Keith almost scrapped this song because he didn't want to play a Mellotron. Greg is the one who learned to play it just for this song. This song was only played live 3 times
After I had played this quite loudly, my housemate (this would have been 1980 or so) said it made him feel as if a thousand metal spikes had been inserted into his skull, one at a time. This made me quite pleased, as for the past several months he'd listened to nothing but Pink Floyd's The Wall, which caused me to smash my own copy of that one and I've never looked back. By the way, there is footage to be found on TH-cam of ELP doing this live with Lake on keyboards. History, I tell ya!
I came to Rock through classical music. Pictures at an Exhibition and Switched on Bach were my gateway drugs. This Bolero by ELP is one of my favourite ELP tracks. Maurice Ravel's Bolero is a similar but different composition, that Keith was trying to emulate. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Good review. If a listener is a rock and roll purist he/she may not appreciate this as much as I do. Too many people are biased against classical music. Their loss.
This was one of 2 or 3 ELP songs that Griffith Park Planeterium/Observatory used to present the original "Laserium" in the mid 70's. Saw it twice. Pretty cool. And it didn't hurt that ELP was my favorite group.
yeah you nailed it that's what a Bolero is,a repeating spanish march pattern starting quietly by the snare drum(with a ninetuplet roll on the end of the 3rd & 4th beats) building in intensity layers and colors.exactly how Ravel's is as well.and yes the mini moog with it's three detuned oscillators playing the main tune in triads.Also love how Keith uses his Hammond C3 in the high registers with those beautiful sustained harmony supporting organ pads.wonderful track.
Synth''s were so new back then. it's so much more than just keyboard skill, as just manipulating the controls and set ups took a degree in electrical engineering.
Ravels Bolero is one of the icons of classical music. Emerson wanted to pay tribute to it keeping the original idea clean of any additional tricks. I think he did quite well.
I saw them on their Works Vol. 1 tour in '77. This was the opening song. Initially, the orchestra played alone; the snare and piccolo coming in first, and then there was a slow build up, until finally, the last layer to be added to the song was ELP rising up through the floor and playing along with the orcherstra. It was really quite spectacular to see and hear live. I saw them twice at this time. The first time was at Soldier Field in Chicago with three opening acts (Foghat, J. Geils Band, Climax Blues Band). By the time ELP came on, we had moved all the way back from the stage and all the way up to the very top row. Couldn't get any father away from the stage without leaving the stadium. Three days later we saw them in Madison, WI (my hometown) at the Dane Co. Coliseum. We stood on the floor (no chairs) about fifteen feet back from the stage and saw EVERYTHING up close this time. And no opening act. Both of those shows were in June. In November we saw them again in Madison, but this time with no orchestra and a completely different setlist. Shawn Phillips opened the show.
Yeah! By the time I saw that tour in Vancouver, they had dropped the orchestra. They played a long show, no opening act and started off, also rising out of the floor playing tambourines to the intro of KarnEvil "welcome back my friends". I was initially disappointed, not seeing Keith's famous synth rig with all the patch cords and oscilloscope but then IT rose from the floor in a waft of smoke and everything was right with the world. The added bonus of this show for me was not having to sit through the orchestral pieces.... I had bought Works 1 the day it was released (with a big warp on the first disc 😬☹️) but couldn't connect with some of the tracks. Maybe my 17 year old self didn't appreciate it at the time. Therefore by the time I saw them they had had to drop the original setlist and play more from their previous albums. "Worked for me ☺️" They did play Pirates tho, a lasting memory with the cannons being set off on top of the speaker stacks.. I did learn to appreciate it more over time and finally got to see that show when they released the Live in Montreal concert video.
The most famous Bolero is the one Maurice Ravel composed in 1928 and it is a must know. Try it as soon as possible. I saw it live at our local theatre 50 years ago and it was a lifetime experience. But for your own peace of mind avoid a version directed by Karajan or Andre Rieu. The other thing this has to do with ELP is a music you best listen to in this order: 1. Mussorgski Pictures at an Exhibition the original version for piano, 2. Maurice Ravel a transcription for orchestra, 3. and finally ELP transcripting parts of this masterpiece and adding some own stuff. It makes sense to get to know this music in this order because I think it is much more fun and much more of an eye opening experience. You will for sure stumble across the ELP version in the next but I seriously recommend to know the previous works.
So, let’s start with Ravel. Maurice Ravel, French impressionist composer and contemporary of Debussy. He’s best known for his Boléro and Pictures at an Exhibition. Now, here’s where it gets interesting for us ELP fans. Pictures was a suite of chamber piano pieces that Mussorgsky wrote to accompany/promote an exhibition of his friend’s paintings - each piece is titled after the painting. Ravel took this and orchestrated it for concert performance. ELP’s Pictures at an Exhibition is almost a un-Ravel-ing (see what I did there) of the work. Ravel’s Boléro (of which you listened to the LSO’s recording) is a marvellous piece of music. It’s exotic and uncoils, swaying like a snake charmer’s cobra. It became popular again in the '80s when Bo Derek’s character in the Dudley Moore movie 10 said she liked to fuck to it; slow build to a climax at the end - you get the idea. In fact, Emerson’s Bolero is not really anything like Ravel’s and it is definitely not a version of it. Ravel’s is 3/4 and Emerson’s is 4/4. Ravel’s is Salome’s dance and Emerson’s is Tarkus’s death march. Oh, and both of them are great.
I added Trilogy and Tarkus to my collection right after Governor's School. I was listening to a lot of Ives and Stravinsky, and writing a senior term paper about 20th Century music.
When Trilogy was released, ELP toured the UK with a singer/songwriter (can't remember his name) who played Emerson's grand piano. At the end of his stint, the lights went out, a recording of Abaddon's Bolero was played and the piano was pushed back into place. As it ended, the lights went up and ELP started playing. They did almost the whole first album, Tarkus, the rest of Trilogy and Pictures at an Exhibition. An amazing show. PS: On the subject of the Mellotron, check out the Planet Mellotron website which gives an enormous amount of detail concerning its use on albums. You will find one review under The Nice (Emerson's band before ELP) which explains that he had an absolute dislike of the instrument and wouldn't use it.
I'm with you Justin - this is my favorite ELP album from start to finish. Like a lot of 70s prog bands, my favorite is the album BEFORE the "epic" album that most people cite as the best. For example, Trilogy > Brain Salad, Close to the Edge > Tales, Foxtrot > Selling England.
I remember this as my favorite ELP album back in college days, along with a trio of Yes albums ... but it was shortly afterwards that I discovered fusion, and looked back, naturally to Miles Davis. I scanned the comments but did not see any mention of the Miles Davis album 'Sketches of Spain' ... a favorite with the ladies back in the day, and his Bolero is a particularly haunting piece. 'Saeta' uses a bolero fade-in / fade-out.
