding very Yes like. 70s prog but reinvented with some jazz-infused guitar to follow it up. That distinct synth with the prog-rock flavor adds more ingredients to the classic sound. Things change to the more aggressive side of the coin towards the end, with sharp guitar licks shredding the air you breathe and cascading to the finish line.

Relearn (3:38) closes the curtain on this magnificent display of musical prowess. It is under 4 minutes; can you imagine that? The drive-it-home bass line enters the mix, and some fast keys and guitars get hard at work. A very compact moving composition that is all organized to close out the proceedings.

Call of The Resonant Star is a masterful collection of musical diversity that should not be missed.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-Progressive Music Reviews Founder

March 15, 2022

Side One:
01. No Third (4:21)
02. Call Of The Resonant Star (12:02)
03. Spider (5:00)

Side Two:
04. The Unread Letter (4:54)
05. Turn (6:48)
06. Penumbra (4:17)
07. Relearn (3:38)