This brings particular fond memories to Aussies who grew up with this as the theme to the weekly tv show Wide World Of Sports, and also for kids watching morning tv who were treated to this song almost daily for a while as a filler between programs nearing 8am, sometimes with this video of them out in the snow of Montreal Stadium, and sometimes as a background soundtrack to a video of jet boats in New Zealand rivers doing spins insanely close to rock outcroppings. Sounds crazy, but there’ll be some people out there who know what the hell I’m talking about.
Jet boats spinning out to ELP? Been there! :-) The other one I recall is Run Like Hell from Pink Floyd's The Wall. I cannot recall the visuals that went to it. It had me believing Run Like Hell was an instrumental until I learnt better!
I was a kid when this came out in Australia. HUGE song. As George said, it was used as the theme for a whole swag of shows - including a Saturday morning boating show in my home town of Brisbane Australia 😂
The jazz chops of the band were very evident in this piece. They do another really jazzy piece with a lot of synth. ... "WHEN THE APPLE BLOSSOMS BLOOM IN THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND I'LL BE YOUR VALENTINE*. Worth a listen it's good stuff.
Was a "lucky man" enough to see this band live here in Nashville in 1977 with the orchestra that they toured with that year but had to let go later for financial reasons. They played this song and Rocked the House.
Hey guys, loved the reaction, I remember as a teenager in 1977 being mesmerized hearing the radio edit version then rushing out to buy the album "Works vol 1" and being blown away by this full length version & the album. Have loved their music ever since. Keith was an absolute virtuoso and one the greatest innovators of modern music. He pioneered the monstrous modular moog synthesizer in the studio and live and for Works he used the latest and greatest multi synth from Yamaha, the GX1 which I think at the time cost USD60K, I think the only other artists who had one were Stevie Wonder, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Benny Andersson from ABBA. ELP's two great epic pieces are "Tarkus" and "Karn Evil 9" which are both brilliantly composed and played. Also recommend "The Barbarian" , "Take a Pebble" , "Toccata" and "The Endless Enigma", cheers
Recorded at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal Canada when it was brand new. Same place I saw Pink Floyd Pulse tour. This was part of rehearsals for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, it was recorded in March or April of that year.
Nice one. I saw EL&P at Empire Pool Wembley, my ears were ringing for quite a long time after that concert, they were loud! And, I saw Aaron Copland conducting his own works at the Royal Festival Hall, that was an amazing concert and I could still hear after the fact!!
Yes I remember this one to, I’ve got one of their albums, Tarkus from memory lurking in the vinyl section. Talented musicians. Interesting stuff. What can I say , I have diverse tastes, metal to opera.
I’m such a prog fan and live, love, love this and remember this from ‘77. Later in life I got to play the Aaron Copland version several times in our local Symphony playing timpani. Gives me goosebumps. Great reaction! ❤️
I believe this performance was from their tour around 1977? I believe that they appeared with a full orchestra at stadium venues. No doubt they were playing a concert that night. Just a shout out to Greg Lake. He performed a lot of roles within that band, but one of them was playing bass on songs like this. There had to be times where he was thinking: "Geez, I really don't want to have to vamp around one note while Keith does solos", but he laid down a solid foundation and found ways to amp it up...
My organ trio used to do a version of the Peter Gunn theme..... i apologized many times to the bass player for putting him through the physical ordeal of keeping that bass line going for up to two minutes solid. His reply was that was good practice for the funk band he was in training for!
The very first rock concert given at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, built for the 1976 games, but unfortunately not finished in time, since there was not yet the retractable roof. Imagine playing outdoors in -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), with 18 inches of snow on the ground and all that, in front of empty seats. They would surely have had immense success at the very beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic. Here is part of an interview with Greg Lake: LAKE: I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everybody took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. We had just heard that they wanted to release it as a single. My initial reaction was like, 'Well, no, we're too busy doing the rehearsals with the orchestra.' And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, ‘Video.’ We got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn't plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.
Prog is challenging for most of we mortals. That is why we love it. Saw these guys in the '70s and it was a fabulous concert. And the gong was heroic. (but it didn't come close to Genesis) Dang, I forgot how awesome this tract is. EL&P are rockin' jazzy!
Watching this had me checking the clock visible at the top of the grandstand alongside the period-correct Olympic logo. It looks as though it stood still for the entire performance - respect!
This made the news in my neck of the woods... The Montreal Olympic Stadium serving as an outdoor studio for these guys was a big deal for Quebecers! We were all over this prog thing! Genesis, ELP, YES, and Pink Floyd were superstars in Montreal, back then!
Copeland's publishing company refused Emerson's request to be allowed to record Fanfare. So Emerson actually called Copeland on the phone, and sent him a recording. He LOVED it, overrode his publishing company, and allowed ELP to perform and record Fanfare. Copeland found Emerson's solo "strange" though. lol
I actually saw them once in 1974 and two times in 1977. In 1977 I saw them in Chicago in their second venue with the 70 piece Symphony 87,000 people were in soldier Field. Amazing all day concert.
It's a great piece, and probably their most accessible one simply because so many people have either heard the original piece or this attached to every sporting event shown on tv, most obviously for the Olympics. As far as fanfare music goes, I would definitely support the motion to have this played every time I entered a room as my own personal fanfare. I am after all one of the "common man". Not sure it would suit you two however as you are certainly more than common. Loved seeing the enjoyment you two got from this.
