IN THE HOT SEAT

Emerson, Lake and Palmer are their own worst enemy. Though some of the most talented individuals in prog, they had hugely inflated egos, especially Keith Emerson who thought of himself as more than just a musician, he thought of himself as an artist. By the time the prog rock boom had ended in the 70s, ELP was long gone. Then in 1992, they returned with Black Moon and the end result was shocking. Greg Lake's voice had changed drastically, and ELP's pompous attitudes took a backseat in favor of putting together an album that was reflective of the 90's. A case could have been made for late-stage ELP to have longevity, but at this point in the story, things are not looking good. Emerson's right arm is completely shot, Greg's voice is diminishing, and Palmer has carpal tunnel. As their label Victory fails to find hits from Yes and David Bowie, it is now ELP who find themselves in the hot seat. Hence the album title, In The Hot Seat. And the end result is arguably one of the worst records I've ever heard, right up there with Summer In Paradise by The Beach Boys.

The 90's saw prog get its mojo back. Though never likely to hit mainstream again and make a ton of money, prog got its mojo back. They had survived the 80's. ELP, as a group, never had to worry about navigating the 80's, despite the fact that era was ripe for ELP to make a comeback after Love Beach. In The Hot Seat sees ELP decide not to go prog, but instead attempt to find some kind of commercial hit. They threw everything possible at the wall in the hopes something on this album would be a hit. So, why don't I stop delaying the inevitable, and take you on a journey through this album track by track.

We begin with Hand Of Truth, often regarded as the best song on the album. Now at first, with the bombastic keyboards, I thought this was going to be a pretty good banger, and then Greg Lake starts singing and all the issues with this album come front and center. Palmer's drumming sounds more like a drum machine, Emerson's keyboard sounds it's been ADRed at points, and Greg Lake's voice has diminished and he sounds hoarse to the point he can't hit the right notes. Now I'm willing to put up with all of that if the songs are there, but Hand Of Truth, lyrically and sonically, is more of a Mike + The Mechanics song. I hear this, and just beg for Mike + The Mechanics to be playing this song.

Next is Daddy, a fairly dark song about a girl from upstate New York who goes missing. I've seen people say this is off-brand for ELP, and frankly, I think it sounds right for them. Unfortunately, this doesn't come out sounding like an ELP song, but instead this is something I would expect to hear from Peter Gabriel. But you want to know what the biggest problem is with this song? It sounds like Emerson and Palmer are missing, and instead been replaced by session musicians. Say what you will about Love Beach, that at least had ELP, and wasn't reliant on session musicians. This is a Greg Lake solo song at the end of the day, it is not an ELP song.

Then we get to the most bizarre song on the album, One By One, an attempt by Keith Emerson to show he is a true artist and composer among mere prog rockers like Steve Hackett, Yes, and Dream Theater. And I have no idea what Keith was on when he made this song. It sounds like it's trying to be for some sort of Disney soundtrack, complete with that honking synth sound that was a bad idea in the 80's when The Clash abused the hell out of it on their final studio effort. I expect a song like this to be overproduced, but truth be told, the end result is really flat and dry. It lacks the bombastic sound ELP is known for, and this becomes apparent throughout the album. There's no power behind it. This should have been the fun song on the album, but there are so many missed opportunities, and again, this is something I expect on a Disney soundtrack.

Then we come to Heart On Ice, a corny ass Phil Collins style love ballad that even Phil Collins would have thrown out. By this point, Adult Contemporary had lost its luster, so songs like this were not in demand. This feels like a desperate move by a desperate band who are desperate to fill their bank accounts. But more importantly, I can't hear anything that sounds like Emerson, or Palmer performing. Much like daddy, it feels like session musicians with Greg Lake performing solo, but unlike Daddy, Greg Lake's voice is shot to the point he just doesn't have the vocal range necessary to make this corny song work. Why is ELP performing this? I'd more sooner pass this one off to Peter Cetera, because at least he would jump at this song, and make it work for him.

Next up we come to The Thin Line, and you must be joking. That's right, ELP are trying to get some serious street cred by performing a conscious hip-hop R&B inspired song about the line between love and hate. There's just one problem... ELP have no street cred. They were, for the longest time, up their ass yuppies who had money to burn, and flaunted it during their live shows. Greg Lake's voice, again, is not built for this sort of thing. He doesn't have the soulful voice of somebody like Paul Carrack, who could probably make this work. This song can be best described as career suicide. ELP were once one of the most respected prog rock acts around, and any momentum they had after Black Moon crashed and burned with this singular song.

Normally, a sane person would stop there, but we're only half way there. Next we have Man In The Long Black Coat, which is a cover of a Bob Dylan song. I'll admit, I like this version of the song. It comes the closest to finding something that works for Greg's diminished vocals, and in fact, he does hit a few high notes on this song. But AGAIN, this is a solo Greg Lake song that sounds like it's being backed by session musicians and a drum machine. Why isn't this a Greg Lake solo album?...

Then there's Change. A pop-standard style song of the 90's. Now, I had hopes for this song, because Greg Lake's voice seemed fitting for it, but the song itself is just ASS. We get what is possibly one of the saddest keyboard solos from ELP, but at least it sounds like Emerson and Palmer are on here, but the production makes this song flat, and loses any sort of power. This is not the song to inspire change in the world, basically.

We come to yet another ballad, this one is called Give Me A Reason, and it is not written by Emerson, Lake, or Palmer. It instead comes to us from renowned songwriter Steve Diamond. The session musicians and drum machine are back for this Peter Cetera style number, and again, Greg Lake's voice just isn't working on this one. It's outside of his range, and Greg is putting in no effort to try and push his voice higher. Oh, and this one comes complete with a cheesy guitar solo. Greg Lake's attempts to break into adult contemporary are feeble, and pathetic.

Next we come to Gone Too Soon, a blues-rock style song. Frankly, I think Greg Lake's hoarse voice actually works here. The problem is, like most songs on this album, are flat and under produced. By this point, I'm pretty sure you can tell the obvious problem here. Yep, session musicians are backing the song. Oh, but we do get a keyboard solo this time, and it did nothing for me. If this were a Greg Lake solo song, I'd probably like it, but because it's on an ELP album, I have to use that context. This just doesn't do it for me.

I am glad to say we are on the last song of this album, Street War. Has ELP saved the best for last? Nope! In their continued effort to sell out and go every possible direction, ELP sees themselves trying to imitate Billy Idol and go punk. There's just one problem with that... Billy Idol's career was killed by the trainwreck he released in 1993, Cyberpunk. Billy Idol wasn't cool, and ELP trying to go punk just sounds like the biggest joke since trying to get street cred with The Thin Line. This is just wrong. This whole album is just wrong.

And this is why I will be one of those people who will continually say Love Beach is not the worst Emerson, Lake and Palmer album. Despite Love Beach being an absolute mess, I can at least hear Emerson, Lake and Palmer in Love Beach. ELP deserved to go out on a better note, but sadly this was their last studio effort. This was historic for ELP as it marked the first time the band did not chart in the US, or the UK. While Black Moon was low on the charts, that album at least charted, and had songs that stayed in ELP's set list. In The Hot Seat is the one album the group absolutely hated to make, and you can tell they just wanted to have this one done with. And that is what In The Hot Seat represents, a sad, broken way to end a recording career.