@@alanansara2190 True. Alan. Very few ... though to be fair, 'Sketches of Spain' was pre-Btiches Brew Miles. Another forward thinking album ... though more 'third stream' than fusion, that was a best seller in the 60's was the beautiful Claus Ogerman orchestrated Bill Evans and Symphony Orchestra. Still gorgeous. Back in the day, I worked in a cancer research lab near UNC-Chapel Hill, and was bedazzled by one of the young female researchers, who kept a CD copy of 'Heavy Weather' on her desk ... and now in Japan, finding a few Japanese and Chinese ladies alike who are into RTF, Pat Metheny, Oregon, Snarky Puppy, and early Headhunters - but again, not the typical female over here. Or male for that matter.
There used to be a small group of guys who came into my bar looking 'starry eyed' who always asked for this. I once heard one of them say "can you see them marching?" Now I always do but I still like it.
Good review Justin, wasn't sure how you'd react to that one. Time to give Pictures at an Exhibition a listen now, it was recorded live in my home town. I was too young to be there but my brother was.
for some reason i had a feeling you were gonna post this song today. Underrated song. probably the most underrated on the album. Bit like The Three Fates but less chaotic. :)
As far as I know...this was the first time a sequencer was used to run a pattern of notes in a loop. I saw this performed live at Wooster, ohio...just elp and again with the orchestra in Montreal..For me, i loved the raw 3 man performance.
Saw them play this before Trilogy was released. Emerson came to center stage and explained Moog being unable to play more than one note. Palmer had headphones on and used a pre-recorded track. Saw a few months later after release and it was not on set list. Never saw a live vid.
Koji Tamaki - Ikanaide [1989] A pretty well known japanese ballad. Koji Tamaki - Naya No Sora (1993) in japanese: 玉置浩二 - 納屋の空 this is one of my personal favorites from one of my favorite albums: Karinto Kouba No Entotsu No Ueni. it has a very special vibe and mood to it that i could only compare to old folk albums but with better production. I hold this album very high, because it seems to me like its so incredibly human in both the performances and how it is produced and arranged. I highly suggest checking it out to everyone.
There are some great videos on TH-cam of covers to this song (e.g. a small group of people sitting around with various keyboards and drums faithfully doing the parts). A favorite memory: playing this song (on cassette tape!) in my car with friends during last year of high school. A few minutes in, someone began whistling the melody, and it spontaneously grew to where by the end everyone in the car was whistling it and laughing.
Now that you have listened to this you need to listen to Ravel‘s Bolero in its entirety if you haven’t already done so. And keep in mind that in this album they use a lot of multi-tracking that’s why it sounds like Keith Emerson is an octopus as you said. This piece was absolutely brilliant ! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Welcome back my friend,to the comments that never end. Justin take a pebble and un- Ravel this for me, Emerson took the mellotron and threw it in the sea (Lake?) But he did put his Palmer on a Moog! For a very different flavor try Jeff Becks 'Bolero', something he and Jimmy Page threw together for the halibut! But it's no fluke,they definitely didn't flounder! Peace and Jon Gomm.
@JustJP Fun fact which might put Abbadon"s Bolero in some context. Back in the mid-late 60's as such things became ..umm..more important to me, I was made aware that Ravel's Bolero was THE music to have on in the background when amorous adventuring was afoot- so to speak. This was not peculiar to the 60's but predated it... that was just when I was enlightened to it. The buildup from the light beginning, through the additive layerings leading to the crescendo & dare I say it..inevitable powerful climax .... was supposed to be analog to the perfect. act de l'amour... including what was assumed to be a reasonable length of time. The transition to Abbadon's Bolero was just natural given the change in musical tastes for my generation. And given this, I don't think the album ending with this is unexpected and IMO not out of place at all. Just a thought. 😁
Played this great album only yesterday. The album was added to my favourite playlist which was designed to counteract any feelings of going stir crazy in the Covid Lockdown. So far so good, a lot of my old vinyls have been dusted down and helped in this trying time 😉 my favourite ELP album, great from start to finish.
Trilogy is my favourite ELP mainly because there are no throwaway songs like Benny The Bouncer, Jeremy Bender etc etc. The Sheriff comes close, but it's less embarrassing!
The Sheriff is better than Benny, Jeremy and Are you ready Eddie, also feel that From the Beginning is better than Lucky Man and Still you turn me on , so all in Trilogy has NO filler !
I like it. I am very happy to hear the album end like this. I look forward to tomorrow's review. On a side note, I do remember coming across a discussion about how Polka was considered very naughty music by some people at the time it became popular. I wonder if Bolero was thought to be lascivious as well or if it was too formal for that distinction. Great review. Thanks.
"Literary critic Allan Bloom commented in his 1987 bestseller The Closing of the American Mind, 'Young people know that rock has the beat of sexual intercourse. That is why Ravel's Bolero is the one piece of classical music that is commonly known and liked by them.'"
Best album ever!!! My brother Freddie and I went to Madison Square Garden and watched them with a enormous symphony. I know he probably commented already. He turned me on to your channel and we both love your reviews. Keep rockin bro...
Good morning Justin. Yes, they did play this on the Works tour 1977. This was the opening number and it was played with a 70 piece orchestra. We seen them perform this at MSG July 7, 1977 (7/7/77). Spectacular week of MSG shows Fleetwood Mac 6/30/77 (Rumours) Pink Floyd 7/3/77 (Animals) Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and ELP in one week. Life was great back then!! Anyways, so so glad you did this album. We always thought this was a neat ending to the album. (We used to crank this up...) Love and appreciate your honesty. Looking forward to your album review. Note: Great electronic interpretation of classical music... Artist: Tomita Album: The Planets This album is AWESOME!!!
Hi Justin. Dave from Here, There & Everywhere. Great reaction as usual. I have said before that Trilogy has been easily my favourite ELP album. In my view it has more lasting appeal, probably because of the quality of the music and excellent musicianship that does not have to resort to overblown self-indulgence. This track is beautifully structured and composed and, being a more serious piece, I think it is fitting as a final track. Others have referred to versions of Ravel's Bolero, but I haven't seen any mention of Rufus Wainwright's Oh What A World, which is structured similarly and uses snippets of the original. Finally, many in the UK remember Ravel's Bolero as the music our Gold Medal winning ice dancers Torvill and Dean used in the 1984 Winter Olympics.
You should give "PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION" a try. This is ELP's take on Mussorgsky. An excellent, adaption by Emerson while at the same time ELP added their original compositions to the suite. The live version in Montreal in 1977 with a full orchestra is even better again but more condensed.
Because there were so many comments about Ravel's Bolero I just listened to it. Oh, that song!!!!! I wonder how many times I've heard it and was clueless.
