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ELP: Lucky Man versus Take A Pebble

L

luddite

Super Member
Open for opinions on all subjects... including which tape decks look like Donald Duck. But, primarily, were ELP better at the introspective progressive rock or at the hard hitting loud music? It seemed like a tug of war between Emerson and Lake. Emerson liked kicking his giant moog synthesizer for all it could deliver, while Lake seemed comfortable with the thoughtful stuff. Take A Pebble was a very interesting listen. It still is.
 
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I always thought Keith looked a bit duck like, at least his brooding lips.

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As for Lucky Man versus Take A Pebble, since I have never heard them on AR3's I can't form any type of valuable opinion...:D
 
"Take a Pebble" would be my choice since I am so tired of "Lucky Man" and I can only deal with Greg Lake if there is a Robert Fripp involved. That said, I really can only stand Emerson when he was playing with Jackson and Davison in the Nice.

I generally like the first ELP album, although after their debut, they started to loose me a bit. Too many synths, Emerson was recycling old Nice ideas (i.e. "Living Sin" from Trilogy is pretty much based on Lee Jackson's bass solo from the Nice's "For Example"), and Lake was trying to be too much of a balladeer. The only issue I had with Palmer was the fact his drum set was so huge, that, even though he had plenty of ability, he still looked to be a bit of a bell-end.
 
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Pebble for me, Lucky's overplayed for me over the years. I just got the triple live LP for a buck an album from my favorite dollar bin, and it's 80% mint! True scroe.
 
Another vote for "Take a Pebble". I like the sounds of the strings and the greater overall dynamics of the song with its peaks and valleys.

Overall, the LP is excellent and one of the real treasures of the record store dollar bins. Pretty good test record too.
 
Common you guys....for many of us the Moog Modular solo at the end of Lucky Man was/is incredible....especially when played back on an original pressing, in high volume through an MC cart.....OMG!!

Taking nothing away from Take a Pebble. A wondeful piece.

I must respectfully disagree with TAGO MAGO's comment above "...I generally like the first ELP album, although after their debut, they started to loose me a bit. Too many synths..."

I have always found Emerson to be light handed when injecting his massive synth's into the music. Piano and Hammond organ were far more previlent in his compositions. Listen specifically for the synth's in Tarkus, The Endless Enigma, and Karn Evil 9. They only appear once the song has developed, when necessary and at just the right moments. Well IMHO that is.
 
Since Lucky Man was the "radio song" that got me into ELP, I can't put it down. But I like Take A Pebble equally well. That's why I like ELP.
 
I like the way Lucky Man ends with the squaking keyboards (moog?) and fades out with drums.
 
I have to say yes to both. I think part of the magic of ELP was the tension or dichotomy between Lake and Emerson. Each album tended to have a bit of both and, as pointed out, mixed together to varying degrees in each song. When I wish to listen to ELP, I would say the driver in my decision leans slightly more towards the Emerson side but it is very very close.
 
A toss up for sure. I always liked Lucky Man and swore there was a long version, was there?? .... I think it was on a DVD of their's that has Greg lake doing Lucky Man solo and acoustic -- ? Hollywood bowl? I loved that!
 
whoaru99 said:
Lucky Man multichannel bonus track off the Brain Salad Surgery DVD-A is pretty "WOW" on a nice system.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah!! Agreed. I have it and it is wholy awsome in 5.1 surround. One of my better digital reproductions...as is the entire BSS experience
 
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Take A Pebble is a beautiful song, my fave by them. I have a challenge... Listen to Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" then listen to "Karn Evil 9" and tell me if there isn't two very similar passages that are piano driven. I always thought that ELP were a band that was influenced by so many disparate sources yet had very little influence on the rock'n roll that followed after them. I have most of their catalogue shelved away and now feel compelled to go pull them out...
 
Ha, I just did that, before seeing this thread (pulling out the old vinyl, I mean). I finally got a nice copy of Tarkus recently, leaving just Pictures At An Exhibition missing. Actually, the hard to find debut album was one of the first I found a couple years ago. :D As to the original question, tough call, but I think I'd choose Take A Pebble. :music:
 
I like both songs, but I think I like "Take A Pebble" just a bit better. It's such a beautiful song.
I used to know a keyboard player who could play "Take A Pebble" with one hand and "Tarkus" with the other hand, at the same time! He called it, "Take A Tarkus."
 
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