Tribute albums can be a bit of a novelty act. But, to quote fellow prog hero Pye Hastings and his band Caravan, A Tribute to Keith Emerson and Greg Lake contains several performances that “surprise, surprise.”
Todd Rundgren and Brian Auger’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” blasts the album wide open into Lake/Crimson territory – and trust me, those “neuro-surgeons” are still “screaming for more!” Who doesn’t love that powerhouse riff?
But then at the 1:40 mark, it’s (as Peter Gabriel announced in ‘Supper’s Ready’) “all change!” and the tune morphs into a wondrous Emerson-like keyboard solo. John Milton wrote Paradise Regained. Yeah, it’s something like that, with a rushed memory of my teenaged-first taste of Tarkus progressive rock that was as colorful as the armadillo-tank album sleeve itself.
“Time and a Place,” by Leslie Hunt and Derek Sherinian, stays close to the original, but seems to be sent in modern high-definition. Perhaps, that original album cut was just overshadowed by the grandeur of the “Tarkus” suite.
“From the Beginning” (a personal favorite) sparkles with acoustic guitar, percussion, John Wesley’s vocals, a really nice electric guitar solo, and (!!!!) the flute of Focus’ Thijs Van Leer. This song is worth (at least) part of the admission fee.
Two singers from prog and rock heaven history step to the plate. Sonja Kristina’s vocal pours William Turner paint colors over the notes of “Still … You Turn Me On,” while Steve Porcaro’s keyboards gently float over the tune. And then there’s “Lucky Man,” with Martin Turner (of Wishbone Ash fame!), and sometime Buggles, Asia and Yes-man Geoff Downes on understated, yet sublime keyboards.
Ah, but then it’s time to simply sit back and contemplate all “the stones of years” and another memory of racing home to play the recently purchased Trilogy in 1972 and now hearing Keith Emerson’s son Aaron and his grandson (!!!) Ethan blaze through “Fanfare for the Common Man.” To quote Riff Raff from Rocky Horror, “It’s astounding!” Better yet, “Let’s do the Time Warp again.”
It’s just an idea, but this is a really nice jumble of old-guard progsters and others of a tad younger vanguard.
And speaking of old-guard progsters, holy cow! Holy God of Hell Fire! (The) Arthur Brown struts a vocal across “Karn Evil 9 1st Impression Part 2″ (aka “Welcome to the Show That Never Ends”), while Jorden Rudess flails away with beyond nimble keyboard prowess.
It’s just another idea, but this music conjures so many great memories of prog power. At one time, this stuff was just a great groove that did funny things to my rather young cerebral cortex. In fairness, somewhere along the line, the original firepower of ELP was blotted with the paper weight of too many individual <em>Works, Persian rugs, and that cover from Love Beach.
But A Tribute to Keith Emerson and Greg Lake re-ignites the feeling of wonder at the mysterious blank paintings that fronted Pictures at an Exhibition — and then the inside, with those paintings revealed. And this pushed me (and my tender brain) to consider (yikes!) venturing into real Mussorgsky classical music! Thank you, Keith, Greg, and Carl.
But to quote yet another prog band giant, Procol Harum, “Still, there will be more.” Billy Sherwood and David Sancious conspire to shoot their way through “The Sheriff.” Patrick Moraz jumps and bumps “Hoedown” with Mainhorse, Refugee, Yes, and Moody Blues passion. Greg Lake’s classic “C’est La Vie” is gently rendered by Jon Davidson and Larry Fast.
The compact-disc bonus track is worth a bit more of the admission for “this show that never ends.” The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra sweeps with soft grandeur and burning-bush intensity through the “ELP Suite Tarkus/From the Beginning/Tarkus (Reprise).” You know, we prog people always love those “reprises” on side-long epics.
Classical-music buffs may scoff at this rock-orchestra stuff, but let’s just say from the heart of a Midwestern working-class kid who, years ago, only had a few bucks in his pocket to buy a few cool record albums, the music of Emerson Lake and Palmer opened doors of nice colors, better words, weird and interesting stuff, and quasi-intellectual ideas that never forgot the wisdom of a universe that vibrates to the backbeat of a pretty decent tune which will forever and a day ask the eternal question: “Are you ready, Eddie, ready to rock and roll?”
That’s prog rock. And that’s ELP.
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