This is a killer track. And seriously, I think some of their best vocal work ... I have to agree with Sean below, I grew up with this as the theme for WWoS, so it is very familiar to me. George you're right, that bass line was almost hypnotic. Listening to it with all that buzzing, I wondered if he was playing a fretless bass. I strained to see each time the camera turned to him, finally I saw he wasn't, so it was likely distortion and tuning. Awesome stuff.
Hi there about the bass guitar, it was an 8 string Alembic, because of the 4 xtra strings which are tuned an octave higher you get that toppy very clean sound and wich is Greg Lake,s soundmark.
You can see Carl Palmer's famous stainless steel drum kit in this. The set had built-in pickups for sound and weighed so much, they collapsed the stage at the Yale Bowl in the US. They were later bought at auction by Ringo Starr who never takes them out on tour - totally impractical - but he thinks they're gorgeous.
If this is your first listen to ELP you haven’t heard anything yet. Their early music will amaze you. Truly, you need to listen to Pictures at an Exhibition. It’s actually like one continuous song, except final encore. Maybe do. 2 parter on it. 1st up Blue Variations, then second half of album next. It phenomenal! Pandora’s box guy’s.
I think a lot of the people who said that prog was 'wanky' were the ones who knew they weren't talented enough to play it....and some critics (who are largely just failed musicians themselves) getting even more jealous of what they were hearing.😂 I think the ending of this was chopped a bit.....pity.....but you got the drift. Fantastic song. They filmed this clip in the, at the time, unfinished Montreal Olympic Stadium because the music was going to be used at the Olympics the following year. That is why there is construction still in progress.
A great track and iconic video by a fabulous trio. I had the good fortune to see them in 1972, 74, 92 and their last show in 2010. I'd like to suggest you try Trilogy next, the title track from the album of the same name. Re the filming of this video, according to Greg Lake's autobiography, it was so cold that they filmed it in 30-second sections and then edited it together.
I was watching this clip the other day. My 10 year old daughter walked in asked "what is this?" I started it again to show her from the start. She walked out again after about 3 minutes. Where did i go wrong as a parent?
We grew up on experimental music, so as epic as this piece is, it was not out of the ordinary to hear stuff more like this. But much of the music today is completely banal, unoriginal and uninspired. We grew up with trained and/or talented musicians. Now they are mostly generic singers whose record company hands them a song to do that is very similar to everything else on the radio.
ELP's own album version has been used in many sporting events, including the Olympics, at least on American television. So good chance your familiarity is from their original version.
Now you want to listen to the version of fanfare by the band called "The Best" which features Emerson on keyboards, John Entwistle (of the Who) on bass, Joe Walsh (Eagles, James Gang) on guitar, "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers) on guitar and Simon Phillips (Toto) on drums
Thanks guys. Another Greg Lake band. And Keith Emerson takes me back to when I saw The Nice performing with him rocking that Hammond organ and jamming knives between the keys to hold them down. What a showman !!
saw them at Fillmore East, Keith jumping over the Hammond l-100 while holding the keys, the later pushed the organ over. I think it was during the Nice playing America from West Side Story. clearly the most violent organist.
Probably the best most Progressive Rock song by ELP is Tarkus. It is 20 minutes of absolutely complex music led by Keith Emerson's many keyboards, synthesizers and the like. Greg Lake is brilliant in his vocals and guitar work. Carl Palmer's rapid drums and various percussion are out of this world. All this by just 3 musicians. They were way ahead of their time.
Pike captures a German prisoner? Jeez, that was in 1973... Prog. In those days it was 'anything goes, and have fun doing it'. Focus (Jan Akkerman guitar), Ekseption (classic based Rick van de Linden), Earth and Fire (Koerts brothers), KaYaK and maybe you can even count Golden Earring to that wave. Oh, that was in the Netherlands, a thriving music station broadcasting outside territorial waters, like you had in the UK too, Radio City springs to mind.
For Morris dancing prog rock, you need to checkout Gryphon (prog/medieval/folk rock)😀. Rock with crumhorns! Great stuff. The track Kemp’s Jig is a user friendly intro, but they get seriously prog in the album Red Queen to Gryphon Three. Maybe for Prog Week 2?
Think you need about a year to scratch the surface, and that is just the beginning. Going through the 80s, 90s till the now and you have your work cut out. But hey, I don't mind listening to anything under that banner.
Great choice, Chris. It’s been an excellent week so far, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of selections. Can we all pause to acknowledge how good those keyboard brass sounds are? For that era, it’s a killer sound. I’m guessing that it was the sound that sort of inspired him to play a bit of Copland’s piece and the others just jumped on it because it would have sounded amazing to have that sound coming from a 3 piece band. If memory serves me correctly, didn’t ELP also do a version of Toccata? And I heard that the drummer had a stainless steel kit, but that could have just been a rumour.
