Emerson, Lake & Powell

Emerson, Lake & Powell, sometimes abbreviated as ELPowell, were an English rock band, an offshoot or variant lineup of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that released one official studio album in 1986.

Keith Emerson and Greg Lake had planned to re-form the original ELP in 1985 but drummer Carl Palmer was unavailable because of contractual obligations to Asia. After auditioning a series of drummers unwilling to commit to the band, they approached Cozy Powell, a longtime friend of Emerson's, to replace him. The band have always insisted that it was a coincidence that his surname also happened to start with a "P", thus allowing the band to retain its original initials, although they also joked about looking for a "Gene Prupa" and having approached "Phil Pollins" and "Ringo Parr" before Powell agreed to join. Shortly before Emerson formed the band, his barn studio was destroyed by a runaway tractor, leading him to joke, "Perhaps we should have called it 'Emerson, Lake & Plow!'" ["Keyboard", July 1986, 12 (7): 39.]

The band's self-titled studio album was a return to the familiar ELP style, with long progressive rock suites, mellow ballads and a classical theme (Mars, the Bringer of War by Gustav Holst). One song, "The Score", even references the lyric "Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends" from ELP's "Karn Evil 9: First Impression" (on the album "Brain Salad Surgery"). Initially, when the record company suggested that the group perform "Mars," Emerson refused, saying it would be like "ELP Plays the Classics" or "Richard Clayderman Plays 'Clair de Lune ["Keyboard", 12"' (7): 44] . After Powell showed him a video of one of his former bands playing the number, however, Emerson agreed to try it.

In live performance the band of course also performed classic ELP and Nice material.

The band's live tour was marred by a dispute which led to the band firing its management, and "ELPowell" disbanded without recording a second album. Emerson rejoined Palmer and with Robert Berry formed the band 3 in 1988, before the original ELP lineup reformed for 1992's album "Black Moon", which bears some stylistic similarities to the Emerson, Lake & Powell album.

Some ELPowell studio rehearsals and live recordings found their way onto bootlegs in the 1990s. The material was subsequently remastered and given an official release on two 2003 CDs, available via the ELP website.

Band members

* Keith Emerson Keyboards
* Greg Lake Guitar, Vocals, Production
* Cozy Powell Drums, Percussion

Discography

* "Emerson, Lake & Powell " (1986)
* "The Sprocket Sessions " (rehearsal tapes) (2003)
* "Live in Concert" (recorded live in Lakeland, Florida, November 1986) (2003)

tudio Recordings (Songs)

*1. The Score
*2. Learning To Fly
*3. The Miracle
*4. Touch and Go
*5. Love Blind
*6. Step Aside
*7. Lay Down Your Guns
*8. Mars, The Bringer of War
*9. The Loco-Motion
*10. Vacant Possession

External links

* [http://www.emersonlakepalmer.com Official Emerson, Lake & Palmer website]
* [http://www.noddyspuncture.co.uk/ Noddy's Puncture - Foremost UK ELP Tribute band]

References