Greg Lake/ELP anyone ?

[Wartypig]

I'm a huge fan of both GL and ELP , just wondering what anyone else thought of them ?

Greg Lake , UK tour 05

[Andrew Steed]

Up to and including Brain Salad Surgery they made 5 great albums that I played to death when they came out. Things got a bit patchier after that. Saw them live at Stoke's Trentham Gardens in the 70's on whatever tour it was that led to the live triple album and they were great.

Coincidentally I spent last Saturday listening to the Nice. I enjoy Emerson's keyboard playing for them, but it is Greg Lake's vocals that raised ELP to the next level. However, he's not looking as cherubic as he used to

[chrisloeb]

He likes to eat. That's a quote btw. but I can't remember where it comes from.
You may find THIS THREAD and THIS ONE interesting.
I'm a BIG fan of Greg.
Happy reading!
Chris

[Wartypig]

Yeah....He's put on weight , but his voice was pretty bloody good on the 05 tour as evidenced by the In Concert DVD......I keep hearing muted rumours of an ELP reunion , but will not hold my breath..

As a small aside...I have a boot somewhere of GH with Emerson and Bonilla....Not great quality as I remember , but very interesting all the same.

[JohnH]

Definitely a fan here...although only got to see them with Powell...a great show though. Bumped into Keith across the street from the Whiskey before GH's show last June...and he was very nice to me. I just had to talk to him...of course I knew who it was approaching me as I walked down the street. I'd heard over the years he could be a jack ass but he was very cool and nice! He was with a stunning young asian woman...lucky man indeed!


John

[Wartypig]

Originally Posted by Andrew Steed

Up to and including Brain Salad Surgery they made 5 great albums that I played to death when they came out. Things got a bit patchier after that. Saw them live at Stoke's Trentham Gardens in the 70's on whatever tour it was that led to the live triple album and they were great. Coincidentally I spent last Saturday listening to the Nice. I enjoy Emerson's keyboard playing for them, but it is Greg Lake's vocals that raised ELP to the next level. However, he's not looking as cherubic as he used to

A show I would give my right arm to have seen (I only live about eight miles from Trentham) ....I did see Thin Lizzy,AC/DC, and Genesis there...Caught The Nice at Wolverhampton in 2002....and also CP both solo and with Asia in the past few years.

[Andrew Steed]

Originally Posted by Wartypig

A show I would give my right arm to have seen (I only live about eight miles from Trentham) ....I did see Thin Lizzy,AC/DC, and Genesis there...Caught The Nice at Wolverhampton in 2002....and also CP both solo and with Asia in the past few years.

The ELP was probably just about worth your right arm. Wish I'd still got my T shirt from the gig (but I doubt if it would still fit).

The only other band I remember seeing there was Roxy Music. I saw quite a few at that other wonderful Staffordshire venue that literally was a cowshed - Bingley Hall, including Rainbow on the Graham Bonnet tour. Never saw the Nice, but have seen Carl Palmer a couple of times at the Robin and he is always enjoyable to watch. I noticed in last week's obituaries that Brian Davison, the Nice drummer, has died at only 65. Shame.

[Wartypig]

Originally Posted by Andrew Steed

The ELP was probably just about worth your right arm. Wish I'd still got my T shirt from the gig (but I doubt if it would still fit). The only other band I remember seeing there was Roxy Music. I saw quite a few at that other wonderful Staffordshire venue that literally was a cowshed - Bingley Hall, including Rainbow on the Graham Bonnet tour. Never saw the Nice, but have seen Carl Palmer a couple of times at the Robin and he is always enjoyable to watch. I noticed in last week's obituaries that Brian Davison, the Nice drummer, has died at only 65. Shame.

From The Robin , November 07




and The Wulfrun (with Asia) 06



I only visited "The Cowshed" once, for Rush in 79

[Andrew Steed]

Nice pictures, thanks. I couldn't make that Robin show but I completely missed that Asia were at the Wulfrun. Would have liked to have seen that.

Never been a Rush fan, but am a big fan of a band with a singer that has a similar quirky voice - Pavlov's Dog. I highly recommend their first album from the mid 70's, Pampered Menial. The other albums are good, but that's the best.