Ravel's Bolero is a very popular classical music piece, it is the inspiration for various rock pieces like the ELP that you just listened, King Crimson has in the suite Lizard their own version of Bolero and Frank Zappa recorded a live reggae version of Ravel's Bolero in the album The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life.
Saw Keith twice, '69 and '70 with The Nice. Loved that band....with Five Bridges Suite my fav album. Sorry to see it end, but ELP weren't a bad compensation, Tarkus their album of choice for me. Bolero somewhat engrained in the UK psyche due to two ice skaters winning Olympic Gold doing their routine to that number (not ELP's). Jon Hiseman's Colosseum also did a version around the same time (1971), which is much more frenetic and included the great sax of Dick Heckstall Smith and Dave Greenslade's keys. We were spoilt for choice, back then, as you are rapidly finding out, Just!
Good review Justin. Way back in NYC at the Planetarium light show, they played ELP's Bolero to accompany the spectacular sights being projected. How about Ravel's Bolero? Like that? Review it? Matt
My father always played the Bolero from Ravel. Though he hated rock music, he loved ELP bolero and was really impressed with what ELP could do as rock musicians.
I strongly encourage you to listen (and maybe even react to) Ravel's Bolero. This piece is ELP's homage to Ravel, and knowing Ravel's Bolero will enhance your appreciation ELP's take on it. The same is true of Hoedown, The Barbarian (Bartok), Knife Edge (Janacek), The Only Way (Hymn) (Bach), Pictures At An Exhibition (Mussorgsky), Toccata (Ginastera), Fanfare (Copland), and a few others. Their choice of composers are more often than not 20th century composers, and by "covering" them have led many of us to explore them and expand our musical appreciation beyond rock. I'm happy you enjoyed this piece. It is often not given the appreciation it deserves. Plus it's nice to see others like it as much as I do.
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and Holst's Planets too. I certainly explored the originals after hearing ELP. Sibelius's Karelia Suite became a real classical favourite after hearing The Nice's version.
No Mellotron on Trilogy. The Polymoog wouldn’t be heard for 3 years. All the keys are MOOG III C or Minimoog Model D. Greg’s bass here is probably the Rickenbacker which he soon would despise because he played so intensely the neck would bend. Toward the end Greg’s bass disappears and Keith is providing bass with the Minimoog because it excels at low frequencies. I don’t exactly know how many synth overdubs there are. The 2 note synth can be achieved quite easily on the Moog because it has 3 oscillators but he only needs 2. I own a Minimoog Voyager so I am very familiar with the instrument. The first melody by Keith is a synth Fife. This is a military instrument that British soldiers would follow into battle it’s almost a Piccolo but smaller. I love the piece and the album since it’s release in 1972.
You must have listened to Ravel's bolero which is a fantastic classic. When at the end you played the London Philharmonic Orchestra, I definitely heard RAVEL'S BOLERO, which is a different piece of music.
There is a video of tem doing this live with Greg at the keyboards. I am an ELP fan. I remember reading Keith saying this has so much double tracking we couldn't do it live. We even tried having Greg at the keyboards and it still didn't work. I thougt thhey did a pretty good job. At first listen, I didn't like it. But I listened to it more and got to like it more.
"Abaddon" is a name that comes from the Book of Revelation, Ninth Chapter. "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." Both names mean "Destroyer." One of my favorite pieces by ELP. There aren't many boleros in rock music. The only other one I can think of is "White Rabbit," by Jefferson Airplane.
I always had a problem with this track. I understand the layering and buildup but to me it just felt a little too repetitive. Years later my opinion is the same but I always appreciated their love of the classics. Excellent analysis JP.
I must say that other bolero you played with the orchestra was an entirely different bolero that one With the orchestra is called Ravel‘s bolero that was not Keith Emersons Aboddons Bolero, those are two different boleros OK I just had to straighten that out. The whole Emerson Lake and Palmer trilogy album is one of the best albums ever the performance, the sound mixing/engineering is so dynamic and superb
Based on the fact that most ELP I recommend is *off* this album, I'd have to say it's also my favorite. XD Tangentially-related fact: Ravel's Bolero provided the melody backbone for "Uptown Girl," which I learned after my roommate got the former stuck in his head and I asked if he wasn't just talking about the latter.
Going to keep up the repetition, eventually he'll see it: High Tide - Futilist's Lament Yezda Urfa - Boris And His 3 Verses. Including Flow Guides Aren't My Bag Culpeper's Orchard - Teaparty for an Orchard
Hey Justin, I think you should try Beck's Bolero by Jeff Beck. It was recorded in 1966. Personal included Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and John Paul Jones.
Always thought this was a bit of a dud after the excellent Trilogy title track. Brain Salad Surgery for me is the epitome of progressive rock. Complex, innovative, inspired, difficult, controversial, bombastic, challenging, divisive. That the critics and media at large hated them meant they were doing something right. Progressive rock fans learned quickly to ignore the critics.
I always equated each additional layer to an instrument in an orchestra joining in. Many of Keith's sounds mimic a particular instrument, strings, horns, woodwinds, even a tuba. Every sound BUT keyboards. I noticed you did a Black Sabbath song a while back. Their first six albums, plus the first two Dio fronted albums, would be excellent candidates for entire album reviews. Also, nobody ever seems to give any love to Robin Trower. Bridge of Sighs is one of the best albums ever.
My favorite version of Emerson's 'Bolero' is the 1976-77 recording with the London Philharmonic "after 52 takes". I particularly love how the string basses move air when they enter. th-cam.com/video/eKG6HWayrDY/w-d-xo.html
I might have seen ELP's "Bolero" used as a finale in a Laserium light show at the Planetarium. It's easy to recall the laser lights starting out small, and building from that. The Laserium show also included crowd pleasers like Pink Floyd's "Echoes".
@@JustJP The Laserium show also played Larry Fast / Synergy. I was never into his synthesizer albums - all electronic, no acoustics or percussion. But Larry Fast did some nice work on Peter Gabriel's first solo album.
this from an article on Ravel's "Boléro" on NPR Online: "Perseveration, an Alzheimer's symptom, is the obsession of repeating words or actions, and could have been the mastermind behind Ravel's infamous masterpiece. It is known that beginning in 1927 or 1928 -- the year he wrote Boléro -- Ravel began to experience perplexing health problems. In the last five years of his life, the act of composing became exceedingly difficult and he lost the ability to write out his music. Ravel died in December 28, 1937, nine days after exploratory brain surgery."
That would have been Maurice Ravel's Bolero that you listened to from LSO. "Trilogy" is my favorite ELP album, for sure. The title track is my fave ELP song as well.
On Ravel's "Bolero": "The piece gained new attention after it was prominently featured in the 1979 romantic comedy 10, costarring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek. This resulted in massive sales, generated an estimated $1 million in royalties and briefly made Ravel the best-selling classical composer 40 years after his death."
