06/01/07
SHOUT! FACTORY
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER: Ah me, one of the great headphone albums of 1970, these English prog rockers came on the scene before Yes and Genesis but contemporaneously with McDonald & Giles who would up getting muscled out of the way even though being on the same label at the same time. “Lucky Man”, “Take a Pebble” and all the others that gave rise to the symphonic rock genre got their launch here. How does this set stand up? Too hard to say, if you dug it the first time, it’s stuck in your psyche and you ignored the cliches that came in it’s wake. All in all, this is some of the stuff that classic rock was coined for, and not because of the classic connotations. Maybe you had to be there, maybe not, but this is the stuff that took everyone else to school.
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER/Tarkus: With a chip on their shoulders and something to prove, ELP’s second LP led off with a side long suite that was another stopping point that set the stage for the cliches that came after. The music was so powerful that back when you had to flip records over, no body did, especially after listening to filler like “Are You Ready, Eddy?”. That’s not really fair to everything on side two since there were several worthy tracks that have stood the test of time, but hot stuff is hot stuff. After the band took the other musicians to school, all the kids took this album to school.
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER/Essential: Times were changing, tastes were changing and a lot of people thought ELP jumped the shark after their triple live album which brings us to this twofer. A critical piece of 70’s rock, everyone should have some ELP handy and this well tracked set gives the casual fan everything they need to feel like they have what they need to look like they have a well rounded rock collection. More on the ball than other anthologies, this pulls the key tracks from all career points and makes it flow nicely.
RICHARD THOMPSON/Sweet Warrior: Linda was certainly a dynamic foil that helped propel Thompson to wonderful heights in the course of their records. He made a bunch of good stuff after the break up as well, but he has lost the incandescence of late. Since leaving Capitol, he’s been making valentines to the fans but nothing that riveted you. Until now. His most deadly album since “Shoot Out the Lights”, the electric is plugged back in, the acid tongue is burning and his tales of love and betrayal are sharp as ever, but they have been made relevant to these times now (you have to hear how these songs wind up to believe it). From Celt rocker to alt.godfather in 40 easy years, this is the kind of set that late career renaissances and masterpieces are made from.
Volume 30/Number 213
June 1, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
(c)2007 Midwest Record