Emerson, Lake & Palmer

What is the history behind ELP cover art? There was a comment made about the BSS art in another thread, but all of the ELP cover art is interesting.

Is there information about the choices made for album art across the main LPs?
 
Mar Y Sol: The First International Puerto Rico Pop Festival

Bought this album new in '72 specifically for The Mahavishnu & Emerson, Lake & Palmer cuts.

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Very nice, Cactus Bob. That has to be a great album.
The full ELP performance became available on CD back in 2011. I've never purchased it, but I really need to. Before 2011 I believe it was available as a bootleg recording on vinyl. It was always considered a Holy Grail amongst ELP fans on the message boards I used to frequent. Something we'd heard of but never heard.
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I just now found out that someone uploaded it to youtbe last year. Until now I had only heard a couple of the tracks.
It's a great recording. Greg's bass comes through very well and isn't as lost in the mix as it often is on other live recordings.
Emerson was at his improvisational best and plays a large section of Greig's In The Hall Of The Mountain King during Tarkus. Lake does some interesting and unique lead guitar work on the Battlefield movement of Tarkus as well.
The only real problem with the recording is that Palmer's drums sound a little thin. There's just no bombast.
 
galactus2 said:
This is not a great photo, but thought some of you might like to see it. It's ELP at the Springfield, MA Civic Center in either Jan or Feb, 1979. It was freezing cold outside, but inside it was fired up!

Keith, always a showman, had a portable keyboard that would appear to spit smoke. It was also lit. Carl had a drum kit that rose in the air, that allowed some wild mobility. An amazing show.

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Thanks for posting this. I was there that evening . I was in the front row , and I remember the concert being General Admission. I have been fortunate to see ELP many, many times starting in 1971. Today over 90 % of my listening is to Classical music, and I have ELP to thank for introducing me to Classical when I wasn't ready for it.

So many fantastic concerts, so many memories. Lucky enough to meet Keith briefly and a few minutes talking to Carl. I also last June was fortunate to spend some time speaking with Marc Bonilla regarding his experiences with Keith.

I am looking forward to seeing Carl Palmer in concert tomorrow evening. .
 
I have always wondered how Joe Walsh ended up on Works Vol 1. That Palmer side has some of my favorite ELP cuts...maybe the closest they came to jazz fusion.

Anyone know the Joe back story?

jblnut
 
Not a lot of back story. Carl and Joe Walsh met in 1974 and Carl asked him if he'd like to record on one of his songs for his upcoming solo album. Remember that at the time Works Vol 1 had started as solo projects but later became a group effort when they realized that they were all working with orchestra's on their projects.
The song was initially called L.A. '74 as the basic tracks were recorded by Carl, Keith Emerson and Walsh in Los Angeles early in 1974.

It's often a misconception that Joe Walsh added the scat vocals and guitar to Carl's track New Orleans. That one was recorded with Snuffy Walden of Stray Dog, a band on ELP's Manticore label, and Colin Hodgkinson and Ron Asprey of Back Door, a band who's album was produced by Palmer.
 
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Love me some ELP, have followed them over the course of many years if not decades. Have the entire collection save Love Beach.

Bought a CD collection a while back and in the mix was a Keith Emerson solo CD - Off The Shelf. Jury is still out on if I like the CD or not.
 
welcomdmat said:
What is the history behind ELP cover art? There was a comment made about the BSS art in another thread, but all of the ELP cover art is interesting.

Is there information about the choices made for album art across the main LPs?
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The debut album artwork was done by a young British art student named Nic Dartnell. His boss at the record shop that he worked at in Edinburgh, Scotland had ties to Island Records.That boss of his, Bruce Findlay later went on to manage the band Simple Minds.

Nic was influenced by psychedelia and drew inspiration from albums by Cream and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

The painting that he called "Bird" was inspired by the bird on the Woodstock Poster, which Nic saw as a peace symbol. He worked on the painting for about three weeks.
Bruce Findlay had a friend at Island Records, ELP's label. He suggested to Nic that he submit his "Bird" painting to Island to have ELP look at it. They liked and wanted to use it.

Nic said later that he was very disappointed with the way his art was used. He felt it should have been a gatefold album which would have allowed the painting to be seen properly. He also didn't like the lettering chosen and the way it was placed between the bird's wings. He was happier with the German release which was a gatefold and he said the coloring was better. He said he was compensated very poorly for his art and he didn't get the painting back.

Here is his original painting, "Bird"
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A painting that Nic Dartnell titled, "Gypsy".
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There is a little college FM radio station I listen to that plays all kinds of stuff . The current Trower album has been played constantly . The other night on the way home from work , I turned the radio on and they were playing Devo's Whip It . Next , I here the subtle synth opening of a song I know so well , but never on the radio . HOLY COW , THAT"S TRILOGY FROM ELP ! I arrived home about half way into the song . I sat in the car until it was over . That was so cool .
 
I just saw that Amazon now has preorder available for the paperback version of Greg's "Lucky Man: The Autobiography". :) I put in my preorder.
 
I've always been a huge fan. Saw them twice in the 70's. Great showmen they were. Acid was a big thing back in those days, and no one had the music covered back then better than Hendrix or ELP. They still get regular play at my house now. The acid was left behind decades ago. Hell, my mother was a big fan of ELP.

True story. I went to my first ELP concert when I was in HIGH school, in Charlotte NC. A couple buddies and I carried in a couple of pints and a few joints, as did most people back in the day. I was just starting to fire up a joint and one of my buddies says, Hey ain't that your Mom over there. Looked and about 30 ft from us was my Mom and her sister. They were big fans. Then they saw us and came over and spent the whole show with us. I can't believe she never told me she was going., Oh well, we caught a good buzz on the way home.
 
jimfet said:
I've always been a huge fan. Saw them twice in the 70's. Great showmen they were. Acid was a big thing back in those days, and no one had the music covered back then better than Hendrix or ELP. They still get regular play at my house now. The acid was left behind decades ago. Hell, my mother was a big fan of ELP.

True story. I went to my first ELP concert when I was in HIGH school, in Charlotte NC. A couple buddies and I carried in a couple of pints and a few joints, as did most people back in the day. I was just starting to fire up a joint and one of my buddies says, Hey ain't that your Mom over there. Looked and about 30 ft from us was my Mom and her sister. They were big fans. Then they saw us and came over and spent the whole show with us. I can't believe she never told me she was going., Oh well, we caught a good buzz on the way home.
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That's an awesome story :thumbsup:
Can you imagine if she'd have spotted you mid-toke?
 
As this thread has gone, I am a ELP fan.

I have no patience for King Crimson or Asia. I am not sure that I should even post this with these bands being so related, but I cannot find any enjoyment in their music.

I am rocking out to GuruGuru at the moment.

I have no folks in my musical circle that lead me to one band or another. I believe that the combined musicians of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer created a sound that no project even with those members could quite capture.
 
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