'Trilogy' is a great album. I like "Brain Salad Surgery" and "Tarkus" more, but that takes nothing away from my enjoyment of this album. For me, it always seemed less bombastic and intense than the other two I mentioned, kind of a calm in the eye of a hurricane between two destructive forces of nature.
Please listen to ELP doing Pictures at an Exhibition but not from the album of the same name. Listen to the version from the early 90s on the video from the BLACK MOON TOUR. Synths had progressed to the point, thanks to midi and computers that they sounded like an orchestra, with that special ELP flair. It’s not on the Black Moon LP. It was reworked and re-reworked over decades then used in every concert they did. So you have to hear the 90s live version. Really kicks as@. The only exception I take with it is Greg’s THE SAGE, which really showed off his acoustic skills as well as vocals, was removed after the early 70’s.
I can't say I've ever been a big fan of prog bands doing classical music covers/homages. Part of why I'm not really an ELP guy. I do have a soft spot for King Crimson's unhinged mellotron-fest version of Holst's "Mars", as heard in the 1969 unit's live set, where they're kind of leaning into the instrument's infamous out-of-tune-ness.
An interesting reaction Justin, Abaddon's Bolero is actually my least favourite track from Trilogy, the classical bolero you played is Ravel's Bolero and is a beautiful piece, ELPs Bolero is a nice idea but a bit messy in it's execution, With the conclusion of the second side of Tarkus you will have completed the the golden era of ELP ! That is with the exception of "Pictures At An Exhibition" This is a live album and was recorded on the Tarkus Tour, and it is a brutal rendition of Mussorgsky's classic, this the only available version in this period (they recorded an abridged studio version in 1997) and it is an ELP classic and fan favourite, so with all that being said please say you'll consider reacting to it !!
About prog music boleros, a suggestion for a reaction: King Crimson - Devil's Triangle (from the album " In the Wake of Poseidon" - 1970). for comparison, at least. I like it very much (it's dramatic and odd too). ELP (and especially Keith) knew obviously a lot of classical music, and a lot of music in general, so that it was not difficult for them (him) to find a good fitted theme and to build up a bolero on it. Some say that Ravel's one (and any other bolero) depicts a sexual act, from the beginning to the orgasm (climax), and it's probably so. As for "Abaddon's", it;s very technically and well mastered, but maybe it's a little too cold.
Emerson used the poly moog for strings and pads instead of the mellotron. A fully polyphonic synth with very simple architecture and only one filter per voice, another famous polymoog user was Chick Corea.
Not in 1972 he didn’t. By 1975 the Polymoog was released but Keith was busy writing his Piano Concerto which showed up on Works Vol. 1 in 1977. By then he was using a Yamaha GX-1 polyphonic synthesizer. People don’t realize the gap between Brain Salad Surgery and Works was over 3 years.
@@shyshift You are correct, forgot the Polymoog came out in 75, but I know Emerson at one point used to have two live. For their early seventies records Emerson usually used either mini moogs and his modular over several tracks for synth chords. A lot of overdubs like that on Brain salad Surgery, Trilogy and Tarkus.
@@shyshift I dont know of any pictures, but i saw a live clip on youtube where i saw two poly moogs. I dont remember which one. I have no need to prove it though considering the close ties Emerson had to Moog, he was sponsored and commonly was likely the most important performer/source for feedback for the company and their product line
Fun fact: the voiced palatal fricative is only used in the pronunciation of the double L sound (as in 'llama'), not the single L sound in 'bolero'. (I have a very peculiar sense of fun, I know).
This one def would have been better as a bridge between tracks but is weak as a closer. Other notable Bolero recordings in rock... King Crimson did their own in the Lizard Suite on the album Lizard. The James Gang during the Joe Walsh years did a cover of it as part of "The Bomber." After the first release of the album, Rides Again, they had to remove it. Apparently Ravel had stipulated in his will that only a complete orchestra could play the song and his estate had them cut it. In recent releases it has been added back in.
Ok Justin, Time to take the PAT METHENY GROUP journey!!! Start with songs: Jaco, San Lorenzo, and Phase Dance, then jump to the album called First Circle. That's enough to make you a fan.
Trilogy is not only my favourite ELP album, it's my favourite prog rock album.
Me too! My favorite rock album, period!
I went to see ELP for the first time when I was 17, (I'm now 66) and they opened with this Bolero. Still the best concert I've ever been to!
Keith almost scrapped this song because he didn't want to play a Mellotron. Greg is the one who learned to play it just for this song. This song was only played live 3 times
After I had played this quite loudly, my housemate (this would have been 1980 or so) said it made him feel as if a thousand metal spikes had been inserted into his skull, one at a time. This made me quite pleased, as for the past several months he'd listened to nothing but Pink Floyd's The Wall, which caused me to smash my own copy of that one and I've never looked back. By the way, there is footage to be found on TH-cam of ELP doing this live with Lake on keyboards. History, I tell ya!
I came to Rock through classical music. Pictures at an Exhibition and Switched on Bach were my gateway drugs.
This Bolero by ELP is one of my favourite ELP tracks. Maurice Ravel's Bolero is a similar but different composition, that Keith was trying to emulate. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Good review. If a listener is a rock and roll purist he/she may not appreciate this as much as I do. Too many people are biased against classical music. Their loss.
This was one of 2 or 3 ELP songs that Griffith Park Planeterium/Observatory used to present the original "Laserium" in the mid 70's. Saw it twice. Pretty cool. And it didn't hurt that ELP was my favorite group.
yeah you nailed it that's what a Bolero is,a repeating spanish march pattern starting quietly by the snare drum(with a ninetuplet roll on the end of the 3rd & 4th beats) building in intensity layers and colors.exactly how Ravel's is as well.and yes the mini moog with it's three detuned oscillators playing the main tune in triads.Also love how Keith uses his Hammond C3 in the high registers with those beautiful sustained harmony supporting organ pads.wonderful track.
I had the pleasure of seeing ELP three times. The last there were three bands, ELP, Dream Theater, and Deep Purple.
Synth''s were so new back then. it's so much more than just keyboard skill, as just manipulating the controls and set ups took a degree in electrical engineering.
My first favourite ELP track! They got me into classical music with tracks like this as well as their Pictures At An Exhibition album.
In my top 10 albums of ALL TIME !
Abbadon Bolero is the "Guide for a MOOG SYNTHESIZER progression"
Total display of the modular system
London symphony did Ravels bolero. The most famous one
Ravel's Bolero is also an influence on Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"
An utterly epic way to close out the album.
Ravels Bolero is one of the icons of classical music. Emerson wanted to pay tribute to it keeping the original idea clean of any additional tricks. I think he did quite well.
Some people don’t like this, I feel they’re missing out, I think it’s wonderful.