@@sean---the-other-one It took two roadies to move the bass drum! And on your other question, they did do Tocatta, an adaptation of Tocatta Concertata by Argentine classical composer Alberto Ginastera. It's fantastic and wild! The middle break is a drum solo by Palmer which includes "synthesizer percussion ". He worked with a couple of electronic engineers in the studio and came up with a method to play various preprogrammed sounds using mics in various drums as triggers. The system was added to his stainless steel kit. There's an interesting story behind Tocatta. Keith first heard it while he was on tour with The Nice, played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He eventually adapted it for ELP, but as production of the album Brain Salad Surgery was wrapping up, he realized they hadn't yet secured the rights for Tocatta from the original composer. He contacted Alberto's management company and they said Alberto doesn't give rights to his music for anybody. Keith then arranged to visit Alberto in Switzerland (where Alberto was living at the time). When Alberto listened to it on a tape player with headphones, Keith thought for sure he didn't like it. He spoke a few words in Portuguese. Alberto's wife translated for Keith (something like, I don't recall the exact quote) "Alberto says it's diabolical, just the way he imagined it sounding when he wrote it".
ELP did not perform at Woodstock. As others pointed out, this is the studio audio. I believe Copeland wasn't sure he wanted to let them release their version, until he heard it and was impressed with what they had done.
it's Montreal's Olympic stadium which was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Recorded August 1977 it looked very cold for August. i came very close to going watch that show but not close enough. Newspaper were mostly talking about the number of vans it took to haul this show around. c'est la vie
From Wikipedia... "In winter 1977, Emerson, Lake and Palmer filmed a performance of their arrangement of the Aaron Copland piece "Fanfare For The Common Man" at the stadium.[83] The group also recorded a concert at the stadium in August of that year and released it as a live album."
@@PaulMcGarry-bo3jg i was in montreal back then and almost almost wanted to go. But since i didnt go watch any big show i didnt. Would've been great the sound system was the talk of the newspapers and the trailer trucks of equipment they carried on tour
60p for a concert ticket in 1972. I wouldn't have picked "Firth of Fifth" as a Genesis track, or this one for ELP, but there you go. Keith Emerson tragically committed suicide, believed to be due to depression following physical problems that affected his playing ability. Greg died of cancer, but Carl Palmer is till going strong.
Olympic stadium in Montreal. Infamously called “Big Owe” stadium, due to typical French Canadian corrupt construction……. stadium was not actually finished for the Olympics, which took 20 or 30 years to finally happen - hence why it is wide open with all the snow when it was designed to have a roof!
Awww, man, I feel cheated! I bought "The Best of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer" cd 30 years or 40 years ago, which includes the first 3 minutes approximately of this song -- maybe it was the "single" version? -- so I definitely have to go back to see about repurchasing the whole song. Not the worst task in the world, lol.
" An edited version, closer to Copland's original three minutes, was released May 1977 as a single and became ELP's most popular release, reaching number 2 in the UK Singles Chart "
The keyboard synthesizer was NOT a Moog . It was the first prototype polyphonic keyboard created by the Yamaha company . It was called the GX-10 . Only two were in existence . One was given to Stevie Wonder and the other to Keith Emerson . You can hear the GX-10 on Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, as well as Works by Emerson Lake and Palmer.
Almost but not quite right this. The keyboard was in fact the Yamaha GX-1 and there were several of them made Stevie Wonder, John Paul Jones (Led Zep) and Benny Andersson (Abba) all had one. Emerson had two as one was ruined in an accident. It was a polyphonic analogue synth (but it wasn't the first).
So glad you hit this track! Love this song, which is always overlooked for their more popular Karn Evil 9 (which is also great). If they'd have played this for 30+ minutes I'd be in till the end and still be wanting more!
I like this upbeat, jazzy extended version of Copeland's masterpiece .Listening to this reminded me of Styx's "Movement for the Common Man" off their first album, where they snuck in a short version of Fanfare for the Common Man within the 13 minute medley of Children of the Land, Fanfare, street interviews and MotherNature's Matinee. Copeland hated what they did to Fanfare (called it an abortion), but it's a good example of early prog rock from around 1971 or 72.
You may want to check their song Lucky Man. It was the first song on the charts that featured a Moog Synthesizer and people were saying WTF was that I just listened to.
Wanna hear some magnificent drums and superb bass and guitar playing and ...well ...Keith and live, have a listen to "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer"
Wow you guys have done it again you really take me back into my youth. This prog session you're doing is so good ELP was a proggers staple diet back in the day!!! Thank you both for these memories. Can you remember Demis Roussoss pardon the spelling he sang corny songs back in the 80s he was Greek and wore a caftan? Well he was previously the front man from a band called Aphrodites Child and they did a song called The Four Horsemen check it out I bet you will know the song when you hear it Thanks again keep up the good work.
Funny you would say if they had a song about 30 minutes long you would check it out. There is a song on their Brain Salad Surgery album called Karn Evil 9. It is in four parts that have a running time of about 30 minutes.
Anyone know where those tympani sounds are coming from? Doesn't seem like Palmer's doing it. Thought Emerson might've done something with his synthesizers....maybe a foot pedal?
Fun fact. The sequences were filmed in 30 second clips, due to the extreme cold. Greg Lake wrote about this in his Autobiography. Also this was done in the studio in one take.
One of the top bands from my early 20s. I was privileged to see them several times. They were just incredible. You need to watch Knife Edge from 1970. ua-cam.com/video/X61swsuCNuw/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Beat-Club. Emerson was famous for throwing his Hammond around and using a knife stabbed into a key to hold a note while he played other keys. He also would strap himself into a harness, and while playing the piano, be spun upside down. Probably their best work was the album Tarkus. They did a full album rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussogorsky, another phenomenal work.