[chrisloeb]

Originally Posted by Andrew Steed

a big fan of a band with a singer that has a similar quirky voice - Pavlov's Dog. I highly recommend their first album from the mid 70's, Pampered Menial. The other albums are good, but that's the best.

Very quirky, indeed.
"Julia" is an absolute classic and still helps their debut album sell a lot of copies these days.
Both their studio albums have been reissued in remastered form recently, together with the first official and remastered release of their lost third album which also includes demos and live tracks.
And quirky voice David Suhrkamp is still very active, both with an occasionally reformed Pavlov's Dog and as a solo artist.

Cheers,
Chistian

And as a footnote... Bill Bruford drums on most of their second album, At The Sound Of The Bell.

[Andrew Steed]

Originally Posted by chrisloeb

Very quirky, indeed. "Julia" is an absolute classic and still helps their debut album sell a lot of copies these days. Both their studio albums have been reissued in remastered form recently, together with the first official and remastered release of their lost third album which also includes demos and live tracks.

Glad to see I'm not alone
There's also an expanded version of the fourth album "Lost In America" (or official 3rd?) on the same label as the lost third.

[Chip]

Adding to the already mentioned, great Pavlov's Dog tracks, are a couple more that I really like... "Late November" and "Natchez Trace" off of the Pampered Menial album, and "She Came Shining" off of At The Sound Of The Bell album.

The recent CD release of the "unreleased" third album Christian refers to in his post is called Has Anyone Here Seen Sigfried?. Sigfried being, Sigfried Carver, the violin player on the first album. I also have an Italian labeled CD version that was released in 1992, called St. Louis Hounds - Third. The booklet in the recently released "...Sigfried? CD, has the story behind the lost third album. Basically it was that the label at the time wasn't going to release the third album, then the band themselves bootlegged it on vinyl and released it to shops in the St. Louis area. I seem to remember that there were only 1,000 copies made. Once, at a record shop in St. Louis, I saw two big boxes on the floor, filled with copies of this album selling for $2 each. Years later, copies at record shows were going for $150. That was one of my big, Homer Simpson DOH! moments, since I didn't buy any of those vinyl copies

I also have a CD released in 1995 by band member Mike Safron, called End Of The World. The band name was Pavlov's Dog 2000. Mike's only appearance on a Dog album was Pampered Menial, as the drummer

Chip

[captmidnite1962]

"Julia" was a KISS Klassic; one of those obscure tracks that Joe Anthony or T-Bone Sheppke would dig out on a regular basis and give a spin...a lovely track too! They would also play another track called, I think, "Teach Me A Song".....I hope I remember that correctly!

I did read a description of David Surkamp's voice as being a cross between Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane and a Hoover vacuum cleaner..Don't know about the major appliance but Mister Surkamp had a jaw dropping style!

Another lost classic...thanks for the memory refresher!

[chrisloeb]

You beat me this time, Chip!

I have the Has Anyone seen Sigfried? CD, but I never bought any of the bootleg versions of their third album.
The Lost in America album is rather obscure though, you don't miss anything when you stay away from it.

And Bill, the song you're referring to is "Song Dance" from Pampered Menial. Excellent tune! Dave Suhrkamp's vibrato is extra-over-the-top on this one.
Now I Can't get Julia out of my head...
Nice Mellotron there by the way...

Cheers,
Christian

[Wartypig]

Originally Posted by Andrew Steed

I highly recommend their first album from the mid 70's, Pampered Menial. The other albums are good, but that's the best.

Thanks for the recomendation...I'll check em out

[gman]

I have the Greg Lake From the Beginning (best of) double-cd and Live King Biscuit Flower Hour cd with Gary Moore on guitar. I'm not a big ELP fan, but he was the best thing about them and really like the songs that showcase his rich vocals (like C'est La Vie). The music that he recorded with Gary Moore is terrific. The proper studio album is expensive, but many of those songs appear on disc 2 of From... The live album is a tour de force. His vocals are wonderful on Parisienne Walkways. Retribution Drive and It Hurts are great songs. If you're not familiar with Greg Lake's music get both of these releases. The first disc of From the Beginning features music from ELP and King Crimson with the last song being the live version of 21st Century Schizoid Man with Gary Moore on guitar and Ted McKenna on drums.