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richardh View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 22 2011 at 12:47
Originally posted by KingCrInuYasha KingCrInuYasha wrote:

Originally posted by Cactus Choir Cactus Choir wrote:

I remember an interview with Queen's producer Roy Thomas Baker where he said Brian May was a huge fan of Davy O'List's guitar playing and would often be down the Marquee watching The Nice. Baker produced an album by O'List's post-Nice band Jet - totally unlike The Nice, sort of Glam rock with flashy guitar playing and almost a new wave feel.


Never noticed that. That solo he does on "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" does sound like a bit like O'List's style of playing.

Originally posted by ExittheLemming ExittheLemming wrote:


O'List handles the lead vocals on the title track (and single) from The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack album (and you can hear what a great singer he was but was reputedly so shy about singing live he steadfastly declined - shame really, as it would have applied a band-aid to their Achiles heel: the vocals on the song based material)


Personally, Lee Jackson wasn't a bad vocalist, however I admit the guy could be hit or miss. Compare say, the Live version of "Ars Longa Vita Brevis" during the show at Fairfield Hall (Sept. 29, 1968) to the studio version. The former has him delivering a larger than life performance, as if he was in some sort of swashbuckler flick. The energy on the studio version, on the other hand, is just gone.

BTW, O'List does some good singing on the original version of "Azrael" and the chorus of "Tantalising Maggie"
 
The studio version of Ars Longa Vita Brevis is totally useless compared to some of the bootleg live versions I've heard.
 
Jackson was a very good singer imo but his voice didnt really suit prog. I think they kept doing the Bob Dylan adaptions just to give him something he was good at singing. This is a good example
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 22 2011 at 13:33
The Nice were in my opinion the first full Symphonic band, but we are no longer in 1968, what was innovative on that year, sounds dated today, specially with bands that haven't aged well as The Nice.

When I make a review of their albums, I try to use a late 60's perspective.

Iván
            
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 22 2011 at 15:55
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

The Nice were in my opinion the first full Symphonic band, but we are no longer in 1968, what was innovative on that year, sounds dated today, specially with bands that haven't aged well as The Nice.

When I make a review of their albums, I try to use a late 60's perspective.

Iván


Yep, I agree that context is important, but when I review an album I use a late 40's perspective.Wink
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 05 2011 at 02:00
Originally posted by NickHall NickHall wrote:

I get fed up with people having a go at Emerson because he's the best. OK, Billy Ritchie was pretty good, but just because he was the first guy to do it, don't make him the best. Let's face it, he was boring next to Emerson.

I personally like both in their own ways. I don't think it's helpful or even fair to say Ritchie is boring because you prefer Emerson.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 14 2011 at 08:26
I like Emerson a lot, but Ritchie was a genius. Bowie said so too.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 14 2011 at 13:57
Does anyone know how I can get my hands on The Nice's music besides youtube?
The future's uncertain and the end is always near. - Jim Morrison
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 14 2011 at 14:14
Originally posted by GoldenGod2112 GoldenGod2112 wrote:

Does anyone know how I can get my hands on The Nice's music besides youtube?


They're on itunes.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 14 2011 at 14:33
Originally posted by silverpot silverpot wrote:

Originally posted by GoldenGod2112 GoldenGod2112 wrote:

Does anyone know how I can get my hands on The Nice's music besides youtube?


They're on itunes.
Thank you very much. I'll have to buy them if I get itunes gift cards for christmas like I usually do. :P
The future's uncertain and the end is always near. - Jim Morrison
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 14 2011 at 15:00
Originally posted by GoldenGod2112 GoldenGod2112 wrote:

Originally posted by silverpot silverpot wrote:

Originally posted by GoldenGod2112 GoldenGod2112 wrote:

Does anyone know how I can get my hands on The Nice's music besides youtube?


They're on itunes.
Thank you very much. I'll have to buy them if I get itunes gift cards for christmas like I usually do. :P
 
You must get this:
 
3CD's of music available for download and cheap as chips.
 