The Yamaha GX-1. I do believe there were less than 100 produced. At the time they cost the price of a house, £20,000++. Only Emerson and Stevie Wonder had one that I know off
Maybe you could start your shows off by jumping out of a hat? Maybe a hat that fits the description of the 'program' we are about to witness? Maybe, you could be dragged in by a hand sized cat? Maybe you could be fast asleep but your dreams are in a bubble and each bubble contains you, awake, strutting your stuff as you amaze us with your titillating observations? Maybe you could do some more ELP? If not the twenty minute 'Tarkus' or the thirty minute 'Evil Karn 9' (1st, 2nd and 3rd impressions), then the outlandish four and a half minute blast that is 'The Barbarian'?
i know you guys like aussie music the best voice you will ever hear is katie noonan. try katie noonan live holiday it will be an experience you will never forget.
Haven't seen Alex shake his head so much since he didn't hear Jon Lord on keyboards with Joe Bonamassa! LOL... what a keyboard head he is... AND it's not even a Hammond!!!
Don’t forget about the drummer Carl Palmer definitely one of the best in Rock
Exactly, Palmer is a great drummer, and it really is sad that he was never listed among the great rock drummers having all the merits.
This brings particular fond memories to Aussies who grew up with this as the theme to the weekly tv show Wide World Of Sports, and also for kids watching morning tv who were treated to this song almost daily for a while as a filler between programs nearing 8am, sometimes with this video of them out in the snow of Montreal Stadium, and sometimes as a background soundtrack to a video of jet boats in New Zealand rivers doing spins insanely close to rock outcroppings.
Sounds crazy, but there’ll be some people out there who know what the hell I’m talking about.
Jet boats spinning out to ELP? Been there! :-) The other one I recall is Run Like Hell from Pink Floyd's The Wall. I cannot recall the visuals that went to it. It had me believing Run Like Hell was an instrumental until I learnt better!
I remember that 😀😀
@@steved3702
You’re right!
Then you must also remember the Butterfly Ball animation and song from Roger Glover.
@@sean---the-other-one Ha! I mentioned the Butterfly's Ball to George and Alex, and they'd never seen it, might have to suggest they do a video.
It was the theme to Chris Conroy's Wonderful World of Boating on Channel 9 Brisbane 😂
I never get tired of this song...And most any song from ELP (my favorite group). Saw them twice--at their peak. Wow.
I was a kid when this came out in Australia. HUGE song. As George said, it was used as the theme for a whole swag of shows - including a Saturday morning boating show in my home town of Brisbane Australia 😂
Excellent
Yep, Chris Conroys World of Boats! Never forgot it, waiting for cartoons to start circa early 80s!..
The jazz chops of the band were very evident in this piece. They do another really jazzy piece with a lot of synth. ... "WHEN THE APPLE BLOSSOMS BLOOM IN THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND I'LL BE YOUR VALENTINE*. Worth a listen it's good stuff.
Thanks for the tip
@@TheThamesmen My pleasure😁
Was a "lucky man" enough to see this band live here in Nashville in 1977 with the orchestra that they toured with that year but had to let go later for financial reasons. They played this song and Rocked the House.
Very cool indeed
Pictures at an Exhibition - live album 1972 - one of the best!
Hey guys, loved the reaction, I remember as a teenager in 1977 being mesmerized hearing the radio edit version then rushing out to buy the album "Works vol 1" and being blown away by this full length version & the album. Have loved their music ever since. Keith was an absolute virtuoso and one the greatest innovators of modern music. He pioneered the monstrous modular moog synthesizer in the studio and live and for Works he used the latest and greatest multi synth from Yamaha, the GX1 which I think at the time cost USD60K, I think the only other artists who had one were Stevie Wonder, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Benny Andersson from ABBA. ELP's two great epic pieces are "Tarkus" and "Karn Evil 9" which are both brilliantly composed and played. Also recommend "The Barbarian" , "Take a Pebble" , "Toccata" and "The Endless Enigma", cheers
Recorded at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal Canada when it was brand new. Same place I saw Pink Floyd Pulse tour. This was part of rehearsals for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, it was recorded in March or April of that year.
Jello about Pink F
@@TheThamesmen yes but yummy jello !
The promoters printed the wrong time on the tickets but ELP went ahead and did the concert anyway.
@@hadz8671 this was a rehearsal.
Nice one. I saw EL&P at Empire Pool Wembley, my ears were ringing for quite a long time after that concert, they were loud! And, I saw Aaron Copland conducting his own works at the Royal Festival Hall, that was an amazing concert and I could still hear after the fact!!
Nice
Yes I remember this one to, I’ve got one of their albums, Tarkus from memory lurking in the vinyl section. Talented musicians. Interesting stuff.
What can I say , I have diverse tastes, metal to opera.
We thought this was excellent
ELP could melt your face live. Their chops are unreal. Check out the live album Pictures At An Exhibition . Great review
Epic is right! Absolutely brilliant stuff! I was so hoping for this one. Thanks, and be well guys!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m such a prog fan and live, love, love this and remember this from ‘77. Later in life I got to play the Aaron Copland version several times in our local Symphony playing timpani. Gives me goosebumps. Great reaction! ❤️
I believe this performance was from their tour around 1977? I believe that they appeared with a full orchestra at stadium venues. No doubt they were playing a concert that night. Just a shout out to Greg Lake. He performed a lot of roles within that band, but one of them was playing bass on songs like this. There had to be times where he was thinking: "Geez, I really don't want to have to vamp around one note while Keith does solos", but he laid down a solid foundation and found ways to amp it up...