Agree 💯
Bolero always gets a “10” from me.
I saw them on their Works Vol. 1 tour in '77. This was the opening song. Initially, the orchestra played alone; the snare and piccolo coming in first, and then there was a slow build up, until finally, the last layer to be added to the song was ELP rising up through the floor and playing along with the orcherstra. It was really quite spectacular to see and hear live.
I saw them twice at this time. The first time was at Soldier Field in Chicago with three opening acts (Foghat, J. Geils Band, Climax Blues Band). By the time ELP came on, we had moved all the way back from the stage and all the way up to the very top row. Couldn't get any father away from the stage without leaving the stadium.
Three days later we saw them in Madison, WI (my hometown) at the Dane Co. Coliseum. We stood on the floor (no chairs) about fifteen feet back from the stage and saw EVERYTHING up close this time. And no opening act.
Both of those shows were in June. In November we saw them again in Madison, but this time with no orchestra and a completely different setlist. Shawn Phillips opened the show.
Yeah! By the time I saw that tour in Vancouver, they had dropped the orchestra. They played a long show, no opening act and started off, also rising out of the floor playing tambourines to the intro of KarnEvil "welcome back my friends".
I was initially disappointed, not seeing Keith's famous synth rig with all the patch cords and oscilloscope but then IT rose from the floor in a waft of smoke and everything was right with the world. The added bonus of this show for me was not having to sit through the orchestral pieces....
I had bought Works 1 the day it was released (with a big warp on the first disc 😬☹️) but couldn't connect with some of the tracks.
Maybe my 17 year old self didn't appreciate it at the time. Therefore by the time I saw them they had had to drop the original setlist and play more from their previous albums. "Worked for me ☺️"
They did play Pirates tho, a lasting memory with the cannons being set off on top of the speaker stacks..
I did learn to appreciate it more over time and finally got to see that show when they released the Live in Montreal concert video.
The most famous Bolero is the one Maurice Ravel composed in 1928 and it is a must know. Try it as soon as possible. I saw it live at our local theatre 50 years ago and it was a lifetime experience. But for your own peace of mind avoid a version directed by Karajan or Andre Rieu.
The other thing this has to do with ELP is a music you best listen to in this order:
1. Mussorgski Pictures at an Exhibition the original version for piano,
2. Maurice Ravel a transcription for orchestra,
3. and finally ELP transcripting parts of this masterpiece and adding some own stuff. It makes sense to get to know this music in this order because I think it is much more fun and much more of an eye opening experience. You will for sure stumble across the ELP version in the next but I seriously recommend to know the previous works.
Agree - if you have the time, listen to the piece in these three stages!
Jeff Beck's "Beck's Bolero" from "Truth" from 1968 is brought to mind.
So, let’s start with Ravel. Maurice Ravel, French impressionist composer and contemporary of Debussy. He’s best known for his Boléro and Pictures at an Exhibition. Now, here’s where it gets interesting for us ELP fans. Pictures was a suite of chamber piano pieces that Mussorgsky wrote to accompany/promote an exhibition of his friend’s paintings - each piece is titled after the painting. Ravel took this and orchestrated it for concert performance. ELP’s Pictures at an Exhibition is almost a un-Ravel-ing (see what I did there) of the work.
Ravel’s Boléro (of which you listened to the LSO’s recording) is a marvellous piece of music. It’s exotic and uncoils, swaying like a snake charmer’s cobra. It became popular again in the '80s when Bo Derek’s character in the Dudley Moore movie 10 said she liked to fuck to it; slow build to a climax at the end - you get the idea. In fact, Emerson’s Bolero is not really anything like Ravel’s and it is definitely not a version of it. Ravel’s is 3/4 and Emerson’s is 4/4. Ravel’s is Salome’s dance and Emerson’s is Tarkus’s death march. Oh, and both of them are great.
This was the first song I ever really got obsessed with as I turned from a child to a teenager.
I added Trilogy and Tarkus to my collection right after Governor's School. I was listening to a lot of Ives and Stravinsky, and writing a senior term paper about 20th Century music.
When Trilogy was released, ELP toured the UK with a singer/songwriter (can't remember his name) who played Emerson's grand piano. At the end of his stint, the lights went out, a recording of Abaddon's Bolero was played and the piano was pushed back into place. As it ended, the lights went up and ELP started playing. They did almost the whole first album, Tarkus, the rest of Trilogy and Pictures at an Exhibition. An amazing show.
PS: On the subject of the Mellotron, check out the Planet Mellotron website which gives an enormous amount of detail concerning its use on albums. You will find one review under The Nice (Emerson's band before ELP) which explains that he had an absolute dislike of the instrument and wouldn't use it.
Ty for the hint! Gonna go check that site
I'm with you Justin - this is my favorite ELP album from start to finish. Like a lot of 70s prog bands, my favorite is the album BEFORE the "epic" album that most people cite as the best. For example, Trilogy > Brain Salad, Close to the Edge > Tales, Foxtrot > Selling England.
Good point, except that I'd say Selling England > Lamb Lies Down.
Yay! GENESIS!
Trespass--Nursery Cryme.
I remember this as my favorite ELP album back in college days, along with a trio of Yes albums ... but it was shortly afterwards that I discovered fusion, and looked back, naturally to Miles Davis. I scanned the comments but did not see any mention of the Miles Davis album 'Sketches of Spain' ... a favorite with the ladies back in the day, and his Bolero is a particularly haunting piece. 'Saeta' uses a bolero fade-in / fade-out.
When was jazz fusion, or prog for that matter "a favorite with the ladies"? :)
@@alanansara2190 True. Alan. Very few ... though to be fair, 'Sketches of Spain' was pre-Btiches Brew Miles. Another forward thinking album ... though more 'third stream' than fusion, that was a best seller in the 60's was the beautiful Claus Ogerman orchestrated Bill Evans and Symphony Orchestra. Still gorgeous.
Back in the day, I worked in a cancer research lab near UNC-Chapel Hill, and was bedazzled by one of the young female researchers, who kept a CD copy of 'Heavy Weather' on her desk ... and now in Japan, finding a few Japanese and Chinese ladies alike who are into RTF, Pat Metheny, Oregon, Snarky Puppy, and early Headhunters - but again, not the typical female over here. Or male for that matter.
There used to be a small group of guys who came into my bar looking 'starry eyed' who always asked for this. I once heard one of them say "can you see them marching?" Now I always do but I still like it.
Good review Justin, wasn't sure how you'd react to that one.
Time to give Pictures at an Exhibition a listen now, it was recorded live in my home town. I was too young to be there but my brother was.
for some reason i had a feeling you were gonna post this song today. Underrated song. probably the most underrated on the album. Bit like The Three Fates but less chaotic. :)
I'm becoming too predictable 😅
As far as I know...this was the first time a sequencer was used to run a pattern of notes in a loop. I saw this performed live at Wooster, ohio...just elp and again with the orchestra in Montreal..For me, i loved the raw 3 man performance.