If you can't download off the UK site then I had a look at Amazon.com which has a good selection of albums by The Nice available for download.
Live At The Filmore East December 69 would be my recommendation


Edited by richardh - September 14 2011 at 15:18
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2011 at 07:41
Originally posted by FunkyHomoSapien FunkyHomoSapien wrote:

I like Emerson a lot, but Ritchie was a genius. Bowie said so too.
Yeah, but Ritchie's genius was behind the scenes. He was a wizard on stage too, but Emerson took the whole concert spectacle to a new level.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 15 2011 at 18:05
Arts longa vita brevis could be the best one?....
FAIS QUE TON REVE SOIT PLUS LONG QUE LA NUIT HAVE YOUR DREAM LASTING LONGER THAN THE NIGHT
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2011 at 01:37
Originally posted by jean-marie jean-marie wrote:

Arts longa vita brevis could be the best one?....
disappointingly a very flat sounding album. I think part of the problem is that O'List left the band just before they recorded it and his guitar parts were not properly replaced. The earlier BBC radio session version of Ars Longa Vita Brevis when O'List was still present is exciting and dynamic. That excitemnt just didn't translate when they came to record it. Also they padded it out with a drum solo and an adaption of Bach's Brandenburger Concerto in order to call it a 'suite'. Its certainly an important milestone in prog history (as a statement) but the finished product was not good. Keith Emerson wasn't happy with it and that says it all.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2011 at 02:41
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by jean-marie jean-marie wrote:

Arts longa vita brevis could be the best one?....
disappointingly a very flat sounding album. I think part of the problem is that O'List left the band just before they recorded it and his guitar parts were not properly replaced. The earlier BBC radio session version of Ars Longa Vita Brevis when O'List was still present is exciting and dynamic. That excitemnt just didn't translate when they came to record it. Also they padded it out with a drum solo and an adaption of Bach's Brandenburger Concerto in order to call it a 'suite'. Its certainly an important milestone in prog history (as a statement) but the finished product was not good. Keith Emerson wasn't happy with it and that says it all.



Ars Longa is one of the three best Nice albums along with the debut and Five Bridges IMHO. I don't think the production is that bad, a bit quiet maybe but you can always turn the volume up and the drums sound great (listen to Brandenburger and the Karelia). Most sections of the Ars Longa suite are really good to my ears and I certainly wouldn't describe Brandenburger as 'padding', it's one of the band's strongest tracks. The melodramatic Hammond section on Prelude and the piano/percussion workout on Realisation feature some of the most exciting playing Emerson ever did. I'll agree with Richard that the dull Awakening percussion section is a major candidate for the skip button. The Karelia Suite is terrific as well, more subdued than the Five Bridges version but still with some great Hammond and drumming on it.

It's not a perfect album but it's very good. As for Keith's opinion of it, he was a musical wonder but his judgement wasn't always impeccable - he did pose for the cover of Love Beach after all.Wink
"And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!"

"He's up the pub"
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2011 at 15:32
Originally posted by Cactus Choir Cactus Choir wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by jean-marie jean-marie wrote:

Arts longa vita brevis could be the best one?....
disappointingly a very flat sounding album. I think part of the problem is that O'List left the band just before they recorded it and his guitar parts were not properly replaced. The earlier BBC radio session version of Ars Longa Vita Brevis when O'List was still present is exciting and dynamic. That excitemnt just didn't translate when they came to record it. Also they padded it out with a drum solo and an adaption of Bach's Brandenburger Concerto in order to call it a 'suite'. Its certainly an important milestone in prog history (as a statement) but the finished product was not good. Keith Emerson wasn't happy with it and that says it all.