My organ trio used to do a version of the Peter Gunn theme..... i apologized many times to the bass player for putting him through the physical ordeal of keeping that bass line going for up to two minutes solid. His reply was that was good practice for the funk band he was in training for!
@@the1tedunderhill The bassist has to have solid fundamentals for songs like that, for sure.
The very first rock concert given at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, built for the 1976 games, but unfortunately not finished in time, since there was not yet the retractable roof.
Imagine playing outdoors in -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), with 18 inches of snow on the ground and all that, in front of empty seats.
They would surely have had immense success at the very beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Here is part of an interview with Greg Lake:
LAKE: I remember we were rehearsing in a basement beneath the Olympic stadium. It was the only place large enough to fit the whole orchestra in to rehearse. A phone call came in and I had to go up and take it, and everybody took a coffee break. So during that break I took the elevator up to the ground floor, which actually took me to the Olympic stadium. We had just heard that they wanted to release it as a single. My initial reaction was like, 'Well, no, we're too busy doing the rehearsals with the orchestra.' And I went up to the stadium and I was looking at this absolutely mind-blowing site, covered in virgin snow, with the Olympic rings lit up in neon lights at both ends. It was an eerie sight, begging for something to happen, and I thought, ‘Video.’ We got the crew to move the gear up to the stadium the next day to start recording. Of course, what we didn't plan was for it to be way below zero. My fingers would literally slip through the strings. So we had to record it in fairly short bursts, but it was a lovely film in the end.
Great story. Thanks
They played there live Olympic stadium Montreal 1977
Awesome concert
And just a trio!! It was at the Olympic Stadium built for 76 Olympics. And synth had programmed tracks, so no post studio dubs.
Look at the clock in the stadium and you'll know how long they froze to film this, I read somewhere that it was -15 degrees Celsius
Prog is challenging for most of we mortals. That is why we love it. Saw these guys in the '70s and it was a fabulous concert. And the gong was heroic. (but it didn't come close to Genesis)
Dang, I forgot how awesome this tract is. EL&P are rockin' jazzy!
Saw them when they did the Works tour, Fantastic show with an orchestra suspended in the air behind them
Perfect.
This happens to be my favorite video ever...ty
Brought back memories
Distant foggy memories
THAT IS MUSIC, MASTERS.!!!
Watching this had me checking the clock visible at the top of the grandstand alongside the period-correct Olympic logo. It looks as though it stood still for the entire performance - respect!
Perfect.
@@TheThamesmen ;-)
elp first gig was in guildford moog modual synth in back ground
This made the news in my neck of the woods... The Montreal Olympic Stadium serving as an outdoor studio for these guys was a big deal for Quebecers! We were all over this prog thing! Genesis, ELP, YES, and Pink Floyd were superstars in Montreal, back then!
You have to watch more of ELP...it was recorded in Montreals Olympic Stadium..The are the BEST of the best of PROG !
We absolutely loved that track
We, down to the bone ELP fans, consider thsi as Aquatarks live 2.0
Copeland's publishing company refused Emerson's request to be allowed to record Fanfare. So Emerson actually called Copeland on the phone, and sent him a recording. He LOVED it, overrode his publishing company, and allowed ELP to perform and record Fanfare. Copeland found Emerson's solo "strange" though. lol
How amazing. Thanks for sharing
I loved your reaction. ELP was a GREAT band. I really hope you will delve into more of their pieces🙂
Thank you! Will do!
Great 👏👏👏
It was in Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. Yes, it was in winter, and it was the first stop in ELP's North American tour.
It was a cycling cold gig
I actually saw them once in 1974 and two times in 1977. In 1977 I saw them in Chicago in their second venue with the 70 piece Symphony 87,000 people were in soldier Field. Amazing all day concert.
It's a great piece, and probably their most accessible one simply because so many people have either heard the original piece or this attached to every sporting event shown on tv, most obviously for the Olympics. As far as fanfare music goes, I would definitely support the motion to have this played every time I entered a room as my own personal fanfare. I am after all one of the "common man". Not sure it would suit you two however as you are certainly more than common. Loved seeing the enjoyment you two got from this.
We love this one
This is a killer track. And seriously, I think some of their best vocal work ...
I have to agree with Sean below, I grew up with this as the theme for WWoS, so it is very familiar to me.
George you're right, that bass line was almost hypnotic. Listening to it with all that buzzing, I wondered if he was playing a fretless bass. I strained to see each time the camera turned to him, finally I saw he wasn't, so it was likely distortion and tuning.
Awesome stuff.
Yeah, no issues with their vocals on this one for me, either.
:)
Hi there about the bass guitar, it was an 8 string Alembic, because of the 4 xtra strings which are tuned an octave higher you get that toppy very clean sound and wich is Greg Lake,s soundmark.
You can see Carl Palmer's famous stainless steel drum kit in this. The set had built-in pickups for sound and weighed so much, they collapsed the stage at the Yale Bowl in the US. They were later bought at auction by Ringo Starr who never takes them out on tour - totally impractical - but he thinks they're gorgeous.
If this is your first listen to ELP you haven’t heard anything yet. Their early music will amaze you. Truly, you need to listen to Pictures at an Exhibition. It’s actually like one continuous song, except final encore. Maybe do. 2 parter on it. 1st up Blue Variations, then second half of album next. It phenomenal! Pandora’s box guy’s.