Saw them play this before Trilogy was released. Emerson came to center stage and explained Moog being unable to play more than one note. Palmer had headphones on and used a pre-recorded track. Saw a few months later after release and it was not on set list. Never saw a live vid.
JustJP, 2:42 to 10:48 - AMAZING that you put in the enhanced volume at the beginning of the song. Many thanx.
I was just wondering if you plan on doing side two of Tarkus?
I think Trilogy, Tarkus and BSS are the holy trinity of ELP's cataloge.
I definitely plan on it, but im preparing for Topographic Oceans first😃
@@JustJP
Killer.
this.)
Showing the array of skill and vastness this band tried. Try it, you will like it! My favorite album of theirs, no doubt.
Koji Tamaki - Ikanaide [1989]
A pretty well known japanese ballad.
Koji Tamaki - Naya No Sora (1993) in japanese:
玉置浩二 - 納屋の空
this is one of my personal favorites from one of my favorite albums: Karinto Kouba No Entotsu No Ueni.
it has a very special vibe and mood to it that i could only compare to old folk albums but with better production. I hold this album very high, because it seems to me like its so incredibly human in both the performances and how it is produced and arranged. I highly suggest checking it out to everyone.
There are some great videos on TH-cam of covers to this song (e.g. a small group of people sitting around with various keyboards and drums faithfully doing the parts).
A favorite memory: playing this song (on cassette tape!) in my car with friends during last year of high school. A few minutes in, someone began whistling the melody, and it spontaneously grew to where by the end everyone in the car was whistling it and laughing.
Now that you have listened to this you need to listen to Ravel‘s Bolero in its entirety if you haven’t already done so. And keep in mind that in this album they use a lot of multi-tracking that’s why it sounds like Keith Emerson is an octopus as you said. This piece was absolutely brilliant ! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Welcome back my friend,to the comments that never end. Justin take a pebble and un- Ravel this for me, Emerson took the mellotron and threw it in the sea (Lake?) But he did put his Palmer on a Moog! For a very different flavor try Jeff Becks 'Bolero', something he and Jimmy Page threw together for the halibut! But it's no fluke,they definitely didn't flounder! Peace and Jon Gomm.
@JustJP Fun fact which might put Abbadon"s Bolero in some context. Back in the mid-late 60's as such things became ..umm..more important to me, I was made aware that Ravel's Bolero was THE music to have on in the background when amorous adventuring was afoot- so to speak. This was not peculiar to the 60's but predated it... that was just when I was enlightened to it. The buildup from the light beginning, through the additive layerings leading to the crescendo & dare I say it..inevitable powerful climax .... was supposed to be analog to the perfect. act de l'amour... including what was assumed to be a reasonable length of time.
The transition to Abbadon's Bolero was just natural given the change in musical tastes for my generation.
And given this, I don't think the album ending with this is unexpected and IMO not out of place at all.
Just a thought. 😁
Haha ty for the context Quentin!🤭
Played this great album only yesterday. The album was added to my favourite playlist which was designed to counteract any feelings of going stir crazy in the Covid Lockdown. So far so good, a lot of my old vinyls have been dusted down and helped in this trying time 😉 my favourite ELP album, great from start to finish.
Great idea for a playlist
Ravel's Bolero was instrumental in my music upbringing. I don't think I would be into prog if I hadn't listened to it early on.
Trilogy is my favourite ELP mainly because there are no throwaway songs like Benny The Bouncer, Jeremy Bender etc etc. The Sheriff comes close, but it's less embarrassing!
The Sheriff is better than Benny, Jeremy and Are you ready Eddie, also feel that From the Beginning is better than Lucky Man and Still you turn me on , so all in Trilogy has NO filler !
Thank you for reacting to Abaddon's bolero. G R E A T !!!!!
they play this live in Zurich 1974 in which Greg is on the mellotron . goggle it on TH-cam
I like it. I am very happy to hear the album end like this. I look forward to tomorrow's review.
On a side note, I do remember coming across a discussion about how Polka was considered very naughty music by some people at the time it became popular. I wonder if Bolero was thought to be lascivious as well or if it was too formal for that distinction.
Great review. Thanks.
I know I was taught, in Music Theory class no less, that Ravel's Bolero is considered *the* seduction piece, including being perfect for love making.
@@IllumeEltanin Well, there you go. Thanks.
"Literary critic Allan Bloom commented in his 1987 bestseller The Closing of the American Mind, 'Young people know that rock has the beat of sexual intercourse. That is why Ravel's Bolero is the one piece of classical music that is commonly known and liked by them.'"
Best album ever!!! My brother Freddie and I went to Madison Square Garden and watched them with a enormous symphony. I know he probably commented already. He turned me on to your channel and we both love your reviews. Keep rockin bro...
Good morning Justin. Yes, they did play this on the Works tour 1977. This was the opening number and it was played with a 70 piece orchestra. We seen them perform this at MSG July 7, 1977 (7/7/77).
Spectacular week of MSG shows
Fleetwood Mac 6/30/77 (Rumours)
Pink Floyd 7/3/77 (Animals)
Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and ELP in one week.
Life was great back then!!
Anyways, so so glad you did this album. We always thought this was a neat ending to the album. (We used to crank this up...) Love and appreciate your honesty.
Looking forward to your album review.
Note: Great electronic interpretation of classical music...
Artist: Tomita
Album: The Planets
This album is AWESOME!!!
My bro 👍🤙🎸
There is some very rare footage on YT of a live performance from the 1973 European tour. (Greg on mellotron and minimoog). Uploaded by Chris Noto.
A very good marching band tune
Hi Justin. Dave from Here, There & Everywhere. Great reaction as usual. I have said before that Trilogy has been easily my favourite ELP album. In my view it has more lasting appeal, probably because of the quality of the music and excellent musicianship that does not have to resort to overblown self-indulgence. This track is beautifully structured and composed and, being a more serious piece, I think it is fitting as a final track. Others have referred to versions of Ravel's Bolero, but I haven't seen any mention of Rufus Wainwright's Oh What A World, which is structured similarly and uses snippets of the original. Finally, many in the UK remember Ravel's Bolero as the music our Gold Medal winning ice dancers Torvill and Dean used in the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Oh my Justin, thanks again for more ELP. I agree with your opinion of Trilogy. After all these years, they Still Turn Me On.
Ty Lynn! Love it!
You should give "PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION" a try. This is ELP's take on Mussorgsky. An excellent, adaption by Emerson while at the same time ELP added their original compositions to the suite. The live version in Montreal in 1977 with a full orchestra is even better again but more condensed.