Ars Longa is one of the three best Nice albums along with the debut and Five Bridges IMHO. I don't think the production is that bad, a bit quiet maybe but you can always turn the volume up and the drums sound great (listen to Brandenburger and the Karelia). Most sections of the Ars Longa suite are really good to my ears and I certainly wouldn't describe Brandenburger as 'padding', it's one of the band's strongest tracks. The melodramatic Hammond section on Prelude and the piano/percussion workout on Realisation feature some of the most exciting playing Emerson ever did. I'll agree with Richard that the dull Awakening percussion section is a major candidate for the skip button. The Karelia Suite is terrific as well, more subdued than the Five Bridges version but still with some great Hammond and drumming on it.

It's not a perfect album but it's very good. As for Keith's opinion of it, he was a musical wonder but his judgement wasn't always impeccable - he did pose for the cover of Love Beach after all.Wink
My favourite is the self titled The Nice. The track For Example is for me just about the best thing they ever recorded. After that I would say The Five Bridges Suite is very underrated.Much prefer that to Ars Longa Vita Brevis.In general though The Nice were by all accounts an exciting live band that struggled to replicate the same intensity onto their studio recordings. A decent compilation or box set is all thats really needed to cover their career. They had their moments but thats all.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2011 at 16:01
^ have to agree with this in the main. The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack is a decent collection of psychedelia addled pop/rock tunes plus a peek at what was to come (Rondo) Ars Longa suffers from some flimsy song material on side one and the title suite is more admirable for its spirit and daring than its execution (but it certainly contains some of Emerson's finest organ playing) The third album (The Nice or As Nice as Mother Makes It in the US) is a five star belter for me and the adoption of the half studio/half live hybrid format probably indicates they knew they hadn't been able to replicate their live magic in the studio. Five Bridges is rather unjustly neglected as there's not a weak track on the critter and it's probably the most successful rock/orchestral fusion vehicle from that era. The posthumous Elegy seems to attract a lot of flak but I love that album (and who cares if Charisma wanted to cash in on the lucrative juggernaut that was ELP in 1971?)
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 16 2011 at 17:22
Well, It'd be a dull world if we all agreed! Re the third album I actually much prefer the studio side to the live one, particularly Azrael and For Example. She Belongs to Me gets a bit repetitive and Rondo pales next to the studio original and later ELP versions.  If I had to rank the original albums it would be:
1. Five Bridges
2. Ars Longa/Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
3. Nice

[big gap]

4. Elegy
"And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!"

"He's up the pub"
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2011 at 04:02
Originally posted by Cactus Choir Cactus Choir wrote:

Well, It'd be a dull world if we all agreed! Re the third album I actually much prefer the studio side to the live one, particularly Azrael and For Example. She Belongs to Me gets a bit repetitive and Rondo pales next to the studio original and later ELP versions.  If I had to rank the original albums it would be:
1. Five Bridges
2. Ars Longa/Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
3. Nice

[big gap]

4. Elegy
I had a listen to that version of Rondo last night. I really like Lee Jackson's bass technique which I think is more sorted to the peice than Greg Lake's. Admittedly Brian 'Blinky' Davison ,although a fine drummer, was not in the class of Carl Palmer but it still stands up as a decent version imo
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2011 at 04:06
^ Yep, Lake never quite mastered the finer nuances of Lee's rumpity dumpity dump* riff with ELP

*Apologies to the laymen amongst us for the arcane and technical music theory verbiage here
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2011 at 04:49
Originally posted by ExittheLemming ExittheLemming wrote:

^ Yep, Lake never quite mastered the finer nuances of Lee's rumpity dumpity dump* riff with ELP

*Apologies to the laymen amongst us for the arcane and technical music theory verbiage here


I wouldn't quite describe it as a 'rumpity dumpity dump', it's more of a 'dum diddy dum diddy dum'Tongue.

I think Lee's 'dum diddy dum diddy dum' is heard to maximum effect on the studio version of Rondo, serviceable though the live version is. How he keeps that galloping bass riff going for 8-plus minutes is unbelievable.Clap
"And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!"

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 17 2011 at 04:54
One man's rump is another man's diddy (I'd like those to be my last dying words)
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