I think a lot of the people who said that prog was 'wanky' were the ones who knew they weren't talented enough to play it....and some critics (who are largely just failed musicians themselves) getting even more jealous of what they were hearing.😂 I think the ending of this was chopped a bit.....pity.....but you got the drift. Fantastic song.
They filmed this clip in the, at the time, unfinished Montreal Olympic Stadium because the music was going to be used at the Olympics the following year. That is why there is construction still in progress.
Ha ha ha classic
This was one of those songs you just sit back and enjoy. The music speaks for itself. No words needed
Ok.
A great track and iconic video by a fabulous trio. I had the good fortune to see them in 1972, 74, 92 and their last show in 2010. I'd like to suggest you try Trilogy next, the title track from the album of the same name. Re the filming of this video, according to Greg Lake's autobiography, it was so cold that they filmed it in 30-second sections and then edited it together.
Wow great info. Thanks for sharing. It sure did look cold!
I was watching this clip the other day. My 10 year old daughter walked in asked "what is this?" I started it again to show her from the start. She walked out again after about 3 minutes. Where did i go wrong as a parent?
You did nothing wrong. I’d say the child might be broken :). Give ‘em time and keep on repeat until liked.
We grew up on experimental music, so as epic as this piece is, it was not out of the ordinary to hear stuff more like this. But much of the music today is completely banal, unoriginal and uninspired. We grew up with trained and/or talented musicians. Now they are mostly generic singers whose record company hands them a song to do that is very similar to everything else on the radio.
I can't believe you two have never seen that iconic clip. 3 guys in the snow breathing steam in the Montreal Olympics Stadium in the snow. Epic 😮😮
Nope never seen iT!! Till now
@@TheThamesmen Every now and then I realize how old I am...I think it was released the year after I started work 😱😱
They did it live too... ua-cam.com/video/PMuePyV1nr8/v-deo.html
ELP's own album version has been used in many sporting events, including the Olympics, at least on American television. So good chance your familiarity is from their original version.
Agreed.
Another great memory, but I don't remember it being so cold, it looks bloody freezing... 🥶
Tell me about it
Now you want to listen to the version of fanfare by the band called "The Best" which features Emerson on keyboards, John Entwistle (of the Who) on bass, Joe Walsh (Eagles, James Gang) on guitar, "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers) on guitar and Simon Phillips (Toto) on drums
Wow....epic lineup
This (or an edited version of this) was used as a sports tv program opener in Greece, back in the day
Back when we were Olympic heroes
I've had two cups of tea and been to Coles while this played.
Productive while being progressive!
Thanks guys. Another Greg Lake band. And Keith Emerson takes me back to when I saw The Nice performing with him rocking that Hammond organ and jamming knives between the keys to hold them down. What a showman !!
I heard about the knives
saw them at Fillmore East, Keith jumping over the Hammond l-100 while holding the keys, the later pushed the organ over. I think it was during the Nice playing America from West Side Story. clearly the most violent organist.
@@erlsuni2337 yes I agree. Definitely America from West Side Story.
@@clivematthews5296 here's a video ua-cam.com/video/Dg9jHTYZ-6U/v-deo.html
I remember when it came out, for the Winter Olympics…Canada, I think, without looking.. EPIC!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🤩🤩🤩
It look bloody cold there.
It was filmed in Olympic Stadium in Montreal, which hosted the '76 Summer Olympics ;-)
This was rehearsals for the 1976 Summer Olympics, Montreal never has winter Olympics.
Well, considering I was using my post-menopausal brain, only getting one fact wrong wasn’t bad!
@@BrianR. what about the snow!
Gentlemen, I promise you, we are mere mortals. Keith (RIP), Greg (RIP) and Carl are GODS! Try Pirates of theirs next pleaseeeee......
Probably the best most Progressive Rock song by ELP is Tarkus. It is 20 minutes of absolutely complex music led by Keith Emerson's many keyboards, synthesizers and the like. Greg Lake is brilliant in his vocals and guitar work. Carl Palmer's rapid drums and various percussion are out of this world. All this by just 3 musicians. They were way ahead of their time.
They were amazing. Would like to hear more for sure
Thanks 🙏
Pike captures a German prisoner? Jeez, that was in 1973...
Prog. In those days it was 'anything goes, and have fun doing it'. Focus (Jan Akkerman guitar), Ekseption (classic based Rick van de Linden), Earth and Fire (Koerts brothers), KaYaK and maybe you can even count Golden Earring to that wave. Oh, that was in the Netherlands, a thriving music station broadcasting outside territorial waters, like you had in the UK too, Radio City springs to mind.
It was on repeat
For Morris dancing prog rock, you need to checkout Gryphon (prog/medieval/folk rock)😀. Rock with crumhorns! Great stuff. The track Kemp’s Jig is a user friendly intro, but they get seriously prog in the album Red Queen to Gryphon Three. Maybe for Prog Week 2?
Think you need about a year to scratch the surface, and that is just the beginning. Going through the 80s, 90s till the now and you have your work cut out. But hey, I don't mind listening to anything under that banner.
OMG no
There first gig was in Plymouth, the second was Isle of Wight .
Nice! thanks
Great choice, Chris. It’s been an excellent week so far, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of selections.
Can we all pause to acknowledge how good those keyboard brass sounds are? For that era, it’s a killer sound. I’m guessing that it was the sound that sort of inspired him to play a bit of Copland’s piece and the others just jumped on it because it would have sounded amazing to have that sound coming from a 3 piece band.