Because there were so many comments about Ravel's Bolero I just listened to it. Oh, that song!!!!! I wonder how many times I've heard it and was clueless.
Ravel's Bolero is a very popular classical music piece, it is the inspiration for various rock pieces like the ELP that you just listened, King Crimson has in the suite Lizard their own version of Bolero and Frank Zappa recorded a live reggae version of Ravel's Bolero in the album The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life.
As a standalone, I like this song and appreciate it's slow buildup. As a concluding piece to this particular record, it is fantastic!
Saw Keith twice, '69 and '70 with The Nice. Loved that band....with Five Bridges Suite my fav album. Sorry to see it end, but ELP weren't a bad compensation, Tarkus their album of choice for me.
Bolero somewhat engrained in the UK psyche due to two ice skaters winning Olympic Gold doing their routine to that number (not ELP's).
Jon Hiseman's Colosseum also did a version around the same time (1971), which is much more frenetic and included the great sax of Dick Heckstall Smith and Dave Greenslade's keys. We were spoilt for choice, back then, as you are rapidly finding out, Just!
Good review Justin. Way back in NYC at the Planetarium light show, they played ELP's Bolero to accompany the spectacular sights being projected. How about Ravel's Bolero? Like that? Review it? Matt
This is their best LP followed a close second by Pictures at an Exhibition. Can’t wait for your album review.
My father always played the Bolero from Ravel. Though he hated rock music, he loved ELP bolero and was really impressed with what ELP could do as rock musicians.
Thats awesome, did he like anything else from them?
@@JustJP yes. Fanfare for the common man. Unfortunately pictures at an exhibition live was way more than he could take😀
Another masterpiece from a strong album .
I strongly encourage you to listen (and maybe even react to) Ravel's Bolero. This piece is ELP's homage to Ravel, and knowing Ravel's Bolero will enhance your appreciation ELP's take on it. The same is true of Hoedown, The Barbarian (Bartok), Knife Edge (Janacek), The Only Way (Hymn) (Bach), Pictures At An Exhibition (Mussorgsky), Toccata (Ginastera), Fanfare (Copland), and a few others. Their choice of composers are more often than not 20th century composers, and by "covering" them have led many of us to explore them and expand our musical appreciation beyond rock. I'm happy you enjoyed this piece. It is often not given the appreciation it deserves. Plus it's nice to see others like it as much as I do.
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and Holst's Planets too. I certainly explored the originals after hearing ELP. Sibelius's Karelia Suite became a real classical favourite after hearing The Nice's version.
No Mellotron on Trilogy. The Polymoog wouldn’t be heard for 3 years. All the keys are MOOG III C or Minimoog Model D. Greg’s bass here is probably the Rickenbacker which he soon would despise because he played so intensely the neck would bend. Toward the end Greg’s bass disappears and Keith is providing bass with the Minimoog because it excels at low frequencies.
I don’t exactly know how many synth overdubs there are. The 2 note synth can be achieved quite easily on the Moog because it has 3 oscillators but he only needs 2. I own a Minimoog Voyager so I am very familiar with the instrument. The first melody by Keith is a synth Fife. This is a military instrument that British soldiers would follow into battle it’s almost a Piccolo but smaller. I love the piece and the album since it’s release in 1972.
This is akin to music that plays during the credits of a movie.
You must have listened to Ravel's bolero which is a fantastic classic. When at the end you played the London Philharmonic Orchestra, I definitely heard RAVEL'S BOLERO, which is a different piece of music.
There is a video of tem doing this live with Greg at the keyboards. I am an ELP fan. I remember reading Keith saying this has so much double tracking we couldn't do it live. We even tried having Greg at the keyboards and it still didn't work. I thougt thhey did a pretty good job. At first listen, I didn't like it. But I listened to it more and got to like it more.
"Abaddon" is a name that comes from the Book of Revelation, Ninth Chapter. "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." Both names mean "Destroyer." One of my favorite pieces by ELP. There aren't many boleros in rock music. The only other one I can think of is "White Rabbit," by Jefferson Airplane.
I always had a problem with this track. I understand the layering and buildup but to me it just felt a little too repetitive. Years later my opinion is the same but I always appreciated their love of the classics. Excellent analysis JP.
I must say that other bolero you played with the orchestra was an entirely different bolero that one With the orchestra is called Ravel‘s bolero that was not Keith Emersons Aboddons Bolero, those are two different boleros OK I just had to straighten that out. The whole Emerson Lake and Palmer trilogy album is one of the best albums ever the performance, the sound mixing/engineering is so dynamic and superb
Based on the fact that most ELP I recommend is *off* this album, I'd have to say it's also my favorite. XD
Tangentially-related fact: Ravel's Bolero provided the melody backbone for "Uptown Girl," which I learned after my roommate got the former stuck in his head and I asked if he wasn't just talking about the latter.
Going to keep up the repetition, eventually he'll see it:
High Tide - Futilist's Lament
Yezda Urfa - Boris And His 3 Verses. Including Flow Guides Aren't My Bag
Culpeper's Orchard - Teaparty for an Orchard
Good 4 u. I've decided to let others choose! I haven't heard of these. Do it Justin. No. 2 sounds timely.
Hey Justin, I think you should try Beck's Bolero by Jeff Beck. It was recorded in 1966. Personal included Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and John Paul Jones.
Always thought this was a bit of a dud after the excellent Trilogy title track. Brain Salad Surgery for me is the epitome of progressive rock. Complex, innovative, inspired, difficult, controversial, bombastic, challenging, divisive. That the critics and media at large hated them meant they were doing something right. Progressive rock fans learned quickly to ignore the critics.
I always equated each additional layer to an instrument in an orchestra joining in. Many of Keith's sounds mimic a particular instrument, strings, horns, woodwinds, even a tuba. Every sound BUT keyboards.
I noticed you did a Black Sabbath song a while back. Their first six albums, plus the first two Dio fronted albums, would be excellent candidates for entire album reviews. Also, nobody ever seems to give any love to Robin Trower. Bridge of Sighs is one of the best albums ever.
My favorite version of Emerson's 'Bolero' is the 1976-77 recording with the London Philharmonic "after 52 takes". I particularly love how the string basses move air when they enter.
th-cam.com/video/eKG6HWayrDY/w-d-xo.html
I might have seen ELP's "Bolero" used as a finale in a Laserium light show at the Planetarium. It's easy to recall the laser lights starting out small, and building from that. The Laserium show also included crowd pleasers like Pink Floyd's "Echoes".
Thatd be fun!
@@JustJP The Laserium show also played Larry Fast / Synergy. I was never into his synthesizer albums - all electronic, no acoustics or percussion. But Larry Fast did some nice work on Peter Gabriel's first solo album.
this from an article on Ravel's "Boléro" on NPR Online: "Perseveration, an Alzheimer's symptom, is the obsession of repeating words or actions, and could have been the mastermind behind Ravel's infamous masterpiece.
