TRILOGY

The opening 'Endless Enigma' is an epic with a catchy chorus, a lot of excellent instrumental music and a 'fugue' or something in the middle to make it interesting. It's all very well done, though the vocals get a bit mumbled or a bit lost in the production sometimes, but not often. The other prog-epic track is the title track, which is a painful break-up ballad with very excellent instrumental music in the second half.

I realise I really enjoy the music of this band is that they really enjoy their music, are enthusiastic, and they always perform with a lot of personality, which is a bit goofy sometimes, but that's good.

However, the main reason I really like this band, (they are my 2nd favourite prog band behind 'Genesis'), and the thing that sets them apart (for me) from most other prog bands is their wide variety of styles. Actually, they are very open minded to a lot of styles that almost all other bands totally shun. There are so many genres; jazz-rock, cabaret, country and western, comedy, ragtime, classical, etc. that other bands are scared to go near. The guys are excellent musicians and can play anything.

'Hoe-Down' is a mesmerising country-and-western anthem, played so that you could get up and dance to it. I think it would even rock todays disco's! And Keith Emerson's playing mixes classical with country, a classic! I also get a laugh out of the Cowboy tale 'The Sheriff', which is as poetic as Cowboy tales come, and with excellent organ work. And then there's 'From the beginning', a fine acoustic ballad that sounds similar to the band 'America'.

I have mixed feeling about 'Abaddon's Bolero', but this ascending march is totally the sought of thing that other band's avoid, interpreting the music of classical composers was done in the 60's, but few, if any, of ELP's contemporaries, such as King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, would have tried anything like this. The trashy stripper anthem 'Living Sin' is not really a favourite of mine... anyone want to see Greg Lake do a strip-tease? No, but at least there was a band with a sense of fun to do this sought of song.

So it's a diverse, enjoyable set, mostly good, though I do question the last two songs a little bit, but over time have warmed to 'Bolero'. I'll go for four stars.

Share this EMERSON LAKE & PALMER review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Brendan
• Report this review (#321997)
• Buy EMERSON LAKE & PALMER music online with PA partners
• Show all EMERSON LAKE & PALMER MP3/Stream
• Go to EMERSON LAKE & PALMER page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Trilogy page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for EMERSON LAKE & PALMER related discussions