If memory serves me correctly, didn’t ELP also do a version of Toccata?
And I heard that the drummer had a stainless steel kit, but that could have just been a rumour.
Well said Sean
Oh yeah, Carl had a stainless steel drum kit built for him, a totally custom design weighing in at almost 2.5 tons for the full set.
@@cybore213 damn. That is crazy!
@@cybore213
I bet he wished he had roadies for the lug.
@@sean---the-other-one It took two roadies to move the bass drum!
And on your other question, they did do Tocatta, an adaptation of Tocatta Concertata by Argentine classical composer Alberto Ginastera. It's fantastic and wild!
The middle break is a drum solo by Palmer which includes "synthesizer percussion ". He worked with a couple of electronic engineers in the studio and came up with a method to play various preprogrammed sounds using mics in various drums as triggers. The system was added to his stainless steel kit.
There's an interesting story behind Tocatta. Keith first heard it while he was on tour with The Nice, played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He eventually adapted it for ELP, but as production of the album Brain Salad Surgery was wrapping up, he realized they hadn't yet secured the rights for Tocatta from the original composer. He contacted Alberto's management company and they said Alberto doesn't give rights to his music for anybody. Keith then arranged to visit Alberto in Switzerland (where Alberto was living at the time). When Alberto listened to it on a tape player with headphones, Keith thought for sure he didn't like it. He spoke a few words in Portuguese. Alberto's wife translated for Keith (something like, I don't recall the exact quote) "Alberto says it's diabolical, just the way he imagined it sounding when he wrote it".
ELP did not perform at Woodstock. As others pointed out, this is the studio audio. I believe Copeland wasn't sure he wanted to let them release their version, until he heard it and was impressed with what they had done.
Okay. Interesting
it's Montreal's Olympic stadium which was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Recorded August 1977 it looked very cold for August. i came very close to going watch that show but not close enough. Newspaper were mostly talking about the number of vans it took to haul this show around.
c'est la vie
From Wikipedia...
"In winter 1977, Emerson, Lake and Palmer filmed a performance of their arrangement of the Aaron Copland piece "Fanfare For The Common Man" at the stadium.[83] The group also recorded a concert at the stadium in August of that year and released it as a live album."
@@grega8586 ah so it was winter. plus it's always cold in that stadium even in summer
@@mcasualjacques ELP was using the stadium to rehearse during the winter.
@@PaulMcGarry-bo3jg i was in montreal back then and almost almost wanted to go. But since i didnt go watch any big show i didnt. Would've been great the sound system was the talk of the newspapers and the trailer trucks of equipment they carried on tour
ELP, Pink Floyd, Genesis progrock was well received in Montreal
Court of the Crimson King
practicing in montreal in the winter
Montreal Olympics stadium….notice the Olympic rings……freezing cold but great acoustics!
60p for a concert ticket in 1972. I wouldn't have picked "Firth of Fifth" as a Genesis track, or this one for ELP, but there you go. Keith Emerson tragically committed suicide, believed to be due to depression following physical problems that affected his playing ability. Greg died of cancer, but Carl Palmer is till going strong.
We love this truck I’m so sorry to hear about the band members
@@TheThamesmen Carl is 71 or 72 and still a beast on the drum kit. He still tours with his ELP Legacy band. Check out some of his recent solos.
Lucky man
Ahh, the Olympic stadium in Montreal before the roof went on and turned it into a crap hole. Excellent piece of music. It got me into ELP.
Cool. Thanks for being here and leaving the comment. More soon.
Olympic stadium in Montreal. Infamously called “Big Owe” stadium, due to typical French Canadian corrupt construction……. stadium was not actually finished for the Olympics, which took 20 or 30 years to finally happen - hence why it is wide open with all the snow when it was designed to have a roof!
Awww, man, I feel cheated! I bought "The Best of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer" cd 30 years or 40 years ago, which includes the first 3 minutes approximately of this song -- maybe it was the "single" version? -- so I definitely have to go back to see about repurchasing the whole song. Not the worst task in the world, lol.
Subbed for that intro alone!
Thank you
" An edited version, closer to Copland's original three minutes, was released May 1977 as a single and became ELP's most popular release, reaching number 2 in the UK Singles Chart "
Yeah same in Australia. B side was Brain Salad Surgery. Which I loved!!!
The keyboard synthesizer was NOT a Moog . It was the first prototype polyphonic keyboard created by the Yamaha company . It was called the GX-10 . Only two were in existence . One was given to Stevie Wonder and the other to Keith Emerson .
You can hear the GX-10 on Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, as well as Works by Emerson Lake and Palmer.
Almost but not quite right this. The keyboard was in fact the Yamaha GX-1 and there were several of them made Stevie Wonder, John Paul Jones (Led Zep) and Benny Andersson (Abba) all had one. Emerson had two as one was ruined in an accident. It was a polyphonic analogue synth (but it wasn't the first).
@@grahammccarthy1893 nope the produces were given to Stevie Wonder and Keith Emerson.
The BBC used this as the intro to the Winter Olympics so that's why they're at the stadium.
Makes sense. Of course
Saw Keith in both The Nice and in ELP. The knife stabbing the keyboard sticks in the memory
CoooL!
So glad you hit this track! Love this song, which is always overlooked for their more popular Karn Evil 9 (which is also great). If they'd have played this for 30+ minutes I'd be in till the end and still be wanting more!