It is known that beginning in 1927 or 1928 -- the year he wrote Boléro -- Ravel began to experience perplexing health problems. In the last five years of his life, the act of composing became exceedingly difficult and he lost the ability to write out his music. Ravel died in December 28, 1937, nine days after exploratory brain surgery."
The other famous bolero-like work is the invasion theme in the first movement of Shostakovich's 7th Symphony. Different rhythm, but same concept.
That would have been Maurice Ravel's Bolero that you listened to from LSO.
"Trilogy" is my favorite ELP album, for sure. The title track is my fave ELP song as well.
I originally owned Trilogy on 8-Track!
Led Zeppelin's song Kashmere reminds me of Ravel's Bolero! Both songs have a slow build up and have a hint of North Africa.
On Ravel's "Bolero": "The piece gained new attention after it was prominently featured in the 1979 romantic comedy 10, costarring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek. This resulted in massive sales, generated an estimated $1 million in royalties and briefly made Ravel the best-selling classical composer 40 years after his death."
Yes, I bought the album after seeing "10". I'm glad that Justin listened to it before reviewing ELP for a better understanding of the genre.
'Trilogy' is a great album. I like "Brain Salad Surgery" and "Tarkus" more, but that takes nothing away from my enjoyment of this album. For me, it always seemed less bombastic and intense than the other two I mentioned, kind of a calm in the eye of a hurricane between two destructive forces of nature.
Trilogy is my favorite ELP album as well.
Great to hear your analysis of this great track. Would be interested to hear your opinion of Pictures At An Exhibition.
Maraboo72 is right, you should listen to Ravel's Bolero asap!
This is also my ELP favorite album. 👍
Please listen to ELP doing Pictures at an Exhibition but not from the album of the same name. Listen to the version from the early 90s on the video from the BLACK MOON TOUR. Synths had progressed to the point, thanks to midi and computers that they sounded like an orchestra, with that special ELP flair. It’s not on the Black Moon LP. It was reworked and re-reworked over decades then used in every concert they did. So you have to hear the 90s live version. Really kicks as@. The only exception I take with it is Greg’s THE SAGE, which really showed off his acoustic skills as well as vocals, was removed after the early 70’s.
try Gino Vannelli - "where am I going" (Live) his stuff from 1975 - 1981 amazing music. Gist of gemini and pauper of paradise albums- majestic music
I can't say I've ever been a big fan of prog bands doing classical music covers/homages. Part of why I'm not really an ELP guy.
I do have a soft spot for King Crimson's unhinged mellotron-fest version of Holst's "Mars", as heard in the 1969 unit's live set, where they're kind of leaning into the instrument's infamous out-of-tune-ness.
A great review would be The Nice 5 bridges suite
I always took the title to be a play on the words ‘A bad one’s Bolero’ but I still dont really know.
An interesting reaction Justin, Abaddon's Bolero is actually my least favourite track from Trilogy, the classical bolero you played is Ravel's Bolero and is a beautiful piece, ELPs Bolero is a nice idea but a bit messy in it's execution,
With the conclusion of the second side of Tarkus you will have completed the the golden era of ELP ! That is with the exception of "Pictures At An Exhibition"
This is a live album and was recorded on the Tarkus Tour, and it is a brutal rendition of Mussorgsky's classic, this the only available version in this period (they recorded an abridged studio version in 1997) and it is an ELP classic and fan favourite, so with all that being said please say you'll consider reacting to it !!
Don’t miss doing Beck’s Bolero.
About prog music boleros, a suggestion for a reaction: King Crimson - Devil's Triangle (from the album " In the Wake of Poseidon" - 1970). for comparison, at least. I like it very much (it's dramatic and odd too). ELP (and especially Keith) knew obviously a lot of classical music, and a lot of music in general, so that it was not difficult for them (him) to find a good fitted theme and to build up a bolero on it. Some say that Ravel's one (and any other bolero) depicts a sexual act, from the beginning to the orgasm (climax), and it's probably so. As for "Abaddon's", it;s very technically and well mastered, but maybe it's a little too cold.
It's the Moog extravaganza
...I've posted this before....you've got to admit that this sounds A LOT like the theme to the TV show Dragnet...
Ah, the days before Torvil and Dean when boleros were great.
Emerson used the poly moog for strings and pads instead of the mellotron. A fully polyphonic synth with very simple architecture and only one filter per voice, another famous polymoog user was Chick Corea.
Not in 1972 he didn’t. By 1975 the Polymoog was released but Keith was busy writing his Piano Concerto which showed up on Works Vol. 1 in 1977. By then he was using a Yamaha GX-1 polyphonic synthesizer. People don’t realize the gap between Brain Salad Surgery and Works was over 3 years.
@@shyshift You are correct, forgot the Polymoog came out in 75, but I know Emerson at one point used to have two live. For their early seventies records Emerson usually used either mini moogs and his modular over several tracks for synth chords. A lot of overdubs like that on Brain salad Surgery, Trilogy and Tarkus.
@@snuppssynthchannel please exhibit pictures. Lol
@@shyshift I dont know of any pictures, but i saw a live clip on youtube where i saw two poly moogs. I dont remember which one. I have no need to prove it though considering the close ties Emerson had to Moog, he was sponsored and commonly was likely the most important performer/source for feedback for the company and their product line
@@snuppssynthchannel I'm pretty sure the video of Fanfare For The Common Man from the Monteal Olympic stadium has him playing a Polymoog.
Fun fact: the voiced palatal fricative is only used in the pronunciation of the double L sound (as in 'llama'), not the single L sound in 'bolero'. (I have a very peculiar sense of fun, I know).
I should've known! Ty😄
This one def would have been better as a bridge between tracks but is weak as a closer.
Other notable Bolero recordings in rock... King Crimson did their own in the Lizard Suite on the album Lizard.
The James Gang during the Joe Walsh years did a cover of it as part of "The Bomber."
After the first release of the album, Rides Again, they had to remove it.
Apparently Ravel had stipulated in his will that only a complete orchestra could play the song and his estate had them cut it. In recent releases it has been added back in.
You should check out Frank Zappas Version of the Bolero. Performed on Stage in 1988.
I saw that in concert in Strasbourg. A great moment. I was happy to see Zappa on stage, but he was much too loud…
Ok Justin, Time to take the PAT METHENY GROUP journey!!! Start with songs: Jaco, San Lorenzo, and Phase Dance, then jump to the album called First Circle. That's enough to make you a fan.
Ty William, I actually did First Circle a while back, but the music was unfortunately blocked
Am I the only one old enough to remember the movie "10" and Ravel's Bolero in that movie?
Nope!
...I hope it doesn't get stuck...😉