We loved it!
The LP version has an intro and outro that are missing from this version. I still like this one, though.
I like this upbeat, jazzy extended version of Copeland's masterpiece .Listening to this reminded me of Styx's "Movement for the Common Man" off their first album, where they snuck in a short version of Fanfare for the Common Man within the 13 minute medley of Children of the Land, Fanfare, street interviews and MotherNature's Matinee. Copeland hated what they did to Fanfare (called it an abortion), but it's a good example of early prog rock from around 1971 or 72.
We loved it we thought It was great
You may want to check their song Lucky Man. It was the first song on the charts that featured a Moog Synthesizer and people were saying WTF was that I just listened to.
Will check
You two remind me of Smashy and Nicey. Can we have some Bachman Turner Overdrive? All done for charity mate.
I take that as a compliment!
Another ELP cover that's a good listen is the "Peter Gunn" theme by Henry Mancini.
Now that would be interesting. Thank you
i was there !!!
How amazing! What an experience!
Interesting fact for you - This song is a cover, an orchestral piece written back in 1945
of course!
Wanna hear some magnificent drums and superb bass and guitar playing and ...well ...Keith and live, have a listen to "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer"
Cool. Will check.
@@TheThamesmen ua-cam.com/play/OLAK5uy_l_Bx3CuewS783jcXDvM9dpMU6s2ni3irM.html
Wow you guys have done it again you really take me back into my youth. This prog session you're doing is so good ELP was a proggers staple diet back in the day!!! Thank you both for these memories.
Can you remember Demis Roussoss pardon the spelling he sang corny songs back in the 80s he was Greek and wore a caftan? Well he was previously the front man from a band called Aphrodites Child and they did a song called The Four Horsemen check it out I bet you will know the song when you hear it
Thanks again keep up the good work.
Super happy thank you very much
I’ll by the way check already early videos we did the 4 horseman I think where the first reaction To do so
Yep you did I found it and loved it Vengelis of chariots of fire fe was also a member of the band.
Can anyone explain why ELP are not in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame? And the Go Go’s are!
Really. The go go”s!!! Wow
Funny you would say if they had a song about 30 minutes long you would check it out. There is a song on their Brain Salad Surgery album called Karn Evil 9. It is in four parts that have a running time of about 30 minutes.
Brill. Need to check
@@TheThamesmen Prepare your minds to be blown ;-)
Anyone know where those tympani sounds are coming from? Doesn't seem like Palmer's doing it. Thought Emerson might've done something with his synthesizers....maybe a foot pedal?
Fun fact. The sequences were filmed in 30 second clips, due to the extreme cold. Greg Lake wrote about this in his Autobiography. Also this was done in the studio in one take.
Yep - It looked bloody cold!!!
One of the top bands from my early 20s. I was privileged to see them several times. They were just incredible.
You need to watch Knife Edge from 1970. ua-cam.com/video/X61swsuCNuw/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Beat-Club. Emerson was famous for throwing his Hammond around and using a knife stabbed into a key to hold a note while he played other keys. He also would strap himself into a harness, and while playing the piano, be spun upside down.
Probably their best work was the album Tarkus. They did a full album rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussogorsky, another phenomenal work.
Many thanks I’ll check it out when I get time
Bill R is 100% correct.
The Yamaha GX-1. I do believe there were less than 100 produced. At the time they cost the price of a house, £20,000++. Only Emerson and Stevie Wonder had one that I know off
WOW.... I wondered what that was.
Take a Pebble and Jerusalem, for a couple of other elp bangers
Noted many thanks
Marvel at Carl Palmer's 2•5 tons stainless steel drum kit
:)
Maybe you could start your shows off by jumping out of a hat? Maybe a hat that fits the description of the 'program' we are about to witness? Maybe, you could be dragged in by a hand sized cat? Maybe you could be fast asleep but your dreams are in a bubble and each bubble contains you, awake, strutting your stuff as you amaze us with your titillating observations? Maybe you could do some more ELP? If not the twenty minute 'Tarkus' or the thirty minute 'Evil Karn 9' (1st, 2nd and 3rd impressions), then the outlandish four and a half minute blast that is 'The Barbarian'?
All good suggestions, thank you. We will take them into consideration for sure.
Think you two need the old "escalator" entry - similar to a couple of aussie/irish comedians ua-cam.com/video/w2uapHK51x4/v-deo.html
Jimeoin is a legend.
If you like that sort of physical comedy, you’ll love this:
ua-cam.com/video/uQ4zT7h8AiU/v-deo.html
You have to play lucky man
i know you guys like aussie music the best voice you will ever hear is katie noonan. try katie noonan live holiday it will be an experience you will never forget.
Haven't seen Alex shake his head so much since he didn't hear Jon Lord on keyboards with Joe Bonamassa! LOL... what a keyboard head he is... AND it's not even a Hammond!!!
HA HA.... True. I had a Collie Dog once, its name? Hammond.
You must check out Sky's 'Cadmium' album if you like this. I promise you won't be disappointed.
OK I will when I get time
I think you might have to check out Karn Evil 9. Just sayin'
Interesting name!
olympic stadium
I Think from being uncertain about a Prog week you may need a prog month so you can get your teeth into it properly.
moog never made a emulater
True but others have now
All the synths were analog.
Yup and amazing!
🤐🥴